213

Solo Leveling Chapter 213

The next day.

Instead of news from athletes or popular celebrities, a sensational headline appeared on the front page of a sports newspaper that has long been filled with stories from hunters.

[Sung Jin-woo and Cha Hae-in, who visited the amusement park. Is this the birth of the best couple ever?]

The article contained pictures of the two visiting an amusement park, with the last picture of them heading somewhere in using magic.

The privacy of both of these Hunters were originally protected by the Hunters Association, and illegal to publish. However the newspaper company, which had a scandalous past, was ready for sanctions.

The impact was enormous.

The story of the two S-Class Hunters, whose names were known to all, gave new life to those who were tired of articles about the ever-widening ultra-high gate.

The world’s strongest male Hunter and Korea’s strongest female Hunter.

People showed an outpouring of interest.

In particular the speculations of the two people spread fiercely on the internet.

“If Cha Hae-in gets married and gives birth to a baby, wouldn’t Sung Jin-woo be determined to clear all of the gates?”

“They haven’t even announced a formal date yet, but look at all the fuss over this relationship.”

“If Sung Jin-woo’s this way because his father and mother were both a super-class Hunters?”

“Aren’t you looking forward to seeing them together more?”

“I hope not. Once they get into a fight, a whole neighborhood will be destroyed.”

“I live near Seoul. I thought I was going to die when the gate appeared. But now that I see Hunter Sung dating and hanging out, I feel like there’s still hope. It’s reassuring.”

“I hope we can stop broadcasting about the stupid gate now.”

“Please Hunter Sung! Stop the super large gate!”

* Tsk tsk tsk *

Baek Yoon-ho, president of the White Tiger Guild, folded the newspaper he was reading with a tsk of disapproval.

There was a reason why Baek looked so disapproving. It wasn't because of the relationship between the two people.

“The title of this article is completely absurd. What is this? ‘The strongest couple in history?’”

The disgruntled man was asked by Ahn Sang-min, one of his managers, “What’s wrong? I think Sung Jin-woo and Cha Hae-in can be called the strongest couple ever.”

“Whatever woman you put with Hunter Sung Jin-woo, you could have written that it was the strongest couple.”

What?

It was apparent.

Ahn Sang-min thought about each of the female Hunters he knew, and imagined Sung Jin-woo with each of them and he understood Baek Yoon-ho’s point.

Even if Hunter Sung was dating a high-school girl, there was no person in the world who could beat them.

Sure the high-school girl would be no match, but the other side more than compensated for the lack of power.

“That’s true, boss.”

“Of course.”

Ahn Sang-min who nodded and sipped at his coffee from the vending machine, turned his gaze to the window.

“But the dust is really bad these days. I’m afraid to even open the window now.” Ahn Sang-min was trying to close the half-open window as he frowned.

But Baek Yoon-ho stopped him.

“Wait.”

“Yes, sir?”

As he approached Ahn Sang-min, Baek Yoon-ho opened the window that he was about to close and stretched out his hand.

“This isn’t … dust.”

There was a cold touch on his fingertips. It was foggy.

It was a fog so cold that it chilled his spines to the bone.

“This is strange.”

The winter fog was covering the entire city of Seoul despite the fact that it was just the middle of autumn.

A chill passed through the back of his neck at that moment.

Baek Yoon-ho flashed on his Beast Eyes as he looked out the window and muttered.

“Something is wrong … I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

***

Jin-woo opened his eyes first.

Hae-in was still asleep from the tiring day yesterday.

How many mornings have I had to spend with someone else?

Jin-woo moved into the forest carefully to prevent Cha Hae-in from waking up.

He found a stream and washed himself before heading back. As he left the stream he suddenly stopped as he encountered a strange, imposing sight.

This is?

It was a small tree with growing buds.

This type of tree could be seen anywhere, except for the fact that its leaves were shining a silvery color.

No tree like this existed on earth.

And as expected, the tree emanated a slight mana that would otherwise had been difficult to detect.

‘It’s not from this world.’

As Jin-woo was looking at the tree, he looked up suddenly. He saw silver leaves everywhere around him.

This was a stark contrast to the dying leaves of the surrounding trees.

‘The ground is changing? Is this part of the Ruler’s plans? Or is it an aftereffect of their plans?’

After smelling the dirt he picked up in his hand, Jin-woo dropped it on the floor. Even the soil had a subtle smell of mana. Perhaps the world had already been mixed with mana, only humans had not been aware of it.

Then, he felt her energy from far away.

Hae-in had woken up from her deep sleep.

He shook his head and raised his body up.

It’s important to worry about the changing world, but he had something far more important to tend to right now other than that.

To reassure the disconcerted woman who is now getting up to find that he is gone.

He left and walked in Hae-in’s direction. When he found her, he greeted her with a smile.

“Did you sleep well?”

Hae-in avoided eye contact as she replied with burning red cheeks.

“ … Yes.”

As Jin-woo glanced over her with curious eyes, Hae-in slowly looked up.

“Where have you been?’

Jin-woo wiped his hair with the towel he had brought and replied to her.

“I went to go wash.”

Come to think of it. He would like for her to take a bath as well. Especially as the salty scent from the sea lingered as they flew over the ocean.

‘But I cannot ask a lady to wash in this place.’

Jin-woo thought about how to solve this problem. Then a smile appeared on his face.

He had solved the bath and meal problem at the same time.

“I know a nice breakfast hotel near here; would you want to go there for lunch?” Hae-in nodded as she was hungry as well. Jin-woo reached for her hand and helped her up. He called Kaiser.

* Kiaaaaaaak! *

Hae-in looked shocked as she saw Kaiser.

“Didn’t you say it was near here?”

“If I run by myself it will take about five minutes. Do you want to run with me?”

It would be 5 minutes at the top speed of Jin-woo. Hae-in, who had been trying to figure out how far away it was, got in Kaiser without a word.

‘It’s also good to have some a quick talk, too.’

Jin-woo laughed as she climbed on. He took the lead on top of Kaiser who started his ascent.

In Korea, Kaiser was a frequent sighting on TV, but what about the reaction of the Japanese hotel staff when they see Kaiser in person?

Jin-woo especially was concerned about the chief who he wanted to avoid startling too much.

As he thought this, Kaiser turned and flew in the direction of the hotel.

***

It had suddenly appeared.

The first person to discover it was a middle-aged man who had just come out of the Hunter Association Measurement building after being measured as B-Rank hunter.

* Thunk *

Suddenly the man bumped his shoulder against the thing that had appeared right in front of him.

“What the? … “

The man’s eyes saw a large man standing before him, at nearly two meters all. Not only that, the man was wearing clothing made only of animal skins.

It was so wild that it couldn’t even be considered beautiful. The man’s size was also so intimidatingly large that he drew immediate attention.

“Woah look at him!”

“Wow! That guy is huge! Even Ma Dong-wook wouldn’t stand a chance in comparison.”

“But is he a crazy person? Look at the way he’s dressed. He’s needs to go to the mental hospital.”

The streets were crowded with people.

The middle-aged man thought to himself that if it were normal circumstances, he would have apologized for bumping into the other person immediately and withdrew. But he’s a completely different person now.

He’s no longer the wimp that used to grovel to his superiors and was ignored by his subordinates.

He’s a B-Class Awakened Hunter now.

If it’s a B-Rank, that was high even amongst hunters.

There was no need to pander to such a strangely decorated figure, no matter his size.

The middle-aged man put down his briefcase that he was carrying. “Hey! If you bumped into someone, shouldn’t you apologize?” Magical power.

As his heart began to beat with confidence, mana began to emit from every corner of his body.

The body’s cells were all vibrating with energy.

Life. He was ready to start his new life as a Hunter.

The beast man stood still, saying nothing.

After seeing this lack of response, the middle-aged man put on a little more bravado.

“Is this your way of apologizing? If a man does something wrong, shouldn’t he ask for forgiveness? I thi---”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

As the beast man grabbed the middle-aged man’s head with his hands, the screams of those on the street rang out.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Thick blood vessels sprang up on the face of the middle-aged man, who was being squeezed tightly by the palms of the beast man.

Bear. No not even a bear.

Could lions, sharks, crocodiles, snakes or any predator that exist on earth give such an overwhelming pressure?

Fear of beasts had been engraved in human’s DNA. This fear yellowed the pants of the middle-aged man.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

Then.

* CRAAAAAAAACK *

WIth the sound of a splitting crack, blood, brains and bits of skull splattered all over the pavement.

“Oh my god!”

The man didn’t stop there. He began to devour the body of the middle-aged man who was now sprawled on the floor.

“Food!”

“Ahhhhhh!”

“What … what is that?”

As he finished his meal, the beast man looked up, wiping away his bloodied mouth that was dripping with flesh and soaked with entrails.

It was a beast.

The eyes of a man with no capability to reason.

Some screamed and ran and others stood fixated in place with fear and shook.

The beast howled at them.

[TINY HUMANS, LISTEN TO ME. I WILL NOW BEGIN MY HUNT. I WILL HUNT ALL OF YOU!] Those who were paralyzed by the thundering cry started to shake and cry.

The sharp fangs of the beast suddenly showed themselves through the howling man’smouth. [MY TEETH AND NAILS WILL TEAR OFF ALL THE SKIN AND FLESH OF YOUR WEAK KIN!] The Monarch of Beasts.

With a roar that shook the whole road, the Monarch bared his teeth.

[JUST TRY AND STOP ME!]

***

Association president Woo Jin-chul had heard about the terrifying incident that had appeared in the middle of the city without any warning.

“ … and how many casualties are there?” “It’s impossible to know right now.”

It was first detected in Myeongdong. The thing was moving in a straight line, capturing and killing all humans that had entered its path.

“From looking at the path it’s taking it looks like he’s headed to … “

“ … the Hunter’s Association.”

Woo Jin-chul bit his lower lip and clenched his fists.

‘I’ve been so focused on the gate that my head feels like it’s about to burst. So where in the world did that monster …’

But.

There was no room for such ponderings. He needed to come up with a plan to stop him.

“What about Hunter Sung Jin-woo?”

“I cannot reach him.”

“Shit …”

The swear came out unintentionally.

It was just reported that a guild that had been sent to stop the monster had been wiped out without putting up much resistance.

The only comfort to be had was that “it” wasn’t moving fast, as if it was waiting for something.

But if “it” couldn’t be stopped soon the number of victims would grow to astronomical digits.

In this situation.

The report that he could not contact the country’s strongest power pointed to the worst.

Woo Jin-chul clenched his teeth and made a firm decision.

Sudden, good news came.

“President!”

Woo Jin-chul jumped out of his seat when he saw an employee running into the office. “Did you get in touch with Hunter Sung?”

“No, but one of the world’s strongest Hunters happened to be nearby and is planning on fighting to stop him.”

“What? Who is it?”

“It’s …”

***

The top ranked German Hunter.

Renat Niermann felt the monster approaching him, dying the streets with crimson blood. ‘Can I do this? …’

But as a Hunter, you cannot ignore the screams of the innocent.

Renat knew that he was the 12th-ranked Hunter in the world and felt a great responsibility to the faces of those around him.

‘Yes.’

Whether or not he could, it was his duty as a Hunter.

‘Maybe …’

Maybe it was fate that he was in Seoul. Maybe fate put him in the path of this monster.

At the moment that Renat unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt and took a step towards the monster that he could now see.

Suddenly.

A heavy voice came from behind.

“Move.”