Solo Leveling Chapter 27:
I Alone Level-up: Chapter 27
If it was just the boss, Jinwoo had already shown that he could solo the spider . But thinking about holding back the horde of insects at the entrance with just the two of them made Yoo Jinho’s breath stop .
“ . . . ”
Watching Yoo Jinho at a loss for words, Jinwoo nodded understandingly .
‘Still, this is the best method . ’
To kill two birds with one stone .
It was very difficult for an E-ranker like him to get into a private raiding party . He had realized this after trying to earn money for the month . He could not reserve a Dungeon with his own credentials, and it was impossible for him to form his own raiding party . But now Yoo Jinho was offering to create the party for him .
This was the perfect opportunity .
“B-but hyungnim! To enter a C-rank Gate, you’d need a minimum party of ten people!”
“If we told them we just needed to fill the headcount and offered them money, people would be lining up . ”
It was the method he had learned from Hwang Dongseok . The Hunters who did not want to risk their lives but needed money would jump at the opportunity with a hunger in their eyes .
Yoo Jinho made an expression of defeat,
“You’re… you’re saying we’ll be taking down all the monsters of the Dungeon on our own?”
Well, it would be just Jinwoo .
“Yep . ”
With that method, he would be able to hoard all the experience points to himself . Additionally, with just Yoo Jinho at his side, he didn’t need to hold back or worry about revealing his true powers .
‘I’ll be able to powerlevel with that . ’
On top of that, after the Raids were complete, he would obtain that valuable building . Once again, “killing two birds with one stone” .
All that was left to do is convince Yoo Jinho . As expected, the young man was terrified .
“S-still… wouldn’t it be too dangerous, hyungnim?”
“Tsk, tsk . You understand one thing but not the other . ”
“Huh?”
Jinwoo gestured for Yoo Jinho to come closer, and the young man leaned in .
“If you looked at just the two of us going into the Dungeon from another angle, it means that no one else has to get hurt, right?”
“R-right . ”
“Let’s put aside your first Raid, which you had to join as a tagalong . Imagine how your father will feel if the raid team that you put together goes through nineteen Raids with no one getting hurt . ”
Yoo Jinho’s eyes shot open in understanding .
If… If they were able to pull that off, convincing his father would become that much easier!
He would be able to show that a mere D-ranker is able to lead a raiding party through 19 Raids without any casualties . It would be a testament to his ability to become the Guildmaster . This would be the greatest feat that he could bring before his father .
Jinwoo read Yoo Jinho’s expressions and became satisfied .
‘Got him . ’
The one holding all the cards right now was Jinwoo . Even if Yoo Jinho could not be convinced, he could always ensure his growth through the Association’s Raids or Instant Dungeons; it would just be a matter of time .
In the meantime, Yoo Jinho was deep in thought . Even if it was a little scary, if everything went according to Jinwoo’s words, the benefit to him would be great . Thinking back on the unstoppable power that Jinwoo displayed in the last Raid, he felt that it would just be possible .
Yoo Jinho made his decision .
“Okay, I’ll agree to those conditions, hyungnim . I’ll gather the team members . ”
“Good . ”
Jinwoo nodded . The two men were in agreement . Yoo Jinho finally was able to sit-up straight and put on a bright smile .
‘I was able to get hyungnim’s help . ’
The remaining Raids no longer worried him . He had gained a reliable ally in Jinwoo, and per his condition, gathering the remaining members suddenly became a lot easier . He no longer needed other capable, low ranking Hunters . Instead, anyone who answered the job boards would do .
‘With this, I’ve taken a step towards becoming a Guildmaster . ’
Jinwoo was also smiling .
‘I’ll solo all the C-rank Dungeons and quickly raise my levels . ’
The two men left the cafe with satisfied faces .
After bidding farewell to Yoo Jinho, Jinwoo quickly ran home . He didn’t know when the Association would come calling . It had been 10 days since he was discharged from hospital; it would not be strange for a Gate to appear in their vicinity soon . On average, the Association had gathered its Hunters two or three times throughout the month for a Raid . The reason he had initially allotted 1 hour to Yoo Jinho was because Jinwoo wanted to be back home as fast as possible .
‘Right now, even missing just one E-rank Dungeon would be regrettable . ’
He wanted to quickly raise his levels through magic beasts . To think that not having a phone would be this inconvenient . . . Thankfully, his new phone would be arriving in few days .
Jinwoo opened the door and headed inside .
“ . . . ”
The house was quiet . Since it was a weekday, his little sister was in school . Confirming that no one else was in the house, Jinwoo opened his daily quest window .
‘Time to grab today’s reward . ’
Jinwoo had already finished the daily quest before meeting with Yoo Jinho but did not receive the rewards yet . He wasn’t about to show off the light of status recovery or the appearance of a gift box out of nowhere in the middle of the street .
ring~
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Do 100 Push-ups: (Complete) (100/100) Do 100 Sit-ups: (Complete) (100/100) Do 100 Squats: (Complete) (100/100) Run 10 kilometers: (Complete) (11/10) |
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You’ve completed the ‘Daily Quest: The Preparation To Become Powerful’ |
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The reward for completing the quest has arrived . |
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Would you like to verify? (Y/N) |
“Ye----no . No . ”
He was about to verify the rewards out of habit but quickly stopped himself after noticing something . His eyes focused on the running part of the quest .
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Run 10 kilometers: (Complete) (11/10) |
Going over the 10 km requirement by 1 didn’t phase him much at first . But more he thought about it, it was strange .
‘Why would it keep recording after meeting the goal?’
His eyes narrowed . Was this a coincidence?
He got down on the ground and started performing push-ups in rapid succession, his gaze fixed on the quest screen .
ring~!
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You’ve succeeded in doing 1 push-up . |
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Do 100 Push-ups: (Complete) (111/100) |
ring~!
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You’ve succeeded in doing 1 push-up . |
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Do 100 Push-ups: (Complete) (112/100) |
‘As I thought…’
Running wasn’t the only category that was recording beyond the goal . The push-ups were also going above their required amount .
Jinwoo became curious just how high the numbers would go . His arms flexed, showing their veins . Thanks to his raised attributes, he could barely feel the weight of his body . It felt as light as feathers . The numbers quickly reached 200 .
ring~!
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You’ve succeeded in doing 1 push-up . |
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Do 100 Push-ups: (Complete) (200/100) |
ring~!
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You’ve succeeded in doing 1 push-up . |
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Do 100 Push-ups: (Complete) (200/100) |
The numbers stopped exactly at 200 . He tried few more times, but they did not go up . Soon, he had completed the sit-ups and squats to 200 as well .
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Do 100 Push-ups: (Complete) (200/100) Do 100 Sit-ups: (Complete) (200/100) Do 100 Squats: (Complete) (200/100) Run 10 kilometers: (Complete) (11/10) |
Exactly 200 . The tracker was not going up infinitely, nor was it stopping at 100 . There was something to this . What would be waiting for him when all of the overcaps were met?
‘Time to find out . ’
Jinwoo left the house faster than ever . The 9 km of running was completed in a blink of an eye . As he finished the run in front of his house, a message arrived .
ring~
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You’ve completed the ‘Hidden Quest: The Preparation To Become Powerful’ |
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The reward for completing the quest has arrived . |
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Would you like to verify? (Y/N) |
The name of the quest did not change, but the quest type had turned to “hidden” . His intuitions were correct . Jinwoo gulped .
‘ . . . Verify . ’
ring~
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You’ve received the below rewards . |
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Reward 1 . Status Recovery |
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Reward 2 . All stats +3 |
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Reward 3 . Select one:
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Accept all? |
‘Three points to every attribute!’
His eyes were wide open . As expected of a hidden quest, the rewards were amazing . Adding 3 points to every stat was the same thing as leveling up 3 times . No, in a way, it was even better . Gaining all these points without raising his levels would make leveling that much easier .
At the same time, he felt a twinge of sadness . Somewhere deep in him, there was hope that every daily quest going forward could be completed this way, but Jinwoo knew that this was probably a one time deal .
And if it was a one time deal, he would have to take great care with Reward 3 .
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Reward 3 . Select one:
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This was the first time he had to choose between different rewards . Selecting one would lose the other .
‘So I probably will never be able to see the other . ’
Just going by their names, it was clear which one he had to pick . But even that could be a trap .
“Accept Reward 3”
ring~
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You must choose between the two Random Boxes .
Which one will you choose? |
The explanations were simple . That made the decision even harder . If there was no explanation, he would’ve chose the blessed one without a thought . But after reading the explanation, it felt that he would regret the decision no matter which one he picked .
‘Something that I want vs . something that I need…’
At first glance, both sounded good to him .
‘But there is a trap here . ’
Something that he ‘wanted’ would be because it was needed . But something that he ‘needed’ might not necessarily be something that he wanted . For example, if he was in a situation where he needed a powerful weapon, a powerful bomb that could blow away everything including him might appear .
‘That seems fitting of something cursed . ’
Jinwoo decided to go with the less risky option . Not knowing the result yet, it was best to minimize the amount of regret involved . Feeling like he couldn’t be disappointed in something that he wanted, Jinwoo made a cold decision .
“Blessed Random Box . ”
A small box appeared at his feet .
Jinwoo picked it up .
‘Could it be…?’