Solo Leveling Chapter 85:
I Alone Level-up: Chapter 85
An E-rank Hunter volunteered to go into an A-rank Dungeon?!
It indeed stirred a commotion amongst the Hunters .
“The high-level magic beasts are waiting in there!”
“Sung-ssi, what are you thinking?!”
“You’re still young, don’t throw away your life for some money!”
The members of the mining team swarmed him, trying to change his mind . Team Leader Bae explained to Son Gihoon,
“Oh no, that fellow just started working here . He must’ve raised his hand without knowing anything . ”
“What is his rank?”
“That’s…”
The team leader glanced at Jinwoo and whispered,
“He’s an E-ranker . His rank is too low, why don’t you take someone else? Taking that fellow is too dangerous . ”
Son Gihoon’s expression became serious .
‘That man… is an E-ranker?’
The man who had met his eyes earlier . Certainly, the A-ranker did not detect any strong magic power coming from him . But what was it? The man had . . . an unexplainable and dangerous aura about him .
‘He didn’t feel like an E-ranker . ’
In any glance, he did not look like the lowest-ranking Hunter . Of course, Son Gihoon didn’t think that Team Leader Bae was lying, but he could not shake his instinct .
‘Still, the porter’s rank doesn’t matter . ’
All the porter had to do was carry the baggage . If the porter placed at the rear of the raiding party was in danger, the Raid would’ve already failed . If it got to a situation where an A-ranker’s life was in danger, what did it matter if the porter was C-rank or E-rank? They’ll all die just the same . However, Son Gihoon could not think beyond that . The time was running out . He looked at Jinwoo and spoke,
“No, we’ll take that man . ”
“Is it too heavy?”
Son Gihoon asked . Jinwoo shook his head,
“I’m alright . ”
The bag on the E-ranker’s back contained the raiding party’s clothes, weapons and defensive gears . The size was quite large, but to Jinwoo, it did not feel heavy at all . It was the power of his Strength stat .
‘He doesn’t look like he’s struggling . ’
Son Gihoon looked over Jinwoo’s expression then turned towards the Gate . Jinwoo also turned his head . In front of them, a Gate as large as yesterday’s floated in the air .
‘Wait, is this one bigger?’
However, they said the magic power seeping out today’s Gate was smaller than yesterday’s . Since the Raid’s difficulty was determined by the magic power and not the size of the Gate, the secondary raiding party was deployed here .
‘Huh… the magic power coming out is pitiful compared to yesterday’s . ’
In front of the Gate, Jinwoo was assured . It seemed that the Association’s measurements were not off .
But what was this feeling? Just like in front of the Red Gate, the E-rank Hunter felt a strange sense of dread .
‘ . . . I’m just imagining it, right?’
Son Gihoon gave the order,
“Let us go . ”
The members of the raiding party that had been waiting near the Gate all started to move as one . One by one, the Hunters entered the Dungeon .
‘ . . . ’
Watching them, Jinwoo followed behind .
|
You have entered the Dungeon . |
The insides were rather plain . Having entered with his nerves on edge, Jinwoo relaxed once he came across a tunnel far smaller than yesterday’s .
‘Phew-’
Thankfully, they were not transported to another world . Well, the composition of the party might be able to clear a Red Gate .
11 A-rankers and 6 B-rankers .
Like Team Leader Bae said, in any other Guild, this party would have never been the secondary raiding party . Jinwoo smiled,
‘I’m not even part of the raiding party, let’s relax . ’
Yesterday and today . In a way, he was just here to play around . Only difference today was that he would be able to witness more things . There was no need to be on edge . With that in mind, his heart relaxed a bit .
“Don’t be so nervous . ”
From his side, a female Healer-class Hunter struck up a conversation . She looked like she was in her late 20s? It seemed that she had noticed his hardened expression and wanted to cheer him up a bit .
“Gihoon oppa, I mean, the Raid Leader and everyone here are experienced Hunters . Well, except for me . ”
A brightly smiling Healer . From the start, there was nothing like fear in Jinwoo’s heart, but at her carefree expression, his sharpened nerves emptied from his heart like someone popped a balloon with a needle . Jinwoo held back a laughter and nodded,
“Ah, okay . ”
As if satisfied by her work, the Healer put on a proud expression .
Meanwhile, having confirmed that there were no magic beasts near the entrance, a signal was given to move forward .
“Let’s move . ”
Jinwoo and the Healer matched the pace of the raiding party and walked slowly . Because they were taking care of their surroundings, the movement of the party was slow .
“If it’s heavy, could I help out a bit?”
The Healer asked after glancing at the baggage Jinwoo was carrying . Without a word, he held out a water tank in his left hand . The woman took it and immediately faltered at its weight .
“Ahhh!!!”
Jinwoo quickly grabbed the water tank from the Healer who was about to lose her balance . The entire party halted and stared at the Healer .
“I’m sorry . I’m sorry . ”
The Healer bowed her head left and right . Of course, she did not offer to help again . Instead, she glared at him every once in a while . Jinwoo swallowed a laughter and feigned ignorance . It’s been a long time since he felt like laughing in a Dungeon .
‘It’s dangerous to get distracted . ’
Especially in his recent Raids . When he thought back on the difficulty of the Demon Castle, he shuddered . However, today was different . It felt nice to tag along as a nobody in a Raid like this .
Suddenly, Jinwoo stopped . Noticing what the E-ranker noticed a beat later than he did, the raiding party also stopped .
“Here they come!”
Before even Son Gihoon finished giving the order, the entire party got into defensive positions . It was in a blink of an eye . Jinwoo was amazed,
‘So this is the Raid of high-ranking Hunters…’
It was in a completely different level than the raiding parties he had seen in the past . Even the naive-looking female Healer also was in a utmost ready stance, a clear light coming from her hands .
‘Looks like I won’t have a chance to step up . ’
Jinwoo rid himself of the worry and at the same time was disappointed .
Anyways, the magic beasts arrived .
Beast? Dog?
Son Gihoon’s eyes narrowed .
da da da da da da da da
A group of magic beasts that looked like hyenas ran towards the group . Each of them was a size of a midsize car . Son Gihoon tilted his head,
‘Dungeon Jackals?’
As they neared, he became sure . They were Dungeon Jackals . Son Gihoon relaxed his tensed form that held out a shield . The man slammed his shield down on a Dungeon Jackal that leaped toward his neck .
whimper!
“The hell?”
“Dungeon Jackals?”
The members of the party that had been maintaining a tense stance also relaxed and tilted their heads . Soon, the cry of Dungeon Jackals filled the cave .
whimper!
yelp!
whimp-
The magic beasts were routed in no time . The dozen or so jackals were quickly turned to corpses . The Hunters dusted off their hands in confusion .
“What was that?”
“I didn’t even have time to finish casting my spell . ”
“Why would Dungeon Jackals come out of an A-rank Dungeon?”
“Right?”
“Did the Association **** up again?”
Their voices were raised . It was a cardinal rule in Dungeons not to raise your voice . The appearance of the Dungeon Jackals were shocking enough to make the Hunters forget that rule .
“Hmm…”
Son Gihoon looked over the jackals’ corpses and scratched his temple .
‘Why would magic beasts from a C-rank Dungeon come out here?’
The Tanker looked around in disbelief . Everyone had similar expressions . Except one man .
Jinwoo was looking at the corpses of the jackals with an uneasy expression .
‘They’re not normal jackals . ’
His eyes narrowed . He looked over the traces of matted furs around the jackals’ necks . It was evidence that they were **** somewhere .
‘That means there’s something else here that raised these things…’
Magic beasts with intelligence . Jinwoo recalled the White Walkers from the Red Gate . No matter what race they belonged to, magic beasts with intelligence were a difficult enemy .
‘That feeling I had… might be right after all . ’
It was not a good omen .
“What are you looking at so seriously?”
The female Healer came up to him and stared blankly at the corpse .
“Shh!”
Jinwoo held up a finger .
step step
step step
He heard footsteps coming this way from deeper into the cave .
‘The real thing is coming . ’
Jinwoo got up . Meanwhile, the other Hunters also realized something was wrong .
“Oh my god…”
“P-prepare for battle!”
Son Gihoon squeezed out an order . Finally, from the darkness of the cave, the real enemy appeared . The eyes of the Hunters widened .
“High orcs?”
“Of all the magic beasts, why high orcs?!”
The high orc warriors that looked battle-hardened were standing in a formation . There was 22 of them . Even if it was just normal high orcs, 22 of them would’ve been a difficult enemy . But these were high orc warriors .
“Something… something went wrong . ”
Someone uttered . To think that the low-level magic beasts would be followed by high-level magic beasts that were known for their strength among the high-level magic beasts .
Clack! Clack!
The long spears of the high orcs pointed towards the Hunters .
‘The Hunters and the high orcs are about evenly matched . ’
Jinwoo evacuated to a corner . He planned to quietly observe the situation and look for the timing where he had to step up . The female Healer mistook his intentions,
“Stay there and hide so you don’t get hurt!”
For some reason… that was a bit infuriating . Jinwoo closed his eyes and took deep breaths to try and calm his anger .
Soon, the battle began .
“Kuaaaaaah!”
At the approaching high orcs, Son Gihoon used a wide area taunting skill . However, the high orcs were not so easily provoked . Soon, the Fighter-class Hunters and the high orcs clashed .
slash!
stab!
crack!
Blood spilled everywhere, followed by screams .
“Euaaaak!”
The completed spells of the Mage-class Hunters fell upon the high orcs .
Bang! Boom!
The high orcs struck by ‘Arrow of Light’ lost their heads . However, the spells did not shoot out repeatedly . While the magic’s effects were strong, it had a drawback of having casting times .
“Ahhhhh!”
The high orcs were starting to win the melee .
“Heal! Heal!”
“H-hurry!”
The number of injured increased, and the Healers became busy .
“H-healer-nim!”
The female Healer was also running left and right .
“I’m on my way! I’m on my way!”
She knelt down next to a Hunter that had lost an arm and uttered incantations .
wooooong-
With a bright light, the Hunter’s arm began to regenerate . It was the power of healing afforded by an A-rank Healer’s powers . But while she was focused on her patient, a large shadow fell over her . The Healer raised her head . A high orc that she had thought was dead was standing over her with an axe in hand .
“Ah…”
The Healer’s face turned white . Unfortunately, there were no allies nearby . When the orc raised its axe, instead of running away, the Healer covered her patient with her body .
“No!”
She held her head down, waiting for the blow to come . However, no matter how long she waited, she did not feel any pain . In a moment where a single second felt like a minute, the Healer raised her head slightly . An incredible sight was before her .
“Ku . . . Kwek…”
The high orc was floating in the air, flailing its limbs .
“What…?”
What was happening? The Healer opened her eyes wide .
Suddenly,
cruuuunch
The high orc’s head separated from its body, pulling up its spine with it . It was an incredible display of power .
thud
‘ . . . ?’
Looking at the high orc’s body that collapsed to the ground, the Healer looked completely dumbfounded .
“Huh…?”
The high orc’s head was still floating in the air .
‘ . . . Bleh, I got blood on me . ’
Jinwoo scrunched his face and threw the high orc’s head .
SMACK!
Another high orc was struck by his comrade’s head and fell to the ground . Its neck twisted in a grotesque way, it was not going to be getting up anytime soon .
‘Two down . ’
Jinwoo turned his gaze . He was currently in ‘Stealth’ . Neither the high orcs nor the Hunters could see him in this state .
The man had worried about stepping up and getting scolded by the Hunters, but then found a solution in his ‘Stealth’ skill . With this, he would be able to do whatever he wanted . The corners of his mouth rose .
‘Shall I get started?’
In that moment,
“Uwaaah!”
He saw the Raid Leader, Son Gihoon, fighting with three high orcs at once .
Jinwoo’s legs moved with incredible speed .