---
title: "Chapter 1: The Weakest Hunter"
slug: "ch-1"
novel: "solo-leveling"
number: 1
views: 2450000
likes: 185000
wordCount: 3200
createdAt: "2016-12-16"
---

Sung Jinwoo opened his eyes to the familiar sound of the dungeon alarm. The underground passage was bathed in the soft glow of mana stones lining the walls, casting long shadows that danced with each step. The cold air bit at his exposed skin as he adjusted his shabby armor—standard issue for E-rank hunters, those at the absolute bottom of the hunter hierarchy.

"Everyone in position," called out Park Jongsoo, the party leader for today's expedition. He was an experienced C-rank hunter, which meant he'd survived long enough to actually develop some strategy. Jinwoo wasn't holding his breath.

The dungeon before them was a standard D-rank portal, nothing special. In his decade of hunting, Jinwoo had cleared hundreds just like it. His contribution was always minimal—staying alive was enough. His body had never been particularly strong, and his mana reserves were laughably low. Other E-rank hunters at least had decent physiques or some minor special ability. Jinwoo had neither.

They descended deeper into the passage, their footsteps echoing off the stone walls. The mana concentration grew thicker, which meant monsters would be appearing soon. Jinwoo felt the familiar knot of anxiety forming in his stomach. Not fear of death—he'd made peace with that possibility years ago—but anxiety about being useless, about dragging the team down.

A low growl interrupted his thoughts. Dungeon goblins emerged from the shadows, their crude weapons glinting in the pale light. There were at least a dozen of them, standard for this type of portal. Park Jongsoo raised his hand, and the hunters behind him drew their weapons.

"Spread out!" he commanded.

The battle was over almost as quickly as it begun. The stronger hunters disposed of the goblins with practiced efficiency, while Jinwoo hung back, deflecting the occasional attack but avoiding any real engagement. It was a pattern he'd perfected over the years. Stay alive, stay useful enough to be invited back, collect his minimal share of the rewards.

After two hours of careful progression, they reached the dungeon's core chamber. This was always the dangerous part—the boss monster. Today, it was a corrupted ogre, larger and more aggressive than its lesser brethren. Jinwoo watched from a distance as the party's strongest members engaged it in combat.

That's when everything went wrong.

A hidden door in the chamber's wall cracked open, and something emerged that made even Park Jongsoo's confident expression falter. Stone golems, at least twenty of them, began pouring into the chamber. In the confusion and chaos that followed, Jinwoo found himself separated from the group.

He stumbled backward, his weak body unable to keep pace with the frenzied retreat. His sword felt heavier than ever as he raised it to block an incoming strike. The stone golem's fist collided with his blade, and he felt something give way in his arm.

As consciousness faded and everything went dark, Jinwoo wondered if this was finally the end...

---

The pain was indescribable. Every nerve in Jinwoo's body screamed as he regained consciousness. But something was different. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, a series of translucent windows appeared before him, floating in his vision as if they were part of the very air itself.

*[System Activated]*
*[Hidden Class: Shadow Sovereign - Initializing]*
*[Welcome, Player.]*

Jinwoo's breath caught. This wasn't possible. Players didn't exist. Classes didn't give you system messages. And yet, there they were, hovering before his eyes, as real as anything he'd ever seen.

The windows continued to multiply, displaying information that made his heart race:

*[You have been chosen.]*
*[Awakening: 0% -> 100%]*
*[Quest Generated: Survive]*
*[Reward: Experience, System Integration, Leveling Capability]*

Jinwoo didn't know what was happening, but as the darkness began to fade and memory returned, he realized he might have just stumbled upon something that would change everything. For the first time in his life, Sung Jinwoo felt a spark of hope kindle in his chest.

Perhaps his nightmare was only just beginning.
