I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 173

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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 173.
After the proposal ended.
Baek Jin-woo rose from his seat first.
“Then, please contact me whenever it’s convenient for you.”
“Of course.”
The conversation ended there.
Baek Jin-woo left immediately.
Previously, he would have finalized the contract right then and there, but this time it seemed he intended to give me time to consider.
It was quite a substantial contract, after all.
“Hmm.”
I examined the documents Baek Jin-woo had left behind for a moment before storing them in my inventory.
I wanted to review the details more carefully first.
‘Should I head back?’
I had originally planned to lounge around longer, but the information I’d just heard had burrowed deep into my mind, making it impossible to ignore.
For now, I simply changed clothes and entered my Unique Space.
“Onyx.”
―Why do you call me, Master?
Onyx appeared immediately at my summons, his tongue flicking out eagerly.
I asked him a question.
“Do you know anything about The Tower’s penalties?”
―I do.
Onyx answered without hesitation. It was as I’d expected.
I sat in a nearby chair and asked him further.
“Were you bound by information restrictions? Seals? Something like that?”
―That’s correct. More precisely, even if I speak, the meaning won’t properly reach you, Master. For reference, I’ve already told you this once before.
I tried to recall my past conversations with Onyx, but nothing came to mind.
It wasn’t particularly surprising.
I had already experienced The Tower’s seals multiple times.
Regardless, what mattered most now was that the seal on the information I wanted had been lifted.
“Tell me everything you know.”
―I doubt it will be satisfactory. I only know fragments myself.
Onyx continued slowly.
―First, it’s true that The Tower imposes penalties based on your clearing speed. However, if what you’re worried about is the safety of your nation, there likely won’t be any major problems.
“Why?”
―Because your clearing speed is at a monstrous level, Master. You know that well yourself, don’t you?
At those words, I scratched my chin and spoke again.
“Well, I am fast, I suppose. But other nations probably have quite a few dangerous places too.”
―That’s likely the case. Among the other-world climbers you’ve encountered, weren’t there places where monsters had completely established themselves in those worlds?
I nodded in agreement.
Indeed, the elf from another world I’d first met had mentioned something similar.
The story goes that monsters inhabit areas outside The Tower as well.
“If we continue to ignore The Tower’s penalty in our dimension, the same thing could happen to us.”
―That’s true. However, the master’s country itself should remain safe.
“Why is that?”
―The penalty only applies within that Tower’s domain. It cannot cross into another Tower’s territory.
Jung Han-sung asked with an intrigued expression at Onyx’s words.
“So you’re saying that even if monsters escape outside The Tower and breed there, they can’t cross into other territories?”
―Precisely. Think of it as each Tower having a protective barrier. The domain of another Tower is absolutely impenetrable.
Jung Han-sung nodded, then a thought suddenly occurred to him and he spoke.
“It seems difficult for all nations on Earth to cooperate and send Awakeners to reinforce areas where their strength is lacking.”
―That would likely be the case. Unless there’s something of value in that country.
That’s exactly right.
If monsters were to escape and spread in all directions, nations would do whatever it takes to clear The Tower and prevent monsters from emerging.
They might dispatch Awakeners there entirely.
But if monsters remain confined within The Tower’s domain?
Why would they bother helping?
Without valuable resources or geographical significance, there’s no reason to send precious Awakener assets.
‘Any reasonably developed nation would hire powerful Awakeners through trade agreements.’
But a nation without the funds for that… it would likely be difficult.
Jung Han-sung thought that far and asked Onyx again.
“Is there anything else you know?”
―Hmm. There’s only one more thing.
“What is it?”
―If even one person from that dimension reaches the very top of The Tower, that dimension is liberated.
“Liberation means the penalty and such things disappear?”
―Correct. However, that won’t be easy at all. After all, even I have not seen the end of The Tower.
Jung Han-sung nodded.
He knew well how difficult it was to reach the end of The Tower. But he had no intention of giving up out of fear.
“Alright. Then if you remember anything else later, let me know.”
―Understood.
After finishing his conversation with Onyx, Jung Han-sung sat in his chair for a while, organizing his thoughts.
While he sat in silence, Onyx tactfully retreated into his armor and maintained the quiet.
Nearly an hour passed before Jung Han-sung finally rose from his seat.
“I should get some rest.”
―Suddenly?
“I want to rest quickly and then head to the 90th Floor.”
Jung Han-sung is currently at the 89th Floor. He deliberately stopped there because the 90th Floor has a Floor Master.
So he intended to enter only after taking sufficient rest.
He wasn’t particularly afraid of the 90th Floor’s Floor Master, but one must never be careless.
Especially for someone like Jung Han-sung, who receives considerable attention from transcendents, thorough preparation was always wise.
Jung Han-sung sat down cross-legged on the floor and began to meditate.
While sleep could restore him, meditation was the only way to recover quickly.
The Unique Space was quiet and rich with mana, making it perfect for meditation.
Soon, only the soft sound of Jung Han-sung’s breathing echoed through the space.
* * *
After sufficient rest.
Jung Han-sung stood in the center of the Unique Space, fully armed.
“Ready?”
―I have nothing to prepare.
“Just making conversation.”
After exchanging light banter with Onyx, Jung Han-sung gazed into empty space and thought of entering the 90th Floor.
The response came immediately.
Whoooosh—!
His vision rippled and his body felt sucked into somewhere, then his feet touched solid ground and his vision returned.
“Hm?”
Jung Han-sung surveyed his surroundings and paused for a moment.
The landscape before him was distinctly different from what he’d seen before.
The first thing that caught his eye was the buildings scattered everywhere.
Half-collapsed structures lay strewn about, and their architectural style was distinctly… Eastern.
‘This feels oddly familiar.’
As Jung Han-sung pondered this, he suddenly realized what the feeling was.
‘Martial arts cinema?’
That was it.
The scenery from martial arts films and webtoons unfolded before his eyes.
Though admittedly, it was in a state of ruin.
―Hmm. A new style.
Onyx, encountering this aesthetic for the first time, spoke with intrigue in his voice.
Jung Han-sung answered softly.
“Indeed.”
In any case, it was certain this dimension had a distinctly different feel, even if not purely martial arts.
‘When I think about it, with the Heavenly Demon around, there’s nothing strange about a dimension like this.’
After all, Jung Han-sung himself had mastered more than a few martial techniques.
Moreover, he’d already traversed cyberpunk—or rather, fusion punk worlds multiple times.
Compared to that, this dimension actually had far more fundamental depth.
―So what is the objective of this Floor, Master?
At Onyx’s question, Jung Han-sung looked at the message floating before him again.
[Objective: Eliminate the Blood Pursuer]
[Time Limit: 24 hours]
“Who am I supposed to catch?”
―Hmm. This time, the probability of facing a single powerful enemy seems quite high?
“Probably.”
Jung Han-sung began scanning the surroundings to locate this Blood Pursuer.
Soon, he discovered something within the collapsed building.
“Are these people… mummified?”
Before him lay corpses that had been reduced to a state indistinguishable from mummies.
Jung Han-sung furrowed his brow as he examined the remains closely.
There was a time when I had no connection to corpses whatsoever, but that era had long passed.
I had moved far beyond mere familiarity—I possessed considerable expertise in the subject. After all, I was a Necromancer Commander.
Thus, by examining the corpse alone, I could discern a crucial fact.
“This mummification wasn’t natural. Nor was it artificially induced.”
Mummies form either through artificial preservation or within specific natural environments.
Yet the mummies discovered in this collapsed building matched neither condition.
―Then what is it?
“To be precise, this isn’t mummification at all—every drop of blood and vital essence has been drained from the body.”
―It sounds like something out of a vampire tale.
“Hmm. The resemblance is there, certainly. Though the method seems different.”
For one, no bite marks or puncture wounds marred the corpse’s surface.
After scrutinizing the remains, I proceeded to examine the other buildings methodically.
Most structures yielded similar corpses.
After completing a full circuit of the ruins, I reached a conclusion.
“The culprit is singular. One creature orchestrated this massacre and departed.”
―So that’s the objective of this Floor, then.
“Seems likely. The name certainly fits the description.”
Blood Pursuer—one who hunts blood itself. A name perfectly suited to the traces left behind.
―But how do we find it? There don’t seem to be any tracks indicating where it went.
“There are, actually.”
I shook my head as I spoke.
“The traces are quite evident.”
―Traces?
“Yes. Look carefully at the ground.”
Onyx extended his head to examine the floor, but his eyes detected nothing.
―I don’t see anything.
“Tsk. This is why amateurs are amateurs.”
I shook my head once more and moved forward slowly as I spoke.
“If you observe carefully, you can see the traces of deliberate concealment—the very attempt to erase tracks leaves its own mark. They simply failed to erase the erasure itself.”
―What are you talking about?
“It exists. Regardless, the important point is that its direction of travel is perfectly obvious.”
It was a natural enough observation, though I hadn’t possessed such exceptional tracking ability from the start.
This skill was something I’d acquired recently—specifically after subscribing to the Shadowless Divine Thief’s Channel.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve learned multiple abilities from that single Channel.’
Concealment techniques, tracking methods, building layouts, and more.
Since the Channel dealt with such a broad range of abilities, I couldn’t master everything perfectly, but I could still develop each skill to a usable level.
After all, rather than learning from scratch, I could grow accustomed to the techniques by actually using them in their perfected form.
“Hmm. This way.”
With that, Jung Han-sung continued moving as he followed the trail.
After a while, I grew so accustomed to tracking that I even used lightfoot technique to move at accelerated speed.
By the time I had crossed two mountains.
Jung Han-sung began to slow his pace.
The traces left on the ground were growing increasingly distinct.
‘Did they let their guard down?’
It was clear they believed they had traveled far enough from the Village. From this point onward, there were no attempts to conceal the trail at all.
Jung Han-sung continued following the traces, weapon in hand.
―A Cave.
Just as Onyx had said, Jung Han-sung discovered a Cave at the end of the trail. And upon catching the scent emanating from within, I furrowed my brow.
An overwhelmingly potent stench of blood wafted from that place—so strong it could be detected from a distance.
Jung Han-sung approached with sword raised.
But then.
“Kekhe. Another one has fallen into the trap.”
A voice came from above Jung Han-sung. A hoarse, ragged voice.

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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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