A Hunter on Borrowed Time Keeps Surviving - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 20.
After the detonation of the monster adhesive bomb.
The laboratory was utterly devastated.
In the wake of the massive shockwave lay nothing but torn gel fragments and charred rubble.
The King Slime, along with hundreds of smaller slimes that had been restraining Siul, lost their forms and perished.
The water that had filled the laboratory suffered the same fate.
It no longer matched the dungeon’s name—Submersion.
Whether the explosion or the King Slime’s death had caused it, the water had vaporized and vanished entirely.
In the center of this ruined laboratory, a single living thing still drew breath.
“Grrrrgh….”
Zero lay collapsed, gasping with labored breath.
His scales were cracked in places, and one wing hung limp and useless, though mercifully there were no fatal wounds.
He owed his survival to Siul, who had shielded him with his entire body at the moment of detonation.
“Grrr…?”
But that protection had come at a price.
A short distance from Zero lay something that scarcely deserved to be called Siul anymore.
An arm, legs, portions of a torso.
His body had been torn to shreds beyond any recognition of its original form.
“…….”
Zero’s body trembled as the realization struck him—Siul was dead.
Tears were already streaming down his cheeks.
But then it happened.
Thrum—.
One of Siul’s remains began to vibrate.
At the same moment, bone and flesh fused together, and the torso’s form began to restore itself.
As the core regenerated, limbs sprouted from it.
Soon Siul’s upper body was complete—still headless, but whole.
“…?”
Zero watched the spectacle unfold, eyes wide.
Pop!
Finally, with a burst, his head shot back into place, and Siul was whole once more.
“Peekaboo!”
A beaming smile spread across his face.
In a voice that suggested nothing had happened, Siul teased Zero playfully.
“…….”
Zero’s expression froze solid.
Seeing no reaction, Siul let out an awkward laugh.
‘Did I just traumatize the kid…?’
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.
Regenerating a ruptured head while shouting peekaboo—what was he thinking?
It was the kind of scene that would haunt nightmares for a lifetime.
Alarmed, Siul hurried toward Zero.
“I mean, that was….”
He was scrambling for an explanation when—
“Kyahahaha!”
Zero suddenly burst into laughter.
Clutching his belly, he laughed with pure, unbridled joy.
Siul went blank at the sight.
Far from traumatized, Zero found it hilarious.
Siul stared at him uncertainly, then let out a hollow smile.
“Right, you’re a Demonic Lifeform after all….”
Zero came running toward him, still cackling with delight.
And then—whoosh!—he flung himself into Siul’s arms, blood and all.
Siul looked down at the Demonic Lifeform nestled against his chest.
Among the cyan scales, deep scratches still marked the skin between them.
The edges of his wings were frayed as well.
“You’re hurt pretty badly.”
The wounds weren’t fatal, but he couldn’t leave them unattended without worry.
Siul opened his inventory.
『 Healing Potion 』
A glass bottle settled into his hand.
When he uncorked it, a faint aura of mana drifted into the air.
“Drink this.”
Siul tilted the bottle toward Zero’s mouth.
Without hesitation, Zero swallowed.
As the translucent liquid entered his body, the wounds scattered across his scales began to close visibly.
His tattered wings grew taut again, and the unstable flow of mana returned to its proper rhythm.
“Thank goodness the medicine worked.”
Only then did Siul relax, stroking Zero’s head.
“No matter how much I shielded you, if your body wasn’t naturally resilient, you’d have ended up like those slimes.”
Oblivious to how perilous the situation had been mere moments ago, Zero simply barked, “Woof!” with innocent cheerfulness.
“Anyway, we came through it. That’s what matters.”
Siul turned his gaze to scan the several notifications hovering in the air before him.
【Quest Success!】
【You have brilliantly eliminated a life-threatening enemy using explosives.】
【You receive 3 Level-Up Points as a reward.】
【Current Accumulated Points: 6】
【Consecutive Quest Completion Count: 6】
“Already the sixth time.”
Siul noted the number and fell silent in thought.
‘One more success and I unlock the seventh-time bonus.’
His gaze naturally drifted to Zero.
The hatchet dragon wriggled in his arms, wagging its tail and seeking affection.
The reward from the fifth completion.
‘There’s the drawback of having to care for him….’
Siul assessed Zero honestly.
‘But apart from that, Zero has been an enormous help.’
Combat support, reconnaissance, survival assistance.
Today alone, he’d faced danger countless times.
Each time, Zero had stood beside him and contributed in multiple ways.
Beyond direct support, Zero also provided something intangible—a sense of security.
‘Having someone at my side, fighting alongside me—it gives me psychological stability.’
Siul had always operated alone, bound by strict protocols against information leaks.
Even with the trait of immortality, fear remained.
To Siul, Zero was his only companion, his only family.
‘If the fifth bonus was this good, what in the world will the seventh offer?’
Anticipation bloomed within him.
The feeling drew a wry laugh from Siul.
Somewhere along the way, he’d begun to enjoy this insane quest more than he’d expected.
* * *
“Yesterday was absolutely remarkable, Siul!!”
The morning after clearing the dungeon.
Siul visited the office of the Rising Guild’s representative.
“A Gate that opened yesterday, cleared solo, and a perfect clear at that? This deserves to be framed in our records!”
Park Jung-gi was busy heaping praise on Siul once more.
“Other guilds couldn’t even handle it and had to sell it off urgently—and you cleared it flawlessly! Simply magnificent!”
By now accustomed to such reactions, Siul settled onto the sofa and sipped his coffee with composure.
Meanwhile, Park Jung-gi hastily retrieved something from beneath his desk.
He held a large box in both hands and set it on the table with a beaming smile.
“A small token of my appreciation. It’s a Potion Pack Set—I’ve prepared High-Grade Healing Potions, Status Ailment Cures, and various Stimulants.”
Siul glanced into the box and his eyes widened.
It was indeed packed with all manner of premium items.
“Wow… thank you.”
He knew he was valued, but the contents were far too expensive for a gift.
“Hmm?”
Park Jung-gi examined Siul’s arms and withdrew his hand from the Potion Pack.
“You don’t seem to need immediate treatment. Given that dungeon’s notorious difficulty, I was worried you’d be injured.”
There wasn’t a single wound on Siul’s body.
Not even a scratch or scrape marred his skin.
“Just… good luck, I suppose.”
“You really are different.”
Park Jung-gi gazed up at Siul with admiring eyes.
“Someone like a Special Hunter truly is….”
“No!”
Siul’s earlobes flushed red.
“Please don’t call me that from now on!”
“Oh? Ah! I’m terribly sorry!”
Park Jung-gi waved both hands frantically in confusion.
“I shouldn’t have let slip your status as someone of a Special Hunter’s caliber….”
“Geez, really!”
Siul cut him off with a dismissive gesture.
Then he quickly changed the subject.
“So when is the next dungeon raid scheduled?”
Park Jung-gi pulled out a tablet and checked the schedule.
“In about three weeks. We’re planning to secure a new A-Rank Gate by then.”
“Three weeks?”
Siul’s brows furrowed.
“That’s quite a while.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Siul realized his mistake.
In truth, for a mid-sized guild to secure an A-Rank Gate every three weeks was actually quite swift.
He should have been praising Park Jung-gi for doing well.
Yet for Siul, it was troublesome.
‘Three weeks is too long. At this rate, I won’t reach S-Rank within two months.’
There were less than five months remaining until his death notice took effect.
Siul’s primary goal was to become an S-Rank Hunter within the next two months.
Then, over the remaining three months, he planned to go overseas and tackle SS-Rank and SSS-Rank Dungeons sequentially.
Unfortunately, the Rising Guild’s current rate of Gate acquisition fell far short of what he needed.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been monitoring the auction house in real time, and I do try to grab urgently-listed gates the moment they appear….”
Park Jung-gi scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“The problem is, A-Rank Gates just don’t hit the market that often. And when they do, the large guilds immediately drive up the bids and take them.”
As Park Jung-gi laid out the situation with a dejected expression, he caught sight of Siul’s hardened face and quickly raised his voice.
“I’ll keep searching to get you inside as quickly as possible! Please trust me!”
There was no lie in those words.
Siul knew it, which only made him more frustrated.
‘Park Jung-gi isn’t someone who slacks off. Quite the opposite—he’s the guild master who works harder than anyone else.’
But enthusiasm alone couldn’t solve the immediate problem.
‘This won’t work.’
Siul set down his coffee cup silently.
* * *
“Welcome.”
The weekend had arrived.
The shop was even more crowded than usual.
Siul, a freelance Hunter, had come to the shop on a weekend because the baby dragon kept pestering him to bring her along.
“Why do you like the shop so much anyway?”
Siul spoke to empty air, and a small response came back immediately.
Chirp.
Invisible due to the Invisibility effect, Zero nuzzled her head against Siul’s shoulder.
‘Funny little thing.’
Zero got especially excited whenever they came to the shop.
More so than when they went to the back hills where she could deactivate Invisibility and roam freely, or even to the pet store overflowing with dog treats.
Siul had a vague sense of why.
‘It’s because there’s so much Mana here.’
High concentrations of Mana imbued in equipment and items.
To humans, it was merely an uncomfortable sensation—but to a Demonic Lifeform, it would be like sweet candy.
Shiver.
Zero trembled with delight from the moment they entered the shop.
‘She’s like a puppy begging to go for a walk.’
How could he ignore Zero’s cuteness?
‘I’ve got nothing in particular to buy, but let’s do a lap or two before we leave.’
With that thought, Siul wandered aimlessly through the shop.
His thoughts drifted elsewhere even as his body remained present.
‘What do I do from here….’
The question of securing dungeons had been gnawing at Siul for days.
If he wanted to continue leveling up, he’d need to enter dungeons more frequently, more rapidly.
But circumstances weren’t cooperating.
‘Park Jung-gi will be devastated, but I’ll have to leave the Rising Guild soon.’
Realistically, there was only one answer.
Find a major guild—one that could reliably secure even A-Rank and S-Rank Gates.
The problem was figuring out how to land solo raids once he got there….
‘I can’t just push my way in like I did at the Rising Guild, throwing around the “Special Hunter” nonsense.’
Siul attended government investigations every week regarding the Black Gate.
He’d already realized he was being watched under the guise of protection.
So how could he possibly go around impersonating a Special Hunter?
‘It’s too embarrassing. I’m already regretting it enough as it is….’
Memories of his past blunder surfaced again, and Siul squeezed his eyes shut.
“Master?”
Meanwhile, Zero was browsing the shop when her gaze froze on one particular corner.
It was a display of S-Rank weapons.
The Mana flowing from them was overwhelming.
Zero’s eyes sparkled with excitement as her wings fluttered rapidly.
“…!”
For just an instant, a wave of Mana rippled out from Zero’s body.
In her excitement, Mana had leaked out without her realizing.
The problem was how intensely it had surged.
“Z-Zero…!”
Siul’s heart plummeted.
Several security guards in the shop had felt the pulse and turned to look.
Siul whispered urgently.
“Hide your Mana, now…!”
A Hunter with a Time Limit Continues to Survive
Author |
Kutsummatsu
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Corp.
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Corp. – Dream Books
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7th Floor, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260731071
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter (X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from Samyang C&C Corp. – Dream Books.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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