Solo Laveling
Chapter 2's

Chapter 2's

Everything now depends on Seong Jin-Woo's decision.

Jin-Woo's fingers clasped tightly onto the E rank magic crystal in his hand as he glanced next to it.

Yi Ju-Hui shook her head at him. He seems very worried.

Actually, Jin-Woo is also worried in the heart. Now normally, he would never try to take unnecessary risks. Not only did he not have the ability to do so, but he was also not brave enough as well.

However, Jin-Woo has a younger sister who will be a student in the coming months.

"I don't have money saved …."

Currently, Jin-Woo is twenty-four years old.

He was at an age where he had to concentrate on his academic pursuits, but he gave up on that dream because, well, he had no money. He really did not want his little sister to go through the same sacrifice, the same pain as him.

Right now, every penny was precious to him.

It wasn't just Mister Park who needed a big score today.

Jin-Woo raises his hand high.

"I choose to move forward."

That was when, he heard a gentle (sensor) resignation from his side.

Part 2: Double Prison

The hallway continues and continues forever.

Up ahead, Master Song and the other powerful Hunters had taken the lead. Song had summoned a small flame over his palm to light the way forward.

Mr. Kim asked him as he walked beside Song.

“We've come a long way, 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 watch.

"Around forty minutes."

"The gate died completely an hour after the boss was killed, so we have about twenty minutes left."

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

"I think so."

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

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

Kim stared at Song's flame for a second or two, before he wordlessly took out his smartphone and turned on the screen.

And then, the hallway was illuminated somewhat brightly.

"…"

Song shifted his gaze between the flame and the smart phone, before he too wordlessly started searching for his own phone.

***

The very back of the group was the place reserved for Seong Jin-Woo, who was injured quite badly not too long ago, and Yi Ju-Hui, who did not possess any combat skills.

Jin-Woo scratches the back of his neck.

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

"About what?"

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

"I'm fine with that, so you don't have to think about me."

Jin-Woo carefully studies Ju-Hui's expression. He doesn't look okay at all.

Jin-Woo tilts his head like this and that while trying to read his mood better, before he asks again, even more carefully than before.

"Are you ...really okay?"

That prompted Ju-Hui to turn his gaze towards him.

"Of course not. Are you sane? If you were stabbed a few inches higher, you'd have a hole in your heart by now! And, what about the injuries on your arms and legs? I worked so hard to heal you somehow, yet you want to throw yourself into another prison again ?? Plus, you don't even know where we're going either! "

He speaks so fast that Jin-Woo feels like his mind is numb from hearing it.

But he was right about everything.

If it wasn't for the presence of the B rank outstanding Healer, Yi Ju-Hui, Jin-Woo wouldn't have been able to continue living an unaffected life, let alone working as a Hunter. It was a small wonder why such a high-ranking and hard-to-find Healer was valued so large in the Association hall.

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

Ju-Hui is a Healer-type hunter, the rarest of the rare kind.

Not only that, he was also a genius at the 'B' rank'.

The Association had always asked him to heal the injured Hunters every time the Gate was opened. And whenever Jin-Woo participates in an attack, he almost always ends up next to her.

"Are you in pain? Please wait a minute. ”

"Have I seen you before …? Coincidentally, were you the last one? "

"You're hurt again?"

"It seems like we're seeing each other a lot right now, right?"

“You said your name is Mister Jin-Woo? Well, that's ... Will it be okay? ”

"Maybe, uhm, this Hunter's life doesn't suit you very well …."

"… You're here again."

"Show me your arm. No, it's not that. Use a bandage on that arm. I mean the other one with a broken bone. ”

At this moment, it's well past the point Jin-Woo feels grateful for everything he has done, and firmly into the territory he becomes apologetic for making him uncomfortable.

"…"

When Jin-Woo looks desperate, Ju-Hui also feels a bit bad scolding him now and his attitude softens.

"You're really sorry?"

"Yes, right."

Ju-Hui fell into deep contemplation for a moment, before she started looking at him with the corner of her eyes and her lips slowly curved upwards.

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

Now that's a completely unexpected offer.

Jin-Woo looks at her with a surprised expression and finds a teasing smile etched on her face like a teenage girl.

"Adolescent girl, yes …"

The truth is, Ju-Hui is still a young girl who has just entered her twenties.

Didn't he say that he would be twenty-one next year?

If her long hair is replaced with something shorter, and her current clothes are changed for the school uniform, she really looks like a high school student.

His wandering mind imagines a picture of Ju-Hui in a school uniform and his face is a bit flushed.

When Jin-Woo hesitates with his answer, Ju-Hui's cheeks begin to expand like a balloon.

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

It happened, right then and there.

Suddenly, it became very busy up ahead.

"We found it!!"

"That's the boss room!"

Jin-Woo and Ju-Hui's gazes automatically shifted forward.

And they saw a large stone door that blocked the road.

Hunters immediately surrounded this door.

"What'sthis? Why is there a door at the end of the cave? ”

"Have we found the boss room with the door before?"

"It's definitely the first time, I'm sure of it."

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

The hunters began to express their doubts and fears one by one.

Since their own lives were at stake here, they had to be careful and meticulous.

However, if one became too cautious, he would fail to grasp the heaven-sent opportunity. Mr. Song suspects this is one of the cases.

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

Song put his hand on the door.

"If that's what you want, drop yourself. I push forward, even if it means I will go alone. "

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

If it wasn't for his age, which was over sixty, he would have made a killing in a large Guild by now thanks to his excellent skills.

"Wait a minute."

Some hunters began to recall rumors of double dungeons.

"I heard there are incredible treasures hidden inside the two dungeons."

"Yes, I heard that a certain small to medium-sized guild found a double dungeon and grew into a large guild almost overnight."

"The monsters inside the dungeon always had roughly the same rank no matter where they were, so the hunt itself shouldn't be too difficult …"

What if there was an incredible hidden treasure with a double dungeon as the rumors said, and the monster behind this door had the same difficulty as a D rank creature, he said, Which one have they fought until now?

"I can't let the old man monopolize all the treasures."

"There's no weird way."

Care Postnatal care, tuition for the first child, and do not forget, this month's rent is also almost due …. ’

The Hunters opinion was now on the same page.

Jin-Woo also braced himself.

"I can't go home with just a single rank E magic crystal. At a minimum, I have to kill a D rank, no, one more E rank monster !! '

It doesn't even have to be a monster.

‘If it's a treasure instead ...’

The rare treasure or loot found in the basement would usually be divided equally among all participants in the attack. It was a different way of handing out gifts where one could only have magic crystals obtained by themselves.

"If we get a big score today, then some things will improve at home for a while."

Jin-Woo nervously gulps his saliva.

Ju-Hui looks at her expression of determination and asks her.

"Is that the expression of a hobby hunter?"

Jin-Woo shrugged his shoulders.

“Who is risking their lives on their current major profession path? Unless it's a hobby, of course. "

"… Uh?"

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

There must have been some sort of mechanism installed on the door that looked heavy, as the physical strength of a sixty-year-old man was enough to easily open it.

Slam it!

Now that the door was wide open, the large open interior revealed itself. Hunters rush in.

"Let's go in too."

Jin-Woo is afraid that he will miss, so he clasps Ju-Hui's hand and takes the lead.

"Well….."

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

***

As soon as the Hunter sat down with his feet inside, flames erupted on the many torches packed tightly against the wall at the same time. Thanks to that, the interior is brighter.

"What the fuck? The lights on themselves? "

"First time seeing a dungeon like this."

"Something ... different about this place. "

Hunters carefully study their surroundings. The overall atmosphere of the place was similar to an ancient temple.

Not only that, an old and somewhat decrepit temple, something that may be buried and hidden underground; moss and weeds can be seen sporadically on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Some Hunters shrank backwards and slightly shuddered.

"It's kind of creepy in here, isn't it?"

"Don't it feel like we're being watched by someone?"

Leaving the frightened Hunter, the three, four strongest of the group went deeper.

“Tsk! Don't say anything that might bring us shit, right? "

"Let's end this quickly and go home."

The interior is huge. The room was shaped like a giant dome. It was as big as some Olympic stadiums, found in Seoul, put together – no, maybe even bigger than that.

However, one cannot help but feel that it is still inadequate.

The reason for that is rather obvious.

"That thing over there …. "

"N-it's not like it's the boss, is it?"

In the deepest part of the dome, something so logical and challenging sat on a throne as large as itself. It was none other than a huge god stone statue!

"Oh my God…."

"Wow."

Struck gasps leaked from the Hunters.

The first image to appear on Jin-Woo's head was the Statue of Liberty in New York. If the statue sat on a chair, wouldn't it be as big as that unknown god statue?

Well, Liberty is a woman, while the one sitting on the throne is a man.

‘No, wait a minute. Maybe even bigger than that … '

The hunters began to nervously swallow their saliva near the foot of the god statue. Severe worry and anxiety were clearly visible on their faces as they worried this statue of being the boss of the basement.

‘…….’

However, the statue did not move in the slightest.

How lucky that is.

"Gee…."

Even Song sighed in relief.

"Okay, everybody. Spread it."

Now that they had found a way out, the Hunters parted between them and started searching around.

"I don't think there are any monsters here."

"You think so too?"

"Don't mind monsters, I can't even see a single bug."

The space of the stone god statue might be very large, but the inner structure was actually on the simpler side. On the walls, countless torches could be found there. And in front of these walls, more stone statues, slightly taller than humans, stood tall and motionless. There are many of them here, found at a certain distance from each other.

"They're all pretty, aren't they?"

"It looks like it's a work of art, doesn't it?"

The objects held by each stone statue were diverse and different.

Some held weapons, some carried books, some carried musical instruments, and even torches.

"As if …"

"They're like holy temple statues or something."

Song finished what Kim wanted to say.

"mm?"

Then, Song found something under his feet.

"This ... Isn't this a magic formation?"

He found a magic formation that he had never seen before was located in the middle of this temple.

That was.

“Sorry, Mr Song? Ahjussi, something is written here. Can you come here and see it? ”

One of the Hunters found a different statue from the others and called out to Song.

Song stopped studying the magic formation and got up from the floor. All the other Hunters were gathered around the statue that Song was aiming for.

Only this statue featured a pair of wings and carried a slate. What the Hunters were focused on were the letters carved on this slate. Song looked at the slate and muttered to anyone.

"This is the Rune alphabet."

Rune 'alphabet'.

Words that could not be found anywhere on Earth, and were only found inside the dungeon; only Hunters who had 'awakened' a profession related to magic could decipher it.

"The laws of the temple of Karutenon."

Song read the first verse.

With a very nervous face, Jin-Woo listens to the contents of the slate, as read by Mr. Song.

However, someone suddenly pulled his arm.

When he looks back, he sees Ju-Hui and her deathly pale skin.

And