I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 123
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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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#Episode 123.
The creature possessed one additional weapon that hadn’t existed before.
A thick tail protruding from its rear—not part of an android, but rather a component of the parasitic robot’s body. It moved ceaselessly, probing for openings in Jung Han-sung’s defense.
And in the next instant.
Boom—!
Without hesitation, both launched themselves from the ground and charged toward each other.
As I had already discerned, the parasitic robot showed little concern for damage to the body it controlled.
Consequently, it displayed movements that would be difficult to imagine under normal circumstances, and this moment was no exception.
It hurled itself forward, spreading both arms wide in an attempt to grapple me.
Of course, I didn’t allow that and swung my blade.
Screech—!
The android’s body tore like paper beneath my sword strike.
An ordinary living creature would have recoiled from such agony, but my opponent naturally felt no such pain.
That’s why I had aimed for its joints, attempting to halt its movements.
Yet even as its joints were torn away, it didn’t stop—it thrashed its body forward.
Whoooosh—!
The momentum from its charge alone was formidable, and in that same instant, its tail whipped toward my chin.
I twisted my head to evade the attack.
But the tail curved and changed direction, now targeting my back.
Crack—!
I pushed off the ground and threw myself sideways. Simultaneously, the tail struck the spot where I had been standing.
Without hesitation, I swung my blade again.
Crack—!
The android’s right arm, which had been lunging to exploit an opening, was cleanly severed by my strike.
But it paid no mind.
Even as its body was progressively destroyed and torn apart, it relentlessly pursued me.
Of course, Golem and Akasha were not merely watching idly.
Boom—!
Taking advantage of the moment when it focused its assault on me, Golem closed in and drove his fist into the parasitic robot’s core.
The impact was considerable—the creature staggered, and Akasha immediately followed, slashing the protruding tail with her blade.
Boom—!
But then, black spines suddenly erupted from its body, striking Golem.
Akasha was within range as well, but with nimble footwork, she evaded the spines and retreated.
Crack, crack—!
The black spines withdrew back into its body, but that was far from the end.
The parasitic robot, which had maintained the form of the android it had been infesting, now began to undergo a dramatic transformation.
From bipedal locomotion to quadrupedal. Metallic tentacles erupted from various points across its body.
It resembled the original form it had possessed when it fell from the ceiling.
Screech—!
In the midst of this, it swung its tentacles in all directions, scaled the walls, and ascended toward the ceiling.
At first, I thought it was trying to escape, but the creature simply anchored itself to the ceiling and resumed its assault.
Whirrrrrch!
Metallic tentacles lashed out in all directions, targeting Golem, Akasha, and me simultaneously.
Golem swatted at them with its arms while attempting to close in on the main body, but a tentacle suddenly hooked its leg, sending it crashing to the ground.
Thud, thud—!
Meanwhile, Akasha evaded every attack with her characteristic swift movements and managed to approach the main body, slashing her blade across it.
Clang clang clang!
But this time, the attack proved utterly ineffective.
Sparks scattered, yet the blade inflicted no damage whatsoever.
Watching this unfold, I called out.
“Both of you—just keep its attention on you!”
At my command, Akasha and Golem shifted their combat approach.
They feinted toward the creature while deliberately avoiding any decisive strikes.
“Onyx. I’ll end this in one move, so you handle the defense.”
—Understood, Master.
The longer I observed, the more I began to understand.
At first glance, its ability to transform freely and parasitize others seemed the most threatening aspect.
But from direct combat experience, something else troubled me far more.
‘It’s adapting to our movements with each passing moment.’
The creature that initially struggled to respond to Golem’s movements was now nearly mirroring Akasha’s agile footwork.
If we prolonged this battle, it would undoubtedly become increasingly problematic.
So I made my decision—the same choice I always made. Accept the risk and end this decisively and swiftly.
Boom—!
The moment I committed, I pushed off the ground and began moving with the flow.
Naturally, the parasitic robot hurled its tentacles toward me as I rapidly closed the distance.
Clang clang clang!
But in response, black tentacles erupted from my body, deflecting the assault.
This allowed me to ignore the incoming attacks and swiftly narrow the gap.
I knew well how threatening the parasitic robot’s erratic attacks could be.
But I didn’t need to counter its unpredictability with unpredictability of my own.
If I possessed the strength to crush its chaos, I simply had to push through.
Crash!
Thus I neutralized every attack and reached the creature’s position.
But then.
Crack—.
Suddenly, an ominous fracture echoed from the metal fragments surrounding its body, and light erupted from within.
Booooooom—!
Immediately, a deafening roar accompanied the explosion.
It had waited for me to close in before detonating itself.
Or rather, to be precise, it wasn’t quite a self-destruct.
When the explosion occurred, the creature that had wrapped itself in its tail suffered minimal damage. It was damage that could be fully recovered from given time.
Meanwhile, Jung Han-sung, who had taken the full brunt of the explosion right in front of him, should have been in no condition to fight.
That’s what the creature would have thought.
If the parasitic robot thought like an ordinary human, that is.
―Ugh! This damned pain!
But its expectations were wrong.
Though Onyx’s body, which had been shielding me, was riddled with holes, the impact never reached me.
I was drawing my blade back with the corners of my mouth raised in a smile.
I had naturally anticipated that the parasitic robot would have a trump card hidden away.
It would be strange to anyone if a creature that had been acting so cunningly the entire time suddenly became helpless.
While I hadn’t expected that trump card to be self-destruction, the actual damage was minimal.
I thrust the blade I had drawn back forward.
Clang!
The parasitic robot belatedly tried to block the attack by swinging its tail, but my blade swept the tail aside and drove deep into its abdomen.
Screeeech!
The blade tore through metal, burrowing deep.
Crackle!
Simultaneously, electricity surging from the blade spread throughout its entire body, burning out its internal circuits.
The parasitic robot froze mid-counterattack, convulsing.
Then I pulled the blade free.
Smoke erupted from its torso, and the tentacles gripping the ceiling went limp, dropping to the floor.
Thud!
The machine that fell to the ground no longer moved.
I landed beside it and examined the machine before speaking.
“Salvage the core and anything else of value.”
“Yes.”
Akasha immediately approached and dismantled the parasitic robot’s body, extracting several components from within.
While she did that, I shook the oil from my blade and issued an order to Golem.
“Keep watch on the surroundings.”
Golem gave a slight nod and began surveying the area.
‘Let me see.’
I slowly began examining my surroundings. I had just finished the battle, but there was no time to rest.
After all, I had come this far for a different reason.
―The blueprints were supposed to be somewhere around here, weren’t they?
“Right. But the exact location where they were hidden wasn’t written down separately.”
The documents only stated that the blueprints had been hidden in the Erosion Spiral Lower Central Control Room.
So I had hoped they would be visible the moment I arrived, but when I looked around, nothing particularly caught my eye.
“Hmm.”
But I wasn’t flustered and calmly examined the surroundings.
Now was the time to calm the excitement from battle and draw upon the senses of the Shadowless Divine Thief.
‘There don’t seem to be many places suitable for hiding something.’
The area was an absolute disaster, as if a massive bomb had detonated here.
I couldn’t spot any storage compartments, and frankly, there was barely anything intact to begin with.
‘I doubt they hid it using some overly complicated method.’
Those who had concealed the blueprints here wouldn’t have been safe from the androids either.
The documents I’d found only instructed me to move as discreetly as possible and retrieve the blueprints—there was no mention of any way to control the androids.
In other words, they wouldn’t have had the luxury of time to slowly hide something away.
“Hmm.”
My footsteps halted after wandering for a while.
I slowly lifted my gaze toward one particular spot.
Heavy black soot clung to the surface, and metal plates jutted upward in places.
But one spot in particular caught my eye—a single metal plate that looked oddly pristine compared to the rest.
I approached it and tapped the metal plate lightly with my finger.
Thunk—
The hollow resonance that followed suggested the interior was empty.
―There’s something here.
“Right.”
I reached out and gripped the edge of the metal plate firmly.
Crack!
As I pulled with force, a hidden space behind the plate revealed itself, exactly as I’d anticipated.
“What is this?”
Upon seeing what lay within, I furrowed my brow.
Inside was a small device.
―There’s a slot in it.
“A slot?”
At Onyx’s words, I examined the device more closely. Sure enough, I could see a slot designed to receive something.
“Ah.”
Realization dawned, and I retrieved something from my pocket—the chip that contained information about this place.
I inserted the chip directly into the slot.
Click—
The device hummed and whirred as something locked into place.
Clank, clank—
The side panel of the device rose, revealing a jewel that emanated a soft, luminous glow.
I carefully picked it up.
“A jewel…?”
“It’s a type of storage medium.”
Akasha’s voice reached me then. I turned to look at her.
“A storage medium?”
“Yes, a form of mana storage medium, if you will. It’s a method rarely used nowadays, but it appears they deliberately chose to use it.”
“Is there a reason?”
“It must be to prevent external interference.”
Akasha approached slowly, continuing her explanation.
“Conventional storage devices, especially those connected to communication networks, carry the risk of surveillance and hacking. Even if you verify the contents through a device with no network connection, traces remain.”
“This one doesn’t?”
“Correct. This crystalline medium is structured around mana, making it extremely isolated. You don’t need any other device to access its contents.”
“I see….”
I stared at it intently before my expression shifted to confusion once more.
“But then, why hasn’t the mission been completed?”
If this was truly the blueprint I’d been searching for, a completion message should have appeared. Yet the message window remained silent. As if it wasn’t finished.
And then, at that moment.
Kuuuuong―!
A heavy rumbling echoed from above, as if answering my question.
The sound felt strangely familiar, and I furrowed my brow before immediately recognizing why.
‘Arzka’s Altar.’
It was the exact same sound I’d heard back then.
In other words, this place was collapsing from above.
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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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