A Hunter on Borrowed Time Keeps Surviving - Chapter 28

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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 28.
The city had been bustling since early morning.
Commuter traffic packed the roads densely, and with each traffic light change, pedestrians poured forth in waves.
Threading through them, Siul made his way toward Yeongdeungpo, where the Gate lay.
“Be careful not to bump into people.”
Siul murmured the reminder to empty air.
To all appearances he was alone, but at his side there followed a tiny presence no one else could see.
“Like last time, protecting Do Ihyeon will be your role in this dungeon too. You understand?”
Siul barely parted his lips, whispering to the cloaked Zero.
“Woof!”
Zero barked loudly in response, and Siul’s leg twitched.
“Quiet…! There are too many eyes watching…!”
Siul glanced frantically around, his rebuke sharp, and Zero’s tail drooped miserably.
“Woof….”
Over the past few days, Siul’s movements had become noticeably more cautious.
It had started the moment he became aware that reporters were following him.
He constantly checked for tails, deliberately moving through crowds to blend in.
‘As if being careful helps me live….’
Siul grumbled inwardly even as he kept his guard up.
The uncertainty of who might be watching him, from where, and with what intent only deepened his unease.
And as this pattern of life repeated, a phone conversation from a few nights ago kept echoing in his mind.
— I’m saying that there’s only one identity that can run dungeons without leaving any record of activity.
Those were the words Kang Hocheol had spoken when proposing a Special Hunter position.
“…….”
Siul’s pace slowed.
He had hung up coldly then, dismissing it.
But lately, that proposal kept surfacing in his thoughts.
‘Maybe I should give it serious consideration.’
Such a worry had flickered through his mind unbidden.
But then a bitter smile crossed his lips.
‘No. What kind of Special Hunter am I.’
Special Hunters were secret agents who moved for the nation’s sake.
Heroes who kept danger at bay from the world’s hidden side.
At least, when Siul looked back on himself, those weren’t the words that came to mind.
He thought of himself as a Terminal Hunter better suited to doing whatever he could manage before his time ran out.
‘That’s what I’m doing right now anyway.’
Siul’s gaze turned toward the throng of people ahead.
In the distance, the Gate management zone of Yeongdeungpo came into view.
* * *
『 You have entered the A-rank Dungeon “Ominous Goblin Airway”. 』
〈A-rank Gate ― Yeongdeungpo Section 5〉
Dungeon Name : Ominous Goblin Airway
Monsters : Flying Goblins
Estimated Clear Time : Approximately 5 hours
A rough wind scraped across Siul and Do Ihyeon’s faces.
Wooden platforms swayed beneath their feet as they passed through the Gate.
An airway stretching between cliffs.
Scattered nearby lay the remains of a shattered airship.
“This is a dungeon where monsters spawn in the sky. Narrow platforms, strong crosswinds. The most important thing is….”
Before Siul could finish his explanation, Do Ihyeon picked up the thread.
“Priority vigilance for aerial attacks, predict monster fall trajectories, and maintain rear support for you, Hunter Siul. I understand!”
Do Ihyeon spoke as if he had thoroughly memorized a manual.
His readiness was evident not just in his recitation but in his attire as well.
Gone was the excessively heavy armor he’d worn before, and with it, the decorations that had hindered his movement.
In their place lay practical combat gear reinforced at the joints.
‘He’s prepared well.’
Siul gazed at Do Ihyeon with quiet approval.
“Stay focused and let’s finish without any injuries.”
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
The two moved forward together along the airway.
Each gust of wind made the platform creak, and somewhere the ring of metal echoed through the air.
“Hunter Siul.”
“Yes. The sound is getting closer.”
Whoooosh!
A sonic boom suddenly struck his eardrums.
Siul and Do Ihyeon tilted their heads back toward the sound.
Above, cutting through the clouds, a weathered airship passed overhead.
The side door of the airship swung open, and dark shapes streamed out in succession.
“Kek.”
A grotesque laughter erupted from every direction.
Do Ihyeon recognized it from the dungeon manual—that unmistakable cry.
‘Flying Goblins…!’
Wings spread, they glided down to level off their descent.
With practiced ease, they drew their bows.
Zzzzzaaaack—
Dozens of bowstrings stretched taut simultaneously.
“Incoming!”
The moment Siul shouted the warning.
Screeeeeee—!
A rain of arrows poured down from the sky.
Siul’s hand plunged into his inventory.
A massive circular shield tore through the space between worlds and materialized.
“Get behind me!”
Siul braced himself to intercept every arrow.
But before he could act, a colossal surge of mana exploded behind him.
【Stone Wall Construction skill activates.】
The earth split and trembled as a towering stone wall erupted skyward.
Stone Wall Construction—an A-rank skill.
It warped the terrain while simultaneously erecting a defensive barrier to shield the body.
Among the skills available to A-rank Awakened Ones, it was known for consuming the most mana.
Yet Do Ihyeon deployed this advanced technique with fluid precision even in the sudden chaos.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The volley of arrows scattered against the stone wall, deflecting in all directions.
Moments later the noise subsided, and all attacks were neutralized.
Siul glanced back at Do Ihyeon.
His focused gaze and battle-ready stance radiated calm composure.
“Well done.”
Siul felt a stirring of admiration from within.
Do Ihyeon had achieved remarkable growth from a single A-rank Dungeon raid—it was genuinely impressive.
“That kind of attack may come again. I’ll need your support when it does.”
At the note of trust in Siul’s directive, Do Ihyeon’s face brightened.
“Yes! Leave it to me!”
Siul advanced into combat with a lighter heart.
He trusted Do Ihyeon to guard his back and turned his attention to reading the flight patterns of the descending Flying Goblins.
“Cover me.”
With that single command, Siul shot forward like lightning.
【Dungeon Sprint skill activates.】
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Siul bounded up the stone wall as though it were a staircase, launched himself skyward from its peak, and threw his body into the air.
In the same motion, he drew an A-rank Greatsword from his inventory.
Mana coalesced along the blade’s edge.
“Hah.”
Siul exhaled sharply and swung the sword.
Screeeeeech!!
A massive slash tore through empty air.
The wave of force rippled outward, slamming directly into the Flying Goblins.
“Kek!”
“Kyeeeee!”
Losing their balance, the creatures shrieked and plummeted.
Their landing place: the stone wall Do Ihyeon had built.
But the moment the Flying Goblins slammed into the stone wall.
【The skill ‘Footprint Mine’ activates.】
The detonation devices that Siul had planted while running along the wall responded.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A chain of explosions erupted, and the Flying Goblins died instantly where they stood.
The remains of their corpses scattered on the wind.
Siul landed on the ground and lightly brushed off his sword.
“Warm-up’s done.”
* * *
Before the iron door at the end of the Ominous Goblin Airway.
When Siul raised his hand, a transparent barrier unfolded in a circle and enveloped the entrance to the Boss Room.
A faint glow wavered several times, then settled into a stable state.
Taking advantage of the sudden quiet, Siul and Do Ihyeon caught their breath side by side.
“I think we might not need the barrier anymore, you know? You’re already handling the regular monsters just fine on your own.”
Siul rolled his shoulders, offering praise that was half jest, half genuine.
“No, no! I still have a long way to go!”
Do Ihyeon waved his hand dismissively.
But judging by the way his lips were twitching, his mood seemed quite good.
“You were truly excellent today. You took down more than ten Flying Goblins all on your own. The way you blocked arrows with your skill, and how you read the timing of their aerial drops to provide support—it was all impressive.”
Do Ihyeon shrugged, his ears flushing red.
“It’s all thanks to you, Hunter Siul. If I hadn’t learned from our experience in the last dungeon, I’d still be floundering.”
The memory of the previous raid was vivid in his mind.
Siul’s teachings, what he’d witnessed and felt firsthand, and above all….
— I am aiming to conquer an SSS-rank Dungeon.
Words he’d heard at the Boss Room entrance.
From the moment he’d heard that, Do Ihyeon’s mindset had shifted.
If someone else could set their sights on something so lofty, then he couldn’t call himself a good Hunter if he was struggling to deal with a single regular monster in an A-rank Dungeon.
‘I need to grit my teeth and try harder!’
Do Ihyeon reminded himself of that resolution once more and clenched his fists tightly.
“While you’re in the Boss Room, I’ll be mining Magic Stones.”
Do Ihyeon said, exchanging his equipment for a pickaxe.
“You should take a short rest first. We’ve come this far without a single break.”
When Siul tried to stop him, Do Ihyeon immediately shot back.
“And what about Hunter Siul, going into the Boss Room without any rest?”
Both of them burst out laughing at the same time.
It was an ease that hadn’t been visible in their first raid.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Be careful out there!”
After the light banter, the two headed to their respective positions.
Do Ihyeon stepped inside the barrier and adjusted his grip on the pickaxe, while Siul stood before the Boss Room door.
“……?”
Siul’s hand hesitated as it reached for the door.
The aura seeping through the gap in the massive iron door felt familiar.
‘What is this feeling? Like I’ve sensed it somewhere before….’
The source of the déjà vu pulsed with even stronger Mana from beyond the door.
Siul pushed the iron door open with both hands, straining.
Creeeeak—!
The Boss Room opened, and darkness slowly revealed itself.
* * *
A sinister landscape came into view beyond the heavily opened iron door.
Dozens of airships floating in the sky.
Broken masts and torn flags fluttered loudly within them.
Beneath Siul’s feet lay a chaotic tangle of rusted steel plates and splintered wood.
Throughout the Boss Room, war trophies that the Flying Goblins had gathered were piled up like mountains.
Whoooosh!
Wind swept across the deck in long, sweeping strokes.
Siul walked forward unhurriedly, surveying his surroundings.
“Oh!”
The moment Siul looked ahead, he stopped in surprise.
At the far end of the deck, an enormous shadow crouched with its wings folded against its body.
Sharp scales, a long tail, and eyes tinged with a deep crimson glow.
A Wyvern Goblin.
【Continuous Quest Triggered!】
【Eliminate Mortal Threat】
You must directly remove the obstacle that poses a threat to life.
Obstacle Danger Level: 10
Success Reward: 3 Level-Up Points
The dungeon manual contained no information about the boss.
Yet here stood a Wyvern Goblin as the boss encounter itself.
“Kiiiieeek!”
The familiar cry struck something deep in Siul’s memory, and the past rushed back.
Himself, helpless and flailing between the creature’s razor-sharp teeth and viscous saliva.
That shameful scene rose before him like a phantom.
“Ha.”
Siul let out a soft laugh, then clutched his belly and burst into genuine laughter.
“Kiiiek?”
The Wyvern Goblin responded with visible bewilderment.
“God, that’s rich.”
After a long moment, Siul finally caught his breath and composed himself.
Then he pulled his Mana up with a terrifying intensity.
“I’ve been curious about this.”
Siul fixed the Wyvern Goblin with a smile that radiated bloodlust.
“I’ve wanted to see exactly how much I’ve changed since then.”
The Wyvern Goblin back then had been a creature with Danger Level 30.
Now it was Level 10.
Siul wanted to feel this transformation in his own body, with his own hands.
“And while I’m at it.”
Siul raised his hand.
The air shimmered as his Inventory opened.
In his grip materialized a revolver brimming with dense Mana.
『 Hidden Roulette 』 ― S+ Rank
Six Hidden rounds can be fired. Once all ammunition is depleted, it will reload after 168 hours.
If you request Roulette Time and win the game, you can skip the reload cooldown.
The Terminal Hunter Survives On
Author |
Kutsumatsu
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dreambooks
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Submissions |
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No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without written permission from Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dreambooks.

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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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