Solo Leveling, Vol. 1, page 14
Jinwoo shrugged and handed his contract to Jinho. Jinho took it and went over to Dongsuk.
“Excuse me, sir. I have a question for you.”
All their gazes swiveled to Jinho.
He showed them the contract. “Sir, this is Jinwoo’s contract. As you can see, there is no mention of essence stones other than the ones that come from hunting.”
Everyone realized what Jinho was saying.
—It was customary to equally divide treasure or rare items found in a dungeon among all party members. This was different from battling magic beasts, because with magic beasts, they could harvest essence stones from only the ones they defeated themselves.
That meant these mana stones had to be divided by ten, not nine. The other hunters’ eyes narrowed, but Dongsuk walked in front of the group with a smile on his face.
“Of course we’ll divvy these up equally. We know that very well. We just have something to take care of first.”
He pointed at something up ahead.
Jinho jumped in surprise. He thought Dongsuk was pointing at him. He flinched but then turned around. There, curled in a corner of the room, was a spider as big as a house.
“Oh……!” Upon seeing the huge beast, Jinho stumbled back with his hand over his mouth.
The sleeping spider didn’t move a single muscle. There were mountains of insect carcasses around the beast. The half-eaten insect exoskeletons covered in saliva sort of looked like food waste that had spilled out of an overturned trash bin.
“That has to be the boss.”
“Did that thing eat the other bugs in the dungeon?”
“It really gorged itself, didn’t it?”
The hunters muttered to one another as they took in the spider.
Dongsuk gathered the squad around him. Jinwoo and Jinho also huddled up.
“As you all well know, the gate closes when the boss is killed, so let’s grab the mana stones from the wall before we take on the spider.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Dongsuk turned to a bald hunter. “Chuljin, did you bring the tools?”
Chuljin Lee shook his head. “No… Who knew we would find mana stones in a C-rank dungeon? I left all the mining tools in the car.”
“Dude… Didn’t I tell you to be prepared for any situation?”
“Sorry, sorry. I’m really sorry.” Chuljin smiled sheepishly and bowed in apology to Dongsuk, everyone in the squad, and even Jinwoo.
Dongsuk scratched his head. “Oh boy, this is annoying. Can you two please stay here? We’ll be back with the tools.”
When they tried to leave, Jinho stopped them with a question, puzzled. “You want just Jinwoo and me to stay in the boss’s lair?”
Dongsuk smiled reassuringly. “You’ll be fine. That thing isn’t waking up even though we’re talking so loudly, right? I have something I need to tell my squad anyway, and we’re thinking of taking a quick smoke break, since we can. We’ll be right back.”
Inside his head, Jinwoo scoffed at Dongsuk’s lengthy explanation.
They’re showing their true colors now. But really, all of them trying to leave at once? How dumb do they think we are?
They were probably looking down on them for being a lower rank. Dongsuk acted exactly as Jinwoo had expected, though the situation was a little different from what he’d imagined.
This was Jinwoo’s fourth year working as a hunter, and over time, he’d met many different hunters. Among them had been a hunter named Mr. Oh. After he quit freelancing, he had started helping the association with odd jobs to pass the time.
“Beware the lizards.”
That was something Mr. Oh frequently said.
When participating in a raid, there would often be times when hunters ran into danger. It didn’t happen every raid, but some unscrupulous hunters would sometimes sacrifice others in such a situation, even though they’d fought together as colleagues up until that point. This could be anywhere from ditching people who weren’t part of the original squad or even hunters who were of a lower rank. This was done to buy themselves time to escape. It was like a lizard cutting off its own tail when running away.
Cutting off its own tail……
Mr. Oh referred to such hunters as “lizards” and this act as “cutting off its own tail.”
According to the rules, the minimum number of party members needed in order to attack a C-rank gate was ten. However, Dongsuk’s squad had consisted of only eight regular members.
“You know how hard it is to have a healer in a strike squad! This is just how we roll.”
As Dongsuk himself had said, they’d raided many C-rank gates in the past.
No wonder they’d never needed to bring in two more permanent members.
What they wanted was a tail they could cut off every time. That was why they’d accepted any hunter, whether they were an E rank or a newbie.
Currently, Dongsuk was planning to ditch Jinwoo and Jinho, though for a different reason than usual.
This is good for me.
Jinwoo had figured out what Dongsuk was up to, but he kept quiet. This was actually what he wanted. It was the first day on the job for Jinho, though, and unlike Jinwoo, he wasn’t particularly confident that he could protect himself.
He anxiously said, “No, I mean…… It’d be better if everyone stuck together.”
Jinwoo noticed one of the hunters at the back of the group reaching toward his sword in its sheath. Jinwoo put his hand on Jinho’s shoulder.
“Understood. We’ll keep an eye on the spider.”
The hunter took his hand off his sword.
“Jinwoo……?”
Jinho looked like he was at a loss, but Jinwoo shook his head at him without saying a word. Even though Jinho was a noisy kid, Jinwoo couldn’t let him die like this. He’d even tried to include Jinwoo in the divvying up of the mana stones, though that meant he himself would get a smaller share.
Dongsuk smiled at the both of them. “We parked the car right out front, so it won’t take too long.”
The eight members of Dongsuk’s squad left the boss’s lair in a hurry. The sound of their footsteps receded quickly.
Jinho rounded on Jinwoo. “Dude, why’d you say that? What if the beast wakes up? Then what?”
He seemed petrified of the spider.
He really sucks at reading between the lines.
Jinwoo tutted in his head. Explaining every little thing would be a pain, too. Instead of responding, he started stretching.
Dongsuk turned around and looked in the direction of the boss’s lair. The hunters who were following him also stopped in their tracks. They were quite far from the chamber now. The other two wouldn’t be able to hear them from this distance.
Dongsuk wiped the smile from his face and addressed Gyuhwan, gesturing with his chin at the path to the lair.
“Gyuhwan, block the entrance.”
“Should I blow it up?”
“Yeah, but take it easy. We have to go back inside later.”
Chuljin spoke up. “Why make things so complicated? Why not just kill those two already?”
Dongsuk glowered at Chuljin. He didn’t have to fake a smile for their guests any longer.
That, at least, was convenient for him.
“I-I’m sorry.” Chuljin cast his eyes down in fear.
Dongsuk tsked. “What if we woke up the spider? When’re you planning to mine and haul away those mana stones?”
“I’m sorry—”
Gyuhwan interrupted. “Speaking of the spider…… It could wake while we dig up the mana stones, no? How do we avoid that?”
The spider had filled its stomach with hard-to-kill insect-type magic beasts. They could sustain a lot of damage if the spider attacked them while they were preoccupied.
“That’s why.” Dongsuk smirked. “I want to feed those two to the spider.”
“Ahhh.” Gyuhwan nodded, finally understanding Dongsuk’s master plan.
They didn’t know when the spider was going to wake up. It could be ten hours, one hour, or one minute from now. So the plan was to rouse and feed the spider in advance. The shock wave from a collapsed entrance would wake even the most lethargic beast.
Dongsuk continued. “We can excavate the stones once the stuffed spider goes back to sleep.”
They had a five-day work permit from the association, and they still had four and a half days left. They could afford to wait a while, and even if the spider didn’t go back to sleep in time, they could still kill it and harvest as many mana stones as possible before the gate closed. It wouldn’t be possible to dig them all up in an hour, but they wouldn’t have to share them with Jinwoo and Jinho, so it wouldn’t be much of a loss.
Wouldn’t that be better than mining the mana stones in a constant state of fear? After all, safety first!
Of course, that’s the worst-case scenario……
If everything went well, they would dig up all the mana stones, kill the spider, and not have to share a single won with the other two. Jinho’s expensive weapons would be a bonus.
His sword and shield cost at least a couple hundred thousand.
They had nothing to lose.
Dongsuk smirked. “Block the entrance, and we’ll grab a smoke.”
“You got it,” Gyuhwan responded quickly, summoning a blinding light to the tips of his fingers.
“……” Jinho’s eyes were fixed on the spider. He even breathed carefully.
He had a fearful look on his face when he asked, “That spider, it’s not gonna wake up, is it?”
“I don’t know.” Jinwoo gave a curt reply. He could guess what was going to happen next, but he was a little worried Jinho would faint if he told him the truth.
It just hit me……
These were the first words Jinho had uttered in the past five minutes. He seemed terrified, considering how chatty he’d been earlier.
Suddenly…
KABOOM!
The entrance to the boss’s lair collapsed with an explosive thundering.
“H-huh? Wh-what?” Jinho rushed over to the entrance, but a mound of rubble now had it barricaded. The rocks wouldn’t move no matter how hard Jinho pushed on them.
Jinwoo meandered over.
“Hnnngh! Help me, dude!” Jinho was still trying to clear a path.
What was that guy’s name? Gyuhwan Jo?
Jinwoo had seen a bright light flashing right before the explosion. That guy was a C-rank mage hunter who controlled light. It was absolutely his work.
Jinwoo placed his hand on the mound of stones.
I can definitely get out of here if I want to.
He could feel the weight of the stones through his arm. They weren’t as heavy as he’d thought. When he applied slight pressure with his hand, he could feel them shift.
But he had no intention of leaving.
“Wait!” Jinho seemed to have had an epiphany. His face was flushed red as he turned to Jinwoo.
“Those bastards are trying to kill us! They don’t want to share the mana stones, so they’re trying to kill us using the spider!”
He catches on quick, doesn’t he?
Jinwoo sighed to himself internally but played along. “You’re right. We’re in trouble.”
“Ack!” Jinho’s cheeks suddenly turned from red to white. All the blood had drained from his face.
Jinwoo knew why even without asking. There, in Jinho’s eyes, was the reflection of the spider.
Jinwoo spun around.
Crrrk, crrrrrk.
Awakened by the explosion, the spider was now raising its massive body. A body the size of a house. Several dozen eyes. A revolting mouth. And long, outstretched legs.
The spider looked even more terrible in motion than when it was asleep.
“Uuugh……,” Jinho groaned. He was frozen stiff in fear.
Meanwhile, Jinwoo kept his eyes on the spider as he called up Kasaka’s Venom Fang from his inventory.
It’s mine.
This was a good opportunity to test his upgraded abilities. Kasaka’s Venom Fang automatically appeared in his right hand.
Whoosh…
It was like the dagger had been in his grip the whole time. Jinwoo tightly clutched the weapon’s hilt.
This was why hunters were called hunters! It was time to do some true hunting.
“W-w-wait, dude!” Jinho unexpectedly grabbed Jinwoo’s sleeve as he stepped toward the spider. “Wh-wh-what are you doing?”
Jinho’s hands were trembling.
Jinwoo pointed over his left shoulder with his thumb. “Going after that thing.”
This was why he’d followed Dongsuk’s squad in the first place. He wanted an opportunity to kill all the beasts by himself when they cut the tail, so to speak. It was a good chance to gain both experience and essence stones.
I wish this boss hadn’t eaten the other bugs……
He could’ve picked up more rewards. That was the one letdown.
Since he didn’t know anything about Jinwoo, Jinho stared at him in disbelief.
What is this dude talking about?
He remembered hearing that some people went crazy after a traumatic experience. The E-rank hunter in front of him wanted to take down the boss of a C-rank dungeon. If that wasn’t crazy, what was?
Jinho asked him, “You’re going after it?”
Jinwoo rubbed his forehead, as if troubled. “Then are you gonna kill it?”
Jinwoo turned around before Jinho could even open his mouth. He didn’t need to hear the answer. Jinho could barely stand on his quivering legs. Jinwoo hadn’t expected anything from him from the start. Rather, he was glad Jinho didn’t try to help.
He’d just get in my way.
Jinwoo approached the spider. The arachnid also seemed to notice them and turned with its eight legs.
It was coming. The spider took its time like it was curious about this prey it had never seen before. It slowly approached, digging its long, thick legs into the ground.
Hwoooo…
Jinwoo felt like he was suffocating as the gigantic body gradually filled his entire field of vision. His heart started beating faster.
Ba-dump, ba-dump.
He took a deep breath in an effort to collect himself. He needed to stay calm.
He recalled how he’d felt when he’d stood at the top of the stairs leading to the Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka in the instance dungeon at Hapjeong Station. He didn’t feel as much pressure from this spider as he had the kasaka.
That meant it was definitely doable. He wouldn’t have stayed behind anyway if he’d thought it would be impossible to defeat the boss.
Crrrk.
He was close enough to the spider now to be able to see his own reflection in its glassy eyes. Jinwoo squinted.
Its skin looks quite tough…… Will I be able to do enough damage with this dagger?
The knife didn’t have the reach of the steel sword. He would need to focus more of his power in order to deliver a deep-enough cut. He changed his grip on the dagger so the blade was pointing down. He thought this would be better for causing damage.
Crrrk.
The spider finally stopped in front of Jinwoo. It then raised two of its legs and bent them in an L shape.
What’s it doing?
Jinwoo didn’t dwell on this very long. His eyes shot open.
BOOM!
If he hadn’t twisted his body instinctively, the spider’s legs would’ve crushed his chest. The spider lifted its legs from where it had smashed the ground behind Jinwoo and folded them back into itself.
Crrrrrk.
Rocky debris fell from its legs.
Jinwoo peeked behind him. The stone floor of the cavern had noticeable holes in it.
If I get hit by those legs, it won’t just be painful.
Jinwoo’s eyes narrowed. It was time to focus.
It’s coming!
Shhhk!
The spider’s legs had moved at the speed of a bullet before, but he could see its movements clearly now.
Left.
He ducked to avoid the left leg.
Right.
He twisted his body to one side to escape the right leg and advanced a step.
Right.
He dodged the leg that had aimed for his head again and took two steps forward.
Left. Right. Right. Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The spider’s legs kept making holes in the ground with a loud, ear-piercing sound. One by one, Jinwoo evaded the arachnid’s attacks and closed the gap between them little by little.
Jinho couldn’t believe his eyes. “I-is he even human?”
The spider’s attacks were so brutal that, even at a distance, it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. But Jinwoo continued dodging every single strike and got closer to the magic beast. His calm demeanor and clean moves gave Jinho goose bumps.
“That’s an E-rank hunter?”
No, that wasn’t possible. Had he been in Jinwoo’s place, his body would’ve been torn apart like a rag. He wasn’t sure if he could’ve avoided the attacks even once or twice, but Jinwoo had avoided them flawlessly so far.
For an E-rank hunter to do something that he, a D rank, couldn’t do? There could be only one explanation.
He’s a false ranker……!
Jinho’s face turned grim.
Some talented hunters had excellent control over their own magic. They could even lower their levels if they wanted to. There were hunters who hid their magic power on purpose in order to receive a lower rank. They were called “false rankers.”
And most false rankers had ill intentions.
Some of them are serial killers who target lower-rank hunters in low-rank dungeons……
Hunters were the only people who could enter dungeons, so they were the perfect place for hunters to commit crimes.
Jinho swallowed hard. All at once, he was more afraid of Jinwoo than the spider.
Why did I want to do this again……?
He suddenly felt like he was about to cry.
Shhhk! Shhhk! Shhhk!
While Jinho was lost in his thoughts, the spider had continued its assault. Jinwoo had evaded its onslaught and was now confident of his victory. Its head was nearly within his reach. It had been easy to close the distance to the spider because its pattern of movement was simple.
