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Solo Leveling Novel Chapter 17 Average 5 / 5 out of 1
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Summary
Part 4. Rank B Kahng Tae-Sik
Kahng Tae-Sik felt like someone had hit him in the back of his head.
A b*stard that displayed the movement equal to his own speed, which was unmatched within the rank B, introduced himself as a measly rank E just now.
‘Is he trying to make fun of me?’
Kahng Tae-Sik gnashed his teeth.
‘No, hang on….’
Indeed, there was something odd here.
‘If he’s really a high-rank Hunter, there is no reason for him to be here, isn’t it?’
The jobs these bottom-feeder Association Hunters did were quite obvious. Their main role was to clear those Gates that Guilds and freelancers gave up on because of their low monetary values.
Their earnings were pathetically small compared to other Hunters, and they were not widely acknowledged by other Hunters, either. In other words, there was a very good chance that this b*stard really was an E-rank.
Only that, his abilities were anything but.
‘Still, a fake registrant wouldn’t brazenly work under the Association like this, so…’
Kahng Tae-Sik eventually arrived at the only logical conclusion.
‘….He’s a Re-Awakened.’
When he thought about it, he remembered the upper echelons of the Association getting a bit noisier with a rumour of someone going through a Re-Awakening somewhere nearby this location.
‘And, that person was supposedly a Hunter affiliated with the Association….’
He should’ve memorised that name back then.
As that matter happened only a couple of weeks ago, if this b*stard had been delaying getting a re-assignment test for some reason until now, it was very much possible for him to remain as an E-rank and assist the Association with their work.
Who could’ve guessed that such a guy would show up today?
Kahng Tae-Sik had made sure to perform thorough background checks on the Hunters participating in today’s raid, but he had missed the existence of this one.
‘I really have terrible luck, don’t I?’
That’s the only conclusion he could arrive at.
‘I should’ve asked for more money, if things turned out this way….’
Kahng Tae-Sik recalled the events of a few days ago while licking his dried lips.
***
A few days ago….
A cafe near the headquarters of the Association.
Kahng Tae-Sik asked the moment he settled down in his seat.
“What business do you have with me?”
The middle-aged man sitting his opposite side seemed rather haggard for some reason.
‘He said that he’s an owner of some company, didn’t he?’
Kahng Tae-Sik definitely did not know who this man was. However, he still decided to free up some time after this man continued to call him on the phone, sounding quite desperate and all.
The middle-aged man muttered as if he was speaking to himself.
“I’ve heard that no one knows what happens exactly inside dungeons.”
The man’s voice was so soft that Kahng Tae-Sik had to ask again.
“What did you say?”
“This is every cent I have in my name.’
The man suddenly presented his bank account book.
Kahng Tae-Sik alternated his gaze between the book and the man’s face, before confirming the bank balance printed on the book’s pages.
There was a substantial amount of ?2,000,000,000 printed there.
“And why are you showing me this?”
When Kahng Tae-Sik formed a questioning expression, the middle-aged man’s head dropped lower.
“Among the criminals you’re in charge of, there is one who had hurt my little girl. Because of that, she took her own life, and my wife is still in the hospital from the shock.”
The middle-aged man’s voice became tearful.
“Yet, such a b*stard will be able to roam the streets again in a few years’ time…. You think I’ll be able to rest easy knowing that?”
The man raised his sorrow and rage-filled face.
“I’m sure you can already tell what I’m implying here.”
The man lowered his head again.
“I beg of you, Hunter-nim!!”
A deafening silence descended between these two men.
Kahng Tae-Sik leaned against the back of his chair and fell into a deep contemplation.
Only after a long while passed by did he open his mouth again.
“Can you guess why I chose to work for the Association’s Monitoring Division?”
“Pardon me?”
The middle-aged man raised his head.
Kahng Tae-Sik explained himself.
“As a B-rank Hunter, I’m considered as one of the higher ranked Hunters. Large Guilds continue to send their scouting offers in my direction all the time. Yet, can you guess why I persist in doing this job while getting a pittance in return?”
“I… I don’t know.”
The corners of Kahng Tae-Sik’s lips arched up.
“You see, I… I find it more enjoyable to fight against people rather than monsters.”
In that sense, the Monitoring Division was like the heaven-sent job for Kahng Tae-Sik.
Well, he could beat up other Hunters in the name of the law, after all. And he’d end up killing one or two due to unavoidable circumstances, too.
‘Due to unavoidable circumstances….. Eh.’
Kahng Tae-Sik inwardly smiled and spoke.
“Stepping on that insect you told me about isn’t going to be difficult at all. However, there will be other Hunters inside the dungeon besides the insect, as well. I might view that b*stard as an insect, but will other Hunters think that way, I wonder?”
The middle-aged man formed a disappointed expression after hearing Kahng Tae-Sik’s rather pessimistic-sounding words.
And here he was, thinking that he’d finally get to avenge the death of his little girl. It felt like the heavens were crashing down on top of him.
However, Kahng Tae-Sik formed a sinister smile as if to mock the other man.
“This money, plus one billion Won on top of that, to deal with the other Hunters as well. Can you do it?”
***
However, if a Re-Awakened Hunter was among those ‘other Hunters’, then the amount of 3 billion Won was not quite enough. Well, his own life was on the line, after all.
The self-proclaimed rank E Hunter was still emitting a sharp, observant air even now. He looked as if he’d seize any slight opening there was.
Kahng Tae-Sik swallowed his saliva.
‘I can’t take him lightly.’
Kahng Tae-Sik was confident of winning here. He had never lost a single one-on-one fight even before he underwent the Awakening process.
However, even though he could win, it would not be an easy victory at all.
Right now, he had to revise his plans ever so slightly.
With a nice timing, the rank E Hunters asked a question.
“Those convicts… Why did you kill them?”
“The father of a girl who was raped by those b*stards came to ask me for the favour. Those b*stards were animals worthy of getting killed. And I simply took care of animals that hurt other people, that was all.”
The rank E Hunter was listening without saying anything. It seemed quite likely that talking might work here. Kahng Tae-Sik went straight to persuading the other man.
“Although the matter had come down to this, I don’t wish to hurt you. How about ignoring today’s matter altogether? As long as we make this deal here, I promise I won’t try anything to you and your group.”
Of course, he couldn’t let a potential source of trouble fester.
That was why Kahng Tae-Sik was thinking. There was a chance that a head-on fight would result in him getting badly injured, so he’d get out of here first, wait for an opportune moment, and dispose of all the witnesses one at the time.
However, the rank E Hunter snorted derisively.
“You should’ve said those things before you tried your little tricks. You want us to ignore everything just because you failed your sneak attack?”
That man didn’t say anything wrong there.
Kahng Tae-Sik smirked in dumbfoundedness.
‘In the end, you want to have a go, is that it?’
Well, in that case, he’d have to go all out, then.
The light shimmering in Kahng Tae-Sik’s eyes became colder. His sharp glare quickly swept across the rank E Hunter top to bottom. And his forehead creased up for a second.
‘Where did he get his dagger from?’
Since before he had noticed it, the E-rank Hunter was holding a dagger.
‘Well… It shouldn’t be too important, is it?’
It didn’t matter where that weapon came from, indeed. What’s important here, though, was the type of the weapon.
Kahng Tae-Sik’s quickly concluded his assessment.
The class that used daggers and utilised quick movements; his opponent was a super-close type damage dealer.
Most likely, his speciality was ‘assassination’.
What a coincidence that their specialities happened to be the same.
However, this guy only underwent his Re-Awakening not too long ago. The difference in experience should be absolutely massive. He might not even be able to properly utilise the skills at his disposal.
“Let me teach you a thing or two as your senior.”
Kahng Tae-Sik extracted a knife from his hips and smirked derisively at the rank E Hunter.
“Can you do something like this?”
And then, Kahng Tae-Sik activated his ‘Stealth’ skill, thereby disappearing from the spot.
That caused the rank E Hunter to get flustered and he hurriedly looked around his vicinity. Kahng Tae-Sik could see his naked panic and confusion quite clearly.
‘But, that’s so obvious.’
The ‘Stealth’ skill didn’t only make one’s body go transparent.
The body, the sound, and even the smell!
The skill that cloaked everything about the person activating it!
That was the ‘Stealth’ skill in a nutshell.
There were only a handful of assassin-type Hunters who could use this skill in the entire world.
Utterly unrelated to one’s ranks, you just had to be a lucky few who unlocked this skill when going through the Awakening process.
‘Let’s end this in one hit!’
Kahng Tae-Sik swiftly moved to the rear of the E-rank Hunter. His back was wide open, unguarded.
‘This is the end.’
He was expecting to engage in a bitter battle, but it turned out to be a rather simple fight in the end. If the opponent was getting ready to counter the Stealth skill, then it’d not be this easy at all.
As expected, the difference in experience decided the victor today.
‘Die!’
Kang Tae-Sik’s knife aimed at the spot just below the E-rank Hunter’s ribs and powerfully stabbed forward.
However!!
Clang!!
Two daggers collided in the air and sparks flew off.
With his Stealth skill deactivated, one could now see Kahng Tae-Sik’s wide open eyes.
“What?! But how!!”
The E-rank Hunter’s dagger had accurately blocked off his own dagger.
Unable to hide his shock, Kahng Tae-Sik raised his eyes and looked up at the E-rank Hunter’s face.
And that Hunter opened his mouth with a totally unimpressed face.
“Oh, so now you decide to pop up.”
“Wha-what did you say?”
Unable to understand the words of this rank E Hunter, Kahng Tae-Sik suddenly felt this inexplicable fear in his heart.
***
Tti-ring!
[Emergency Quest: Kill all the enemies!]
There are lifeforms holding murderous intentions towards the ‘Player’. Kill them all in order to secure your own safety. If you do not follow this instruction, a corresponding penalty will be given.
The number of enemies left to kill: 1
The number of killed enemies: 0
Jin-Woo confirmed the Emergency Quest message and breathed a sigh of relief.
‘It wasn’t a waste of time.’
He was kinda worried, that if Kahng Tae-Sik didn’t take the initiative, Jin-Woo wouldn’t receive the Emergency Quest notification. It was quite unlike how it was with Hwang Dong-Seok and his gang back then.
That was why he tested the System out, and it was as he expected.
The moment Kahng Tae-Sik revealed his murderous intent, the message popped up.
He wasn’t just mindlessly chatting with the guy, or revealing his ‘panic’, or showing off openings for nothing until now.
‘I really didn’t know he could use Stealth, though….’
Actually, when Kahng Tae-Sik did disappear in front of his eyes, Jin-Woo was slightly taken aback.
Well, ‘Stealth’ was a pretty rare skill, after all.
But, when he concentrated a bit harder, he easily and accurately sensed Kahng Tae-Sik’s every movement. So much so that he could close his eyes and still find his target with no problem.
This was the effect of his enhanced Perception Stat.
He continued to invest on this Stat just so he could tell whether he should fight or flight, but today, he learned of a new use for it.
‘I got lucky.’
Thanks to that, Kahng Tae-Sik was getting shocked out of his mind as if he had seen the ghosts of his ancestors.
“But, how?!”
And now, when Jin-Woo takes care of this murdering b*stard, he’d be able to enjoy the quest’s delicious rewards.
‘If I’m going to fight anyway, then I might as well get everything I’m supposed to, no?’
It was his turn now.
From now on, he’d start attacking for real.
The two daggers locked in a deadly embrace continued to push against each other.
It seemed that their strength was about the same.
It was here when Jin-Woo’s eyes gleamed dangerously.
‘In that case, should I find an opening somewhere else?’
Jin-Woo’s leg moved in an instant, and he stomped on Kahng Tae-Sik’s foot.
STOMP!!
“Uwaahk?!”
Kahng Tae-Sik had been paying attention only to the daggers, so he got really stunned by the pain shooting up from his foot, causing him to hurriedly step back.
Jin-Woo didn’t miss this opportunity.
‘Dash!’
[‘Skill: Dash’ has been activated.]
[Your movement speed has increased by 30%. One Mana will be spent every minute during its activation.]
Jin-Woo rapidly got closer to his target.
Kahng Tae-Sik’s eyes grew wider still.
‘He got faster?!’
Jin-Woo had been displaying an already high level of agile movements, but now that he had gotten even faster, Kahng Tae-Sik found it quite disorientating.
Jin-Woo closed the distance in the blink of an eye and sank his Poison Fang of Kasaka down on Kahng Tae-Sik’s thigh.
“Kuwahhhk!!”
He aimed there precisely because Kahng Tae-Sik was focused on defending his upper body only.
[‘Effect: Paralysis’ has been activated.]
[The effect has been cancelled due to the high resistance of the target.]
[‘Effect: Bleeding’ has been activated.]
[The target’s stamina will decrease by 1% per second.]
‘Nice!’
The added effects of the Kasaka dagger kicked in as well. It was a bit regretful that the ‘Paralysis’ didn’t work, but still, this fight had become just a tad easier now.
However, Kahng Tae-Sik was a high-ranked Hunter himself! So, his resistance was nothing to scoff about. His dagger aimed at Jin-Woo’s vitals and continued to fly in.
Swish, swish!
Jin-Woo evaded the blade with only a hair’s breadth and also attacked Kahng Tae-Sik’s vital spots.
Even though his thigh was badly damaged, Kahng Tae-Sik calmly defended against Jin-Woo’s attacks, as befitting an experienced Hunter.
Clang! Cling!
Cold sweat drops formed on the foreheads of both men.
‘Our speeds are about the same!’
‘We’re moving at the same speed!’
Two men were inwardly admiring each other’s agile movements and continued to clash in a dazzling display of super-close proximity knife fighting.
Several powerful attacks, each one capable of ending this fight if hit, were exchanged without rest.
Swish, swish, swiiish, swish, swish, swish!!
It was a truly scary and gripping battle that caused the onlooker’s blood to go cold.
‘I gotta break this stalemate somehow.’
Jin-Woo gathered strength in his eyes.
[‘Skill: Intimidation’ has been activated.]
The moment his eyes met Jin-Woo’s, Kahng Tae-Sik flinched slightly for some reason.
‘What was that?’
[‘Effect: Fear’ has been activated.]
[The target’s (All) Stats will decrease by 50% for one minute.]
‘It worked!’
Jin-Woo knew that he had won now.
On the other hand, a small earthquake erupted in Kahng Tae-Sik’s eyes.
‘How come my body is…..?’
After he had met Jin-Woo’s gaze, his body felt as heavy as if he was floundering in deep water or some such. His trusty speed began decreasing as well.
Swish! Swiiish!!
Wounds on Kahng Tae-Sik’s body increased quickly one by one.
‘This, this isn’t possible!’
Kahng Tae-Sik’s thoughts became confused and messy.
This was, without a doubt, a debuffing effect. But, he had never, ever heard of a case where an assassin class was able to use a debuff magic.
‘Assassination was not his speciality, then?’
If that was the case, then what was up with his crazy speed?
However, Kahng Tae-Sik had stopped his train of thoughts there. His confusion had rapidly morphed into panic, instead. Because… he had spotted Jin-Woo abruptly rushing in closer.
Kahng Tae-Sik hurriedly took aim at Jin-Woo’s eyes.
Swish!!
Jin-Woo quickly tilted his head out of the way, but the dagger still managed to graze his cheek.
Of course, he knew he’d get hurt, at least by this much, or even worse. In order to get that decisive strike in, he decided to take the risk.
Kahng Tae-Sik’s expression crumpled.
‘F*ck.’
Jin-Woo succeeded in getting close to Kahng Tae-Sik’s chest and stabbed down on the latter with the Poison Fang of Kasaka.
Stab.
“Keo-heok!!”
Kahng Tae-Sik’s eyes shot open wider.
Both men knew right away at that moment. The victor had been truly decided with that one move.
Crimson-red blood pooled in Kahng Tae-Sik’s mouth. It was gushing up from his chest. As blood leaked out from the side of his lips, Kahng Tae-Sik formed a smirk.
To actually run into a Re-Awakened Hunter inside a lowly rank D dungeon….
‘Me and my seriously rotten…..’
The dagger in Kahng Tae-Sik’s hand fell to the floor.
He continued to pant heavily as he leaned his head closer and whispered something in Jin-Woo’s ear.
“…..”
Jin-Woo silently listened to those last words, before pulling the dagger out from Kahng Tae-Sik’s chest.
Just like a dress slipping off a clothes hanger, Kahng Tae-Sik crumpled to the floor, lifeless.
Plop.
Tti-ring!
[You have completed ‘Emergency Quest: Kill all the enemies’.]
The expected messages did pop up, but Jin-Woo’s expression wasn’t so good. Just like the last time, the aftertaste of killing someone remained bitter and nothing to feel too happy about. Even though the other guy attacked first and initiated this fight….
[Completion rewards are now available.]
[Would you like to confirm the rewards?] (Y/N)
If there were no rewards, then this would be one hell of a loss-loss situation, that.
Jin-Woo consoled himself with that line of thought and confirmed the rewards.
Tti-ring!
[The following rewards are available.]
Reward 1. Five additional Stat points
‘Huh?’
Jin-Woo formed a confused expression.
The reward on offer was far, far less than when compared to fighting Hwang Dong-Seok and his goons.
‘But, it was a far harder opponent this time, though?’
Did this mean the number of enemies was more important than the skills of the opponent? Or, was there something else he hadn’t figured out yet?
Jin-Woo tilted his head slightly.
It was here that Jin-Woo lowered his gaze and ended up spotting something rather odd. There was a spot of flickering light about as big as a coin gleaming on the corpse of Kahng Tae-Sik.
Jin-Woo’s eyes grew wider and wider.
‘No way, could it be….?’
Although he could hardly believe it, that light seemed far too similar to the one emitted by the loot found on the dead monsters from the instant dungeons.
That light also indicated the position of the magic crystal inside a monster from the Gates. But now, the dead Kahng Tae-Sik was emitting this light.
‘What does this mean?’
Jin-Woo calmed his trembling heart and quietly reached out towards the chest area of Kahng Tae-Sik where that flickering light was coming from.
Tti-ring.
Indeed, he wasn’t seeing things just now.
[You’ve discovered ‘Rune Stone: Stealth’. Take it?]
‘A Rune Stone?! Are you talking about THAT Rune Stone….??’
His heart began pounding even harder than before.
The skill Kahng Tae-Sik used had now become a Rune Stone and was waiting to be discovered on his body.
‘Stealth’ was a rare skill that only a select few Hunters could use. If this message was indeed talking about the Rune Stones he knew, then….
‘Acquire it.’
Suddenly, a small rock with mysterious runic letters carved on the surface appeared in his hand.
[Rune Stone: Stealth]
You can absorb the skill by breaking this Rune Stone.
….Absorbing skills by breaking the stone.
As the description said, this rock was definitely a Rune Stone.
By breaking it, he’d be able to use Stealth from now on.
He had not heard of a Rune Stone that taught one to use Stealth being put up for sale until now. So, it was impossible to estimate just how much this little Rune Stone would go for in the marketplace.
It was then, he heard the voices of two people coming from his rear.
“Mister Seong, are you alright?!”
“Mister Jin-Woo!!”
Jin-Woo hid the Rune Stone inside his pocket and turned around.
And he found Song Chi-Yeol and Yi Ju-Hui busy gawking at him with eyes filled with disbelief.
The rank E Hunter Jin-Woo, who used to struggle like there’s no tomorrow in a rank D dungeon, just defeated a rank B Hunter Kahng Tae-Sik.
As a non-combatant class, Yi Ju-Hui didn’t know this, but the rank C Song Chi-Yeol knew very well how incredibly crazy that notion was.
Jin-Woo checked out his own appearance.
“Well, yeah, I’m okay.”
From a casual glance, he was totally fine. He wasn’t feeling any pain, either. But, when he turned his head a bit, the blood pooling around his chin dribbled down. He reflexively touched his cheek and found that the cut he got earlier was bleeding now.
“Oh.”
“Let me heal that for you.”
For a second or two, a blue light danced around Ju-Hui’s fingertips, before that little cut disappeared from the view.
That was the confirmation; a rank E had successfully defeated a rank B without a single injury.
For the two people here that knew Jin-Woo, rather than the fact of a rank B Hunter trying to kill them, it was the fact of the youth before them defeating said Hunter that shocked them the most.
“How can you be able to…..”
Song Chi-Yeol couldn’t finish his sentence.
Jin-Woo, of course, knew what Song Chi-Yeol and Ju-Hui wanted to say here. That was why he opened his mouth first.
“I’m really sorry. When the right time comes, I’ll tell you both everything, so please, don’t ask me anything for the time being.”
When Jin-Woo made a request in a grave voice, Ju-Hui nodded her head first. Eventually, Song Chi-Yeol nodded, as well.
“If you’re saying that, then you must have your reasons. I understand, young man.”
Jin-Woo then turned his head in the direction where the boss was. Although the situation had become complicated somewhat, his plan of killing the boss hadn’t changed.
He wanted to kill the boss by himself if possible. Also, there was another thing he had to, meaning these two couldn’t be here.
Jin-Woo looked back at Song Chi-Yeol.
“With what has happened here, I think it’s impossible to continue on with this raid anymore. For the time being, you two should leave the dungeon and contact the Association. I’ll remain here and search for other survivors.”
Song Chi-Yeol instantly realised what Jin-Woo was trying to do.
‘He’s going to close the Gate all by himself.’
Even from the older man’s perspective, doing that would ensure the least amount of suspicion.
“That would be a good idea. Miss Ju-Hui, let’s go ahead first.”
Ju-Hui hesitated after hearing Song Chi-Yeol’s recommendation, but then, she quickly ran at Jin-Woo.
“You haven’t forgotten about our dinner date, right?”
Jin-Woo smiled gently.
“I haven’t. I still need to ask you for my change, remember?”
“In that case, you honour that promise, okay? I’ll be waiting on the outside.”
Jin-Woo nodded his head, and that must have relaxed her a lot since she took a step back without saying anything else.
Even as she was escaping from the dungeon, she continued to look behind her several times.
Jin-Woo only let out a sigh once the shadows of the two people were gone for good.
“Fuu-woo.”
And he really wanted to hide for as long as possible, but….
In the end, he got discovered.
There were two eyewitnesses, so it was impossible to talk his way out of this one now.
‘It’s not like I can threaten Ju-Hui or Mister Song ahjussi, either.’
Killing the rank B should be seen as self-defence. He had two eyewitnesses, so no worries there. The real issue would be with how a rank E managed to kill a rank B.
‘I guess being a Re-Awakened is the most plausible excuse there is, huh.’
He decided to go with that one, then.
He’d reveal himself to be a Re-Awakened Hunter and get himself a re-assignment test.
No one would believe him even if he told them about the System or levelling up and all the other stuff. There was also no reason for him to reveal that information voluntarily, anyway.
After he decided to go through with the re-assignment test, he kind of felt relieved on one hand, and a bit wistful on the other.
‘And here I was, hoping to do the test only after I got even stronger….’
But, since when did the world move as one wished?
There was nothing he could do about it now.
‘I wonder, how high will my new rank be?’
Since he fought on equal footing with Kahng Tae-Sik, was he slightly stronger than a rank B Hunter at this moment?
He thought that he had gotten really strong now, but as it turned out, those high ranking Hunters, starting from B all the way up to S, were indeed all freakish existences far surpassing his imaginations.
‘Oh well, let’s think about the future once I get out of here.’
For the time being, he had to get rid of the boss first.
The dungeon that emitted magical energy waves equalling a rank D only had a bunch of rank E Goblins inside. In that case, there was a good chance that the magical energy wave was actually coming solely from the boss.
A boss like that should give him enough experience points for a level up.
‘But before I do that….’
There was something else he had better confirm first.
Jin-Woo pushed his Perception to the limit and carefully combed over all auras present within the dungeon.
“Found you.”
Jin-Woo began waking to his new destination.
On the way, he discovered the cold corpses of Kim Sang-Sik and the other Hunter.
This was the power of a high ranked Hunter; if such a Hunter really wanted to, then killing a few lower ranked Hunters could be done in the blink of an eye.
Jin-Woo’s expression hardened as he walked past them.
< Chapter 17 > Fin.
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