Solo Leveling, Vol. 1, page 5
Jinwoo was faced away from the doors, so he hadn’t been able to observe what had happened.
“Did anything change?”
“The……the doors closed a little.”
“Are they still closing?”
“No, no. They closed a fraction when that guy left the altar, and then they stopped.”
Jinwoo remembered that one of the red flames had gone out when the hunter left the altar.
Shit!
His heart sank. He’d finally figured out the answer to the question that had been bothering him the whole time he’d been standing on the altar.
How was this a way to prove their faith?
He had his answer. It was the absolute worst test for Jinwoo, since he needed someone else’s help just to stay upright due to his leg injury.
The open doors were actually a trap. It was false hope they could actually see! If everyone on the altar had run to the open doors all at once, the red flames would have been extinguished, and the doors would’ve immediately slammed shut.
All that would’ve remained was a festival of blood and screams.
On the other hand, the altar was the promised land. It was an area that guaranteed everyone’s safety as long as they stayed in their respective places and did their respective jobs.
It was a choice between visible hope and an invisible promise. The third commandment, to “prove thy faith,” was a test to see if they could resist sweet temptations while under the pressure of impending doom.
In their case, there were two variables.
The first was Jinwoo himself. People who would’ve ordinarily run toward the open doors instead had stopped to listen to what he had to say. Because of this, they had thankfully avoided the disaster of the doors closing completely.
We got lucky.
There was no other way to put it. It had been possible only because he’d earned people’s trust by figuring out the meaning of the first two commandments by himself.
The second variable had arisen rather unexpectedly.
Someone had left the altar. How would people react now that they could see that hope was within their grasp?
It was obvious.
The man who’d been supporting Jinwoo flung him aside to run out of the room. Song rushed to steady Jinwoo with a hand on his back.
Whoosh…
When the man stepped down from the altar, another red flame went out, and the doors closed even more.
Creeeak.
“Hey, hey!”
Kim yelled after the second escapee, but he’d also managed to flee from the room unscathed.
Jinwoo counted the red flames and shouted, “Nobody move! We can’t lose any more people!”
Front, back, left, and right. They needed at least four people in order to monitor all sides. Jinwoo, Joohee, Song, and Kim remained. If they lost a single person, there would inevitably be a blind spot.
Kim wiped his forehead again. “Sung, what’s going on? Explain it to us.”
“We just have to stay here like this until all the blue flames go out!” Jinwoo shared everything he had figured out so far.
Kim nodded and listened intently. After his quick explanation, Jinwoo added one more statement at the end.
“We can get out of here alive.”
Each commandment indicated a way to survive the room. The last couldn’t be any different.
“All we have to do is stay where we are!” Jinwoo was absolutely sure they could survive without any more injuries if they trusted one another.
Kim, however, had a different perspective. He asked hesitantly, “Um, Sung…… You may be right, but……the doors might also completely shut when the time is up, right?”
“……” Jinwoo couldn’t answer. He’d come to this conclusion after considering all the options, but he couldn’t give them any guarantees until everything played out.
But Kim needed certitude. Ensuring his own survival was more urgent than the mere possibility of everyone making it through.
“Sorry, but……but I can’t do this.”
“Mr. Kim!”
“Sorry!”
Kim slipped down from the altar. He ignored Jinwoo’s calls and sprinted toward the doors. He took one last look at the others once he reached the exit, but he didn’t return.
Grrrnd.
Jinwoo gritted his teeth. “Dammit!”
Despite saving their lives, what had been returned to Jinwoo wasn’t kindness or gratitude. All that was left was betrayal.
As he’d calculated, it was a problem keeping an eye on the statues without Kim. It had been impossible from the start for two heavily injured people and someone frightened out of her wits to monitor the entire area.
The statues they couldn’t keep in their field of vision started moving.
Creeeeeeeak.
Creeeeeeeak.
The sentinels were tightening their ring around them.
Song, who’d been surveying the situation, told Jinwoo and Joohee, “You two should leave.”
He sounded like he had given up.
“Mr. Song……?”
“Like Kim said, I was the one who brought you all here. If someone has to stay, it should be me.”
“But—!”
“You have a few more days to live than I do anyway, so you should go.”
Song chuckled. This was Song’s small kindness to help them feel better for having to leave without him.
“……” Jinwoo helplessly nodded. Although he felt awful, there was no time to argue about who would remain.
Song intended to ask Joohee to help Jinwoo walk. “Joohee, could you help Sung?”
“Yes, of course.”
However, when Joohee made to stand, she collapsed to the ground.
“Ahhh……” She tried her hardest to get up, but soon tears welled in her eyes.
“I…… I can’t move my legs.”
Jinwoo’s and Song’s faces grew grim. It was easy to see that Joohee wasn’t in good shape. Her lips were blue, and her body kept convulsing minutely. This was the aftereffect of using too much of her magic when she was already mentally and physically exhausted.
It’s because she tried to fix my leg……
Jinwoo was rendered speechless by how sorry he felt.
But there was no time for this.
Creeeeeeeeeeeak.
The statues were drawing ever closer toward the altar.
Jinwoo shook off Song’s hand and flopped down on the floor.
Song’s eyes widened. “You……?”
Jinwoo spoke with determination. “Please take Joohee and get out of here, Mr. Song.”
“I told you that I’d stay!”
“Then who’s going to help Joohee?”
Jinwoo couldn’t even stand on his own, much less get Joohee to the door before time was up.
Of course……
They could abandon her here. But Joohee had saved Jinwoo’s life multiple times over the years, and even her current awful state was because she’d tried to treat him with everything she had. He didn’t want to abandon someone like her, survive, and carry that guilt for the rest of his life.
“There’s no time. Please go.”
“……” With a stern expression, Song pulled Joohee up.
Joohee shook her head as tears streamed down her face.
“No…… Jinwoo can leave instead. I can……”
“Remember I promised to take you to dinner?” Jinwoo took out the E-rank essence stone from his pocket and pushed it into Joohee’s hands.
“You go get dinner ahead of me. I’ll collect my change from you if I make it out of here.”
She frowned at him when he smiled at her. “How can you joke at a time like this?!”
He nodded at Song, who in turn lightly struck Joohee on the back of her neck.
Thwack!
Joohee fainted. Song hoisted her prone body onto his shoulder.
“……I’m sorry.”
“It was my call anyway.”
Song bowed to Jinwoo. With this last gesture of farewell, he quickly leaped off the altar.
Creeeeeeeeeeeak.
Creeeeeeeeeeeak.
While they were talking, the stone statues had come within striking distance.
Jinwoo knelt and took a deep breath. “Whewww…”
He noticed the sword that Kim had abandoned next to him. He stretched out his hand and grabbed it.
If I’m going down, I’m taking at least one of them with me.
He looked back in time to see Song escaping safely with Joohee. That was a relief.
Glad I’m the only one dying……
He didn’t consider it some great sacrifice. It was what he thought would be the best choice, all things considered.
He’d have had to live the rest of his life without a leg. Not only would it have been impossible to continue working as a hunter, but he wasn’t even sure he could live a normal life. He was a high school graduate with no special skills, so making ends meet wouldn’t be easy.
My mother’s hospital bills and my sister’s tuition……
He figured it’d be better for his family to claim the life insurance.
Was it 300,000,000 won or 400,000,000 won in insurance money for the family of a hunter who dies in a raid organized by the association?
The money was more than enough compensation for the life of a worthless E-rank hunter.
Creeeeeeeeeeeak.
Creeeeeeeeeeeak.
THUD.
The bastards had finally arrived. The first stone statue to reach the altar took its initial step up. Jinwoo leveled the sword at it as he watched.
“Come at me.”
But the attack came from behind him.
Shuuuk.
A long spear pierced through Jinwoo’s body from behind.
“Gak!” He coughed out blood. Pain shot through his entire body.
“Just a little higher, and the beast would’ve punctured your heart!”
Joohee’s scolding from a few hours earlier echoed in his mind.
“Aaaaaargh!”
His assailant raised the spear until it was vertically positioned. Jinwoo hung in the air, impaled on the tip. He briefly struggled from the pain, but before long, the statue threw him to the ground.
CRASH!
“Ughhh!”
He could hear bones breaking everywhere in his body. The pain caused him to curl into a fetal position.
“Ahhh…… Ahhhh……”
The stone statues gathered around the trembling Jinwoo. They completely surrounded him. He shuddered as he looked up at them.
I…… I don’t want to die like this…
As the fact that he was about to die finally sank in, tears pricked his eyes. He recalled the faces of his family. He thought of Joohee and Song, the ones who had been concerned for him until the very end.
I don’t want to die……
This was not the way he wanted to end his short life of twenty-four years.
Stomp.
A stone-faced statue with a sword stepped closer to him. It raised the weapon high.
Despite the violent tremors racking his body, Jinwoo defiantly held its gaze.
At last, the sword came straight down.
SHHHUKKK.
If I could get one more, just one more chance!
Jinwoo refused to close his eyes. That was when…
Screeeeak!
The sword suddenly stopped on its way down as if someone had hit the Pause button on a video.
No, it hadn’t stopped. It was moving so slowly that it looked like it had. It was descending at a rate of maybe one millimeter per minute. The blow was slow, but it was definitely still coming down.
Wh-what…?
Jinwoo couldn’t hide his confusion. Just then…
Ping!
An electronic chime and a woman’s voice he’d never heard before echoed inside his head.
[You have fulfilled all the requirements to complete Secret Quest: Courage of the Weak.]
“Secret quest”? “Fulfilled all the requirements”?
Jinwoo had no idea what was going on.
And where is this voice coming from?
The commentary plowed on despite Jinwoo’s confusion.
[You have acquired the qualifications to be a Player. Will you accept?]
“Acquired”? He had to accept something?
Sounds like they’re giving me something……
Having grown up in a poor family, Jinwoo had never refused when offered something for free. But that was when he was alive; once he died, what use would free things be to him?
……
As Jinwoo hesitated, the voice in his head repeated itself, as if it was feeling urgent.
[Your time is running out. Your heart will stop in two-hundredths of a second if you choose not to accept. Will you accept?]
Jinwoo wasn’t sure if the voice was a hallucination of some kind, but he knew for a fact that he was close to death. Not only was there a sword aimed at his head, but countless other weapons were now also targeting him.
If he was attacked by all those, would there be anything left of his body? He didn’t care what happened at this point.
If you’re giving it to me, I might as well……
He didn’t even have to say it aloud. All he did was think it, but the voice in his head responded right away.
[Congratulations on becoming a Player.]
Flash—
A bright light engulfed Jinwoo’s body as he lost consciousness.
Jinwoo opened his eyes.
A white ceiling and the distinct smell of disinfectant greeted him. He was lying on a hard mattress. He knew immediately where he was.
The hospital?
His visits to the hospital had decreased significantly since he’d met Joohee, a B-rank healer, but even so, hospitals were as familiar to him as his neighborhood convenience store. There was even a rumor that Jinwoo Sung had a designated room at the hospital affiliated with the Hunter’s Association.
He sat up, then put his hand on his chest and felt his heartbeat.
His heart was beating normally.
I’m alive?
Something else also seemed off.
His body felt weirdly light. Usually, whenever he woke up in a hospital, Jinwoo was often dazed and had difficulty moving around.
But it was different this time. He felt refreshed, like after a good night’s sleep at home.
What happened……?
Considering the situation right before he’d lost consciousness, this didn’t make any sense.
The sword had been coming down at him. Even if by chance it had missed him, he’d been completely surrounded by some fearsome foes.
An A-rank or even an S-rank strike squad arriving on the scene would’ve been no match for them.
And I survived?
It was like it had all been a dream.
As luck would have it, there was one surefire way to verify everything.
Jinwoo lifted the blanket covering his body. If it was real, he would be missing a leg, and if it had been a dream……
“Are you awake?”
Jinwoo jumped and turned toward the deep voice that had addressed him from a corner of the room.
“Apologies if I scared you.”
“We couldn’t wait any longer, you see.”
Two men in black suits approached the bed.
Jinwoo blinked at them.
“Who…are you…?” He didn’t recognize them at all.
The one with a short military haircut handed Jinwoo a business card. “This is what we do.”
Jinwoo took the card.
Jinchul Woo, Korean Hunter’s Association Surveillance Team?
Surveillance was the only team within the Hunter’s Association composed solely of strong hunters. Their role was to supervise all the hunters in the association, so it made sense that such an elite corps would have the cream of the crop.
Jinwoo was still confused, though. “But what brings you here?”
Jinchul Woo pulled up a chair next to Jinwoo’s bed and sat down. The other suit, who Jinwoo assumed was his subordinate, stood behind him. The threatening presence of these two well-built men so close to Jinwoo was intense.
What they told Jinwoo shocked him.
“I was asleep for three days?”
“Do you remember what happened before you passed out?”
“Yes.”
“Please tell us everything you remember.”
“Before I do…… What about those two? Mr. Song and Joohee, are they safe?”
Jinchul met Jinwoo’s earnest gaze and nodded. “Yes. They’re completely safe. Both were in severe condition, but they are thankfully alive and well.”
“Phew……”
As Jinwoo let out a relieved sigh, Jinchul quietly asked, “Now, could you please tell us what you remember?”
He told them everything that had happened until he’d lost consciousness except for the strange hallucinations he couldn’t understand.
“And then you lost consciousness…… Is that correct?”
“Yes, the next time I opened my eyes, I was here.”
Jinchul and his subordinate exchanged glances. They seemed a bit troubled that their only potential witness didn’t know anything. The truth was, Jinwoo was the one who most wanted to know what had really happened.
“If I may, how did I get here? Did a big guild get rid of them?”
“The thing is……”
The troubled Jinchul took his time answering. “Taking survivors’ reports into account, the Surveillance Team brought along members of the White Tiger Guild, but when they arrived at the room, everything…”
The White Tiger Guild was a huge guild that ranked as one of the top five in Korea. Bringing White Tiger on board meant the association had recognized just how dangerous the situation was.
What exactly had happened over there?
Jinwoo gulped. “Everything……?”
“Everything was gone. There was absolutely no trace of the giant statue or the other stone sentries. There was nothing except you lying there unconscious.”
“Excuse me?” Jinwoo stared at him, incredulous.
“We couldn’t believe it, either. If the survivors’ stories weren’t perfectly consistent or we hadn’t found the remains of the other hunters, we would’ve thought different.”
