A Hunter on Borrowed Time Keeps Surviving - Chapter 40

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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 40.
Si-ul’s expression remained clouded with displeasure.
He’d defeated the boss wearing Hyun-woo’s face and received his quest completion reward, but his mood refused to settle.
So he quickly turned his attention to something that might spark his curiosity instead.
【4 Level-up Points or Dragon Star Army】
The reward options for the tenth consecutive quest success appeared on the screen.
Si-ul examined the choices carefully.
Four Level-up Points.
He’d suspected that each bonus round would increase points by one, but it was still an astonishing number when he thought about it.
It was as if he received an extra Level-up Point just for clearing a quest once.
Moreover, his current accumulated points stood at eight.
If he chose Level-up Points as the bonus reward, he would immediately jump to S-rank.
‘It’s a dizzying reward, that’s for sure.’
It wasn’t only because of the sense of achievement in reaching the hunter’s highest grade.
Si-ul had already become a celebrity in the industry.
Even if people didn’t recognize him on the street, there wasn’t a single hunter who hadn’t heard of the name Kim Si-ul—that monstrous rookie.
Receiving such intense attention meant that many viewed it as strange he was still merely D-rank.
That was why Si-ul wanted to climb to S-rank as quickly as possible and complete his rank re-registration.
‘But how could I possibly pass this up?’
Si-ul’s gaze shifted to the opposite choice.
[Dragon Star Army]
There was no way to deduce its nature from the name alone.
Yet he’d never regretted choosing the alternative to Level-up Points before.
Not with the Dragon’s Egg, and not with the Hidden Roulette.
Both had seemed ambiguous compared to Level-up Points at first, but they’d turned out to possess insane value—the kind that could flip entire battles on their head.
‘The pattern the system offers is always the same.’
Pick one: quantifiable growth or a variable ability outside the standard path.
In Si-ul’s experience, satisfaction ran much higher when he chose the latter.
That’s why he didn’t hesitate long on this tenth choice.
He was trusting experience rather than intuition.
He’d judged that following a pattern he’d confirmed twice before would statistically yield a more satisfying result.
【You have selected Dragon Star Army.】
【The Dragon Star Army has been granted as a bonus reward.】
Si-ul took a step back.
Just as always, he expected smoke to billow up from where he stood as the reward manifested.
“……?”
But his expectation fell flat, and the chamber fell into eerie silence instead.
He looked around, but nothing appeared anywhere.
“Why isn’t anything showing up?”
As Si-ul asked this, the system window offered an answer in the form of an additional message.
【The ‘Dragon Star Army’ has been properly granted.】
Si-ul’s brow furrowed.
“There’s nothing here. What do you mean it was properly granted? Don’t joke around—hurry and…”
Mid-threat, Si-ul froze.
An invisible force, unlike weapons or items.
Within Si-ul’s knowledge, there was only one kind of power like that.
“Show me my skill tree.”
At Si-ul’s command, the skill window unfolded.
『 Skill Tree of Kim Si-ul 』
Dungeon Sprint
Earth Cleave
Footprint Mine
Flame Baptism
Fortress Construction
Dragon Star Army
Spotting Dragon Star Army listed at the very bottom, Si-ul’s eyes widened slightly.
‘As I thought—it’s a skill.’
Color returned to Si-ul’s face.
Skills are remarkably convenient powers.
They come with the restriction of only being usable inside dungeons, but precisely because of that, he felt the earth had been spared from destruction—such was their devastating strength.
‘Best possible outcome, right? If it’s a skill, there shouldn’t be any usage limit like the Hidden Roulette has, and as a tenth-clear reward, the power speaks for itself.’
His fists clenched of their own accord.
A thrill ran through him like someone who’d just won big at the gambling table.
‘I’m dying to know… can I test it right now?’
Si-ul glanced back over his shoulder.
The barrier remained even after the boss had fallen.
It was perfect timing to test the new reward away from Choshinseong’s watchful eyes.
‘Even luck’s on my side?’
Si-ul focused his concentration without hesitation.
He drew his Mana to its maximum and, as with all skills, chanted the skill’s name silently in his mind.
‘Dragon Star Army.’
Wheeee….
“……Huh?”
Nothing happened.
Si-ul blinked blankly.
Then the skill window responded a beat late.
【Insufficient Mana to use Dragon Star Army.】
Si-ul’s expression twisted like a cocoon.
“Can’t use it?”
Insufficient Mana.
On the surface, the message read like a casual reminder to top up his energy, but the implication was different.
“This is saying my current Rank isn’t high enough to use this skill, isn’t it?”
Mana is the one thing that can’t be raised even with Awakening elixir.
Technically, you can force Mana higher, but the body housing it simply won’t endure the strain.
That’s why Awakening Rank matters so much.
It’s about being born with a vessel capable of holding vast reserves of Mana.
“So I have to reach S-rank to use this skill?”
Neither the skill window nor the quest window answered.
“This is frustrating….”
Si-ul ran his tongue across the inside of his mouth and crossed his arms.
Not being able to use the skill he’d just received as a reward irritated him, but the news wasn’t entirely bad.
‘If even an A-rank Awakened’s Mana isn’t enough, this has to be an incredibly powerful skill.’
Once he’d framed it that way, the value of the reward became much clearer.
He’d chosen well.
He just couldn’t enjoy its benefits for now.
“Show me the skill’s detailed description at least.”
Skills that have been unlocked can be checked for their detailed abilities through a tooltip.
But the skill window noted there were exceptions to this rule.
【This skill requires certain conditions to be met before you can view its detailed description.】
“What?!”
Si-ul bristled at something he’d never heard of before.
“The skill’s been unlocked, so why can’t I see the information? When has this ever happened…!”
As Si-ul poured out his complaints, he suddenly stiffened.
‘Don’t tell me… I still can’t use it even after reaching S-rank?’
Si-ul narrowed his eyes and shot a glance at the quest window.
‘No, that can’t be it. S-rank is the highest Rank for Hunters—if I still can’t use it then, that’s a completely dead reward.’
Si-ul clicked his tongue and uncrossed his arms.
“Fine. I’ll decide whether to complain about getting my reward’s worth when I see what happens then.”
There was no point in dwelling on an uncomfortable feeling right now.
For someone with a time limit, wasting emotion was as meaningless as wasting time itself.
* * *
Whoooom.
The translucent membrane enveloping the center of the boss chamber’s swamp rippled like gentle waves.
Si-ul emerged from beyond the barrier and back outside.
“Si-ul!”
The team members waiting in front of the barrier rushed forward the moment they spotted him.
Relief shone plainly on their smiling faces.
They’d already confirmed from the Dungeon Clear notice that Si-ul had won the fight.
But seeing him walk out whole with their own eyes was an entirely different matter.
“King!”
From the emptiness, the transparent Zero bounded forth with a leap.
Seeing Si-ul unharmed, he wagged his tail in delight.
“I’ve finished as promised.”
Si-ul reported the result and sought out Heo Min-ho.
Heo Min-ho’s physical condition had improved markedly from when he’d staggered before the barrier earlier.
His complexion was still somewhat pale, but at least the dull glaze had drained from his eyes.
“Are you well?”
Heo Min-ho laughed at the question as though it were absurd.
“I’m the one who should be asking.”
He examined Si-ul methodically, from his shoulders to his arms, abdomen, and legs.
It wasn’t only Heo Min-ho.
Everyone on the Choshinseong team inspected Si-ul for injuries.
“Not a scratch… seriously?”
One of the party members asked in a tone of genuine surprise.
Even if someone was weak, it was almost unbelievable that they’d face an S-rank dungeon’s boss alone and emerge like this.
‘He fought the boss solo and came out this clean?’
‘What exactly is this guy….’
‘Why isn’t his clothing even torn….’
The team members silently marveled among themselves.
A reverent awe settled over them—uncertainty whether this man fought as a hunter at all, or belonged to some entirely different species.
There were only two ways to fell a boss without breaking a sweat like Si-ul just had.
Either the ability to kill the boss in a single strike, or healing magic powerful enough to restore all wounds.
Today Si-ul fell into the former category, though if he wished, the latter was equally possible.
“I seem to have worried myself needlessly.”
Heo Min-ho finally broke into laughter.
Si-ul shrugged it off casually.
“The boss had nearly exhausted itself. After spawning eight clones that were close to the main body, its mana was already depleted, and its wounds from the previous battle hadn’t healed.”
Si-ul continued evenly.
“It wasn’t as difficult as I expected.”
Hearing that, everyone thought inwardly, ‘Ugh, what an obnoxious thing to say!’
One blunt team member even spoke it aloud.
“If you say things like that elsewhere, you’ll get flamed to death.”
Laughter rippled across the chamber.
Si-ul tilted his head in bewilderment, alone in his confusion.
“Elsewhere?”
“Raid record sites. You know—the ones hunters check all the time? When this record goes up, there’s going to be absolute chaos.”
He was already chuckling at how entertaining the reactions would be.
“Oh, but the Perfect Clear comes first, I suppose.”
“Come to think of it, today’s the day. Past six in the evening, so it’s already been posted.”
Si-ul blinked, understanding nothing, left alone once again.
“What is?”
“Our last raid record, you know.”
“Today’s the day it gets registered.”
The day the raid record from their last expedition with Choshinseong would be made public.
Si-ul had considered it unremarkable at first, but after witnessing how violently the industry trembled, he found his perspective inevitably shifting.
* * *
Real-time HOT posts
Choshinseong + monster rookie S-rank dungeon Perfect Clear announced.
(Comments)
└ What? Perfect Clear on an S-rank?
└ Wait, wasn’t this supposed to be a Choshinseong-only raid?
└ They brought in that monster rookie as a mercenary.
└ Insane… with that lineup, a Perfect Clear makes sense tho lol
The hunter community erupted into commotion once more.
A Perfect Clear on an S-rank dungeon was itself a major event, but this record carried special significance.
Two of the most talked-about names in the industry had appeared on a single record sheet.
Dungeon Analysis & Strategy Forum
Something odd about Choshinseong team’s S-rank dungeon clear details.
(Comments)
└ According to insiders, the speed they killed the boss at was unrealistic.
└ Wait, didn’t that monster prodigy do the whole thing solo?
└ No way he took down an S-rank boss alone. He must’ve teamed up with Min-ho. Lol.
└ Right? But did you hear the monster prodigy joined Choshinseong? So it’s about time he went public. I’ve been dying to know, man.
└ Please be ugly….
By now, the atmosphere had shifted to openly mentioning Si-ul.
But the real problem wasn’t just the community buzzing—it went far deeper than that.
“Have you guys seen this?”
A video from a former hunter-turned-YouTuber had been uploaded.
A massive headline blazed across the thumbnail.

Information from the hunter-only community had been leaked.
The video shot up in views before the government stepped in and had it taken down.
But other channels operating anonymously seized on that brief window of exposure and began uploading their own versions one after another.
“This is something the industry can’t keep under wraps!”
“There’s never been a case of rookie hunters clearing an S-rank Dungeon this quickly!”
“According to reports, this achievement isn’t just the result of Choshinseong’s team effort, but of someone called the monster prodigy…….”
As the videos spread, the shockwave grew larger.
Journalists, as if they’d been waiting for this moment, moved swiftly.
“Can we confirm—are we cleared to run an article about Kim Si-ul’s activities?”
“It’s already all over YouTube. The general public knows about it now.”
“How much longer are you planning to suppress this?”
Government calls came in relentlessly.
Now that his name was circulating through the media, there was no point trying to contain it—that was the complaint.
As a result, the Special Hunter Headquarters found itself swamped as well.
“What do we do from here?”
Kang Ho-chul perched his hip on the edge of Baek Ga-hyun’s desk and asked.
Baek Ga-hyun exhaled a long sigh, her face dark with exhaustion.
“It’s not like we didn’t see this coming, but it happened much faster than expected.”
She lifted Si-ul’s personal file and resigned herself to the inevitable.
“It’s his choice now. We can’t hold it back much longer—either he lives as a star hunter, or…….”
In that moment, as she was listing the alternative, Kang Ho-chul couldn’t hide the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
“He becomes someone important enough to bury all this fuss like it was nothing, right?”
A Doomed Hunter Continues to Survive
Author |
Kutsutmatsu
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editorial Director |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
Address |
7F, 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]
This book’s contents may not be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – 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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