Jinwoo soon learns he’s a lot stronger and his body feels a lot lighter than he thought. Once he pulls Kim’s sword out of his inventory, he’s in business, able to kill wolf after steel-fanged wolf with a single slash. He reaches level 2, and all his attributes go up by one. Whatever this dungeon is, it’s a place where he can get level up fast.
When he’s set upon by a whole pack of wolves, Jinwoo doesn’t lose his cool. After all, he survived far more powerful and terrifying monsters back before his awakening as a Player. He eventually kills enough wolves to be given the title Wolf Assassin, giving him a bonus against all animal-type monsters. He also has 34 wolf fangs he can sell for gold.
More importantly, among the loot he acquired is a teleportation stone, which means he can leave now having reached Level 15 with his head held high. But not knowing if he’ll ever be able to return to this dungeon or level up this easily anywhere else, Jinwoo descends into the overgrown lair of the boss: a Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka, AKA Giant Blue Snake. It isn’t mentioned, but as a snake is an animal-type monster, his abilities are all +40.
Even though his battered sword is chipped away down to the last couple inches of blade, and he loses his grip on it altogether, Jinwoo is fueled by his desire to make up for a life spent being a laughing stock. He sinks his bare hands into the armor around the snake’s throat and keeps tearing away until it’s dead. His reward is a kickass venom blade, as well as a potion that gives him armor skin at the cost of permanently damaged muscles.
With the dungeon boss defeated, the subway station returns to normal. When Jinwoo returns to the surface it’s nighttime, and a dungeon break is in progress, with a hastily-assembled party of D- and E-Ranked Hunters trying in vain to take out a golem boss.
Joohee is among those answering the call, but she’s still traumatized just a week after going through hell, and she’s still unable to focus her magic. Jinwoo decides to lend a hand by tossing the nub of his sword at the golem with maximum force. This shatters its defenses and allows the Hunters to finish him off.
That said, none of the Hunters know who tossed the broken sword that led to their victory, other than possibly Joohee, who might’ve sensed him with her perception. Jinwoo decided to simply walk away rather than claim any credit. He ends the episode a lot stronger and a lot more confident than when it began.
While there was a rigid mechanical nature to Jinwoo’s initial battles with wolves and increasing of his stats, that structure was balanced out with moments of pure bloody chaos and mayhem as he danced with the giant blue snake in the swamp-ified subway.
It’s good to see him steadily climbing out of his deep hole of inadequacy, and this was the most entertaining and satisfying episode of Solo Leveling yet. And by God, does the OP slap.
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