I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 97

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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 97. Tower of Ascension
After donning the mask and golden armor, I stepped outside, and every Hunter’s gaze converged upon me.
Understandably so. To them, I was both their savior and the sole arbiter of entry into the Tower of Ascension.
I knew not what lay within that tower, yet entry alone promised extraordinary gains. Thus, their eyes gleamed with avarice far more than gratitude.
Ignoring their rapacious stares, I moved to another location.
‘I should pay my respects to Seo Ye-rin.’
Having entered a separate sector, I’d never encountered her, and after the sectors merged, I’d relinquished control of my body, leaving me unable to offer proper greetings.
Though I’d handled everything myself and offered no direct assistance, she had come without hesitation at my request—courtesy demanded acknowledgment.
Even if I’d already enticed her with promised rewards and settled the debt by forgoing a single magical cultivation opportunity.
First, however, I needed to meet the Special Merchant, who sat conspicuously in plain sight, grumbling audibly.
“Damn it all. I have so much to do after work, yet here I am wasting time. This wretched employer—I’ll never know peace! How am I supposed to live like this?”
Clearly, my late arrival had vexed him. Yet the System seemed to have prevented his departure.
I was grateful for the System’s consideration. I approached him slowly and bowed my head.
“Huh? Finally showed up, you bastard. Forget the pleasantries—pick what you want and get out! Let me clock out already!”
I nodded and examined the catalog materializing before my eyes.
〚Special Shop
-Item: Mane of the Celestial Lion [Normal-S]: 100P
-Item: Fragment of Millennial Turtle Shell [Normal-EX+]: 210P
.
.
.
-Rune: Blessing of Cupid’s Arrow [Heroic-S-]: 397,899P
-Skill: Three Days of Resolve [Heroic-SS+]: 432,999P
-Item: Essence of Life Water [Heroic-SSS]: 499,999P
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.
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-Item: Nectar [Mythic-C+]: 1,999,999P
-Item: Valodr’s Doctrine—First [Mythic-SS-]: 2,777,888P
-Skill: Throne of the Fallen [Mythic-EX-]: 3,333,333P
.
.
.
-Skill: Severance [Primordial-B+]: 9,999,999P〛
As befitted the Special Shop, most offerings were exotic and peculiar, yet one item seized my attention entirely.
Destiny’s Fortune screamed at me with overwhelming intensity to purchase it.
‘What is this that demands such fervor?’
My curiosity was fleeting. Intuition, instinct, and Destiny’s Fortune had all chosen—I could not refuse.
I would need to expend most of my accumulated Points, yet this posed no concern. Meeting the Special Merchant again would take considerable time, if fortune smiled upon me at all.
“I wish to purchase the Item: Heart of the Heavens [Mythic-EX+].”
The merchant, who had been grumbling about my choice, fell silent and studied me intently. As if verifying whether I knew something, I simply held his gaze without wavering.
“You picked this without even knowing what it is?”
He swept through my mind with evident curiosity, then handed me the item with an amused expression and accepted the points in exchange.
In an instant, 3,666,666 points were consumed, leaving me with barely 4,000 points remaining—hardly enough for any additional purchases.
‘No wings.’
Unfortunately, Lucifer’s wings were not available here. It would have been fortunate to obtain even one.
“This should be entertaining. Let’s see what becomes of you with that in your possession.”
The merchant laughed, tore through space, and vanished. I gazed at the item that both my intuition from the Limitless and the voice of destiny were screaming about.
〚Item: Heart of the Heavens
Grade: Mythic
Rank: EX+
Description: A heart containing all that was greatest and most powerful in the heavens. Should you truly obtain this power, you shall become the true master of the sky.
Abilities
-Sealed
-Sealed
-Sealed
.
.
.
.〛
“What is this?”
A worthless item for 3,666,666 points?
I checked the item information again in disbelief. Every single ability was sealed. No, did it even make sense for one item to possess this many abilities in the first place?
By rough count, there existed dozens of abilities. They were simply all sealed and unusable.
There was no point in lamenting now—I had already crossed a river I could not return from. Calling back the merchant to demand a refund made no sense.
My intuition and the voice of destiny must have had a reason for choosing this item as a destined selection. The merchant’s silent smile as he handed it over troubled me as well.
I placed the item in my inventory and turned my body. After obtaining Dangun Ji-hyuk’s consent, I headed toward the black tent gathered in the distance.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
As I pressed the tent’s bell, the door opened and a man wearing a pure white mask similar to mine emerged.
“Welcome. I have been waiting for you.”
Watching him bow respectfully, I let out a soft laugh.
“I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.”
“Indeed. It seems I am always waiting for you, our esteemed guest.”
The Branch Director had a sense of humor. I found him amusing. I followed him into the tent. Unlike the one I had stayed in, this was an expensive tent filled with all manner of furnishings—or rather, it felt more like a custom-made special order.
“You came.”
“Yes. I arrived late after resting for a while.”
I removed my mask and took a seat across from her.
“The mask has been serving me well, thanks to you.”
Both of them nodded at my words, extracting full value from the expensive item.
Since all observation-type abilities could be blocked, a mask equipped with perception obstruction and interference was the perfect item to conceal my identity.
“Impressive. Remarkable. A descent. Divine Seat?”
“I’m not entirely certain myself what she is. Even she doesn’t fully understand her own nature. I happened to rescue her soul from a Hidden Stage.”
Interest flickered in both their eyes at my words, and I smiled as I recounted the general story.
“Extraordinary. Your very first Abyss expedition was nothing short of tumultuous. Is that why you can accomplish such impossible feats so effortlessly?”
The Branch Director marveled and expressed his astonishment.
“Agreed.”
Seo Ye-rin simply nodded in acknowledgment.
Observing the two of them, I let out a soft chuckle before broaching the main topic at last.
“You’ve been waiting to enter the Tower of Ascension, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Precisely. A special-type dungeon as a reward for slaying a calamity-class monster! It’s unbelievable. In 200 years, special-type dungeons have appeared fewer than ten times. And now one appears as a permanent fixture!”
I had never seen the Branch Director this excited before. Even when I showed him Golden and Mithril, it wasn’t quite like this.
“In truth, even if we wished to participate, since we haven’t provided any assistance, it would be an unreasonable request… but still, I truly wish to enter.”
“You came to help me, so that much is only natural. How many people are you planning to send in?”
The Branch Director held up three fingers.
“Three hundred?”
“No. Thirty. There’s no point in wasting the opportunity by sending in mediocre individuals. What matters is having only the elite enter and gather information beforehand. It also makes it easier to relay that information to the others later.”
At his words, I chuckled and shook my head. The Branch Director’s premise was fundamentally flawed.
“The Tower of Ascension presents different trials for each individual. The dungeon’s purpose and will are precisely to transcend one’s personal limits and ascend.”
The Branch Director nodded in surprise at my explanation. Well, thirty people posed no problem for immediate entry, so I told him to confirm the roster and contact me, then left the tent.
“The Tower of Ascension has 1,000 entry slots.”
Excluding my one slot, with 30 slots allocated to the Black Market and roughly 200 to the Dangun Guild, 769 slots remained.
“This should be auctioned.”
Not an auction through the Black Market, but a legitimate auction in the light of day for proper compensation. I was about to rake in money hand over fist once again.
I immediately went to the Dangun Guild’s tent, promised them 200 slots, and departed.
“Time to head back.”
I pressed the return button that appeared in the System, and I was transported back to the Miracle Guild Infirmary.
***
Three days. I handled various matters, discussed the Miracle Guild and the longevity business, and spent the time at ease.
And finally, today, the one thousand individuals who would enter the Tower of Ascension were decided. Naturally, it was the Dangun Guild and Dangun Ji-hyuk who conducted the auction.
In exchange for readily providing two hundred slots, he helped conceal my identity and personally opened the auction himself.
It was only natural that countless Hunters worldwide coveted the special-type Dungeon. Without dragging things out for long, all remaining slots were sold in just a single day, and today they gathered on the former North Korean Territory at the promised time.
“It’s been a few days since we last met. Thanks to you, I’ve been swamped with work.”
Dangun Ji-hyuk let out a hollow laugh as he spoke, and we shook hands familiarly. I greeted him warmly in return.
“And congratulations. You, who slew the Imoogi, have received half of the Former North Korean Territory. I pulled some strings for you. Since the Tower of Ascension is yours anyway, I took the opportunity to carve out some land as well.”
What? Suddenly I’m a major landowner? I was taken aback by this unexpected news, but his expression suggested it was only natural.
“You should be disappointed that you only received half. If I had subjugated it, that entire land would have been mine. Those fools sitting at their desks doing nothing but indulging their greed—tsk.”
That’s right. Even before my regression, half the land connected to South Korea had been his. It had become a kingdom called the Dangun Territory. Of course, it wasn’t a domain ruled and governed by a king.
It was simply called that in the sense that it was his land. Strictly speaking, it was a city belonging to South Korea, a position akin to an affiliated state.
My land would likely be the same.
“Since we’re hiding your identity, I’ve temporarily registered it under our guild’s name for now. You can claim it at an appropriate time. You won’t have to pay taxes anyway, and frankly, the amount is pocket change for you these days.”
Along with words suggesting that many would attempt to make contact, he moved forward with me toward the Tower of Ascension. By then, one thousand prepared Hunters were gathered there, waiting for only me.
I stood before them and opened my mouth, speaking the entry message to them.
“I wish for each of you to achieve the ascension you desire.”
I, too, would achieve the ascension I desire.

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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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