Solo Leveling Chapter 190:
The TV in the living room was showing the scenes of yet another accident that took place within a dungeon . Those seemed to happen frequently nowadays .
Although no events that could be called truly enormous happened so far, the number of Hunters dying during the raids was on the rise lately, according to the news broadcast .
“I wonder, will my boy be okay?”
His mother, watching the news, recalled Jin-Woo and whispered to herself in a worried voice .
Didn’t matter how excellent a Hunter her son was, there was no helping with a mother worrying about her child’s safety .
Beru, hiding within the shadows to protect this home as per Jin-Woo’s instruction, heard her whispers .
‘Oh, the mother of my king . If my liege meets with an accident that even he can’t survive, then no one in this world can . ’
Beru did his best to suppress the words trying to jump out of his mouth . Obviously, he couldn’t surprise the mother of his liege needlessly, now could he? As his reward, he’d have to suffer in silent frustration all by himself .
He also found the liege’s mother, currently equating his liege against those low-class monsters shown on the TV screen, rather cruel and unkind for doing that . However, he roused up a super-human level of endurance and suppressed his desire to preach the incomparable might of his dear liege to her .
[Next up . We bring you the news on the conference organised by America’s Hunter Bureau… . ]
The scene shown on TV changed yet again to that of a certain American airport as the news related to the International Guild Conference played out . And then, Jin-Woo appeared on the screen as he stepped foot into the airport .
She saw her son walking forward as he was swarmed by the constant explosions of camera flashes . The worried look on her face was soon replaced by a contented smile .
“Jin-Ah? Your brother’s on TV . ”
“Really?”
Jin-Ah abandoned her studies and quickly trotted out of her room . This wouldn’t be the first time, but regardless, seeing her oppa on the TV screen remained a mystifying and welcoming viewing experience to her, even now .
But the thing was – both Jin-Ah and her mom had no idea .
They simply had no idea that there was someone very close, cheering on even more passionately then they did while watching the TV screen .
‘Oh, my king… . !’
Beru’s deeply-moved eyes were firmly fixed on the screen as he watched the clip being played out .
But then, a powerful chill began invading his body out of the blue . Literally, without warning, his body hidden in the shadows began trembling non-stop .
This sensation, hadn’t he felt something similar to this in the past?
When was that?
Beru combed through his memories and finally recalled that moment . Back then, right when the king’s gaze filled with killing intent was looking down on him . It was at that moment .
A feeling of death that could not be avoided . The warning bells rang out loudly via his instincts after detecting the unmistakable stench of death .
The king’s rage he felt for the first time since becoming his Shadow Soldier was so great that Beru’s entire thought process froze up . However, he was still his king’s loyal soldier!
He regained his wits quite quickly .
‘… . My king has been truly enraged . ’
Now that he realised something had happened to his king, he couldn’t just sit around quivering in fear like this . Beru quickly sent a signal to Jin-Woo and tried to engage him conversation .
‘Oh, my king . Please compose yourself . I shall get to your side immediately . ’
The response arrived immediately .
[You… . Don’t make a move . ]
Beru heard the king’s voice which sounded like unchecked rage being compressed into a volatile mass . He could only tremble like a leaf against stormy winds .
‘I shall obey . ’
He could only say that he’d submit to the command, that was all . But at the same time, he became also curious about the moron who managed to earn his king’s wrath .
‘Why would anyone do something so reckless and ill-advised… . ’
To numb the fear, even if only by a little, Beru hid his still-trembling body ever deeper into the shadow .
***
In the city of Busan .
The Knight Order Guild was in the middle of preparing for a raid .
The Master of the Guild, Park Jong-Su, was confirming the raid party members and their current conditions one last time, as the will to make this raid a success burned fiercely within his heart .
“There’s been a lot of accidents happening in dungeons lately . So, everyone – keep your wits about you at all times! Let’s make sure that not a single person gets injured today!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Guild members had become rather docile after experiencing a raid together with Jin-Woo’s summoned creatures . And now, they even sounded properly disciplined, as well .
It was at that moment something strange happened .
The Vice-Master of the Guild, Jeong Yun-Tae, was standing behind Park Jong-Su to nod his head and provide suitable reactions to his boss’s words . But, he discovered something and his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets .
“Heok?!”
Park Jong-Su hurriedly looked behind him .
“What?! What happened?”
Jeong Yun-Tae pointed to the ground and alternated his gaze between Park Jong-Su and the shadow beneath his boss’s feet .
“H-hyung-nim!! Your, your shadow! The shadow on the ground was vibrating… . ”
Jeong Yun-Tae discovered that Park Jong-Su was glaring at him with narrowed eyes and stopped talking right there and then .
“Hey, Yun-Tae? How many times have I told you not to touch booze before a raid?”
“N-no, hyung-nim! I haven’t had a drop of the stuff today! But your shadow, it really did vibrate! Like it was alive!”
Park Jong-Su stared at Jeong Yun-Tae with criticising eyes and spat out a long groan .
“This won’t do . Take a day off today . ”
“Hyung-nim! I’m telling you the truth!”
“Okay, everyone! Time to go inside . The Knight Order Guild, let’s do our best today, too! Fighting!”
“Ahh! B-but, hyung-nim…!”
Just as Jeong Yun-Tae’s voice that protested his innocence resounded in the air…
Unbelievable sightings of shadows trembling streamed in from all the spots where Jin-Woo had left behind his Shadow Soldiers . Shadows trembled noticeably as if they didn’t care for the presence of witnesses or not .
But then again, the Shadow Soldiers had no choice but to shiver from the emotion of pure rage their lord was feeling at that moment .
***
– Exchange .
The High Orc soldier disappeared, only to be replaced by Jin-Woo .
‘… . !!’
Hwang Dong-Su’s group froze up like a mouse confronted by a snake the moment this unexpected intruder entered the stage completely unannounced . Especially for Hwang Dong-Su himself, he nearly even forgot to breathe after recognising Jin-Woo’s face .
Meanwhile, Jin-Woo simply strode past the stunned rank S Hunter, as if the latter didn’t even exist, and stopped before Yu Jin-Ho . No one said anything, yet the two Americans standing near the unconscious kid quickly stepped back at the same time, as if they agreed to do so beforehand .
After summoning out a healing potion, Jin-Woo began easing a little bit of liquid down into Yu Jin-Ho’s mouth .
Unfortunately…
[When the remaining HP is less than 10%, it is impossible to recover HP with healing potions . ]
… . The message saying it was impossible to heal the kid’s wounds popped up in his view along with the familiar ‘Tti-ring’ .
Crack .
The empty vial of healing potion shattered in Jin-Woo’s hand .
The ‘Divine Water of Life’ was meant to heal diseases and illnesses . It couldn’t help in matters of physical injuries like this . It was the same principle of healing magic not being able to cure illnesses .
‘I need healing magic . ’
Too bad, the only Shadow Soldier capable of using healing magic, Beru, was currently back in Korea house-sitting . Even if Jin-Woo recalled him now, who knows just how long he’d take to get here…
… . It was around this time that Hwang Dong-Su finally regained his wits and tried to engage Jin-Woo in conversation .
“You… You, what the hell? That Orc, just now… What the **** did you do?”
Jin-Woo didn’t respond to that and simply asked the two men before him, instead .
“Is either one of you a Healer?”
Hearing the word ‘Healer’, the Healer-type Hunter ended up reflexively nodding his head . Jin-Woo pointed to Yu Jin-Ho .
“Heal him . Now . ”
The Healer’s gaze shifted over to Hwang Dong-Su . The latter shook his head . Jin-Woo carefully lowered Yu Jin-Ho’s upper torso back down and stood up .
“Final warning . Heal him . ”
The Healer’s gaze shifted back to Hwang Dong-Su again, but the answer remained the same . So, the Healer stared straight at Jin-Woo and the corners of his lips arched up .
“You see, dude, you should talk to the boss first before…”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence .
Ka-boom!!
Just like how Hwang Dong-Su had done to Yu Jin-Ho, Jin-Woo slammed the Healer’s head on the ground . It happened so fast that no one saw his movements .
Hwang Dong-Su might have been a rank S himself, but he simply failed to even sense Jin-Woo’s attack and only belatedly discovered the Healer lying face down on the ground .
Jin-Woo shifted his gaze to the second of the Americans .
“Are you a Healer?”
This man finally confirmed the face of Jin-Woo walking closer to him and his jaw began trembling in shock .
“S-Seong Jin-Woo?! Hunter Seong Jin-Woo??”
He back-pedalled in panic and began glaring at Hwang Dong-Su before shouting out .
“Mister Hwang Dong-Su! You promised that this matter had nothing to do with Seong Jin-Woo! What the f*ck is this?! Ah?? What is this sh*t?!”
“I asked you if you are a Healer or not . ”
“N-no, I, I’m not . I’m just… . ”
His answer was also abruptly cut off there .
Ka-boom!
Struck by an unseen hand, the man’s head crashed to the ground like his friend’s before him . In the blink of an eye, two high-ranked Hunters had lost their consciousness .
Finally getting to witness Jin-Woo’s real strength with his own two eyes, Hwang Dong-Su felt his heart pounding away like crazy .
It was then .
“H-hyung-nim…”
Perhaps because the ground rumbled loudly twice in a row? Yu Jin-Ho had regained his consciousness somehow .
“Hyung… . nim… . ”
Jin-Woo lowered his body and listened closely to the kid’s voice .
“Hey, Jin-Ho . I’m here . ”
Yu Jin-Ho managed to crack open his swollen eyelids . He barely managed to move the muscles on his bloodied and messed-up face, his words clearly being formed with great difficulty .
“Hwang Dong-Su… little brother… Hwang Dong-Seok… . Be careful…”
Jin-Woo looked at Yu Jin-Ho breathing weakly with a helpless expression before stopping the kid’s words .
“Shh . It’s fine . Don’t speak anymore . ”
“Hyung-nim… . ”
Yu Jin-Ho grabbed Jin-Woo’s hand as tears pooled on the edges of his eyes .
Jin-Woo quietly asked .
“Can you hold on for a little longer?”
Nod, nod .
It became harder to speak so Yu Jin-Ho made do with a nod to answer the question .
Jin-Woo carefully let go of his dongsaeng’s hand and slowly got back up to his feet, before shifting his gaze back over to Hwang Dong-Su .
However, Hwang Dong-Su didn’t back down and shot a glare right back . His legs were weakly trembling from the pressure of Jin-Woo’s murderous eyes, but he was not someone who’d cower and run away .
In the meantime, Jin-Woo’s coldly-flickering eyes were getting closer and closer . Hwang Dong-Su did his best to look unruffled and raised his voice .
“It was you, wasn’t it? You killed my older brother, Hwang Dong-Seok . Am I right?”
Hwang Dong-Su’s scared face grew closer with every step taken . And then, a certain someone’s face who enjoyed being strong against the weak, but remained weak against someone stronger, overlapped with his face in Jin-Woo’s view .
That caused his glare to become even colder .
Meanwhile, Hwang Dong-Su cried out .
“Answer me!! Seong Jin-Woo, didn’t you murder my brother and his team?!”
Jin-Woo stopped right in front of Hwang Dong-Su’s nose and replied .
“Ask him after you meet him again . ”
Grit .
Hwang Dong-Su punched with his fist wrapped in bright light . He was aiming for Jin-Woo’s face . Unfortunately for him, the latter simply ducked lower to evade that and shoved his own fist deep into the former’s stomach .
“Keo-Heok!”
Just one hit and Hwang Dong-Su vomited out a mouthful of blood .
***
“Stop the car!”
“Sir?”
“I said, stop the d*mn car!”
Thomas Andre roared out and the car he was riding in came to a sudden halt . As the vehicle in front carrying their Guild Master came to an abrupt halt, the chasing cars ferrying the Guild members all hurriedly came to a stop as well .
Screech, screeech… .
Loud noises resounded out from everywhere . Completely disregarding that…
Boom!
… . Thomas Andre kicked the car’s door away and climbed out in a hurry so he could glare in a certain direction . His expression crumpled into a vicious scowl .
“D*mn it… . ”
The elites of the Scavenger Guild, often referred to as the world’s best, jumped out from all the halted vehicles .
“Master, what is it?”
“Did something happen?”
Thomas Andre answered briefly to all the hurried questions from the Guild members .
“It has already begun . I’ll go ahead, so hurry and follow after me . ”
“Sir??”
What had already begun?
Before anyone could ask him for an explanation, though, Thomas Andre bent his knees . The muscles on his legs expanded powerfully and the asphalt on the ground began melting down . Other Hunters naturally took two, three steps away from him .
Ka-boom!!
Thomas Andre exploded up from the ground and in an instant, disappeared from their view .
***
‘Something is… . coming . ’
Something strong, that was .
Just as Thomas Andre had sensed Jin-Woo’s powers, the latter also sensed the former’s presence . So, he stopped moving his punching hand .
His other hand was still grabbing onto the collar of Hwang Dong-Su, who now was suffering from just as many grievous wounds as Yu Jin-Ho .
Ka-boom!
A part of the disused factory’s ceiling caved in and through the open gap, one of the four remaining Special Authority-rank Hunters in the world, Thomas Andre, flew in and landed on the ground .
Since he knew that a guest was arriving anyway, Jin-Woo wasn’t surprised in the slightest as he calmly took a look at the landing zone .
Thomas Andre stood up straight and quickly confirmed the situation .
He first saw Yu Jin-Ho, then Jin-Woo, and finally, the end of Jin-Woo’s hand . His gaze moved in that order, until stopping at Hwang Dong-Su .
Right away, Thomas Andre’s forehead creased up . Jin-Woo’s incredible magical energy emission had completely masked Hwang Dong-Su’s presence and he couldn’t initially sense it .
Thomas Andre took off and discarded his sunglasses .
“Hwang Dong-Su… Is he still alive?”
“For now . ”
Thomas Andre resorted to using simple English and enunciated each word loudly so that Jin-Woo, someone who might be not familiar with the language, could hear him clearly .
“Let him go . If you do that, we’ll forget that today’s event had ever happened . I’m asking you for a favour . ”
Jin-Woo strengthened his grip on Hwang Dong-Su’s collar and asked .
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Then, well . A favour won’t be a favour anymore . ”
One of the most powerful Hunters in the world bared his fangs .
A regular Hunter would start p*ssing their pants right about now . However, Jin-Woo’s own aura didn’t lose out to Thomas Andre’s .
“Come, then . ”
< Chapter 190 > Fin .