I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 71

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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 71. Hyena
〚Rune: Hourglass of Time
Grade: Primordial
Rank: SSS
LV 1
Description: For one who has returned by rewinding time, the System created a small law separated from the grand law of time itself.
Abilities
-Can regress everything to 1 second to 1 hour prior. (Cooldown: 30 days)
-Can reset the cooldown of one ability, excluding those applied to this Rune. (Cooldown: 24 hours)
-Accelerates the time of desired non-living objects by 1.1x to 10x for 1 second to 10 minutes. (Cooldown: 1 hour)
-Liberated from all temporal constraints.
-LV 2 Unlocked〛
A Rune is a magnificent blessing. Therefore, it is an ability that can be used without any cost whatsoever—even if that means rewinding time across entire dimensions.
‘I can actually rewind time.’
Though the maximum was merely one hour, knowing what it truly meant to reverse time, I could only marvel at the possibility.
I could rewind moments before death and escape its grasp; I could undo wrong choices and seize the right path; I could leverage future knowledge for immense gain.
Truly, this was a Primordial-grade Rune. Yet even as I marveled, a message materialized that made me freeze in absolute shock.
〚You have been liberated from time’s greatest constraint—lifespan!〛
〚You have reached the state of immortality!〛
…What is this?
I had achieved the state of immortality that the dark mage who had ascended to Arch Mage had so desperately desired.
Yet I found myself bewildered and at a loss. Suddenly, what is this?
Wait—aging was a constraint too? I suppose there’s nothing more terrifying than decay, but…should I truly marvel at the power of a Primordial-grade ability?
Since there was no point dwelling on it, I simply abandoned the thought.
The next ability was also remarkably necessary for me. Perhaps the System thought the same way and created this ability with me in mind.
‘I can reduce the activation penalty of Longinus to some degree.’
In exchange for overwhelming power, Longinus carries an activation penalty. Only by raising the activation rate even by 1% can I manifest its limited special authority and wield its true destructive force.
‘With World Destroyer doubling damage and 10% becoming fixed damage…’
What would happen if I fully activated Longinus’s spear at 100%? The mere thought sent a thrilling surge through my entire being.
I closed all system windows and laid my body down on the hospital bed.
“Unfortunately, my ownership of the Golden Tower didn’t quite reach 30%.”
It was 29.999999…%. As if a single fragment were missing, it had stalled at that threshold and refused to rise further.
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t disappointed, but having gained so much already, I wasn’t desperate. The conditions would be met in time.
With that thought, for the first time in over two weeks, I was able to fall into a proper, restful sleep.
***
The Primordial Village – Terrarium was home to many souls.
First, there were those who had abandoned their homelands for various reasons—destruction among them—and settled in the Abyss, receiving the title of “resident” from the system itself.
Then came the players from South Korea who had arrived through the Abyss Portal.
And those who had descended from higher stages for reasons of their own.
Despite being Stage-0-1, an exceptionally low tier, the city boasted a continental scale that rivaled any major metropolis, and the population within it was staggering.
Naturally, following the law that one in five is a troll, evil certainly existed in pockets throughout this place.
No matter how formidable the power and authority wielded by Braymun, the captain of the guard, human affairs could never be perfect.
In the outskirts of the Primordial City—commonly known as the domain of criminals—people had gathered.
They assembled in the largest room of an inn, waiting for someone. How much time had passed?
As the door opened and a robed man revealed himself before them, they immediately rose from their seats and bowed their upper bodies at angles exceeding ninety degrees to greet him.
“You’ve arrived!”
The robed man nodded and naturally took the seat of honor. Then he regarded them as if to say, “Go ahead and speak.”
A gulp.
As someone swallowed hard, a vicious-looking subordinate seated directly beside the robed man opened his mouth.
“The final Quest of the Primordial City has been unlocked. And that Quest has been cleared.”
At the subordinate’s words, the eyes within the robe gleamed. The man adjusted his posture with evident interest and listened intently to the account.
“The Quest is called ‘Extermination of Monsters in the Underground Aqueduct [Advanced-E+].’ It’s a Quest that can be obtained from the city’s captain of the guard. And the one who received the Quest was a newbie who had just entered the Tutorial. After doing all sorts of miscellaneous Quests on his first day, he apparently became acquainted with the captain’s daughter and received the Quest.”
At those words, the robed man’s expression darkened. Something clearly displeased him.
“A newbie? A newbie received a Quest? What, he cleared a few pathetic reward Quests and somehow obtained the final Quest?”
“Yes. After having subordinates conduct a simple investigation, his name is Shin Ju-ha. He was the top scorer in the last licensing exam and was recently promoted to E-rank. While not entirely certain, it appears he has connections with the Seo Hwa Group Princess, the second-place finisher….”
“Hmm? This isn’t Earth, and what does it matter if he’s acquainted with the Seo Hwa Group Princess? In any case, that pathetic Seo Hwa Group is no match for our organization, whether in the Abyss or on Earth!”
At the man’s confident words, the eyes of his subordinates gleamed. It was a feeling akin to reverence toward him.
And well it should be, for the man before them was none other than a Demon-Human chosen by the demon race!
Naturally, he belonged to the Demon Palace, the organization to which all Demon-Humans contracted with the demon race belonged. Privately, he was also the true master of the Hyena, the villain organization of the Primordial City.
“So the Quest was cleared?”
“Yes. However, after this Shin Ju-ha entered the Underground Aqueduct, the Quest was cleared in less than half a day.”
“Hmm, it seems the Quest wasn’t particularly difficult. The captain of the guard must have created an appropriately scaled Quest, which is why he let the monster live.”
At the man’s words, his subordinates nodded. They thought the same thing.
If that weren’t the truth, it would mean that a mere month-old prospect had, in just a few hours, found and defeated a monster in a city-sized underground aqueduct that even the captain of the guard couldn’t kill.
No one would accept such a fact. Least of all the members of the Hyena organization, who had decided to target him.
In truth, the impossible thing they imagined was actually fact, though the monster was considerably weaker than the captain of the guard in terms of raw power. Still, the conclusion remained that the captain hadn’t killed the monster, so their assumption wasn’t entirely wrong.
And at Shin Ju-ha’s current level, he was roughly equal to or slightly inferior to Braymun, the captain of the guard and former candidate for Holy Knight of the Holy Kingdom—which made him merely a bad omen for them.
But unaware of this truth, they instinctively made assumptions favorable to themselves, lending weight to their actions.
“Among the rewards, there was a letter of recommendation from a Holy Kingdom Cardinal, wasn’t there?”
“Yes. It seems the captain of the guard must have possessed it. I’m not sure how a mere city guard captain came to have such a precious letter of recommendation…but if he has that…”
Greed gleamed in everyone’s eyes. The subordinates went without saying, and even the robed man coveted that letter of recommendation.
‘If I were to deliver that letter of recommendation to the high-ranking Apostle currently working on a project in the Holy Kingdom?’
The Demon Palace divides its organization into seven grades, from 1st to 7th. The robed man had only recently formed a contract, and the demon race he’d contracted with wasn’t of particularly high rank, making him a 7th-grade Apostle, the lowest rank.
But the one leading the project he was currently participating in was none other than a 4th-grade Apostle. A high-ranking Demon-Human practically never seen in stages as low as these single digits.
In other words, merely catching the eye of such a Demon-Human was as good as guaranteeing his rise to prominence.
Perhaps I might even be guaranteed the position of South Korea branch director, currently vacant after being killed by that monster Dangun Cheonje.
A 4th-grade Apostle possessed the power and authority to appoint a mere country branch director on a planet as unremarkable as Earth without hesitation.
Greed deepened in the man’s eyes. I couldn’t let this slip away. This was a perfect opportunity heaven had granted me.
‘This is what I’ve been gathering all this time for.’
The man removed his robe. His subordinates were startled by his sudden action, but soon their faces filled with emotion.
Since he always wore the robe with perception-inhibiting magic applied to conceal his identity, they believed he had come to acknowledge and trust them.
Of course, the man’s thoughts were nothing of the sort.
‘I’m about to become a branch director—I can’t afford to be implicated with these maggots and have my reputation tarnished.’
Failures. Wretches without the courage to escape Stage-0 and advance, without the effort to develop further, just ugly and greedy pigs.
They weren’t even fortunate, had no connections—they were simply failures.
Useless creatures who crossed the line and cared only for their own profit, so gathering them beneath me had been effortless, and discarding them was equally simple.
Killing them all and wrapping up the incident vaguely was the final fate I had decided for them.
I had no intention of revealing this truth to them now.
I made eye contact with each of my subordinates one by one, acting as though I was instilling trust and faith in them.
“If we succeed this time, we can all establish ourselves in the Holy Kingdom. If we just sell the letter of recommendation through backchannels, we can live grandly not just in the Holy Kingdom but in any other kingdom.”
The Quest reward was one title, 30,000 purple coins, one item, and a letter of recommendation. What I could actually obtain from killing him was the letter of recommendation, the purple coins, and the item.
30,000 coins was substantial, but distributing that amount equally among more than ten people was practically impossible. Even the item, no matter how good, would be rare at best—worth only a few hundred million at most.
Combined and divided, the limit per person came to around 10 million won.
Such a pittance wasn’t worth leaving behind the Primordial City – Terraium, where I had established myself and wielded considerable influence.
But the letter of recommendation was different. It was literally a blank check.
Of course, I had no intention of selling it. Its value was immeasurable. If sold to a third-generation player billionaire, they would purchase it for hundreds of millions without hesitation.
A document that provided the opportunity to become a high-ranking official of the Holy Kingdom, capable of wielding tremendous influence in the final stage completely conquered by players across all dimensions including Earth, was worth that much.
Moreover, the letter of recommendation was a document that didn’t inquire into its source. Even if stolen, no responsibility could be assigned.
Since it was a letter of recommendation from one of the four Cardinals who ruled the Holy Kingdom in place of the Pope, who was almost symbolic in nature, perhaps like the first Saint, I could obtain a saintly title and open the path to acquiring a high-grade class.
‘After all, only Earthlings can enter the Holy Kingdom.’
It was the same principle as the restrictions that existed for each country among the numerous cities of Stage-0. Some believed it was the system’s consideration to protect Earth, but the truth was known to no one.
Of course, identity checks would be strict. But if one wasn’t a demon or a demon contractor, there would be no problem.
Naturally, as a demon contractor bound to a demon, I couldn’t use the letter of recommendation directly, but I had a younger brother who was free-spirited and pleasure-seeking like an older brother.
Since he hadn’t yet contracted with a demon, he was actually the perfect candidate. All I needed to do was recommend him along with the letter of recommendation.
The man smiled with satisfaction, gazing at his subordinates steeling their resolve, and opened his mouth.
“The sooner the decisive battle, the better.”
The hunt was beginning. Starving and malicious Hyenas had started to move.

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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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