I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 102

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

Chapter 102. Return
The world froze. Everything halted—from Hyul Jung-hyuk’s gaze of intrigue fixed upon me, to the grass and branches swaying in the wind, to the chirping of birds.
Simultaneously, a message materialized before my eyes announcing the completion of the 2nd Floor.
〚As a reward, The Sun’s Divine Art [Origin-S-] has been elevated to S-rank!〛
The power of The Sun’s Divine Art grew formidable. The radius of influence expanded, the flames burned hotter, and the quality of my inner force ascended to new heights.
In that moment, I quietly and calmly ceased the operation of my cultivation method, reverting my inner force back to the power of arrogance.
The heated surroundings rapidly cooled, the world dissolved, and I found myself returned to the 0th Floor.
〚Would you like to exit the Tower?〛
〚Upon your next entry, you will commence directly from Floor 3.〛
“I’m exiting.”
I had already confirmed what this place was and what rewards could be obtained. My priority now lay elsewhere—not with the Tower of Ascension. This tower belonged to my domain; I could enter and leave whenever I wished, so there was no urgency whatsoever.
‘First, I’ll handle matters in reality, then head to the Abyss and complete the job quest.’
My vision shifted, and I stood before the tower. This meant I was in the Former North Korean Territory. The others, as expected, had not yet returned.
It was only natural. They lacked my second opportunity, and unlike me, they could not freely enter and exit. They had to extract as much as possible during a single entry.
It would take at least several weeks, possibly several months. The Tower of Ascension seemed to regulate time balance appropriately.
I proceeded as planned. Naturally, a vehicle awaited me, and after a half-day’s journey back, I headed to the new house the Black Market had promptly arranged.
I spent the remainder of the day with a satisfied smile, indulging in leisure, and the following morning, I made my way directly to the Miracle Guild.
The reason was, naturally, the lifespan extension project.
Being a major undertaking, there was much to prepare and resolve. Most importantly, since Dangun Ji-hyuk had entered the Tower of Ascension, I needed to adjust the schedule slightly.
“I think a month from now would be best, don’t you? Since Ji-hyuk has entered the tower.”
“That sounds good. I don’t think we need extensive publicity either. After all, only the wealthy can afford this service.”
“If word spreads, some of the greed-maddened citizens might voice their complaints quite vocally. Can you handle that?”
At Ki So-young’s words, I let out a quiet laugh. Why would I handle that? There were two organizations to bear the brunt instead—the Miracle Guild and Dangun.
Besides, if I had feared such trivial matters, I would never have started this in the first place.
“It’s a matter of extending lifespans, after all. We deserve this much compensation. No matter how much they cry out, they cannot stop our business. If worst comes to worst, we can simply abandon the project and pin the blame on them—those desperate old geezers clinging to life will handle it themselves.”
With those words, I let out a hollow laugh and rose from my seat.
“Please use this on my younger sibling first. It can maintain their condition, not just extend their lifespan.”
“Of course. And I’m genuinely curious about this—Shin Ju-ha, you don’t seem interested in lifespan extension at all. Am I mistaken?”
At that question, I could only laugh quietly. It was true. I had no interest whatsoever.
After all, I had already transcended the constraints of time itself. I had already achieved half of immortality.
“I’m fine. I have other means regarding lifespan.”
“Oh my! Did you obtain it from that Hidden Stage? Of course! So there was something more authentic?”
It was a misunderstanding, but I saw no reason to correct it. It was better to let her remain mistaken. I simply offered her a light farewell and departed the Miracle Guild.
My business on Earth was now concluded. Issues regarding the Former North Korean Territory remained, but with Dangun Ji-hyuk absent and no intention of revealing my identity, there was truly no choice but to leave it as is.
I hailed a taxi and headed to the Abyss Portal, returning to the Abyss after just over a month’s time.
***
Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!
A colossal body convulsed in agony, its luminous form collapsing caverns and pulverizing mountains. The magnificent creature adorned in crimson scales was none other than the hatchling that had come to Earth and stolen the Imoogi’s inner core.
He writhed in fury and pain as he examined the severed left portion of his body that had been torn away.
【How dare you! How dare you! How dare you! To reduce me to this state! A wretched fallen god, no less!! To inflict such humiliation upon one of noble Dragon Lord bloodline!!】
He was of the great Red Dragon Clan, grandson of a Dragon Lord. Though he was merely a hatchling, not yet a hundred years old since birth.
Always relying on his grandfather’s identity, his draconic nature, and the shield of being a hatchling, he had acted with unbridled arrogance. Yet recently, something catastrophic had befallen him.
He had confronted a god and been attacked. Moreover, by a Divine Seat—one of the Fallen Angel race, notorious as the most deranged of all beings.
In truth, he should have been grateful merely to have survived with his life intact. Yet his fiery, volatile temperament could not be satisfied with mere survival. Instead, he had grown furious, displayed his wounds, and sought out the Lord and other elders, whining and complaining.
But the response that returned was cold. Unlike before, when they had always embraced him warmly and taken his side, the moment the words “Fallen Angel” and “Demon Realm” left his mouth, they turned frigid.
【We cannot wage war against the Demon Realm over a single hatchling.】
【The Seventy-Two Demon Kings would tear us to shreds. Child, show restraint. Suppress your wrath.】
【Do you truly believe we Red Dragons can contend with the Demon Realm, even among the Divine Realms?】
【Even if the Divine Seat in question is a fallen one, if they are Fallen Angels, their bonds run deep and fierce. Should conflict arise, the Demon Kings will surely rise to their defense.】
【Though their master has vanished, the Demon Realm remains a formidable power. It is a force that even we Red Dragons alone cannot dare to oppose. Child, return home. We forgive your recklessness this time only. Henceforth, uphold the dignity and nobility befitting a dragon.】
It was unprecedented. Those who had always demanded that Red Dragons possess fiery passion and ferocity, who had aided his vengeance and allowed him to vent his rage, now rebuked him with disgust.
In truth, it was inevitable. The Demon Realm was so vast that it boasted seventy-two Divine Seats alone. Though the supreme deity who led those called Demon Kings had mysteriously vanished one day, their military strength remained intact.
They had merely relinquished the title of being one of the strongest martial forces among the Divine Realms. A force that even the Dragon race—and specifically only the Red Dragon Clan, not the entirety—could not dare to touch.
Born with legendary status from birth, they were few in number, and their Divine Seats were not particularly abundant either. Beneath their supreme deity, the First Dragon God, they formed a unified force wielding considerable influence. Yet even that fell short compared to the Demon Realm.
Thus, the elder dragons, swift in judgment and mature in wisdom, had no choice but to tell this reckless, foolish hatchling to suppress the rage he called his identity.
Yet Ignium, the Red Dragon, could not obey the elders’ words. He could not simply ignore that wretched fallen being who dared to mock and humiliate them!
Leaving the assembly hall, he endured his pain and suppressed his fury as he flew toward a destination. It was not a place where volcanoes erupted and magma boiled, radiating tremendous heat.
Rather, it was a domain of verdant flora and pristine natural beauty. Yes, this was the territory of the Green Dragon Clan.
Ignium flew through their airspace and polymorphed, landing before a dragon’s lair. As he pounded on the door, it opened naturally. Passing through the entrance, he ventured deep into the lair’s heart and cried out.
【Parpane!】
At his shout, a dragon with long, beautiful emerald hair, who had been lying in bed, opened her eyes and gazed upon him.
Then, with a sound like “pfft,” she pointed at Ignium with her finger and burst into raucous laughter.
【Puhahahaha! Ignium! What happened to you? Did you run into some crazed demon somewhere? Or are you just stupid enough to get mangled by a mere demon! Puhaha! The great Ignium who was always boasting about his strength is completely done for!】
【Quiet! Just heal this for me! It hurts!】
She did not cease her laughter as she reached out and touched Ignium’s severed left shoulder. Then, something remarkable occurred.
Ignium’s arm began to regenerate in an instant. Of course, being a dragon’s body, it would take some time to fully restore, but the immediate effect was so pronounced that one could readily discern the capabilities of the Green Dragon before him.
【Parpane! I cannot accept this! I will have my revenge!】
【Puhehe? Against whom? The one who did that to your arm? How? How exactly do you plan to get revenge?】
【That damned Fallen Angel! Do they think they can do whatever they want just by invoking the Demon Realm’s name!】
At Ignium’s words, the smile vanished from Parpane’s face. It was only natural. She had just heard words that should never have been spoken.
She took a step back from him and asked.
【Don’t tell me you fought against one of the Demon Kings of the Demon Realm? No, you’re not seriously talking about revenge against them, are you? If you are, count me out. I have no intention of participating in your stupid suicide plan and dying alongside you.】
Red Dragons were foolish. That was an established fact. They pursued only rage and strength, recklessly causing incidents like madmen.
Green Dragons were intelligent and gentle (for dragons, at least). Thus, they understood all too well what the Demon Realm was.
They knew precisely what it entailed. The Demon Realm, broadly speaking, was divided into the Demon World where demons dwelled and the Dark Magic World where the demon race inhabited. Though demons and the demon race viewed each other as competitors, checking and contending with one another, the fact remained that they had evolved from the same dual roots of Demon and Evil.
Thus, they bound themselves together under the name Demon Realm. They competed among themselves, yet united against external threats.
The seventy-two Demon Kings of the Dark Magic World and the masters of the Seven Sins. Of course, some of them had perished or vanished.
And at this very moment, the Demon Realm was perilous.
【Are you insane? A thousand years ago, when the seventy-two Demon Kings of the Dark Magic World and all the demons lost their great king—the Divine Being they called their sovereign—their rage and ferocity reached an apex. They’re attacking the Divine Realm searching for their master, and the masters of the Seven Sins are barely restraining them. And you want to provoke them?】
It struck me as nothing short of an innovative suicide method. Yet Ignium shook his head firmly.
【No, we don’t even need to confront the Demon Realm. Now that I think about it carefully, she didn’t simply decline and lose her power. I couldn’t possibly be ignorant of such a Divine Seat. No matter how foolish I am, I at least remember the faces of the strong. But I’ve never even seen her face.】
Parpane, who had witnessed her own kin consumed by madness and fury, shook her head. This was hopeless. She wasn’t the type to listen to reason.
【And what I’m going to do isn’t revenge against her.】
【Then what is it?】
【I’m going to kill the pathetic creature she’s using as her avatar and prevent her from ever resurrecting! If she can’t resurrect, who will ever know that I stopped her? Besides, she’s already dead—only her soul remains. And if I capture even that soul?】
The soul of a god. Its value was beyond any measure.
【Sigh. I don’t care what you do with those wretched creatures you command. But you’re going to finish that task first, right? If that fails, I can’t cover for you anymore. It’s a mission the Dragon God herself gave to us hatchlings. She ordered us to obtain the Orbs of Harmony, and you fought and couldn’t even get them within the deadline, and the one you finally got late—you ate it? Good grief, you’re hopeless.】
【Hmph! That was a mistake. Besides, I’ve already obtained the Orbs of Harmony.】
Opening a subspace and proudly displaying the Orbs of Harmony, Ignium’s childish behavior left Parpane with no choice but to shake her head.
【Then let’s use just one spell.】
Unable to ignore her kin born at the same time, she had set foot upon a path she should never have taken.

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