Volume 19. Chapter 1. -Solo Leveling -(i alone level-up)

Volume 19. Chapter 1.

I am an employee of the Hunters Association. When just walking down the street, ask any student you come across one question. Ask them what kind of work they would like to have in the future. In a hundred cases out of a hundred, you will receive one of these three answers. First: the famous hunter, Second: employee of a large guild, Third: employee of the Association of Hunters. If this child is a bit of a brake, then he or she will eventually waste every day, wishing to become a famous hunter. A smarter child than the example above would like to get a place in a large guild that paid based on ability. And the smartest of them would choose to become an employee of the Hunters Association, where they pay same as in large guilds, but you are considered a semi-public servant. And this reduces the risks of unceremonious dismissal from work. So who am I?

Hm. I was smart. Very smart, by the way. And maybe that’s why when I announced my desire to join the Hunters Association, both mom and dad were a little upset. This was somewhat different from the reactions of other parents. Dad, for example, wanted me to become a prosecutor. And my mother preferred to see me as a successful doctor who would save thousands of lives. Of course, I understand them. The only son in the family, the apple of his eye. Yes, they wanted me to follow in their footsteps. But I also had my own dream. And this dream played a big role in my life choices. Become a member of the Hunters Association.

-Why do you want to become a member of the Hunters Association?

-these words were told to me by none other than the President of the Association, Go Gun-Hee, when I was sitting in the meeting room with my face frozen like a stone. I was busy reproaching myself for failing almost all the questions asked by the interviewers due to the fact that he was very nervous. But when I heard this question… It penetrated my head and awakened my brain… The light in my eyes changed dramatically. At least I remember how, with a resolute expression on my face, I answered this question:

-Even now, hunters are putting their lives at stake to protect the lives of innocent citizens in different parts of our country. In this case… Who are the people who risk their own for the sake of the hunters themselves?

My voice became louder when I said that I want to become a member of the Association and stand on the side of those people who defended the hunters. Did I make a mistake when, still excited, I heard the quiet sighs of “Wow” that sounded apart from me and in front of me?

But I remembered exactly how I saw an almost imperceptible smile on the face of the president of the Association of Go Gun-Hee, when the corners of his mouth rose slightly. And so, in fact, I became an employee of the Hunters Association, getting a job for which many were ready to die. Leaving behind the tears of my parents, I left the town, to which I stuck with my soul. And then I arrived in Seoul, where the main headquarters of the South Korean Hunters Association was located. I felt myself in the seventh heaven because I had successfully taken my first step towards fulfilling my dream of becoming a member of the Association, which guarded the hunters. My mind was a bit clouded. I even wondered if everything went exactly as I wanted. Unfortunately, my bewitching image regarding the Association was broken into millions of small fragments on the first day of work. My naive thoughts that I could easily help the hunters immediately evaporated. More than nine years have passed since the Awakened One, Gate and monsters appeared in this world. Society already passed through a period of stability, many times suffered huge losses. As well as going through countless trials and errors. And, as a new member of the Association who took his first, almost childish steps in this society, there was absolutely no hope that I would have any opportunity to speak out. Since my original goal was to help hunters, accordingly, I was appointed to the “support” department. But there, all kinds of various tasks were waiting for me, of which there was absolutely no benefit. And I put it mildly. In fact, this was no different from sorting out a mess left after hunters associated with the Association. “But what is this happening?

I heard that hunters in the area next to ours get a cup of coffee or snacks before going on a raid. So why aren’t they giving us?

” ” I have one urgent matter to deal with. So could you give me an advance for this month?

” ” If I participate in today’s raid, there will be nobody to take my child home. Could you please provide me this service?

” And every time something like that. Even if it was a matter of low-level gates, which cost a little, but someone still needed to deal with them. But the number of hunters was limited, so their needs and desires should be fulfilled, no matter what. In one of the worst cases, if someone began to blame the hunters for something, then I was expected would be a very terrible day. But if the hunter, who is accused, decided to leave the Association, then… While I was scampering around the building, trying to solve all these many questions, I became more and more disappointed in reality. And like this… On one of these ordinary days, the following happened. While I was sadly killing time, I received a phone call. * trrrrr -trrrrr I took a long breath, watching the phone tear apart in its trill. And I wondered what kind of hunter was calling so diligently to state his complaints this time. I reached out and picked up the phone. As soon as the plastic of the tube touched my ear, an angry voice was seriously heard from it:

-I told you to never send Hunter Son to me!

So why didn’t they listen to my request?

!

I had no idea what this guy was talking about, but first of all I had to apologize.

-I am so sorry, hunter. There must have been an error while forming the team. Could you tell us more about what happened?

-What the hell in general?

. Forget about the details. I told you that my team does not want to be responsible for the corpse, you are not in the know?

But you continue to shove this weakling who is injured, even just tripping over our team!

Yes, you dare to claim that he is a “hunter”. How do you think we should deal with the consequences if something happens?

!

Once again, this will happen, and I immediately leave, is that understandable?

!

-Then they hung up on the other end. I put the phone on the table, constantly scrolling the word “patience” in my head. And then he began to collect information about the hunter that this man spoke on the phone. The reasons for the demands to replace a member of the raid group could be different. Such, for example, as a disagreement with the decision of the leader. Either they didn’t like each other, or someone didn’t fight the way the other wanted… In general, such requests were received quite often, so before that I did not give special attention to such details. But then… “Mr. Song… Mr. Dream… His name is Jin Woo, right?

” I looked at the case of hunter Song Jin Woo and soon realized that here something was completely wrong. “Ah?

.” His level was just “E.” So what about the magical energy that he possessed

-it was exactly on the very bottom of level E. “Hey, his release of magical energy is not different from an ordinary person, isn’t that so?

” As expected, his case was full of notes where he received as a result mutilations.

-Oh my God,

-stunned and in complete amazement, I closed his case. My heart was beating furiously. This… This was clearly wrong. If I pretended that I had not seen his story and simply moved on, then he would really have died soon. At that moment I remembered what I said in the meeting room. The hunters put their lives at stake for ordinary citizens, but who risked their own for the sake of these same hunters?

I nodded at the machine. For the first time since I started working for the Association of Hunters in the last year or so, I finally found the right job for myself. The first thing I found was a senior employee. Unfortunately, neither my direct supervisor, nor his supervisor, nor even the supervisor of that supervisor wanted to get into a question that would bring some problems. So, I had to look for the head of the “support” department. “Sir, this is a question regarding a person’s life,” I said.”If we avoid the problem like this, it will not be solved on its own.” The boss built the face of a deeply worried person. Of course, the junior employee abruptly turned from a well-educated guy who worked without complaints to the current me. But I did not stop voicing what had to be said out loud.

-But what, if this hunter dies during the raid, sir?

What do we then say to his surviving family members?

-I could not calm down.

-Oh-oh, you should not say something so sad…

-That’s how much the life of hunter Song Jin Woo is in danger, sir. Please take a look. These are his notes on admissions to hospitals. The fact that he managed to survive so far is already a miracle.

-…

-for some time the chief silently studied the data that I brought. Then he heads. “That is, you say that we need to do something like Associations and force Mr. Son Jin Woo to leave this profession, right?

-Yes, sir, that’s right,” I agreed. Because he would surely die in the end if he continued to fulfill the duties of a hunter.

-My friend, I hope you know the story of this hunter while you tell me all this. I nodded. His mother was admitted to the intensive care unit. I knew that without the help of life support systems, she would not have survived until the next day. I also knew that he worked for the Association to pay hospital bills.

-But sir!

Patients affected by Eternal Sleep Disease will never wake up. And, of course, we cannot allow a living person to step into the grave for the dead, do you not agree?

Even then, countless people were dying due to the disease of the Eternal Dream. Indeed, it was sad, but we could not continue to chase him through deadly traps over and over again for the sake of his mother’s life. We had to save at least him. Although the boss tried his best to dissuade me, I still did not back down from my decision. In the end, the boss lost:

-Okay, good. My face instantly enlivened, to which he also added:

-Only you will personally be responsible for convincing the hunter Son Jin Woo. If he voluntarily decides to stop, then we will do so. Then I have already decided this for myself. Naturally, I never entertained myself with the idea of ​​forcibly expelling a guy without his knowledge. Although I probably stood in front of the biggest obstacle…

-I understand. … I nevertheless nodded with determination to my boss. Seriously, when in my life was I so involved in anything?

I prepared so much data that I myself began to ask this question. It was not all to give a large announcement to the higher ones or to pass a difficult exam. No, all this was just to convince a single hunter named Song Jin Woo. “He is twenty-three years old… He is six years younger than me.” Thanks to my rigorous preparation, I felt justifiably confident that day. Yes, I owned a lot of evidence and records of how he drove himself right into the clutches of death. And that was more than enough to chastise him for his recklessness. I was going to go through each and every one of these notes to argue why he should stop being a hunter. I even got ready to give him a lecture that you need to value your life as much as your mother’s life. * clk The door to the cafe opened and a person who I had seen before entered. only in photographs in action. Seeing him live, I instantly froze in place. He looked around before he noticed me. The stranger cautiously sat opposite.

-W-hello,

-the guy greeted me first. Although I myself could not say a word from what I was preparing to say in my head.

-You think we did not try to do the same?

-and the boss pulled a glass full of soju towards me. I swallowed it in one fell swoop, which made me grimace. Was it from the bitter aftertaste of drinking or from the fact that it was hard on my heart?

I did not know why my face refused to soften.

-And yet… Sir, this is wrong, you know?

This is simply wrong, sir. He is still a young guy, he is only twenty-three. He should not have that look. I sincerely thought that at least hunter Song Jin Woo would appear at the meeting place with a facial expression full of baseless confidence. That he will sincerely believe that he will survive, no matter what. Or with a frightened look, as if he was looking for someone to stop him. And I was sure that I could convince him, regardless of his condition. But Song Jin Woo was completely different. It seemed that he was fully aware of the difficulty of the situation in which he was bogged down. There was a slight smile on his face. She seemed to be hinting that, although he was all trembling with fear, he was somehow able to overcome it. So how could I push someone to the edge of the abyss when this person barely got over his fear?

I just couldn’t do it. So I realized that I should not have spoken about my leadership simply because they could not do the same as me. The boss, filling the glass, did not utter a word. But then he quietly asked me:

-Friend. Why did you join the Association of Hunters?

-I …

-at the moment when I first thought about helping the hunters… My head drooped slightly when I remembered the events of that fateful day. -When I was young, I saw one news report, sir. It was about a hunter who was locked inside the Gate, trying to save his comrades from imprisonment, as happened to him

-I remembered that amusement park, a place where people are supposed to smile and have fun… But that time that place was full hunters lying helplessly on the ground. Everyone was bloodied and moaned loudly in pain. Then it became very interesting to me. “These guys are saving other people by bleeding like that. But who is saving them?

” My parents could not give an answer to this question, and then I decided. If no one can help them, then I will become that person. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that the hunters do not suffer or die.

-But now even I have become the same as the others, sir. I couldn’t become this supporting force for hunter Song Jin Woo, who in his life faced a deadly crisis. I couldn’t do anything for him. And reproached himself with these thoughts for his futility. At that time, the boss looked at me carefully for a moment or two before putting his glass on the table.

-What if you still have something you can do?

-Sorry?

-I raised my head in surprise. The boss climbed into his bag and took out a file from there that contained information about the high-level Awakened. Then he laid it in front of me:

-You see, there are people who have been Awakened at a high level. But due to the fact that they are not interested in financial gain, they decided not to become hunters.

-…?

-How about helping the hunters associated with the Association, convincing these guys to join to us?

Something clicked in my head, and I cheered up and looked at the file.

-Level B hunter healer, And Joo Hee… High level healer!

If someone like her joined the Association, then, of course, she could save people from death or serious injuries. Even a weak hunter could fight as much as his heart desires, without worrying about his safety. Before me for a moment the face of hunter Son Jin Woo, whom I saw earlier, surfaced. My eyes shone brightly, which is why the boss grinned slightly and said:

-Well, what about this?

Interesting?

I stopped staring at the file and nodded my head vigorously:

-Yes, sir. Interesting!

Read Solo Leveling -(i alone level-up) -Volume 19. Chapter 1.

Author: Chugong, Jang Sung-lak, 추공

Translation: Artificial_Intelligence

Volume 19. Chapter 1. -Solo Leveling -(i alone level-up) – online free