Solo Leveling Chapter 47:

I Alone Level-up: Chapter 47

 

Was it because of the restrictions?

 

The drop rate was good .  He had only taken down three knights, but two of them dropped an item .  It was a drop rate of 66 . 6% . He had not seen a rate like this anywhere else before .  On top of that, most of the items dropped in Instant Dungeons were trash that were sold to the shop .  This was not the case here .

 

You’ve found a “High-level Knight’s Breastplate” [1]

Would you like to acquire it?

 

‘Of course I would . ’

 

The breastplate of the first knight Jinwoo took out slowly disappeared then reappeared in front of his feet .

 

thud

 

The equipment’s information popped up .

 

High-level Knight’s Breastplate

Rarity: B   Type: Armor   Physical Damage Reduction +7%   (If your strength is below 80, your movements will be slowed . )

 

7% physical damage reduction! Combined with his natural buff, he could increase his damage reduction to a total of 27% .

 

‘If I reach a 100%, do I just become immune to physical damage?’

 

He dismissed the thought after realizing that a B-rank equipment only gave 7% .  If the pattern stuck, an A-rank equipment would probably not give 30% or 40% reduction, so reaching 100% would be impossible .

 

‘Still, every little bit counts . ’

 

Gathering the boosts bit by bit would have a great impact down the line .  He remembered the effectiveness of good equipment the first time he saw Yoo Jinho .

 

‘So I just do this, right?’

 

He held up the breastplate .  As expected, the System asked him with a message,

 

Would you like to equip the “High-level Knight’s Breastplate”?

 

Just looking at the armor, it was not something he wanted to be seen walking around in .  If it wasn’t for his experiences with “Gatekeeper’s Necklace”, he would’ve been a lot more hesitant . . .

 

‘Yes . ’

 

ring~

 

The “High-level Knight’s Breastplate” has been equipped .

 

The breastplate was invisible to the eye .  Jinwoo opened up his status screen to confirm the benefits .

 

Physical Damage Reduction: 27%

 

‘The reduction increased . ’

 

He felt his chest; he did not feel anything there .  He twisted and stretched his body but did not feel the armor hinder him .  It was almost as if it wasn’t there . It was the same as the time he equipped the Gatekeeper’s Necklace .

 

‘Good . ’

 

Jinwoo turned his gaze to the other knight, crumpled up in a corner .  Its crushed form sparked with the light of a drop .

 

You’ve found a “Leather Pouch”

Would you like to acquire it?

 

Although it was his handiwork, he felt a little bad at its mangled body .  It seemed that he could not control his strength when using his bare hands in a fight .

 

“ . . . ”

 

With a solemn expression, he stretched a hand to the light,

 

‘Acquire . ’

 

You’ve opened the leather pouch .

There was 30,000 gold inside .

You’ve acquired 30,000 gold .

 

‘Huh?’

 

Without even appearing in his hands, the leather pouch was just opened .  It appeared that this was a little different than the other items . He opened his inventory and confirmed that he had received the 30,000 gold .

 

Current Gold: 863,400

 

‘Thirty thousand in one go, eh?’

 

Was it because knights normally carried that much? He remembered that in video games, humanoid monsters often dropped more items than others .  Well, it made sense that humans carried more things than beasts or bugs . Not that it was certain the System was copying all of that . Still, this was good news .  There were still many things he wanted to buy with gold, and it would be good if gold kept dropping this way .

 

‘Anything else I could take?’

 

They say there was no end to man’s greed .  Jinwoo looked around with greedy eyes . The knights’ armors were all crushed by his hands and did not look usable… His gaze fell upon their swords .

 

‘That looks usable . ’

 

A clean longsword that looked new .  Since it was not a dagger, he didn’t plan on using it, but he could probably sell in the shop or to other Hunters .  Jinwoo picked up the sword . However, the moment he raised the weapon, it rapidly rusted then turned to dust in his hands .

 

“Shit…”

 

It happened in a blink of an eye .

 

‘It won’t let me obtain anything if it’s not a drop?’

 

Regrettable, but there was nothing he could do .  He clapped his hands and picked up the torch he had dropped earlier .

 

Turning around the corner to where the knights had come from, he saw yet another deep, dark tunnel .

 

“ . . . ”

 

It seemed that there was still a long way to go . . .

 

 

 

It was funny, but it almost seemed like he had to study the encounters like a test .  After 2 hours of wandering the Dungeon, he had come across 4 types of monsters:

 

Knights, Mages, Assassins and Archers .

 

“Is it ‘Stealth’ this time?”

 

The assassin had disappeared before his eyes .  Without panicking, Jinwoo immediately focused his senses and detected the enemy approaching from his back .

 

clang!

 

Jinwoo parried the assassin’s dagger with Casaka’s Poisoned Fang, then quickly counterattacked after it fell off his balance .  His dagger found its way straight into the enemy’s chest .

 

stab!

 

You’ve defeated the Assassin .

 

You’ve leveled up!

 

After receiving a fatal blow, the assassin turned into black smoke without so much as a scream .  

 

thud

 

All that was left in its place was the leather armor it was wearing .

 

‘I wonder why they’re all humanoid . ’

 

Jinwoo thought this every time he defeated one of them .  Thankfully, he did not get to see their faces when they fought .  The knights had their helmets, the assassins and archers their leather hoods, and the mages covered their heads with the hood of their robes .

 

Jinwoo turned to continue on his path .

 

Suddenly, a flash blinded his vision .  A mage that hid its presence had completed casting its light-element spell .

 

Bang!

 

It was an explosion that pierced the ears!

 

But Jinwoo had already moved behind the mage .

 

“ . . . !”

 

The mage detected a presence behind it and quickly began to cast a spell, but Jinwoo had already brought down his dagger down upon it .  The mage disappeared with a black smoke .

 

thud

 

Jinwoo stared at the robe that lost its owner and put away his dagger .

 

‘I was hit by an attack like that before, you see . ’

 

In fact, he was already preparing to move when he felt the collection of mana from a distance .  Jo Gyuhwan’s light-element magic . Jinwoo was not as naive as to be struck by an attack he was hit with before .  This was the meaning of studying the encounters .

 

‘Not only that . ’

 

Each of the monsters needed a specific stat to deal with .

 

Knights with strength, assassins with sense, archers with agility and mages with constitution .

 

If the appropriate stat was not above a certain level, dealing with the corresponding enemy would’ve been very difficult .  With a low strength, he wouldn’t have been able to damage the armor of the knight; with a low sense, he wouldn’t have been able to detect the assassin .

 

‘Looks like distributing my stats evenly was helpful for situations like this’

 

Well, his intelligence was a bit low, but that could be dealt with by managing his mana carefully .

 

You’ve opened the leather pouch .

There was 20,000 gold and a “canteen with warm water” inside .

You’ve acquired 20,000 gold and a “canteen with warm water” .

 

Jinwoo opened his inventory and took out the canteen and drank from it .

 

“Whew-”

 

Fatigue was piling up .  

 

‘How much longer do I have to go?’

 

No, was there even an end?

 

Jinwoo dropped the empty canteen and stood with his hands on his hip .  It’s been 3 hours since he had started the quest . Both his body and mind were becoming tired .

 

‘ . . . Should I rest for a bit?’

 

He sat down with his back against the cave wall .

 

‘Status screen . ’

 

ring~

 

Fatigue: 66

 

His fatigue had almost reached a dangerous point .  Above 70, it would have a noticeable debuff on his body and mind .  Even for a moment, he had to rest his eyes and recover his stamina .  Jinwoo rested his head against the wall and quickly began to doze off .  Even in this environment, he was so tired that he would fall asleep in a moment .  Unfortunately…

 

thwip-!

 

A sharp sound flew across the air! With his agility stat slowing down the world, Jinwoo was able to grab the arrow that was flying towards him .

 

grab!

 

The Hunter’s eyes shot open .  At a distance, the archer was preparing its next shot .

 

‘Won’t let me even sleep, huh . ’

 

Jinwoo summoned Casaka’s Poisoned Fang as he got up .

 

 

 

crack!

 

The breastplate caved in at Jinwoo’s punch, and the knight struck the wall .  Its body slid down the wall, sprawled out on the ground and stopped moving .

 

ring~

 

You’ve defeated the Knight .

 

You’ve leveled up!

 

It was unfortunate that it was not accompanied by a status recovery, but Jinwoo was still steadily leveling up through the battles .  It was a small consolation amidst the piling up fatigue . The man stared at his slightly scratched knuckles and clicked his tongue . It would be nice if he could just rest for a little bit, but the monsters did not give him any room to breathe .  Thankfully, they did drop a lot of items .

 

Equipment [2] Gatekeeper’s Necklace (A) High-level Knight’s Breastplate (B) Mid-level Assassin’s Shoes (B) Low-level Archer’s Gloves (C) High-level Mage’s Ring (B)

 

Other than what he had equipped, there were several items that he put away in his inventory as well .

 

‘Wish they dropped a usable weapon . ’

 

Unfortunately, the daggers dropped by the assassins, while having a similar attack power as Casaka’s Poisoned Fang, did not have any special effects so could not be considered an upgrade .

 

‘Alright, what’ve you got?’

 

Jinwoo stretched a hand toward the light from the fallen knight .

 

ring~

 

High-level Knight’s Gauntlet

Rarity: B   Type: Armor   Physical Damage Reduction +3%   Additional effect: Protects the hands from injury   (If your strength is below 80, your movement will be slowed . )

 

‘Oooh . ’

 

Jinwoo obtained the gauntlets with a happy expression and equipped them .  Just like the other equipment, the gauntlets did not show their form and did not impede his fingers .

 

‘Good . ’

 

After moving his fingers around, Jinwoo raised his head .

 

Ahead of the tunnel, the torches that lined the wall finally ended .  At their end was a giant door . Jinwoo remembered the entrance of the underground temple from back then .  His party was not prepared and met a tragic fate through the doors .

 

It would be different this time .

 

Jinwoo looked back on the path that he had walked so far .

 

‘It’s been six hours since I came in here…’

 

His level had reached 45, and he had picked up a lot of new equipment .

 

He was prepared .

 

He wanted to rest for a bit and recover his stamina, but he knew that it would just summon more monsters that would interrupt his sleep .  He could not afford to increase his fatigue any more through such encounters .

 

HP: 4,511 / 8,330 MP: 660 / 790 Fatigue: 43

 

‘I have to win with just this . ’

 

After performing a final check on his status, Jinwoo grabbed the handles of the door .

 

guoooooooo-!

 

As if moved by some unknown mechanism, the doors opened apart easily .

 

Translator’s Notes:

[1]: “High-level Knight’s Breastplate” (상급 기사의 흉갑): “advanced/high level” 상급 + “knight” 기사 + “breastplate” 흉갑

[2]: All pretty literal and straight forward .  The equipment are divided into 3 tiers, high-level, mid-level and low-level (상급, 중급, 하급) .