I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 36

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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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Chapter 36. Giant Ant
Gripping the frost-laden flame blade and deploying another turtle to mark my starting point, I stowed it in my pocket and pressed forward.
My objective this time was to explore as deeply as possible and locate the Queen who ruled the Giant Ants, then kill her. Even in a wave-type dungeon, eliminating the boss who commanded the Giant Ants would make clearing the dungeon far easier.
Of course, that was the optimal goal, but what I considered most critical was finding the Queen first.
‘It keeps bothering me. Why would the Queen order me to destroy her own eggs?’
Something felt off. As if I were overlooking something crucial.
While I didn’t know much about ants, it made no sense for a single burrow to have two Queens. Yet the Queen’s eggs were items meant to produce the next generation of Queens—all the ants should gather to protect them as a matter of course.
But destroying such eggs would be no different from inviting total annihilation, would it?
Furthermore, the dungeon’s clear conditions seemed far too simple for a dungeon that was not only hostile to humans but also unique in its classification. While the overwhelming military might of the Giant Ants could explain it, caution never hurt.
I drank a sensory enhancement potion and advanced, perceiving everything around me to the fullest extent.
How long had I been moving like this? I’d wandered through the burrow long enough that something should have appeared, yet…
“What’s this?”
Not a single Giant Ant, not even a shadow of life could be seen. It was as if all the Giant Ants that had inhabited this place had vanished.
Sensing the anomaly, I furrowed my brow. Variables always took the shortest path to catastrophe rather than fortune.
The Giant Ants couldn’t have gone mad and committed mass suicide, nor could they have escaped the dungeon. In the first place, dungeon breaks—where monsters pour out—never occur when a Hunter is inside. Especially not in a dungeon where the Dungeon Blackhole phenomenon has manifested.
Therefore, their absence meant they were gathered in one place, and only the Queen could assemble the Giant Ants in a single location. In other words, finding that place meant finding the Queen!
With the thought that a variable could turn favorable, I quickened my pace. There was no longer any need to advance slowly, concealing my presence. I pushed off the ground and began searching for where the Giant Ants had congregated.
Before long, I discovered a location where hundreds of Giant Ants had gathered.
‘This is insane!’
There were far more than I’d anticipated. Easily over three hundred Giant Ants in total were bowing their heads to an enormous, furious Queen at the very front.
Gulp.
My resolve crumbled at the sight. It couldn’t be helped—the Queen’s rank registered in my Sun was Unique-C grade.
Two of my main stats had dropped to F grade, and though I’d awakened my mana stat to barely scrape D grade, the Queen was formidable enough that even a competent B-rank Hunter couldn’t guarantee victory in a one-on-one confrontation.
Could I perhaps endure against her if she were like that C-grade Holy being who’d beaten me one-sidedly not long ago?
The dungeon’s Unique-D+ rating likely indicated that this level of danger applied only if you avoided confronting the Queen and merely held back the waves.
As if confirming that theory, the strongest of the Giant Ants—the royal guard—were precisely Unique-D+ grade. They would likely appear in the final, fifth wave.
The hierarchy seemed to follow the order: common soldier, elite soldier, royal guard, Queen. Moreover, the higher the rank, the larger the size—the Queen was roughly twice the size of a common soldier.
I swallowed hard and watched their assembly from hiding.
The Queen, furious about something, unleashed continuous shrieks at the Giant Ants, and her subjects trembled in terror at her rage. Finally, she issued a command: most of the Giant Ants were to participate in a search.
Abandon your current duties and find only one thing—the missing Queen’s eggs and the intruder!!!
The moment the Queen shrieked those words, over two hundred common soldiers rose to their feet and rapidly dispersed throughout the burrow.
‘Damn it!’
Giant Ants came rushing madly toward the burrow where I was hiding. I hastily retrieved an item from my inventory and equipped it. The stealth skill item I’d used against Ra activated, its efficacy shimmering as it rendered my body transparent.
But it was a blunder. A foolish move—I should have immediately turned and fled.
The ants, particularly those called common soldiers, had eyes that could discern little more than brightness and basic shape. It was natural and inevitable for creatures living in such darkness underground.
They perceived their surroundings through their antennae, sensing vibrations and movement in the air rather than relying on sight. My invisibility was utterly meaningless. They would detect my breath and sense my trembling regardless of whether I could be seen.
-Kee-kee-kik?!
-Kee-kee-kik!!!
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Though I pressed myself against the wall and suppressed my presence as much as possible, they discovered me immediately, and with shrieks loud enough to shake the burrow, they charged at me with their powerful mandibles clashing.
“Damn it!”
Danger. Extreme danger. The moment I spotted over dozens of Giant Ants, I spun around and bolted without hesitation.
“Equal Exchange! Maximize my Absolute Stats!”
Massive coins drained away as my body surged with power. The stat increase capped at 30 points. But it was enough.
The silver lining was that most of the Giant Ants’ stats were concentrated in strength, making their speed far from impressive. Of course, that was only relative to their rank and grade—compared to me, the difference was negligible.
Watching the colossal creatures charge forward with the determination not to let me escape, I clenched my teeth.
‘What do I do?’
Heading straight for the Queen’s Egg Chamber like this would be idiocy. It would be no different than leading an enemy army directly into the heart of my allies’ position.
Yet I couldn’t afford not to go. If this many Giant Ants had spread through the Tunnel, my comrades would be discovered in no time. Giant Ants attacking outside of a Wave meant something was terribly wrong.
I’d suspected from the start that there might be more than just Waves, but this was the worst-case scenario. Without me, all they could do was hold out as long as possible.
It was time to choose. I glanced back, taking in the sight of roughly twenty Giant Ants pursuing me, and…
‘Just hold on a little longer.’
I pushed harder against the ground and lured them as far away from my allies as possible.
How long did I run? Eventually, the chase reached its end. I entered a dead-end Chamber and stopped, catching my breath.
-Kee-kee-kee!
-Kik-kik-kik!
-Kee-kee-keek!
Did they think I’d given up? The Giant Ants slowly entered the Chamber and began laughing as if mocking their prey.
“Haa… this is really annoying.”
Watching the Giant Ants approach with their massive jaws snapping, I slowly closed my eyes, held my breath, then opened them again.
Whoosh!
Crimson flames blazed from my left eye toward the Giant Ants. The moment my eyes—holding The Sun within them—met the enormous eyes of the creatures, countless messages flooded my vision.
Degenerated eyes posed no problem whatsoever. Even in a dim world where only light and shape were visible, one could never fail to recognize the radiant Sun blooming from the darkness.
〚Unique-Rank[D] LV 23: Giant Ant Soldier has suffered status abnormality: Intimidation!〛
〚Unique-Rank[D] LV 24: Giant Ant Soldier has suffered status abnormality: Terror!〛
.
.
.
〚Unique-Rank[D] LV 22: Giant Ant Soldier has suffered status abnormality: Confusion!〛
〚Unique-Rank[D] LV 25: Giant Ant Soldier has suffered status abnormality: Confusion!〛
Of the twenty-three Giant Ants chasing me, fourteen fell into status abnormalities and began shrieking in panic.
I didn’t waste the opening. My flame blade flashed, moving in an instant. Diving beneath them, I methodically targeted their joints with practiced precision.
-Kee-kee-keek!!
I couldn’t finish them off. My priority was to incapacitate as many as possible before the status abnormalities wore off, and the unaffected Giant Ants would swarm me the moment I exposed myself beneath their bodies.
My flame blade smoothly severed joint after joint, and the moment the eleventh Giant Ant’s legs gave way and it collapsed, the status abnormalities all lifted at once.
‘About five minutes?’
My low proficiency and level meant I couldn’t use the ability consecutively. Even when I tried to channel mana into The Sun, my eye rejected it as if refusing the power.
But having already disabled roughly half of them was worth the effort. I burst out from beneath the collapsing Giant Ant.
Thud!
-Kee-kee-kee!
The Giant Ant, unable to rise as its legs gave out beneath it, cried out toward its kin with fury and anguish. As if answering that call, twelve Giant Ants began charging toward me with frenzied abandon.
The chamber trembled, and beneath the crushing pressure, I sharpened my focus and moved with precision.
I sprinted toward the creature rushing at me head-on. As if to mock its confidence, I moved as though I would not fall like those sprawled on the ground—the creature lowered its body sharply to prevent me from slipping beneath it.
But that was precisely what I intended. I kicked off the ground and launched myself upward, unfurling a single wing while transforming my entire body into an item.
My physical attributes surged in an instant, and my shoes became blue sneakers adorned with cloud patterns. I stepped once upon the empty air and landed atop the Giant Ant.
-Kee-kee-kee-kee!!!
Had it not expected me to ascend upward rather than downward? The creature shrieked in absolute fury. But I had no time to concern myself with its rage.
Whether it had decided to sacrifice one of its own to kill me, the remaining eleven Giant Ants hurled themselves onto the one I was perched upon, jaws gaping wide as they charged. I was surrounded with no escape.
I focused my mind, relaxed the tension in my body, and moved as water flows—thinking of myself as water itself.
I brought my blade against the jaws lunging to sever my waist, and I seized the jaws approaching my arm as if to tear it apart, moving with them.
Tai Chi—like a Hunter who boasted of mastery in Chinese martial arts, I spun my body in a full rotation, adding my momentum to their overwhelming force and redirecting the Giant Ants charging from the side into one another.
Crack! Crunch!
When their powerful jaws clamped shut with full force, they were tearing into the flesh of their own comrades.
But I was far from unscathed. Even I could not withstand all eleven of them.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
In that fleeting moment, with just two movements, I blocked eight Giant Ants, but I was forced to allow the remaining three to land their attacks.
Crunch!
Their powerful jaws clamped down on my right thigh, left arm, and abdomen, exerting tremendous bite force.
〚Skill: Flowing Water Form deflects the attack!〛
Whether by fortune or misfortune, the Giant Ant’s jaws meant for my left arm snapped at empty air, as if cause and effect had been severed.
Of course, luck struck only once. My abdomen and right thigh erupted in excruciating pain beneath their crushing pressure.
“Gahhh!”
The creatures’ antennae sensed my trembling, and they quivered as if intuiting their victory.
“Ughhhh!!!”
But it is not over. I will not die like this. My Thousand Transformations shifted into a high-grade blade, which my unbitten left hand grasped firmly.
With my right hand, I gripped the flame sword and drove both blades down into the necks of the two creatures biting me.
Squelch! Squelch!
The moment the blades pierced their necks, the creatures immediately released their jaws from my body and shrieked.
“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Damn… these bastards.”
I hastily retrieved potions from my inventory, placed them in my mouth, and poured them onto my wounds. I had taken the most effective standard-grade potions and the highest-tier high-grade potions available, but the wounds were so severe that complete recovery was impossible.
About half of the nearly puncturing wounds closed, and as the pain-relieving effects spread through my body, I rose to my feet.
“You ant bastards! Let’s finish this!!”
I will not die like this. I will kill every last one of you and ensure my younger brother survives!
Ignoring the blood streaming down, I drew both blades and leaped from the Giant Ant’s back.

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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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