Solo Leveling (Vol 1)

The Chamber

"It's the boss chamber!"

Jin-Woo and Ju-Hui's gazes automatically shifted to the front.

And they saw a huge stone door blocking the passage.

Hunters immediately surrounded this door.

"What is this? Why is there a door at the end of the cavern?"

"Have we ever encountered a boss chamber with a door before?"

"This is definitely the first time, I'm sure of it."

"This... Doesn't this feel strangely dangerous?"

Hunters began to express their doubts and fears one at a time.

Since their own lives were on the line here, they had to be cautious and meticulous.

However, if one were to become too cautious, one would end up failing to grasp the heaven-sent opportunity in the first place. Mister Song figured this was one such case.

"Are you all planning to return empty-handed after coming this far?"

Song placed his hands on the door.

"If that's what you want, knock yourselves out. I'm pushing ahead, even if it means I'll be going alone."

Song was a rank C Hunter with ten years of experience.

If it weren't for his age, which was over sixty, he'd be making a killing in a big Guild by now thanks to his excellent skills.

And when a Hunter like that voiced his opinion with such confidence, others began to feel less anxious than before.

"Wait a minute."

A couple of Hunters began recalling rumors of dual dungeons.

"I heard that there are incredible treasures hidden within dual dungeons."

"Yeah, I heard that a certain small to medium Guild found a dual dungeon and grew into a large Guild almost overnight."

"Monsters inside a dungeon always possess roughly similar ranks no matter where they are located, so the hunt itself should not be too difficult..."

What if there were incredible treasures hidden with the dual dungeon just as the rumors said, and the monsters beyond this door were about the same difficulty as the rank D, and E creatures they fought until now?

'I can't let that old man monopolize all the treasure.'

'No freaking way.'

'Postnatal care, the school fee for the firstborn kid, and let's not forget, this month's rent is almost due, too....'

The opinions of the Hunters were now on the same page.

Jin-Woo, too, steeled himself.

'I can't return home with just a single rank E magic crystal. At a bare minimum, I gotta kill a rank D, no, one more rank E monster!!'

It didn't even have to be a monster, too.

'If it's treasure instead....'

Treasures of rare loot found in a dungeon would normally be divided equally among all the participants in a raid. It was quite a different way of sharing the rewards where one could only take possession of magic crystals one procured by themselves.

'If we score big today, then things might improve at home for a while.'

Jin-Woo nervously swallowed down his saliva.

Ju-Hui saw his determined expression and asked him.

"Is that what the expression of someone who's a Hunter as a hobby looks like?"

Jin-Woo shrugged his shoulders.

"Who'd bet their lives in their main line of profession nowadays? Unless it's a hobby, obviously."

".....Eh?"

Just as a dumbfounded expression formed on Ju-Hui's face, Song pushed the dungeon's door and it creaked open.

There must've been some sort of mechanism installed on the heavy-looking door since the physical strength of a sixty-year-old man was enough to easily open it.

Slam!

Now that the door was wide open, the huge open interior revealed itself. Hunters hurriedly rushed in.

"Let's go in as well."

Jin-Woo feared that he'd fall behind, so he grasped Ju-Hui's hand and took the lead.

"Ah....."

Ju-Hui's face reddened slightly as she followed after him.

***

As soon as Hunters sat foot inside, flames erupted on the numerous torches packed tightly on the walls all at the same time. Thanks to that, the interior brightened up considerably.

"What's the heck? The lights came on by themselves?"

"First time seeing a dungeon like this one."

"Something's.... different about this place."

Hunters cautiously studied their surroundings. The overall atmosphere of the place was similar to that of an ancient temple.

Not only that, an old and somewhat decrepit temple, something that might be buried and hidden beneath the ground; moss and weed could be seen sporadically on the floor, walls, and ceiling.