I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 180

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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 180.
Jung Han-sung entered the city with confident strides, drawing the gazes of passersby, and followed a soldier’s guidance toward the transfer portal.
The guidance served dual purposes—both to direct him and to observe him.
In The Tower, wealth often correlated directly with one’s strength.
Should any trouble arise, it fell to the soldier to report it immediately.
Of course, Jung Han-sung paid such matters no mind. He simply took in the city’s scenery with keen interest.
‘Remarkably bustling.’
This city had been established by a climber from Brazil.
What made this city unique was that it had declared itself a Neutral Zone early on and opened its doors to others.
Granting Awakeners permission to use the transfer portal was part of this open-door policy.
Awakeners could enter and exit the city freely whenever they wished, regardless of the portal, and remain as long as they desired.
As the city opened its gates, the influx of Awakeners accelerated its development. Though larger cities existed in the region, none matched this one’s prosperity and vibrancy.
“But what happens if someone enters and causes trouble?”
Cho Cheon-woong asked, his curiosity evident.
Jung Han-sung answered him.
“The Territory’s owner is ranked first in Brazil.”
“Really?”
“Yes. They’re in the late 90th Floor range, so they’re treated almost like a hero in Brazil. Moreover, their ability is said to specialize in defense.”
Indeed, several Awakeners had coveted this prosperous city in the past.
But the Territory’s owner had repelled every attack, demonstrating to all that they possessed the strength to maintain their chosen Neutral Zone.
“I see.”
Cho Cheon-woong nodded at this explanation and glanced around his surroundings.
His expression seemed almost wistful, causing the soldier guiding them to tense slightly.
Of course, Cho Cheon-woong harbored no such intentions, so they caused no disturbance and arrived at the building housing the portal.
“Please proceed through this way.”
The soldier gestured inward as he spoke.
Jung Han-sung and Cho Cheon-woong entered the building, and soon met another guide who led them deeper inside.
At the building’s innermost chamber stood an enormous portal that towered well above human height.
“What is your destination?”
“Valtin, if you please.”
“Understood. I shall prepare it at once.”
Jung Han-sung nodded and turned his attention back to the portal.
Whoooom—
The portal radiated a deep blue light, within which dense mana rippled and undulated.
‘So this is how it’s structured.’
Jung Han-sung examined the portal from top to bottom.
His own Territory possessed a simple transfer portal, though admittedly far less sophisticated than the one before him.
Yet he felt no envy.
If his Territory continued to grow at its current pace, it wouldn’t be long before he could establish such an impressive transfer portal of his own.
‘When that time comes, I’ll be able to expand my Territory in earnest.’
The Neutral Zone was earning money through portals, but truthfully, the greatest significance of the portal lay in what Jung Han-sung envisioned.
Even with sufficient forces, there were limits to territorial expansion.
The greater the distance, the more difficult it became to manage.
But if a mobile portal were developed? Then everything would change.
One could travel anywhere instantly.
When that time came, Jung Han-sung planned to seriously develop the underdeveloped regions of his territory and expand outward as well.
Hummmmm!
As I entertained these thoughts, mana fluctuations rippled outward from the portal once more.
Simultaneously, the personnel operating the portal approached and spoke.
“Preparations are complete. You may enter whenever you’re ready.”
At the staff member’s words, Cho Cheon-woong stepped forward and asked me.
“Hyung-nim, should I go first?”
“Go ahead.”
I nodded, and Cho Cheon-woong eagerly walked toward the portal.
The moment his body touched the portal.
Whoooosh!
A brilliant flash of light erupted, and Cho Cheon-woong’s form vanished without a trace. Maria entered next, and finally, I walked toward the portal.
Crackle—!
A blinding light burst before my eyes, and a familiar sensation overwhelmed me.
Something pulling upward from my head. Being sucked away in all directions, then suddenly a wave of intense liberation and vertigo crashed over me.
Through my gradually clearing vision, I surveyed my surroundings.
The place I’d arrived at was little different from where I’d departed.
Behind me stood a portal, and nearby, dull stone walls bathed in dim light enclosed the space.
“Welcome to Valtin.”
At the same moment, an unfamiliar voice called out from ahead.
Turning my head, I saw a neatly dressed man standing there. He appeared to be staff for this portal station.
“If you’re experiencing any dizziness, you’re welcome to rest here before heading outside.”
At the staff member’s words, I shook my head and replied.
“No, I’d like to head directly to Katas.”
The destination was quite far away.
So a single use of the mobile portal couldn’t get us there.
Valtin was the farthest point reachable from the previous city, and from here we needed to travel to a city called Katas.
“Katas, I see. Understood. Please pay the usage fee here. I’ll prepare the portal right away.”
The staff member, as if accustomed to this, quoted the cost and began preparing to activate the portal again.
I watched him work, then asked.
“Have many people been heading to Katas recently?”
“Quite a lot, actually. Ancient Ruins were discovered in that area not long ago.”
At those words, I nodded slowly.
Katas was an even smaller place than Valtin or the city before it.
The city had no distinctive products, wasn’t particularly prosperous, and there was little reason to visit it otherwise.
So most people coming to Katas at this time are probably here because of the Ancient Ruins.
‘I wonder how many there actually are.’
Jung Han-sung pondered the question thoughtfully.
Though this was his first time participating in something like this, he’d heard enough rumors to know that whenever a decent Ancient Ruin was discovered, an absolutely staggering number of people would flock to it.
There were quite a few who came simply out of curiosity, even if their abilities weren’t up to the task.
A low hum resonated through the air.
“Preparations are complete.”
Before long, this portal was also ready, and they entered it in order just as before.
Immediately after passing through another portal.
“Welcome to Katas.”
They had finally arrived at the city near the Ancient Ruins.
* * *
Exiting the building that housed the portal, Katas proved to be a city of modest size, just as the rumors suggested.
However, that didn’t mean one could afford to disrespect the Territory’s owner.
This was because the master of this place controlled over ten cities like this one.
Katas was actually on the smaller end among his cities.
It was Maria who had explained this to me. Before coming here, I hadn’t even known a city called Katas existed.
“Hearing it that way, the scale sounds incredible.”
Cho Cheon-woong nodded as he spoke after hearing the explanation.
Maria responded to him in a calm voice.
“If we’re talking about individuals, he certainly ranks among the top tier. But he doesn’t compare to the Guilds.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Just the Guild I used to belong to had several hundred cities under its control.”
“Wow, that many?”
Cho Cheon-woong asked with an expression of astonishment.
I didn’t blame him for his reaction. I’d been equally shocked when I first heard about it.
“That’s why most people cluster around Guilds. There are some who feel reluctant about their Territory becoming part of a Guild, but honestly, it’s far more efficient that way.”
“Because the risk of being attacked decreases?”
“That’s not all. You can grow much faster by receiving support from other cities within the Guild—manpower, resources, and so on. It enables exponential growth.”
“Ah, I see. That makes sense too.”
Certainly, the benefits of belonging to a Guild were substantial, just as Maria said.
Korea itself has several Guilds. They don’t control hundreds of cities each, but I understand they each control dozens.
They gather for mutual benefit.
But I had little interest in that path.
‘What truly matters is substance.’
Honestly, if my goal were simply to inflate my numbers, I could have created my own Guild and recruited people myself.
But I believed that approach itself held little meaning.
‘What really matters is climbing The Tower, and once I grow stronger by ascending it, I can invest that much more into my Territory.’
Getting too fixated on Territory expansion would only slow my Tower progression, which would ultimately be a greater loss.
With such thoughts occupying my mind, I continued forward.
They had already left the Futuristic City, and instead of riding their summoned creatures, they were traveling on foot.
Though they were outside the city, they were still within someone else’s Territory, so summoning creatures freely was prohibited.
“How much longer do we have?”
“In about five more minutes, we should be outside the Territory’s range.”
Still, once those five minutes passed, they would be free to move as they pleased.
So they quickened their pace.
Whoooosh—
Not long after, Jung Han-sung felt something like a thin membrane brush past his body.
They had exited the Territory.
“Thunder Wolf.”
Without hesitation, Jung Han-sung summoned Thunder Wolf again, and the other two likewise summoned their creatures and mounted them.
“Let’s go.”
The three of them set off on their summoned creatures, heading toward the direction of the Ancient Ruins.
The distance from the edge of the Territory to the Ancient Ruins was far greater than the distance from the city to outside the Territory’s range, but the actual travel time was overwhelmingly shorter for the latter.
Moving at full speed made their velocity several dozen times faster.
Thus, the three reached the vicinity of the massive Ancient Ruins in less than ten minutes.
“There it is!”
Cho Cheon-woong’s eyes gleamed as he gazed upon the towering Ancient Ruins in the distance.
Meanwhile, Maria surveyed the Ancient Ruins with a composed gaze and spoke.
“It matches the appearance of the information we obtained. Based on the surrounding terrain, it seems we’ve found the right place.”
“Hmm. I was thinking of it as a tomb, so I imagined something like a pyramid, but it feels completely different.”
Jung Han-sung also spoke as he observed the Ancient Ruins.
The Ancient Ruins felt more like a fortress than a tomb.
A massive fortress built in a rectangular form, layered upon itself.
The walls were rough and bore the marks of countless ages, yet they didn’t feel particularly weathered. Rather, they conveyed a sense of remarkable solidity.
First, the three approached to examine it more closely.
Not long after, they discovered quite a number of people standing around the Ancient Ruins.
There were dozens of them, and they were all heavily armed.
As Jung Han-sung’s group drew near, one of them shouted in a loud voice.
“Stand back! This place is under the control of Mujik!”

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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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