I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 98

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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 98. The Tower of Ascension (2)
The moment entry was granted, the Hunters rushed toward the massive tower-shaped Dungeon without hesitation, eager to discover what lay within and what treasures awaited them.
Watching the others vanish into the tower, I moved forward as well.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
To think I could finally enter a tower so renowned even before my regression. The contrast between my position then—a bottom-tier Hunter—and now struck me with renewed awe.
I waited until all the other Hunters had disappeared before placing my hand on the tower last.
〚Dungeon: Will you enter the Tower of Ascension?〛
“Yes.”
〚Welcome!〛
Brilliant light flooded my vision, and when my sight cleared, I stood on Tower of Ascension Floor 0.
〚Dungeon: Tower of Ascension
Power: ???
Rank: ???
Type: Special
Description: Transcend your limits and achieve ascension. Tremendous rewards await!〛
Conditions:
-Rewards are settled upon clearing each floor.
-Upon death, accumulated rewards up to that floor are settled and you are expelled.
-The Tower of Ascension permits only one entry per person.
-Every player faces different trials.〛
Nothing surprising—immortality until death, abundant rewards, and personalized trials for each player. I’d heard it all before.
I nodded and confirmed the next message, the truly crucial one.
〚Grand Special Privilege detected!〛
〚Opening privilege!〛
〚Privilege List:
-Resurrection count becomes infinite!
-All rewards increased by 500%!
-Free entry and exit from the tower! (However, trials pause.)
-Helpful packages provided each floor!
-Floor count increases infinitely!
-One additional difficulty option unlocked!〛
A privilege befitting its grand classification. I now held an infinite hunting ground in the palm of my hand.
Satisfied, I closed the privilege menu and reached toward the white sphere before me. I knew what this was—the essence of the Tower of Ascension, where player information is registered.
The moment my hand touched it, a System Message appeared indicating registration in progress. After considerable time had passed—
〚All player information has been registered!〛
〚Select your difficulty. This will determine the overall difficulty of the tower you will ascend!〛
〚EASY/NORMAL/HARD/LUNATIC〛
Easy. Normal. Hard. Lunatic.
Four difficulty tiers. My decision came instantly. With infinite coins, I could eventually clear any difficulty regardless.
Without hesitation, I selected the newly unlocked Lunatic difficulty, and the tower honored my choice by immediately displaying the next message.
〚1st Floor Trial has been determined!〛
〚Transferring!〛
I was able to enter the 1st Floor.
***
When I opened my eyes once more to brilliant light, the scenery before me was all too familiar. A landscape I could never forget.
〚1st Stage: Remnants of the Past
Difficulty: Advanced
Rank: E+
Description: Achieve victory against what you could not overcome in the past. It will propel you one step further forward.
Objective: Eliminate Remnants of the Past (0/1)
Restriction: Your body will transform to its past state.
Success Reward: Unique Ability: Self-Overcoming Strength (自勝者强) [Legendary-S]〛
Upon seeing the 1st Floor’s objective, I understood. What I had to kill here. And what my current state was.
The state I was in right before regression—right before death. And in this state, I would have to kill that hop goblin bastard that had slaughtered me back then.
‘Is it possible?’
The first emotion that gripped me was anxiety. Could I, with this pathetically frail body, possibly kill that monster? The question consumed my mind.
‘I’m terrified.’
The next emotion was fear. Fear I had already learned once before. The fear of death itself. If such a thing as a natural predator existed, mine would be none other than that hop goblin.
Because it had killed me once. That memory was etched into my mind so deeply it would never be erased.
‘Damn it!’
The final emotion was rage. I cursed at my pathetic self, drowning in negative thoughts, and steadied my mind.
I checked my equipment and composed myself. Then I opened my status window to confirm my exact condition.
『Status Window
Name: Shin Ju-ha
Title: Goblin Slayer [F+]
LV 10 (0%)
Stats
Strength (Normal) F- (15/100)
Endurance (Normal) F- (21/100)
Remaining Points: 0
Unique Ability
[???]
Skills
[Basic Swordsmanship (Normal) LV7][Power Strike (Normal) LV8]』
Pathetic stats. But I have no time for complaints when I must survive with only this.
First, I examine my title. The only Achievement the System has ever acknowledged me for.
〚Title: Goblin Slayer
Rank: Normal
Grade: F+
Description: A title bestowed upon the vicious criminal who has claimed the lives of countless goblins!〛
Ability
-Deals 10% additional damage against Goblins.〛
Compared to the lowest-tier title I possessed after my regression, this one was utterly pathetic. Yet it had its uses. A Hop Goblin was still a Goblin, after all.
Next came my stats, though there was little point in reviewing them. My abilities were so meager compared to the Hop Goblin that I was barely worth a single punch.
Finally, my skills. My unique ability would be the Curse of Misfortune, so I’d skip that. My skills were Basic Swordsmanship and Power Strike. Power Strike slightly increased damage, while Basic Swordsmanship functioned as a passive that merely adjusted my sword trajectory marginally.
None of these were particularly helpful on their own, but I would have to combine them skillfully to survive.
“When do I get the package?”
I needed to receive that first before doing anything else. The moment the words left my mouth, a System Message chimed.
〚Your 1st Stage Package has arrived!〛
〚Would you like to open it?〛
“Open it.”
〚You have received 1× Random Skill Draw Ticket!〛
〚Item: Random Skill Draw Ticket
Tier: ???
Grade: ???
Description: An item of unknown origin. A temporary item that can only be used in specific locations under specific circumstances.
Ability
-Upon use: You can acquire one random skill between Common~Unique, F-~EX+.〛
“Damn it!”
I barely restrained myself from cursing further. A draw ticket? They wanted me to gamble for a useful ability?
My current luck was saturated with nothing but misfortune. Even hidden and concealed, the Curse of Misfortune existed within me.
I exhaled deeply. A cursed privilege, but without any better alternative, I had no choice but to use it.
“God. Buddha. Allah. Whoever you are, please—just give me anything but a Common skill!”
If I could just get an Advanced skill, I’d clear this with a smile! Please!
I pleaded with anyone who would listen to keep this wretched misfortune at bay. The moment I used the draw ticket—
〚Congratulations!〛
〚You have acquired the skill: Jump [Common-F-].〛
God is dead. Damn it all!
As expected, my luck made the impossible possible. I furrowed my brow, sighed heavily, and got to my feet. Frustration wouldn’t change anything. I had no choice but to push forward.
I drew my sword and moved. The only skills I could practically use were Power Strike and Jump.
‘I can’t even remember the incantations of the Sun God’s technique.’
I considered using martial arts through loopholes, but my memory conveniently erased everything related to martial techniques. Well, this was a dungeon that prevented even divine powers from being used, so I should have anticipated and prepared for this much.
In the end, a direct assault was my only option. I held my breath and found the place where I had encountered him before my regression.
‘I’ll hide for now.’
Fortune favors the patient. I crouched as low as possible in the grass and waited for any sign of movement.
How much time had passed? From far away, I heard the sound of someone running. Simultaneously, a voice mixed with sobs reached my ears.
My face went pale, and my emotions turned ice-cold. I knew who owned that voice.
“Gasp…cough! Cough! P…please save me. I…I beg you.”
The man who stumbled forward, drenched in blood, suppressing his severed left arm while tears, snot, and urine streamed down his face, was Park Ju-chul.
I remembered him—the one who had recognized his own death and screamed at me to run, to escape the danger.
Power surged unbidden through my fists, and killing intent streamed from my eyes like tears.
Yes, this too was vengeance in its own way. Revenge against the monster that had slain me.
I gripped the sword tighter, my breathing shallow and controlled. I owed Park Ju-chul an apology, but I couldn’t save him this time either. I didn’t even know if I could survive what was coming, so how could I possibly rescue him?
‘I’m sorry. Truly sorry.’
It would be a lie to say I felt no guilt, but I was the type of person who valued my own life far more than another’s.
Whoosh! Thud!
An axe came hurtling from the distance and embedded itself deep into Park Ju-chul’s back. That was his end. He collapsed, his body convulsing once before his breathing ceased entirely.
At the same moment, a figure emerged from the tall grass.
〚Uncommon-Rank [E+] LV 22, Field Boss Enraged Hop Goblin Caractus〛
‘Damn it! It’s even stronger than before!’
Both its rank and level had increased compared to what I’d seen before the regression. I didn’t need to ask—the Lunatic difficulty modifier was clearly responsible.
Even as I cursed, I slowly crawled forward toward the creature.
“Die!!!”
I pushed myself up and activated Skill: Jump in one fluid motion, launching myself at the creature in an instant. I immediately manifested Skill: Power Strike, driving my blade forward with all my might.
A thrust rather than a slash. The unarmed creature would surely be caught off guard by the ambush. A thrust was far more effective than a slash for striking at the most vital points.
My target was the heart. The moment my blade flew toward its left chest—
-Keke!
As if it had been waiting, the Hop Goblin twisted its body. My blade meant for its heart missed its mark entirely, barely grazing its left arm, while my wrist was effortlessly seized by the creature.
Crack!
A force many times greater than my own strength bore down on my wrist. As the sound of breaking bone accompanied a wave of excruciating pain, I released the sword.
But I couldn’t give up like this. I couldn’t die so pathetically to a goblin that could kill me with a single hand now.
I caught the fallen blade with my other hand and thrust it forward. An opening. That split-second gap was visible to me, but unfortunately, this cursed creature had already seen through that too.
-Keke keke!
With a mocking laugh, it crushed my other hand as well. Unbearable pain flooded through me, and as the creature looked down at me, terror surged in my chest.
The trauma carved into my mind tormented me. I had no unique ability or authority to control trauma and protect my sanity.
“Ah… ahhhhh! No!”
I had to run. Away from that monster, farther and farther away.
I turned and fled. But I couldn’t take more than a few steps before I collapsed.
That was because my legs had been cleanly severed. I didn’t need to ask whose doing it was.
-Kyakakkyakakaka!!
The Hop Goblin looked down at me with amusement, as if I were nothing more than a plaything to mock.
And so my first attempt ended in death, reduced to a toy for the Hop Goblin’s entertainment.

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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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