The all-knowing Player (Solo Leveling)

The Demon King (1)

Corresponding episodes: 85, 86

Pieces of coal and shards of glass crunch under our soles as Jin-Woo and I make our way through the ever-blazing city toward the teleportation circle. Heat rolls out of the buildings in waves as a dry breeze blows through the streets, fanning the flames into more ravenous destruction. Shades of red and orange paint the city over the background of ashen gray and coal black ruins to bathe them in a fiery glow. Smoke curls around high buildings before seeping into the blood-red sky.

The dark clouds seem to have been burst open by a radiant spear, brilliant light bleeding from the open wound. Yet what we find at the foot of the beacon isn't a golden lake, but a magic circle engraved into the ground. I tilt my head back and squint, watching the blinding shaft of light pierce through smoke. The mana hums in faint ripples as the teleporting circle exudes magic power close to that of a gate. It prickles my skin as I step into the circle, the crackling of the city fading behind that of mana. The light dims to the soft glow of the lines dug into the ground under our soles.

{[Floors 1 to 82 have been unlocked.]}

{[Where would you like to go?]}

I frown upon seeing the windows shimmer through the red sunbeams. "Why is the 82nd floor unlocked? Radiru Clan's permit only allows access to the 81st."

"I cleared it this morning while you were sleeping," Jin-Woo replies.

I turn to him with wide eyes. Only then do I notice the small ashes sprinkled between his dark strands like stars in a night sky. So that is why his shoulder smelt of fire on the staircase.

"You should have woken me up," I repeat for what must be the hundredth time today.

"It wasn't difficult. Though I have to ask," he adds, bending near me to ask with a low, teasing voice, "does that mean I get to give you another dare?"

I freeze. He stands close again, a spark laughing in his eyes as the corners of his lips quirk into a smirk. The yellow glow of the teleportation circle at our feet sharpens his features and add a light shade to his hairtips. From up close, the ashes and pieces of coal stuck in his strands stand out among the black of his hair.

A quiet laughter escapes me. "Don't push your luck," I reply, lifting a hand to run my fingers through his strands.

His eyes widen, yet he remains still, letting me brush the ashes out of his hair without a word. I can feel his stare burn on my cheeks as my hands move around his head. So I keep my eyes on the thin white particles strewed between his strands with unnecessary focus to escape his piercing gaze examining my face as if he had never seen it before. But I can still feel it with acute awareness—the intensity with which he watches me, the breathless silence hiding words that can't be said out loud. Words I could never define in his stead; words that have my heart beating fiercely in my chest with delusional hope.

"There, that looks better," I murmur after having plucked out all the ash out of his strands.

Maybe I meant to add something after that. But it dies in my throat as soon as my gaze carelessly wanders down, landing right in his eyes. Steel gray irises stare back at me with open fascination, as if wanting to read through me, as if trying to uncover my deepest thoughts.

"How about a date?" he asks, his voice as low as a whisper.

My heart skips a beat. "What?"

"I mean—" Urgency paints his voice upon seeing me back away, squaring my shoulders. His voice grows stronger as he steps after me, taking my hand between his to keep me close. "Not necessarily in that sense. Just as... two people learning to bond over something other than hunting. We could just meet up without any specific reason and do something unrelated to dungeons. We could hit the arcade—you said in the Red Gate that you never went."