Solo-Levelling : Shattered Dimensions

Chapter 1 - The Gate Above Seoul

"Hey, can you believe what happened on Jeju Island? Those Ants were giving all those S-Class Hunters a helluva lotta' trouble, but this one guy just swoops in and clears out the dungeon!"

"Dude, that's old news. Why are you still on about that? That's just how Sung Jin-Woo is man, he's an overpowered unit! A literal army all on his own! Can't believe he's still S-Class, and not National lev--"

"Wait! You're talking about Sung Jin-Woo? Haha, I'm a big fan of him too! Did you know that he used to be an E-Class hunter?"

"Who doesn't know? He's a source of hope and inspiration for all us bottom-feeders! Anyone can make it big if he could!"

"Hm? Are you talking about Jin-Woo over here?"

"Wait a minute, did someone mention Sung Jin-Woo?"

"Did I hear Jin-Woo~? Ah, my stan-!"

"Woah, you can't just talk about Jin-Woo-nim, and not expect to gather a crowd!"

"Sung Jin-Woo-!"

"Hyu-!"

"S-!"

- - -

"Hyung, they're all talking about you~!"

Sitting in a coffee table a bit away from the commotion, Yoo Jin-Ho was stirring the straw in his cup. He looked at Jin-Woo with an upbeat smirk, slightly laughing away.

"Haha, they're looking up to you like an idol! Sooner or later, you might actually get requests to be in a boy band, Hyung."

With an uncomfortable smile, Jin-Woo pulled down the rim of his hoodie before taking a sip from his cup.

"They really shouldn't be looking at me like that, though..."

Having all of this attention made things uncomfortable for Jin-Woo... but although this was true, his rapidly rising popularity also left him a bit bittersweet.

'Something like this would've been impossible in the past.' he thought.

Now with a brighter, more genuine smile-- he took another sip from his cup.

"I've decided. We'll be naming the guild Solo Play."

"N-No, please give it a little more thought Hyung-nim..."

With a subtle smirk, Jin-Woo kept teasing Jin-Ho. However, as they talked-- the loud shouts and arguing from the other side of the cafe began to die down. Not long after, both Jin-Woo and Jin-Ho began to quiet down too.

Turning his head, Jin-Ho looked at the TV screen hung near the center of the shop.

"What...?"

The news report kept blaring on.

[ --from our information guild that a new Gate has appeared right above Seoul. This type of Gate is unprecedented in the entire history of the, "Gate appearances." ]

The anchor on screen paused as he wet his lips, almost as if he was reconfirming what his eyes had just read. Blinking thrice, he kept going.

[ This Gate is much larger than any other that appeared in the past-- including the "Kamish" raid from the U.S... although the size of a Gate does not determine the Dungeon's difficulty, one can only imagine what type of creature could emerge from this one... ]

Stopping once more to breath a mouthful of air, the news anchor looked directly at the camera; his old eyes slightly trembling.

[ A Gate much larger than the city of Seoul itself has just recently formed. And through some observations from the dispatched hunters... a 'Dungeon Break' is expected to happen in less than an hour-- ]

However, before the anchor could go on; the TV screen suddenly lagged out and glitched into a frenzy. Not long after, a light rumbling caused the entire TV set to fall from the celling and onto the ground.

In a panic, a shriek issued out from one of the far corner tables. Not much later, many rushed out of their seats and quickly ran towards safety- while others simply sat still in confusion or fear.

With widened eyes, Jin-Ho trembled as the earth continued to quake.

"No way... did it already happen...?"

Clenching his fists, he went on.

"Hyung, what do we do?"

Turning his head back, Jin-Ho looked Jin-Woo straight in the eyes... or at least he should've.

Instead of Jin-Woo, there was just an orc too big for the chair it was sitting in...

And Jin-Woo was nowhere to be seen.