I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 156

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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 156.
A shimmer of light meant someone had reached out. And there weren’t many people registered in Jung Han-sung’s communication device.
Berka and those who had joined his Territory—that was the extent of it.
Berka, resting right in front of him, couldn’t have sent a message through the device, so it had to be one of the others.
Jung Han-sung considered this much, then picked up the communication device to check who it was.
‘It’s from Maria.’
The device displayed a message from Maria.
Jung Han-sung immediately read through the contents, and his brow furrowed.
―Refugee numbers surging. War estimated to have broken out in a Territory approximately six hours away.
War had erupted in a neighboring Territory, causing a sudden influx of refugees. It was a brief message, but not something I could simply ignore.
Berka, sitting across from me, glanced at me holding the communication device, but I paid it no mind and thought carefully before sending a reply.
―Consolidate refugees in one location for now. Strengthen defenses and prepare for combat at any moment. Contact Cho Cheon-woong as well and have him stand by in the Territory.
Even though the war was happening in another Territory, six hours away wasn’t particularly distant.
But that didn’t mean I intended to intervene there first.
There was little to gain for me at the moment.
I hadn’t yet fully developed the potential of my own Territory and the one I’d acquired previously.
Even if I won a war and gained new land, it would only mean more territory I couldn’t manage.
In other words, now was the time to strengthen my foundation.
Not long after sending the message, a reply arrived.
―Understood.
A concise response.
Jung Han-sung confirmed it and put the communication device away.
Berka then asked me a question.
“Something wrong?”
“No. Just seems there’s been a war near the Territory.”
“What? That’s not a big problem?”
“It hasn’t reached our Territory, so it should be fine. If something happens, they’ll contact me.”
Getting worked up over every little incident like this would only hurt us.
Wasn’t the whole reason I took Maria and Cho Cheon-woong under my command to avoid handling trivial matters myself?
They’d likely handle it well.
If something serious came up, I could always return when they called.
Either way, ten minutes later.
“Let’s go.”
“Ugh, got it.”
Our rest period had ended, so we both stood and moved on.
By the way, during that time, a few climbers had tried to approach Berka and me to speak.
It made sense.
We’d suddenly appeared and obliterated the occupied territory with a meteor.
But they couldn’t locate where Berka and I were and wandered around the area before leaving.
So I asked Berka a question.
“Do you know how to cast illusion magic?”
“Technically, it’s more about creating confusion in perception. It’s harder to pull off, but the efficiency is much higher.”
It seemed Berka had indeed been the one to make a move.
As we traveled toward the next stronghold, I asked Berka several more questions.
“Don’t most mages typically focus intensively on one or two attributes?”
I had basic knowledge about magic as well. Necromancy was also a branch of magic, after all.
Generally, mages relied on one or two primary spells and perhaps another one or two as support.
Yet from what I’d observed so far, Berka wielded magic from quite a diverse range of disciplines.
Berka answered my question simply.
“Huh? I only focus on fire magic as my primary.”
“Fire magic?”
“Yeah. The magic I used when we took down that space-warping bastard last time was fire magic, and the Meteor I unleashed this time is also fire-attribute if you want to be precise about it.”
At those words, I recalled the appearance of the Meteor.
“That’s fire magic?”
“Technically it’s multi-attribute magic. But fire does make up the largest portion of it.”
Berka explained Meteor in detail.
A grand spell like Meteor was a combination of multiple attributes, but generally it was understood to have three major pillars: fire, earth, and summoning.
“In my case, I summon burning meteors and drop them down. I focused on the ‘burning’ part. That’s why the metal melted away so completely.”
“So earth mages and summoners would do it differently?”
“Exactly. An earth mage might summon even larger meteors, or heavier ones.”
“What about summoners?”
“They’d summon an absurd number of meteors. Their mana efficiency is much higher too.”
“Fascinating.”
Since I’d never cast magic at such an advanced level, I nodded with genuine interest.
The few necromantic secret techniques I’d learned were difficult in their own right, but they hardly qualified as advanced magic compared to something like Meteor.
I pondered that for a moment before another thought occurred to me, and I spoke up.
“What about that illusion magic you used earlier?”
“That’s just a utility trick. I climb The Tower alone most of the time, so I’ve picked up bits and pieces of whatever disciplines might be useful.”
“I see.”
It wasn’t strange at all.
To climb The Tower alone, raw combat prowess wasn’t enough—versatility was an essential requirement.
As we conversed with Berka and continued moving, we soon arrived at the third stronghold.
The distance between each stronghold wasn’t particularly short. It was simply that our movement speed was abnormally fast.
“So what do you think? Should we tackle this one together?”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
I nodded.
We weren’t here to compete with each other, after all.
“Then I’ll clear the path.”
“I’ll handle the finishing touches.”
We quickly divided the work and began assaulting the third stronghold.
Crack—!
Lightning descended, and flames swept across the surroundings.
The third stronghold proved just as troublesome as the two before it, yet it couldn’t withstand their combined might for long.
Crack—!
The moment the third stronghold crumbled.
[Betrayal Fortress Stronghold Liberation Complete]
[Remaining Strongholds: 0]
[Three strongholds have been liberated]
Messages materialized before their eyes—confirmation that all three designated strongholds had been freed.
But the messages didn’t end there.
[Floor 76 Objective Completed]
[Core Enhancement Essence awarded as compensation]
[Floor 76 objective completed in record time]
[Achieved Clear Rank ‘SSS’]
[Twisted Spirit Essence obtained as bonus reward]
The completion messages cascaded across their vision.
Jung Han-sung read through them all, then surveyed the surroundings.
‘What happens to the others?’
We’d conquered all three strongholds. So what would become of the rest?
Would they receive clear completion as well? Or would they fail entirely?
Judging by the expressions on people’s faces—not particularly grim—it seemed those who’d been clearing beforehand had also succeeded, though I couldn’t be certain.
Then, suddenly.
Rumble—!
A deafening roar echoed from far away.
Jung Han-sung reflexively turned his gaze toward it and narrowed his eyes upon discovering something.
It was a towering structure. That tower emanated an ominous aura.
But the roar wasn’t finished.
Moments later, sounds erupted from two more locations as a peculiarly-shaped fortress and a tree-like structure shot upward.
Then Berka spoke.
“Hmm. Could those be new strongholds?”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
I couldn’t imagine any other explanation.
Berka stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“I considered this possibility, but… well, this certainly doesn’t violate the fundamental principles of the common mission.”
Even if latecomers arrive, it doesn’t significantly impact a mission centered on completing objectives. That’s the cardinal rule of common missions.
If strongholds disappear entirely only for new ones to appear, then even those arriving late shouldn’t face major problems.
“But if it’s like this from the start, I’m worried about the next difficulty level.”
“The next difficulty level?”
“They said common missions appear consecutively from Floor 76 to 80, right? Usually the difficulty scales up dramatically alongside that. Consecutive missions often have interconnected worldbuilding and such.”
“Hmm. Well, we’ll find out when we get there.”
“That’s true. Let’s head out right away then.”
The two finished their conversation and without hesitation made their way to the next floor.
“What are those things….”
“Right?”
The people gathered to liberate the third occupied territory exchanged words with dazed expressions.
It was understandable—just two people had suddenly appeared, liberated the territory, and vanished.
Soon, rumors about Jung Han-sung and Berka spread rapidly among those on Floor 76.
* * *
The moment I arrived on the 77th Floor, I noticed the air was stifling.
It wasn’t merely poor air quality—my instincts recoiled from it.
Jung Han-sung furrowed his brow as he surveyed the surroundings.
Deep violet-tinted earth and a crimson sky came into view.
The landscape looked decidedly far from ordinary.
“The scenery is quite ominous.”
“Tell me about it. Ah, the mission appeared.”
As Berka spoke, the objective for this floor materialized before Jung Han-sung.
[Objective: Eliminate 300 or more Demons]
[Time Limit: One week]
This mission seemed relatively straightforward.
“What? This one actually looks easier?”
“Hmm. It might not be as simple as it appears on the surface.”
Floor 76 was about liberating occupied territories. But if Floor 77 is simply about eliminating 300 Demons, something must be off.
Generally speaking, wouldn’t eliminating Demons be more difficult than liberating territories?
Especially considering all the monsters that were scattered around the occupied territories.
“First, let’s find out where these Demons are located.”
“Okay.”
The two naturally set out to find the Demons indicated by the objective.
Fortunately, locating them proved not particularly difficult.
Not far from where we first arrived, military forces were openly stationed.
“Wow.”
Upon confirming the military force, Berka let out an involuntary exclamation.
Meanwhile, Jung Han-sung’s lips curled upward as he assessed their numbers.
“Now I understand why this mission comes right after the occupied territory mission.”
“Right? This is going to be damn difficult.”
The reason for their conversation was simple.
The Demon forces appeared to number in the tens of thousands—possibly exceeding a hundred thousand.
To be precise, the actual number of Demons themselves wasn’t that large. A few thousand out of the hundred thousand.
The rest were filled with Demon Beasts.
‘This will be more troublesome.’
The objective clearly stated to eliminate Demons, not Demon Beasts.
In other words, no matter how many Demons I defeated, they wouldn’t count toward the quota.
“So you’re saying we should rush over there and eliminate three hundred of them?”
“Exactly.”
It was a self-evident truth, but eliminating three hundred out of three hundred was far easier than eliminating three hundred out of one hundred thousand.
These weren’t some pathetic goblin horde, after all.
The Demons were visibly well-armed at first glance, and their discipline appeared rigorous.
That wasn’t even the worst of it.
Scattered throughout their ranks were exceptionally formidable-looking individuals.
They were likely the ones commanding the forces.
“Hmm. At this rate, a direct assault seems impossible.”
Berka stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Jung Han-sung turned to him with a question.
“Can’t you just drop that meteor again?”
“That’s not something I can spam. Besides, looking at their troop composition, large-scale magic would be difficult to deploy effectively.”
“Why?”
“Over there—see how hundreds of them are clustered together holding staffs? They’re likely mages. And all Demons inherently know how to use magic.”
In short, even if he cast another large-scale spell like meteor, it wouldn’t produce the same massacre as before.
As the two of us pondered this briefly.
Rummmmmble—!
Thunder roared in the distance. I reflexively turned my gaze toward it.
Crack!
Lightning descended where my eyes had landed.
At its center stood a man wielding a sword.

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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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