The mornings began with pain, and Jinwoo embraced it like an old friend.
The chill of dawn wrapped around him as he pushed his heavy body forward on the cracked pavement of the small park. His shoes slapped against the ground, each step uneven, clumsy. His lungs burned as if they were on fire, sweat dripping from his forehead into his eyes, stinging. His shirt clung to his chest, soaked through, the fabric rubbing raw against his skin.
"This body…" he muttered through clenched teeth, "…is truly pathetic."
But even as he gasped for air, even as his legs screamed for rest, a faint, almost cruel smile tugged at his lips. Because pathetic as it was, this body was improving. A week ago, he couldn't run half as long before collapsing. Now, he managed another lap, another minute, another drop of progress.
And progress meant everything.
Push-ups followed. His arms trembled violently, struggling to lift the bulk of his frame. His stomach clenched in pain as he forced out sit-ups, sweat dripping onto the cracked concrete beneath him. Squats burned his thighs, every motion like fire tearing through muscles unused to effort.
Weakness was a disease. And like a disease, it could be cured—through discipline, through fire, through unyielding will.
Jinwoo smirked bitterly. In my past life, I built empires with my mind. In this life, I'll build an empire with both mind and body. Piece by piece, muscle by muscle. Until nothing and no one can break me again.
---
School was another battlefield, though far colder and more insidious.
The moment Daniel stepped into class, the whispers started.
"Here comes the pig."
"Bet his mom brought him leftovers from the trash again."
"Disgusting. Doesn't he get tired of living like this?"
Their laughter echoed in his ears, but Jinwoo's expression remained blank. He didn't flinch. He didn't react. He sat down silently, letting their words hang in the air like poison.
But behind his calm façade, he was memorizing everything.
The way the bullies' eyes gleamed with confidence, as though mocking him made them superior.
The way the teachers' eyes slid away, choosing not to intervene.
The way the committee members shuffled papers, pretending not to notice.
The way the rest of the students either smirked in secret relief or buried their faces in their desks, grateful they weren't the target.
It was a perfect ecosystem of cruelty, one that allowed predators to thrive and prey to suffer in silence.
Jinwoo's mind sharpened like a blade. So this is the world you live in, Daniel. A world where weakness is a sin, and strength is the only law. I see now why you broke inside. Why you gave up. But I am not you. I will not break. I will not give them the satisfaction of watching me fall.
His lips curled faintly, eyes glinting with a predator's patience. I'll wait. I'll endure. And then, when the time is right, I'll strike. Not with childish fists, but with power so absolute that they'll choke on their laughter. The hunter does not rush. The hunter stalks. And I… am the hunter.
---
That evening, the neon glow of the Internet café became his sanctuary.
The air smelled of fried snacks and instant ramen. The clatter of keyboards, the shouts of teenagers playing StarCraft II, and the hum of dozens of computers filled the room. For most, it was a playground. For Jinwoo, it was a battlefield of a different kind.
Slipping into a corner seat, he powered on the machine. The screen lit up his determined face, casting his glasses in a faint reflection. With steady fingers, he opened a blank document.
And then, he began to write.
The story of Solo Leveling flowed out of him, not as entertainment, but as conviction. Sung Jinwoo—the weakest, mocked and dismissed—who clawed his way up to become the strongest. Every word was laced with his own bitterness, his own fire. It was his life, refracted through fiction, sharpened into a blade.
He poured in detail after detail, writing until his fingers cramped. When the draft was finished, he uploaded it to one of the smaller manhwa and web novel forums he had scouted earlier. Just another amateur story in a sea of thousands.
But he knew better. This isn't just a story. It's a weapon. It's a seed. And once planted, it will grow roots across the world.
Leaning back in his chair, he exhaled slowly, a cruel smirk pulling at his lips. Now I wait. Let's see who notices first.
---
That night, home was different.
The apartment was small, worn down, and cluttered with signs of struggle—faded wallpaper peeling at the edges, patched furniture, the faint smell of detergent barely masking the scent of hard labor. But to Jinwoo, it was warmer than any luxury penthouse from his past life.
"Daniel, can you hold this for me?" his mother asked, struggling with the broken rice cooker.
He knelt beside her, steadying the loose wire as she tinkered with it. When sparks flew and the rice cooker gave a sharp pop, his mother yelped, then laughed softly, covering her mouth. Jinwoo chuckled too, the sound unfamiliar on his lips but strangely comforting.
Later, as they shared their simple dinner, Jinwoo found himself staring at her face—tired, lined from hardship, but glowing with warmth and love. A kind of love he had never known as an orphan. A love that was unconditional, undemanding, and irreplaceable.
In my past life, I had everything but this. Betrayal, greed, and loneliness—that was my world. But here… I have her. A mother who loves me, even when the world despises me. A mother who smiles, even as she breaks her back to provide.
His chest tightened with a strange ache. For you, I'll rise again. For you, I'll become stronger, richer, more powerful than anyone alive. No one will dare laugh at us again.
That night, lying in bed, his body sore and his mind racing, Jinwoo stared at the ceiling. The bullies, the teachers, the bystanders—all were etched into his memory. His story was online, his training had begun, his path laid out before him.
The world thought he was prey. The world thought he was weak.
But a hunter's silence was not weakness. It was patience.
And when the time came, the hunter would bare his fangs.
---
🔥 End of Chapter 9 – The Hunter's Patience