Primordial Vortex
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Not So Solo Leveling II
🕑 Added 2025-06-15 04:01:01 +0000 UTCHey guys! Was happy to see chapter 1 was well received. Hope you all enjoy chapter 2 as well. For those hoping for one of my other stories n
Hey guys!
Was happy to see chapter 1 was well received. Hope you all enjoy chapter 2 as well.
For those hoping for one of my other stories next, unfortunately, this story still has my muse in a stranglehold. I actually finished chapter 4 as well and am like 4k into 5. Again, when I manage to write something else, I’ll just slip it in between updates for this. LOL
-]|[-
“Look at them go.” One of the nurses mumbled as she stared out the window.
“Hunters are something else.” Another smiled at the sight, watching as the foursome made another lap around the courtyard. “They’ve hardly been let out of bed and are already well enough to be doing things like this.”
“I thought they were cleared for light exercise.” She shot back, “This sure doesn’t look light. Are they going to be okay?”
“I hope so. Wouldn’t want to see them bedridden again.” Her friend said, and then smiled, “I have to say though… The really glammy one and the redhead didn’t really seem like they were huge on exercise. Wonder if their friendship is just that strong?”
Down below, the foursome finally hit the required 10k for their run, and slowed to a light jog and then a brisk walk. Miho was well versed with exercise and was able to teach them efficiently. She was also the freshest of them all, and was grumbling, “Ten kilometers has me out of breath. This stupid game.”
“Don’t complain!” Joohee gasped out, “L-Look at me, Jinwoo, and Soohyun!” The healer had her hands on her knees, as did the glamorous babe beside her. Jinwoo was drenched in sweat.
“Oh, hush.” Miho huffed, “Accept status recovery-” A glow only they could see engulfed her, and she was immediately right as rain, “And you’ll be fine. Honestly, I’m not sure I like that. Seems wrong to take the burn away.”
The other three did as well, with Soohyun and Joohee moaning in sweet relief, “Honestly, I think it’s great!” The redhead countered their mentor.
“Yeah, Miho! Plus, imagine if we bank it for a dungeon! Free heals!” Soohyun cheered.
Joohee and Jinwoo both blinked, “…I hadn’t even thought of that! It’ll recover MP as well!”
Miho smiled, “Excellent observation. Good work, Soohyun.” She sat on the bench, and they all squeezed in, “Ready for our loot boxes?” She snarked.
“Oh yeah, I’m ready for my silly string!” Soohyun laughed as the boxes all appeared in their hands. “And behind box number 4 iiiiiiissss….” The orb of light that escaped the present box in her hand turned into, “A pen! Wonderful!” She snickered like an idiot.
Joohee pouted as she held up her band-aid, “I swear, it’s taunting me.”
Miho was very tempted to throw the five-hundred Won coin over her shoulder.
“Woah, what’s this?!” Jinwoo gasped, and they all looked over, their eyes widening.
“A key?” Miho leaned over Joohee to get a closer look, “For an Instance Dungeon?”
“Woah, so we can get useful things from this!” Soohyun exclaimed, “Awesome! If this is anything like any of the games I’ve played, this key will turn a regular area into a dungeon.”
“This has to be useful, right?” Jinwoo asked, “We’ve done four days of exercise, but we’re all still level one.”
“Or dangerous.” Joohee, most certainly the most nervous about all of this, said softly. “It may be E-Rank… but if we ALL go in, it will probably be upgraded to D rank or something, right?”
“It’s certainly a concern.” Miho replied in an equally soft tone, “But better we’re all together than alone. I’ve been thinking a lot, and we all really should have died in that desert. Those enemies were far too strong for us to really survive four hours in there.” Joohee paled and closed her eyes, not wanting to even think about those monsters, “So clearly, the System will push us, but I don’t think it wants to outright kill us.”
“I say we be smart then.” Soohyun said, “First thing tomorrow morning, we do our daily quest and bank the recovery. Then we rest for a few hours, gather supplies, and then head out for the Hapjeong Station.”
“I’m good with that.” Jinwoo said, and Miho nodded. They all turned to Joohee, who was taking deep breaths with her eyes closed. Immediately, Jinwoo put a hand on her shoulder, “We’ll be right with you, Joohee. We’ve got you.”
“And if it does prove too much for us, we run.” Miho said seriously. Joohee swallowed, before opening her eyes and nodding, not saying a word. “Great… and now for the elephant in the room.”
“Hmm?”
They all looked at her as she stood, “Our lack of weapons.”
“I didn’t think you used weapons.” Soohyun said in confusion.
“Yes, well,” Miho glared at nothing, “I’m as weak as a kitten right now.”
“That’s exaggerating.” Jinwoo cracked a smile.
“Maybe.” Miho replied, “But I certainly feel like it. My body is used to moving at greater speeds, and my reactions make me feel like I’m moving in a pool of mud.”
They all winced, “I suppose that’s fair.” Joohee said hesitantly, “What do you intend to do about it?”
She smiled at them, “I’m going to get us all some weapons. It might seem like a waste with the potential of using the Store, but we have no gold, no idea how good or bad the items in it are, or even when we’ll be able to make use of it. I have a lot of Won saved up, so I’m at least going to get us all some decent quality gear, and I’ll hear nothing against it!” Well, that ended the argument before it started.
-]|[-
“Are we all ready?” They were walking towards the Third Entrance at the station, and this was really the last chance to back out. But no one did. Not even Joohee, despite the anxiety they could all see on her face.
They stopped at the entrance, and they could all see the weird looks the group was getting as Jinwoo took out his key and twisted it before the entrance. Immediately, a lightshow only they could see turned into a portal, and they all stepped through.
[Notice: You have entered an Instanced Dungeon.]
Blue light started to spark behind them, and all the color drained from Joohee’s face, “Oh no.”
Miho slammed a hand on the blue portal, and cursed when her hand hit it like a solid door. “Shit.” She dropped her head, “I really fucking hate this game. TELL US THIS SHIT!”
“Preferably before we do things.” Soohyun palmed her face, “Well, there goes that plan. I’m really glad you got us kitted out, Miho. Thanks!” She pecked her friend on the cheek with a big smooch.
“We’ll be okay, Joohee.” Jinwoo comforted the redheaded Healer.
A woman then passed completely through her, proving that they were in a completely different dimension. Joohee looked like she was desperately trying to keep things together. “If the System could tell us what we’re up against, that would be great.” Obediently, screens opened up.
[You have entered the Hapjeoing Station Instanced Dungeon. Due to four Players being present, the difficulty has been upgraded from E to D-. You cannot leave this dungeon unless you defeat the boss or use a Teleportation Stone.]
Miho sighed in relief, “Okay, that’s dangerous with our ranks, but doable. I was really worried that they would trap us in here with C rank monsters.” Her gaze sharpened, “Gear up.” She commanded, and all of them opened their inventories.
“This ability to wear armor without wearing armor is awesome.” Soohyun cheered, “Now I can be protected in my cutest clothes!” She was still wearing that same outfit from their first dungeon.
Miho grinned, “Speak for yourself. I love this armor!” She was also wearing her original outfit, and unlike Soohyun, had it all displayed rather than overlaid and invisible. She also had a decent spear in hand. To her surprise, Jinwoo had not requested a dagger once she’d twisted his arm enough. Instead, he had selected a pair of armored gauntlets and greaves. Finally, Joohee had a magical tome in her hand.
“We should be ready, right?” Jinwoo asked, looking down at the dark, dilapidated station below.
“I think so.” Miho said, seeing nods from Soohyun and Joohee, “Stay close to one another, and keep your eyes peeled. Protect each other like our lives depend on it.”
They crept down, and walked slowly. ‘This stench…’ Jinwoo thought to himself, ‘It smells like a Beast Type.’
Just as he had that thought, a noise from the side had them all turning their heads. They all yelped as a trio of wolves barreled at them, and they hurried to dodge. “WOLVES!” Jinwoo and Soohyun yelled out.
Two of the three massive wolves were red furred, and had steel-encased lower jaws. The final beast was at least fifty-percent larger, with pitch black fur and jaws that gleamed like gold.
[Steel-Fanged Lycan]
[Greater Steel-Fanged Lycan]
[Steel-Fanged Lycan]
They swallowed nervously as they beheld the beasts, and the fact that all of them were red named. Joohee started to tremble, holding tightly onto her book, “Oooh, we never should have come here.” She was perspiring like a hydrant.
“Don’t be scared!” Despite Miho’s words, they could all see how nervous the normally calm and collected woman was.
“Don’t give into the fear! We’ve already died once.” Jinwoo said, and the girls all gasped, “And these things aren’t anywhere near as scary as those statues. Let’s make that death the only one! Buff us, Joohee!” Jinwoo commanded, and he could feel the moment when Joohee steeled herself. And then the wondrous feeling of Joohee’s power buffs hit them. Jinwoo felt like his muscles were bulging. And yet he knew, this was nowhere near as good as she could have managed even a week ago, thanks to her De-ranking.
“I’ll try to keep the big one still!” Soohyun yelled out, and her right hand glowed purple. The Greater Lycan let out an enraged howl as it felt like its body was compressed into the ground. It struggled to move forward, but Soohyun had it well and truly held in place. For someone who could have crushed it into paste during her last battle, that was a bitter pill to swallow. “I can’t hold it for long! Go!”
Jinwoo and Miho, their two melee fighters, ran forward. Jinwoo still marveled at how light his body felt. Once they had begun their daily quests, Miho had also started to train him in actual combat. She was a skilled woman who had studied a few different martial disciplines before awakening as an A-Rank Hunter, and had much to teach him. So, Jinwoo already had some confidence because he could feel the improvements that his additional Strength stat was making!
He shot at the red-furred beast, his fist cocked for a strike. The beast howled and lunged at him, and he managed to turn his charge into a roll. The Lycan’s claws gouged out the station below them as it turned to face him, but Jinwoo was faster. “Take this!” He roared as his gauntlet smashed into the beast’s muzzle. It let out a pained howl as it flew back, crashing into the shutters.
When it managed to pull itself from the hole he had punched it into, he was extremely satisfied to see its broken jaw. The metal protecting it had even deformed from the impact! He doubted that he would have done that much damage without Miho’s generosity.
Off to the side, Miho was using her spear’s greater range to great effect. She was successfully keeping the beast at bay, and had already managed to cut it a few times from when it tried to bat away the bladed tip. It was getting more and more furious, and that was how she wanted it. She thrust at it again, but it surprised her by dodging slightly and then biting down on the shaft of her spear with its steel jaws. With a grunt of effort, the annoyingly smart beast pulled her towards it and then lashed out with its sharp claws.
She raised an arm to avoid getting slashed, and growled furiously when its superior strength was able to bat her away despite her transformed limb. “Shit!” She yelled as she was forced to give up the spear, which it dropped and stepped over menacingly. She transformed her other arm, “Alright ugly, come get me.” She hissed out, her eyes transforming as well.
It howled as it lunged at her, batting at her with its paws. Its great bulk meant it was much heavier than she was, and she found herself on her back as it tried to bite down at her. “MIHO!” Her friends (sans Jinwoo, who was busy with his own Lycan and didn’t see her) shouted in worry.
Soohyun yelled, “Shit, I’m almost out of mana!” She only had a few seconds left and was already close to falling to her knees.
“I’M NOT GOING TO DIE HERE!” She roared as she jammed its mouth open with her claws, holding onto both its upper and lower jaws with her draconic limbs. It moved around with its powerful body and even tried to bat at her, only to fail to dislodge her. “DIE!” She roared as she jerked her head forward from beneath it, biting onto its throat with her own sharp teeth and powerful jaws. Instantly, the beast gagged as she tore out its throat. It tried to back away, but she tore chunks of flesh out, spat it out, and then bit down again. Its struggles soon ceased as it collapsed atop her, bleeding out. A muffled groan came from beneath it.
Jinwoo, in the meantime, had needed to block a few claw swipes from his own Lycan, and already, he noticed the slight wear on his new equipment. Growling, he utilized his newfound speed and mobility and hit the roof feet first when he dodged a lunge from the beast. He shot down, dropping an axe kick on the Lycan’s spine, contorting its body and allowing it to let out a final howl before going still.
[Level Up!]
He faced the black wolf with the golden jaws, only to gasp as it rushed at him. Soohyun had run out of mana just before the first Lycan died, freeing the black beast. Furious, the lead Lycan roared as it stood tall and ran at him far faster than the two red ones could. Jinwoo’s eyes widened in shock as he could merely block its jaws. “GAH!” He got slammed into a back wall with a crunch, blood flying from his lips.
“GET BACK!” Soohyun yelled as her mana pool, freshly restored from her level up, surged downwards again. This time, she flung the Greater Lycan backwards with a spatial push.
Joohee hurried to Jinwoo, engulfing him with a brilliant light and healing him rapidly, just as Miho managed to free her head from under the dead Lycan. “A little help here!” She yelled, struggling to free herself. Fully healed as his injury hadn’t been too bad, Jinwoo ran over and kicked the dead wolf off of a struggling Miho. He quickly helped her to her feet, and she grabbed the spear, spinning it just as the Greater Lycan came running at them again. “Together, Jinwoo! Soohyun, distract!”
Miho started spinning her spear around rapidly, hoping to make it reticent to attack. She took its left side, while Jinwoo took the right. “Now, Soohyun! Pound it!” The black beast blurred downwards, its stance widening as the effects of gravity tripled on it. It still managed to dodge as she tried to stab it, managing to slice it down its right flank. It howled furiously and turned to her to try to bite the spear in half, but that was a mistake.
“TAKE THIS!” Jinwoo yelled as he kicked the beast right in the chest. A loud crack rang out as the wolf rasped. But then its eyes began to glow red, and it howled. An aura exploded from it, driving Jinwoo and Miho back.
[Greater Lycan has used Blood Rage. Stats will be increased, and it will feel no pain for thirty seconds.]
The beast blurred forward, and all that Miho could do was raise her transformed left arm in an attempt to block. CRUNCH. “AHHHHH!” She screamed in agony as its jaws pierced right through her defensive scales, making blood spurt everywhere. It started to tug its head back and forth, nearly ripping her arm out of its socket.
“LET GO!” Jinwoo punted it in the chest again, but it didn’t so much as flinch. It continued to try to savage Miho, who had dropped her spear in her agony as several deep lacerations opened up from its jerking jaws. Jinwoo grabbed the spear and jumped, “I SAID LET GO!” He roared as he drove the spear clean through its back and chest, impaling it to the floor. And still, the beast held on, snarling. He reached over and physically grabbed both its top and bottom jaws, roaring as he tried to pry its mouth open with all his strength.
“BOOST!” Joohee yelled, engulfing him with a power buff one more time.
Finally, mercifully, he was able to inch it open, and Miho freed her arm. Immediately, she was engulfed in purple and dragged away from the Greater Lycan, right into Joohee’s arms. She was shaking and terrified, but refused to let Miho suffer any more pain. The light engulfed her wound, and it slowly started to close, much to Miho’s relief. Her moan even made Joohee blush a little bit.
“Damn it, GO DOWN ALREADY!” Jinwoo was still struggling with the beast. He had crushed its back and front left paws with his feet, and had buried his gauntlet’s claws into its right flank, and still it tried to throw him off. Impaled, paws crushed, and impaled again, it was still fighting. “GO DOWN!” He kneed it in the side, a shockwave visibly bursting from its right side opposite the impact.
It finally whined like an injured dog as the glow from its eyes vanished, the Blood Rage skill having run its course.
Miho stood as her arms were fully healed, with Joohee panting from the effort. Such an injury would have been effortless if she were still a B-Rank, but as she had fallen to E-Rank, it took her several seconds. The magenta-haired woman looked furious as she ran back into the fray. “DIE!” She yelled as she jammed her clawed thumbs into its eyes, gouging them out in spurts of blood.
A squeal rang out as the beast tried to dislodge both her and Jinwoo, and she pulled her thumbs out, before dropping a fist on its skull. Dazed, it shook its head, right as Jinwoo pounded another knee into its side. She slashed its face with her claws as Jinwoo jammed his gauntlets into its flank again and dragged his arm down towards its tail.
Soohyun, equally furious, thrust her hand forward, and its side distended as a spatial push battered it again. It finally dislodged the spear from the floor and reared back, only for Miho to thrust her clawed hands at its chest. The sickening squelch of rent flesh rang through the air as she pulled out its still-beating heart, getting once again showered with blood as she held it in her hands. The Greater Lycan finally collapsed with a loud thud. The foursome of exhausted Hunters also fell down.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
Before their stamina, health, and mana were all restored by their level ups. “Th-” Joohee gasped as she sat up, “That was terrifying.” She moaned.
Miho started to giggle, “More like exhilarating!” She started to laugh even harder.
“Adrenaline junkie!” Soohyun sat up, “Phew!” She wiped her forehead. “We got lucky.” She said, uncharacteristically seriously. “If our Mana didn’t get restored upon level up…”
“Yeah, I think we would have been in trouble.” Jinwoo said, pulling up a screen. “Everyone at level four?” He got nods from all of them as they sat, “Looks like we get five points per level. One for each stat.”
Miho frowned, “Strange. Why do the daily quests give us points we can spread about as we please, while level ups allocate them automatically?”
“Maybe as Players, being well-rounded is more beneficial than being specialized?” Joohee suggested, before frowning, “…Can’t really see myself punching something though, if I’m honest.”
“No, but being able to dodge nimbly with agility or take a hit or two like a tank would certainly help a healer.” Jinwoo told her, and Soohyun started to nod happily.
“Oh yeah! Clerics in games often aren’t just heal bots. They can smash enemies real good!” The purple-haired beauty said. Joohee looked like that was about the last thing she wanted to be doing. Jinwoo and Miho stood, drawing their attention, “Hmm? What’s up?”
“There are no essence stones.” Miho said, frowning.
“Do we not get any rewards for beating monsters anymore?” Jinwoo winced, “That’s going to… make paying rent a pain.” He mumbled in worry.
“No, it looks like we get items instead.” Miho said, and in her hand, a large fang appeared. She then opened the store and sold it, making her frown, “Only twenty gold? That can’t be a lot.”
“Well, these are technically low-level trash mobs.” Soohyun said, before frowning, “Despite them almost kicking our butts.”
“What do we do next?” Miho asked after they all collected their loot.
“I think we need to find a teleportation stone asap.” Joohee, somewhat predictably, chimed in. “This is… a lot more dangerous-” She was cut off as more growling echoed through the abandoned subway. They turned to face the darkened and shadowed hallway, only to see what looked like dozens of menacing red eyes looking at them. Joohee paled to the color of milk, but Jinwoo and Miho were ready and took up their positions at the front of the party.
“Jinwoo, didn’t you have a sword in your inventory?” Miho asked, “I thought I saw one in there when you were looking at your Rune Stone. I think you’ll need a bit more killing power than those gauntlets I got you.”
Jinwoo frowned before he pulled out Mr. Kim’s blade, “He left this behind in the double dungeon, right?” He hadn’t wanted to use it. Call him stupid, but with another option available, he hadn’t wanted to even touch that coward’s weapon. Miho was right, though. He’d be a total moron to disregard it with this many enemies.
“The-there’s too many of them.” Joohee was slowly starting to panic.
“Relax, Joohee.” Jinwoo said, turning his head and showing her a confident smile for the first time, “Compared to the statues, these things are weak.”
Miho gained a bloodthirsty grin as she set her feet and readied her spear, “Yeah, so put up a fight you damned mutts, otherwise this will make me feel bad!” She and Jinwoo both rushed forward, and she was surprised to feel just how much of a difference those three meager points in Strength and Agility made.
But Soohyun beat them to the punch. A spatial blast rocketed past the two warriors and crushed one of the Lycans into the ground with a tortured squeal. Miho’s spear pierced a Greater Lycan’s eye, while Jinwoo straight up managed to cleave another’s head in two lengthwise.
[Level Up!]
Soohyun’s gravity magic crushed two Lycans into the ground.
[Level Up!]
Jinwoo had his sword caught in the jaws of a Greater Lycan, and simply kicked the beast in the side, causing it to gag and allowing him to cut straight through the beast. Miho jumped over a Lycan and stabbed her spear downwards, using it to pole vault through another Lycan to land in a group of them. She began to spin her spear rapidly, the blade slicing fur and flesh with increasingly greater ease.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
On and on they went, covering the station and themselves in more and more blood. And as they fought and leveled up, their bodies became stronger, their movements faster and more precise. Soohyun’s magic gained more potency, and her mana pool increased. Joohee’s heals started working faster again. Lacerations and bites that they acquired were closing faster and faster. Her stat buffs were giving them more and more strength and speed.
[Level Up!]
But as they fought the seemingly never-ending walls of Lycans and Greater Lycans, the beasts’ names went from red to orange, and the experience gain started to slow down. They started to go longer and longer between level ups, and that meant that their Fatigue wheels actually started to fill. Every level up reset it, of course, but they were getting more and more tired each time.
[Level Up!]
And things only started getting worse when the names became white. Sure, they were all basically one-shotting their enemies at that point, but the experience gain had slowed to a crawl. And then the names grayed out, and they stopped getting experience at all.
“Sh-Shit!” Miho was leaning on her spear a little, “Th-this isn’t working anymore! Joohee, can you restore our stamina?” She instantly pulled her spear’s tip out of the stone and carved up another Lycan.
“I-I don’t know a spell like that!” Joohee was again starting to panic after having been able to calm down while watching their success. They had all even blown their Daily Quest Restores already!
“Jinwoo! What about your Rune Stone?!” Soohyun gasped out as her magic slammed a trio of Lycans into a shuttered stand. “You should be level ten, right?!”
“Cover me!” Jinwoo gasped and immediately pulled it out from his inventory. The stone was pitch black with a glowing purple rune on it. Despite being almost level eleven, he still could not see what exactly the spell was. “Damn it, please be good!” He crushed it, and a miasma of black and purple engulfed him, making his eyes glow blue.
[Skill Acquired: Shadow Extraction!]
Jinwoo’s eyes bulged, “What the hell!? It’s a Mage spell?! But I put all my points in Strength! I’ve been a Fighter type since I awakened as a Hunter!” Moans of dismay came from the girls. He quickly shut up and read through the description. ‘No mana cost? Okay, that’s awesome!’
[A shadow soldier is created from a body without life by removing its mana. The chance of failure increases the higher the target’s stats are in comparison to the caster.]
He then realized he could hear an unearthly howl coming from all of the corpses around them.
[Shadow Extraction may be used on this target.]
All of the corpses looked like they had shadows coming from them already.
[Please specify a designated command for the Shadow Extraction skill.]
“A designated command?” Jinwoo repeated aloud.
“Jinwoo, whatever you’re going to do, do it quick!” Joohee yelled as she cast Heal on Miho again, the magenta-haired woman hissing as her wounds steamed shut.
“…” Jinwoo smirked, “Arise.” He declared, and then the corpses around them started to convulse. Black, shadowy beasts with glowing blue eyes and wispy smoke floating around their bodies rose from the carcasses. There were only ten of them, but they were all Greater Lycans. All of them let out howls that seemed to frighten their still-living cousins. “Use Blood Rage and attack!” He commanded, and the beasts howled in unison, their eyes glowing a much brighter blue. Then they all charged, crashing into their living counterparts and clashing fangs and claws with them. Canine yelps and cries rang through the air as fur and flesh were torn and shredded.
“Holy crap Jinwoo! They made you a necromancer!” Soohyun sounded amazed.
“But why?” Miho demanded as she tiredly walked over, “It’s like you said, you’re a Fighter type Hunter!”
“I have no idea.” Jinwoo was frowning, “Should I start putting points into Intelligence? Have I already messed up with my current allocation?”
“Let’s read through the skill again.” Joohee suggested, and Jinwoo pulled up the skill description once more.
[A shadow soldier is created from a body without life by removing its mana. The chance of failure increases the higher the target’s stats are in comparison to the caster.
‘Arise’ may be attempted three times per target. Shadows which are either dismissed or unable to be summoned within three attempts may not be summoned again.
Shadows able to be extracted: 10/10
Shadows able to be stored inside your own shadow for later use: 0/1]
Soohyun frowned, “Okay, they’re really useful, but I think most people would be terrified to see them walking around, so you would have to dismiss all but one every time we exit a dungeon. Not having a storage skill for them sucks.”
“Think we can cheat and hide one in each of our shadows?” Miho asked immediately, grinning evilly.
“I’m more interested in them not costing any mana.” Joohee pouted, “That’s so unfair!”
“It’s bullshit, is what that is.” Soohyun groused, “There’s no way the skill is that good.”
Jinwoo snickered, “I think so too. There’s got to be some sort of drawback.” He eyed one of the Greater Lycan Shadows, which was facing off against its live counterpart, “Let yourself die!” He commanded, much to the girls’ surprise. The shadowy beast sat, and the living Lycan tore its throat out. He expected to gain back a shadow slot, but was surprised to see the Shadow reconstitute itself. And then a screen appeared next to him, showing that he had taken a fairly steep hit to his mana.
“Ah!” They all exclaimed, “I get it now. Summoning them is free, but healing them if they die is not. They’re essentially immortal as long as you have mana, but it takes a fair bit of mana to heal each of them.” Soohyun quickly worked out the drawback of the skill.
“So, then I should start putting points into Intelligence!” Jinwoo said morosely. “Without more mana-”
“Absolutely not!” Miho said, and he turned to her, “These Shadow Soldiers are nice, but do you think they’d be that much help against a strong boss? No, they’ll only be really useful for dungeon clearing. Raising your Intelligence gives the skill itself no benefit. It won’t make the Shadows themselves stronger.” She quickly worked through the realization that Jinwoo seemed a little slow to come to, “AND the skill can fail if you’re too weak compared to the enemy you kill.” She added, which seemed to be the right thing to say, as Jinwoo’s face hardened.
“Strength it is.” He said with finality.
The Shadows had apparently mopped up the seemingly endless wave of Lycans, and they finally got a breather. All of them were currently level twelve, and their stats (other than their preferred stats) were all 22s across the board. Jinwoo cracked a grin, “Hey Joohee, you’re stronger now than I was when we started! You could punch a Lycan through a wall now!” They all started to laugh as Joohee’s face turned red.
After the moment of merriment passed, Joohee huffed, “Your weapons look a little worse for wear.” She mumbled, and the two fighters looked at their weapons and winced. They both indeed looked like they were close to being on their last legs.
They checked their inventories and saw that they had a bunch of loot to sell. “Oh, a teleportation stone! We can leave!” Joohee exclaimed in joy, but her face fell when all of them looked like they wanted to do anything but. “Guys…”
“I know how you feel, Joohee.” Soohyun walked up to the slightly-younger girl and cupped her cheek. Despite the intimacy, neither blushed, “I was… terrified after the Double Dungeon. I wanted to quit just like you did. But this is working, and you’re doing fantastic. And you can be even better, but only if you allow yourself to continue growing.”
“Soohyun…” The redhead said softly.
“Remember Joohee…” Miho smiled gently at her, “Bravery isn’t being fearless. It’s moving forward despite your fear.” Joohee closed her eyes. “Deep breaths, Joohee. You can do this.”
Joohee just didn’t know how her newfound friends could be this strong. Her legs shook at even the thought of continuing forward. And then she remembered her pledge, back from before they’d entered the double part of the Double Dungeon. Didn’t she say she was going to support Jinwoo from now on? ‘Jinwoo worked so hard for his family. He risked death time and again, every single day, just to make sure his mother wouldn’t die, and his sister could have a better life. He’s here, getting stronger and stronger! This… I want to be strong for him! For my friends!’ She opened her eyes, “Okay… but maybe we should at least check to see if we can buy stuff from the store now… and we keep the Stone for emergencies!”
They smiled, and opened up their inventories again. They sold everything that wasn’t potentially useful (mostly the Lycan fangs, though there were some other things like pelts and the steel jaws), and they made a tidy amount of gold from it. Jinwoo looked up swords, and Miho looked up spears. After some hemming and hawing, Soohyun rolled her eyes, “Look, we can’t spend the gold anywhere else. You might as well at least try the store.”
Miho snorted, “Yeah, you have a point.” She bought a spear for three-thousand gold, and her eyes widened, “What!?” She blurted, looking at it with wide-eyes. She hurriedly spun it around, “This thing isn’t half bad! It’s just a bit worse than my current spear! I spent two million Won on that thing, and this was only three-thousand gold. I got that much just off the pelts I sold!”
Jinwoo’s eyes widened, and he immediately chose a sword for himself: a Chinese Dao. “Woah…” He spent a fair bit more on it than she had on her spear, and it was outright better than Kim’s sword. “Awesome!”
“Oooh, Mana Potions!” Soohyun squealed, “Don’t mind if I do!” She grinned as it meant she’d be able to restore her mana for more spells. “I think we’re ready!”
“Right!” Even Joohee got into it, and they were all smiling as they raced off with the Shadows following them. The next area saw a few more monsters, different ones at that. They had orange names once more, so that meant they’d be getting experience again. The monsters here were a bit scarier than the Lycans. The Razor-Clawed Brigas were menaces who were hard to hit with their ability to leap and swing all around the underground station. The Black Shadow Razans, on the other hand, were basically black jaguars that could hide and teleport through shadows. They were extremely annoying to fight, and Jinwoo was the only one who could seem to sense them. Everyone, even Joohee, to her terror, got some injuries in the fight. Jinwoo assigned guards to her, and after that, she didn’t get hurt again.
By the time the enemies stopped giving them experience, they all had hit level twenty. He now could have twenty Shadows at a time, though his permanent shadow count remained at only one. He had supplemented their army mostly with the Razans, because they were far more useful. Finally, the enemies seemed to stop coming, and it was time for them to face the boss.
“This title is going to be useful.” Miho smirked as she eyed their newest prize, fresh off of turning the Razans’s and Brigas’s names gray.
[Title: Beast Menace
This title is given to Hunters who excel at hunting beasts of all kinds. All abilities will increase by 40% when fighting Beast-Type monsters.]
“It’s been all beasts this entire dungeon, so the boss better be one as well.” Soohyun grumbled as she eyed the stairs down towards what had to be the boss’s lair. “Oooh, I’m getting shivers. Are we all ready?”
This time, even Joohee didn’t try to argue against descending to the platform to fight the menacing presence they could all sense. All she did was remind them of their teleportation stones in case of emergencies.
They healed up and prepared for the fight downstairs, before moving down. The menace emanating increased, and Joohee and Soohyun had to visibly fight their anxiety. “This can’t really be Hapjeong station, right?” Soohyun asked as they hit the platform. It was overgrown and flooded, with what looked like moss and algae everywhere. An ominous mist floated around, and the waters seemed still and undisturbed.
And then they rippled, and it was all the warning they got. Miho and Jinwoo braced as something came rocketing out of the darkness and piercing through the water. It smashed into them all and sent them hurtling through the air, smashing into the walls and gasping for breath. They all coughed as they slid to the ground, with Joohee and Soohyun looking absolutely terrified of what they were facing. Jinwoo was first to his feet and he stumbled, “Damn… I thought we leveled up a lot.” His shadow army was instantly destroyed from just the boss’s entrance. They regenerated, sure, but he was already low on mana. He doubted that they’d be useful here.
Miho finished his thought, “But the name is still red.”
[King of the Rainforest, The Iridescent Kasaka.]
It was a massive snake that could be measured in train cars that looked vaguely like a King Cobra. Its armored flesh glittered like jewels even in the relatively dim light of the dilapidated platform. Purples, blues, reds, yellows; the snake shone every color of the rainbow in a beautiful prismatic display.
Soohyun and Joohee might even have been fawning over it if the menacing beast with the dark orange name tag wasn’t looking at them like it was ready to ring the dinner bell. It opened its mouth to hiss, revealing that its two major fangs were bigger than them, and that they looked like literal scythe blades. And to even add to the horror, the inside of its mouth, barring the gleaming teeth, was pitch black.
Miho raised her spear and changed her grip. With a roar of exertion, she flung the weapon straight at her target so quickly, she burst through the sound barrier and caused a sonic boom. Thanks to their level ups, the noise only made them flinch slightly. Her weapon shot forward like a bullet and… plinked right off its armored body. “Shit, I was worried about that.” She cursed, “It has thick armor.” She summoned the weapon once more via the Inventory.
“We should leave!” Joohee lost her nerve. “If we can’t break its defenses then-”
The snake rushed forward, surprising them with its sheer speed despite seeing it once before. “SCATTER!” Jinwoo roared as he scooped Joohee up and got her out of the way of the charging snake.
Miho blitzed out of the way, and Soohyun shot straight up. The snake crashed face-first into the wall and shattered it into a hundred little chunks. It reared back and shot for Soohyun above it, mouth gaping and looking to swallow her in one go. Soohyun floated rapidly to the left, dodging the attack, only for Miho to yell, “LOOK OUT!”
Soohyun didn’t have a chance to see the tail streaking for her until it smashed her from behind. She barely had a moment to scream in agony before she shot for the water, smashing into its surface hard and vanishing beneath the murky depths.
Kasaka hissed as its massive body raced to dive after her, only for Jinwoo to leap at it. His armored gauntlets were practically smoking as he punched the snake right in the side of its head. Its armor flaked off from the impact, and its flesh distended. The serpent rocked to the side before turning its glimmering, purple, evil eyes towards Jinwoo. Surprising him, it undulated and smacked its coils into his body, sending him flying and crashing through one of the support pillars.
As it turned to charge after him, Miho leapt over it, screaming in exertion as she drove the point of her spear into the tiny gap between its scales. Kasaka screeched and turned into a roiling mass of coils as it tried to get the interloper off its body. Miho looked almost dizzy as she tried to stay on, trying to push the spear deeper into its flesh to do some damage to it. She knew that, for its body size, driving the tip of her spear in a few inches was the equivalent of her walking on a thumbtack.
Finally, it flung her off, or rather she could hang on no more, and it turned to face her. It therefore entirely missed a rather pissed off Soohyun rising from the depths of the deep pool that the tracks had turned into… along with all of the water in it. It turned into a writhing mass of water above her head, and she yelled in exertion as she flung the water at the beast. Kasaka was taken entirely by surprise as tens of thousands of gallons smashed into it with the fury of Poseidon. Water splashed everywhere as Kasaka was driven into the back wall hard, dazing it. And then Jinwoo was above it, body glowing from the buff Joohee cast on him.
With a roar, he punched Kasaka directly in the center of its forehead, making the entire snake rock back from the impact.
All it did was piss it off even more. With a loud hiss, its tail smashed him straight into Miho, who was also leaping for its head with the intent of piercing its eye. Both of them hacked out in pain as they smashed into the ground and ragdolled around. Hissing even more, it opened its mouth wide and shot a jet of purple liquid at them.
They were unable to dodge and were washed away, screaming in pain as the poison began to drain their life away. “Oh shit!” Soohyun screamed as she put so much mana into a Spatial Rend that the air in front of her hand was visibly warping. Jinwoo and Miho were both red-faced, and their eyes were bloodshot as they vomited blood below her.
As Soohyun unleashed the blast, Joohee raced over, being careful not to step in any of the gunk as best she could. The Spatial Rend crushed Kasaka, making it scream in agony as scales were torn from its body. For the first time, it was actually wounded, showcasing its purple blood. But the attack took a lot out of Soohyun. She was running close to empty now.
[Detoxification: Thanks to Kandiaru’s Blessing, you will always be strong and healthy. Harmful substances have been detected in your body.
Buff: Detoxification has been activated. You are now being healed.]
The message popped up in front of both of them, and Joohee sighed in relief and started to restore their health rather than trying to purge them of the poison. Soohyun landed, “I hate to say it, but I think we need to run.” She said seriously, “I put everything I had in that, and I’m exhausted. These mana potions aren’t as useful as I thought they’d be because you have to take the time to actually drink them. If we can’t find that moment then they’re useless…” She trailed off as Joohee took her Teleportation Stone out.
“Damn it…” Jinwoo got to his feet, glaring at the snake with his dao in hand. Now that it had some weak points, the blade might be useful. “I thought I got stronger.” They didn’t realize it, but he wasn’t talking to them. “How much stronger do I have to get… to escape this life of constant ridicule?!” It was as though he had entirely forgotten they were there.
Two of the girls gasped as he inadvertently revealed some of his inner anguish. Joohee instantly knew what he was talking about. “‘The Weakest Hunter of All Mankind.’ Oh, Jinwoo…”
Of the three, Miho knew what he felt best. After all, she had been a strong, respected A-Rank Hunter for half a decade now. This weakness she felt pervading her body was utterly infuriating. Already, her brother had started trying to treat her like glass. Her friends hadn’t abandoned her, but she could feel their well-hidden pity when they visited and learned of what had happened to her. ‘Is this it, Jinwoo? Is this what you’ve dealt with for four years?’ She stood as well, grabbing her spear and glaring at Kasaka.
The two rushed forward, Jinwoo’s Shadows joining them in harassing the giant snake. It spat poison at them again, but they were ready this time, dodging the streams of painful liquid. Some of his Shadows were annihilated again, but the group barreled into the snake with their full fury. The Razans dipped in and out of shadows, taking tiny bites of Kasaka’s armor. It was quite ineffectual, and all Kasaka had to do was slam them with its coils to kill them once more. The Greater Lycans had a bit more luck while using Blood Rage, but even that couldn’t help them stand up to one good blow.
No, if they wanted to win, Miho and Jinwoo would have to do this themselves. “I came here to become stronger!” Jinwoo roared as he slashed the snake’s neck with his dao. His eyes were glowing blue, and a visible aura of dark blue and black shadows surrounded him. His hair was even floating.
“I refuse to stay weak like this! I REFUSE!” Miho roared, stabbing Kasaka’s eye with her spear, bursting it like a boil. Her body and eyes were also glowing with a magenta aura. Nasty purple puss poured from the wound as the snake writhed and threw them off. The tail smacked Jinwoo into the wall, and then it coiled around Miho, crushing her.
Jinwoo flew from the rubble, again cutting clean through Kasaka’s flesh and making it writhe in pain. It freed Miho, who dropped her broken spear and transformed. Her scales were stronger and covered more of her body again. Roaring her fury, she clawed Kasaka’s weakened neck again and again. “Not yet!”
Kasaka started to move, rapidly moving away from them and getting some distance. “Not yet!” Jinwoo yelled as he ran after it. It suddenly reversed course and sprang at him, crushing him against the wall. Its fangs raced for him, but he managed to free an arm and sliced about two feet into its mouth, splitting it.
It reared back in pain, freeing him. He dropped to the ground and dashed forward, piercing through Kasaka’s scales with his dao, and breaking the blade off near the base when it writhed away from him.
Soohyun finished drinking a third Mana Potion, and now had enough Mana for this. “Please let this be the end.” She mumbled as she thrust her hand forward and unleashed another titanic Spatial Rend. Its back exploded in blood as its armored scales were again blasted off, making it screech in agony.
“COMPARED TO THOSE STATUES-” Miho yelled as she latched onto the back of its neck with her claws, looking altogether feral.
“COMPARED TO THE TERROR I FELT THAT DAY-” Jinwoo picked up her train of thought as he latched on from the front.
“YOU DON’T SCARE ME ONE BIT!” The two of them roared as they began to squeeze.
The snake panicked and scrambled, bashing into everything it could to try to dislodge them. Walls, pillars, even the train cars. Said train cars were flung at Soohyun and Joohee, who panicked and had to dodge under them. Their hearts were racing as they looked at Jinwoo and Miho grabbing onto Kasaka like their lives depended on it.
Both Miho and Jinwoo were battered as it rebounded again and again off the walls, floors, submerged rails, the ceiling, “Die!” They yelled with one voice as they started squeezing with desperate strength. “Die! DIE!” They finally roared as their hands and arms broke through, causing blood to spurt from the wounds. “DIE! DIEEEEEEE!” A horrendous tearing and squelching sound rang in the empty station. Purple blood poured onto them as the two tore its head off its body.
The very roughly decapitated head flew through the air and crashed down with a loud thud, obscuring them as a dust cloud obscured them. “Jinwoo! Miho!” An exhausted Soohyun and Joohee ran for them, but slowed to a stop when they saw the two lying in exhaustion against the corpse of Kasaka.
Both of them were laughing in exhausted relief and triumph. “I guess we got a bit stronger, huh?”
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
They sighed in relief as the exhaustion was drained away. Soohyun was gaping, “Holy wow! Five levels?! How strong was it?”
“Upper tier for C-Rank, I think. Maybe lower B.” Miho blushed, “I… kind of went a little feral there.”
Jinwoo grinned, his head laying on the snake’s corpse, “I never thought…” He trailed off as Joohee crashed into him and hugged him tightly. He blushed, “J-Joohee?!”
“You’re not useless!” She said softly, and his face fell.
“…Not anymore.” He replied.
“YOU NEVER WERE!” She said vehemently, pulling back. “Even-even when I was admonishing you for getting hurt, I always secretly admired you!” She joined him in blushing as Soohyun and Miho grinned, “Maybe you weren’t the strongest Hunter, but you are the only reason any of us are still alive!”
“She’s right.” Miho said softly, and surprised him by grabbing his hand, “In that situation, I was as powerless as a baby. And it was only because you kept your cool and tried to figure things out that I was able to keep calm myself.”
Jinwoo sighed, “I… I want to believe you.” he said softly, “But for all my intelligence… for all that I was the one who figured things out… it was only because you three stayed with me that I wasn’t the last one left on that altar.” He looked away, “Those four… even Mr. Kim.” He spat the man’s name like a curse, “All of them just left us to die. And he thanked me for it even while abandoning us. What a load of shit…”
Their faces and shoulders drooped. Jinwoo smiled then, surprising them, “I never… I never thanked you, did I? You all could have left me there, just like them. With my foot missing… I was the obvious option. It’s what Mr. Kim and those others did. I… I’ll never forget that you all stayed.”
He couldn’t say any more, as his face was suddenly in heaven. All three girls embraced him, and his face was being smushed by Soohyun’s heavenly bosom. When Joohee pulled away, her eyes were gleaming with unshed tears, “I know it hurt, Jinwoo. I know what they did. But not everyone is like them. Just… don’t lose your compassion, Jinwoo.” Her bottom lip quivered, “I… I always thought you were so kind… and I always loved that about you. I thought more people needed to be like you.” She and Jinwoo both flushed, causing Miho and Soohyun to smirk.
“…Thank you, Joohee.” He embraced her this time, and was blushing again when they let go. They all stood, “We should check out our rewards.” He coughed into his fist sheepishly. Miho and Soohyun had to hold back giggles at the obvious dodge, while Joohee just blushed some more.
“Oooh!” Miho’s face lit up.
[Item: Kasaka’s Venom Fang
Rank: C
Type: Spear
Attack: +35]
She showed off her new weapon, “This thing can Paralyze AND Bleed any opponents!”
“Lucky! I didn’t get anything!” Jinwoo complained, “Ow!” He rubbed his nose, which Soohyun had just flicked. “What was that for?!”
“Didn’t get anything?” She raised an eyebrow before pointing at Kasaka.
Jinwoo blinked, “…Oh yeah!” He grinned sheepishly, before turning to the snake. “Arise.” Shadows started to erupt from the giant corpse, before a strong wind nearly blew them away. “What?!” He gasped when it settled with nothing having happened.
“The skill can fail.” Miho reminded him, biting her lip.
“You can do it, Jinwoo.” Joohee patted him on his shoulder.
“Right…” He took a deep breath. “Arise.” Again, nothing appreciable happened, and a screen in front of Kasaka reminded him that he only had one more attempt. A vein bulged on his head, “Listen here, you little shit.” He growled out, looking incredibly pissed off. Miho started to giggle at the sight and his words. “We went through hell to kill you, and we did it with our bare hands! You WILL rise up and fight for us! ARISE!”
And finally, the shadows refused to disperse. They coalesced into a large serpent, which floated above them.
[Kasaka Lv.3
Rank: Normal Grade]
“There are grades?” Jinwoo asked, but was distracted by Soohyun.
“Is it just me, or is it smaller?” She blinked, and they all stared at the snake. “It’s not just me, right?”
Jinwoo let out a groan, “Let me guess… it’s not as strong as it was in life?” The shadows looked cool as hell, being entirely black and glowing with blue ‘flames.’
“Yeah.” Miho frowned, her eyes glowing, “Looks like it was knocked down to the bottom of C-Rank. Probably because you needed help to beat it, so it was stronger than you.”
“But it has a level, right?” Joohee asked, “What about the Lycans and Razans?”
Jinwoo summoned one, “Level 1.”
“Well, hopefully this means that they can level up just like us.” Miho smirked, “Maybe it’s not as strong as it used to be, but that doesn’t mean they can’t become as strong.”
Jinwoo smiled, “Hey, what about you two?” He asked, turning to the redhead and the purple-haired beauty.
“Hmm…” Joohee opened her rewards, “Oh! I got an armor set!”
[Kasaka’s Scales
Rank C
Type: Armor]
“It reduces all physical damage by 20% and gives me an additional 15% Magical Resistance!” Joohee said cheerfully, immediately equipping the armor, which showed up on her body for a split second before going invisible and intangible.
“Nice!” Soohyun grinned, “We’ll make you a Cleric in no time! Just need to find you a shield and a Morningstar.” They all laughed as Joohee squawked in shock. “And last but not least… A Rune Stone!” Soohyun grinned, grabbing the glowing purple stone. “Let’s see what this baby can do!” She crushed it, and her body and eyes began to glow purple. “…Oooh hell yes!” She crowed in excitement, “I basically got its infrared vision! I’ll be able to see through any stealth or camouflage skills!” Her eyes began to glow a brilliant purple, and her pupils became slitted like a snake. She then blinked and shook her head.
“Oh, that’ll be really useful!” Miho clapped with a wide smile, “Great work, everyone!” Jinwoo commanded Kasaka to get inside his Shadow, while he dispersed the others into the ether. “Wait!” Miho growled before flicking him on the nose, “We were supposed to test if you could keep some in our shadows, Jinwoo!”
“…Whoops.” He sweatdropped at her outrageous pout. He then took out a pouch, “This thing is the final thing I got. It’s dangerous.”
“Kasaka’s Venom Gland?” Joohee asked, before pulling out her own. “Did we all get one?”
“…Hey, don’t we all have Detoxification?” Soohyun asked, and they could see the cat ears and expression on her face.
There was a pause. And then all four of them chugged the (disgusting) fluid down. As Soohyun predicted, they were initially poisoned and lost the thirty-five strength, but the effect was cleared within five seconds, leaving them with just the twenty-percent physical damage reduction. “Okay, that really shouldn’t have worked.” Miho deadpanned, “We’re all cheating bastards!”
Soohyun laughed, “Guilty! Now let’s get out of here!”
Jinwoo, as the ‘party leader,’ had a screen pop up asking if he wanted to end the Dungeon Dive, and he agreed. Instantly, light started to shine and, like magic, wiped away all the grime, stagnant water, and overgrown greens from the station’s platform. They all looked around curiously, “…Where is everyone?”
After a few moments, they just made their way out of the station, and Soohyun groaned when she saw it was raining. “Great. My hair is going to be a mess!”
Suddenly, a soldier came up to them, and they became aware that something was going on. “Is it a Dungeon Break?” Miho asked seriously, and he nodded.
“I can sense it.” Jinwoo muttered, his eyes glowing as he looked over one of the buildings.
“Yeah.” Soohyun’s eyes were also glowing purple, “Looks like it’s just a D-Rank.” She muttered.
Joohee displayed the tremendous amount of growth she’d experienced in the Dungeon, “Let’s go take care of it.” She said, and all of them smiled at the lack of fear in her voice.
They ran off, outpacing the soldier who tried to hurry after them, but quickly lost sight of them. As they came up to the huge stone golem, Miho clicked her teeth, “Awful party composition.” She sighed.
“Yeah, all the damage dealers are E-Ranks, and the three D-Ranks are either the Tank or the Healers.” Soohyun commented, surprised at just how much better her senses were.
“They’ll never break through like this.” Jinwoo sighed, “The E-Ranks just can’t hit it hard enough.”
“How should we help?” Joohee asked, “I can buff all of them. Looks like they’re okay healing-wise right now.”
Jinwoo and Miho shared a look. She pulled her broken spear from her inventory, and Jinwoo grabbed the now-dagger that Mr. Kim’s sword had become. Both of them drew back, before throwing the broken weapons in synchronized motions. The two rockets flew forward, leaving behind vapor trails.
The party was panicking as they failed to touch the boss. All of them were running low on Mana, and if the Tank went down, they were all dead.
And then the broken weapons smashed into the Stone Golem’s head, shattering it into pebbles. The rest of its body stayed standing for a moment as the others gaped in shock, before it fell to its knees and broke apart, the magic unable to keep it together anymore.
“Show-offs.” Soohyun had a grin on her face as they all turned and walked away. The Tank of that group wondered who the hell had taken out the Boss they hadn’t been able to so much as scratch, but Jinwoo’s group was long gone by the time someone tried to point them out. Soohyun’s grin widened, “And look at this…” She looked positively catlike as she casually felt up the muscles on Jinwoo’s exposed forearm.
“S-Soohyun!” Jinwoo blushed again as the beauty felt him up.
“Rock hard.” Soohyun smirked as Miho grabbed his other arm, “Looks like that one dungeon already made a major difference, huh?”
He and Joohee were blushing all the way back to the hospital.
-]|[-
“Oooh, that hit the spot.” Joohee mumbled as she let out a loud yawn. She sat up and stretched, a happy smile on her face, “A good night’s sleep was exactly what the doctor ordered after that dungeon, right Jin…woo…” Her face went slack as she looked over and saw Jinwoo sit up in bed. Her face started to redden, and her breath quickened as she took him in.
His clothes had either shrunken, or he had grown. A lot. A lot, a lot. His body was covered in muscle, and he was at least a foot taller. His shirt was now too small for his body, and was looking like a large crop top, showing his navel. A small bit of drool started to escape Joohee’s lips, and her throat suddenly felt very dry.
“Oh my…” Soohyun had also sat up, and was staring at him intently. She wasn’t so much as blinking.
“Good morning.” Miho sat up and stretched, drawing their attention. Jinwoo almost fell over as he took her in. She had actually grown a few inches as well, and her body was tight with wiry muscle. Her thighs had increased in thickness, and her butt was even more prominent in those tight yoga pants she wore to bed. She caught sight of him, and she froze, staring at his taut body.
Unable to even swallow from how dry his mouth was, his traitorous eyes looked over at Soohyun and Joohee as well. Their gains mirrored Miho’s, though they weren’t nearly as petite as she was. All of them had gone to bed beautiful. Now they looked like goddesses.
And as they all looked around and stared owlishly at one another, one thought was prevalent. ‘…Oh, I’m in trouble.’
-]|[-
Hope you all enjoyed! I’m actually pretty happy to have a backlog of chapters now. Had a few days where the muse just went dead silent and didn’t want to write anything. Caught up on some games I’d been wanting to play. Vindictus: Defying Fate is actually fucking fire. Alpha should be live for a few more days so give it a go if you can run it. Also bought Stellar Blade on PC just now and am having a fucking blast playing that. Even booted up the original Vindictus to play Neamhain. I feel like fucking Thanos. Build a brand-new PC with top end specs… just to go play a game I’ve been playing since 2011. “You could not live with those other games, so where did that bring you? Back to me.”
The soundtrack for Stellar Blade is also fucking fire. Just beats you over the head as soon as the game fucking starts. It’s too good!
As of right now, the first update of July will be chapter 3 for this. Subject to change if I can beat my muse over the head.
Comments
Reiter
And so, I ended binging the whole of Solo Leveling to enjoy this fic, and it was a good decision. IT IS FUCKING AMAZING!!!! ohfhdjfjs I'm so hype for all the AU elements and the butterflies you will release!!
Primordial Vortex
He won't be putting any for a good long while lmao
Nick K
He needs to put points into intelligence immediately
Loki-BeastRuler
Im positively loving this. Its already better then Canon. Can't wait for the next chapter, especially if its what I think it is. So much catharsis to be had next time and then with the guys that tried to kill him. Going to be absolutely fabulous
Primordial Vortex
Fun fact: There is actually official art for best doggo shadow https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/solo-leveling-arise/images/1/10/Cerbie.png/revision/latest?cb=20240828073107
Primordial Vortex
Him being utterly alone was the worst part of canon and led to the very meh ending. The side characters were just treated so badly. Out of story reason: He got Shadow Extraction early because I wanted Kasaka and Cerbie. In story reason: Syke you thought! :haha: So you'd think that, but her getting depowered and his reaction to that is actually driving a wedge between them, so he won't have as much involvement as you'd think
Primordial Vortex
Oh, he's absolutely justified in being worried, but that doesn't change the fact that it's pissing MIho the fuck off. So I just want to throw this out there: Just because I have a party system doesn't mean they'll all be bound at the hip. They'll go on solo dungeons of their own as well, or even just end up in different groupings.
Primordial Vortex
I feel like they definitely needed it to help with the trash mobs. Eventually you just start getting tired.
Primordial Vortex
Because he's not an assassin in this.
Primordial Vortex
Fun fact: There is actually official art for best doggo shadow https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/solo-leveling-arise/images/1/10/Cerbie.png/revision/latest?cb=20240828073107 Oh yeah, it's next chapter.
savitar
Thanks for the story update. I wonder what it's like to have a giant killer snake as a minion. Hopefully, it's not the only boss you can turn into a minion. There's also Cerberus, for example, which would definitely be interesting. I can't wait for more story development. It's really interesting and engaging. And I can understand why you're so focused on it. Thanks, and have a nice day.
Seeker959
Great chapter. I just binge watched Solo Levelling, and I'm loving this fic. There is so much potential here, and I'm really enjoying seeing JInwoo not go it alone. To not become isolated the way he did in canon. I can't wait to see how they change things. I know I wasn't the only one surprised to see him get shadows early. I wonder why that happened? Was it the system trying to keep their abilities separate? Its master throwing them a bone for more than one person getting access to the system? And thanks to there being more people, two of whom are experienced Hunters, they're looking at things from different angles Jingwoo wouldn't. I imagine Miho and Soohyun would realize how much money they can make by selling the stuff from the store a lot earlier than he would, and maybe use it to outfit their friends and guild. I think what I'm most curious about is how Miho's presence will change things, since it gives he party a direct link to Yoonho. I could see her coming clean to him, and him helping cover for them. Although, having a connection to the White Tiger Guild would cause major changes with how things go with Jinho... Wonder how the Jehu Island raid will go down. I can't imagine Miho at least sitting that out, and if she's as powerful as Jinwoo at that point... then again, if she's by herself, he might still need to come in and save the day. She couldn't fight Beru AND protect the S-ranks from the swarm of ants. And glad you're enjoying writing this. Always follow your muse. Looking forward to more!
Craig Jacks
Too bad Jinwoo will definitely still get crapped on by others for being "The Weakest Hunter of All Mankind," and being in a group of former A & B-ranks won't help that narrative for him. Not until he, the "weakest E-rank," starts beating higher-ranking Hunters. That should (hopefully) set the record straight, and give them all the ranks they rightfully earn. :)
Craig Jacks
The biggest issues I can see - more how they'll handle it emotionally and psychologically - is Joohee, since despite growing more confident, she still does not like harming others, fighting, or killing, and she'll be forced to do all 3 due to one selfish moron's actions. The second is who will take on the blame for killing that idiot career-criminal, since his big brother is actually a big problem. Not that they can't crush him if they work together, but because of the ramifications of his political situation.
Craig Jacks
I'm loving the characterization with Jinwoo being in a party of 4, since now they have diversity of skills & abilities as well as thoughts, with Miho helping him figure out the best way to build his combat style and skill allocation, and Soohyun pointing out helpful ideas, like taking advantage of the 'Detox' blessing for Kasaka's Venom Gland to gain free buffs. It was also great to see Miho able to empathize with Jinwoo the most, now that she's experienced a similar circumstance to him. Though I feel her brother is justified in being worried about Miho, since in one week, he found her and 3 others unconscious on an alter drenched in their own blood, and when she recovered, she'd been drastically weakened by something he couldn't understand. I'd be terrified for my sister's well-being if she went through something like that! And just like with any dungeon raid, teamwork and knowing when and how to play your role is how they survived, even if they mainly beat the boss through persistence, aggression, and sheer grit. It was also kind of funny that Jinwoo...did not earn much from the boss besides 1 Shadow, while Miho got Kasaka's Venom Fang (in spear form), Joohee got armor (VERY smart to buff the Healer's defense), and Soohyun got a skill that will definitely screw over "a certain murderous scumbag" very soon. Though what I'm really keen for is how this growing group will deal with Hwang Dongsuk, since that will truly test how they'll grow as individuals. And if they got thrashed by Kasaka this badly, I'm almost dreading how they'll fare against "Igris the Blood-Red".
Anador
hahahaha the ending was so funny ‘…Oh, I’m in trouble.’ hahahaha. Love how the grope works together each person brings something to help the others 10/10 dynamic (also love how Joohee and Soohyun are progressing in their own ways compared to Miho & Jinwoo)
Nobody
Such a good read, thanks for the chapter! The dynamic is much more interesting with four focus points instead of just Jinwoo. I love seeing how you are working the extra characters in and how their own previous experiences are effecting the group growth. Laughing so hard about how the group will be treated from now on, four hotties in one place is going to attract a lot more attention than just one did in canon.
twilightwanderer
Another great chapter, and I'm glad you've got a backlog for some peace of mind. On an unrelated note, my brain took a little trip from that last line, and now I need to see Camie say "Fuck, ur h4wt" at some point once the Emerald Phoenix muse returns.
Eli
another excellent chapter. I was a bit surprised that you gave Jinwoo Shadow extraction early, but it makes sense with the rest of the party already having skill trees available to them. I am really excited to see how the groups dynamic as an adventuring party will develop as things go on. and I am so so hyped to find out what the endstates of each of their progression path's will look like.
Pheonix774
Awesome chapter. Though why didn't you give jinwoo his signature first dagger rasaka's fang or in this instance kasaka's fang. If I remember right the next thing to happen is the lizards group.
Raizor
So we have Shadow Extraction early…I wonder how much of a difference it will make for the early stuff. Maybe he can get the spider as his minion, although I don’t see it changing too much. Then again, it’s you we're talking about so you probably found or will find a way to make it very relevant. Speaking of, really curious how the betrayal is gonna go. If I'm right, you should have written about it already, considering you’re up to chapter 5, I believe you said? So yeah, very hyped aboug the coming chapters and I hope your muse starts playing along for this story again. It is already one of the best Solo Leveling stories out there!
Orchamus
Thanks for the new fic recommend😉
Orchamus
So good 😊, nice to see the group taking care of each other. Wonder if the episode 6 betrayal will still happen, and what their reactions might be if so?
Castlecrasher009
Great chapter. Gimme more!
MASTERCHEIF1229 .
Awesome chapter! I can't wait for the next one! I just wish that there was fanart for Baek Miho for me to look at. This is either my first or second favorite Solo Leveling fanfic, with the only other fic that compares being Shadow Consort by Cyburst on A03
MasterMarx
Well shit, there goes my sleep tonight
