I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 184

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

#Chapter 184
About an hour had passed since we crossed through the door and entered the interior.
Considering the aura I felt before entering, multiple encounters should have already occurred by now.
Yet surprisingly, we hadn’t faced a single enemy.
Setting aside other people, there were no attacks from undead or insects like before.
No matter how vast the Ancient Ruins were, this level of silence felt wrong.
“We should stop for a moment and examine our surroundings.”
So I decided to halt my aimless wandering and observe the area more carefully.
Maria and Cho Cheon-woong agreed, and we all slowly examined our surroundings again.
“Hmm.”
But nothing immediately suspicious caught my eye.
Even when I expanded my senses widely, I detected nothing—just identical corridors stretching endlessly.
It felt like being trapped in a vast Labyrinth.
‘A Labyrinth. So it’s a Labyrinth.’
I pondered for a moment, then opened the Channel subscription window.
Recently, I’d been avoiding opening the subscription window to solve problems immediately.
I was focusing on maximizing the utility of existing abilities rather than acquiring new ones.
But there was no reason to hold back in a situation like this.
After all, my greatest advantage lay in utilizing the diverse abilities granted through Channel subscriptions.
‘Simply subscribing to a basic pathfinding ability doesn’t seem worthwhile.’
I had already grasped the fundamentals of finding routes after subscribing to Shin-tou’s Channel.
From my perspective, the fact that we continued wandering here wasn’t merely due to the complex structure.
There seemed to be something more to it.
After deliberating for some time, I selected one Channel.
It was Merlin the Archmage’s Channel called “Understanding of Space.”
Initially, I hadn’t been particularly interested in it, as the description indicated it was an introduction to spatial magic.
It would certainly contain useful knowledge, but it didn’t seem directly applicable to our current situation.
Yet when I was about to select a different Channel, a sudden intuition struck me.
This was the Channel that would be most helpful right now.
I wasn’t currently subscribed to any intuition-related Channel, but I couldn’t easily dismiss my own instincts.
Thus.
[You have subscribed to …]
[This subscription’s validity period is 24 hours]
In the end, I subscribed to that Channel.
The time limit was shorter than expected, but I didn’t mind and focused on the knowledge flooding into my mind.
The sensation of unfamiliar knowledge pouring in like a flood was always painful, but now I was accustomed enough to endure it with merely a frown.
“Phew.”
I exhaled briefly and, while processing the new knowledge in my mind, looked around.
There was no significant difference visible at first glance. Or rather, it appeared that way.
Until I began reading the mana flow around me.
“…?”
Jung Han-sung faltered.
He had sensed the fairly dense concentration of mana flowing through the Ancient Ruins from the moment they entered.
Yet he had detected nothing beyond that—no peculiarities in the mana itself.
But now, something was different.
‘Something feels… twisted?’
Jung Han-sung narrowed his brow and examined more carefully.
At first glance, the mana appeared to flow unobstructed, but upon closer inspection, the grain of mana flowing across the walls, floor, and ceiling was subtly contorted.
Like a tangled ball of thread caught midway.
“Brother?”
As Jung Han-sung stared vacantly upward at the ceiling, Cho Cheon-woong called to him cautiously.
He turned his gaze away but answered briefly.
“This entire space is twisted.”
“The space itself?”
“Yes.”
Jung Han-sung fell silent for a moment, then pointed to one side and continued.
“On the surface, there’s no obvious sign, but if you walk without thinking, you’ll just keep circling the same spot.”
“Is it spatial magic?”
“Exactly. And it’s exceptionally sophisticated magic at that. It seems the Ancient Ruins structure itself was built specifically for this enchantment.”
With that, Jung Han-sung began walking slowly, carefully observing the flow of mana as he moved.
Had the space distortion been blatant, both he and Maria would have noticed it long ago.
But the twisted mana flow was concealed so cunningly that only someone with considerable expertise in spatial magic could detect it.
Which explained why Jung Han-sung had initially missed it.
Yet once he noticed the anomaly, everything became clear.
The corridor walls remained unchanged. But the mana flowing across their surface twisted and contorted in every direction.
So while one believed they were advancing straight ahead, they were constantly returning to the same location.
“Don’t trust your sense of direction.”
“Then what should we do?”
Rather than answer immediately, Jung Han-sung extended one hand.
Crackle—
Blue lightning thread-like in form unwound from his fingertips, stretching forward.
There was no need for it to take the form of lightning. He simply shaped his mana that way because he was accustomed to it.
Jung Han-sung concentrated, using the lightning thread to unravel the Distorted Space and locate the correct path.
“Follow me.”
They walked along the true flow.
At first glance, their movements appeared quite peculiar.
A straight corridor clearly lay ahead, yet they deliberately walked at angles.
Or they hugged the walls while crossing empty space.
At times, they even lowered their bodies almost to a crawl to pass through certain sections.
Yet Maria and Cho Cheon-woong followed without complaint, moving silently in his wake.
And such peculiar movements soon bore fruit.
In less than ten minutes, the surrounding landscape began to shift.
Moss gradually crept across the dull gray bricks, and the straight path twisted into winding curves.
Cho Cheon-woong spun around in alarm at the sight.
But the path they had walked until now had similarly transformed, now resembling the road stretching ahead.
“What… what is this?”
“We’ve escaped the Distorted Space.”
Jung Han-sung answered simply.
This path was the real one.
The place where we had been wandering all this time was merely a gap within the Distorted Space.
Jung Han-sung spoke as he withdrew the thread of lightning.
“It seems quite a few people are trapped within the Distorted Space.”
Though I never encountered anyone else while navigating its interior, I instinctively understood.
Many others were likely still wandering within the Distorted Space, unable to escape.
“Is it because the space is so distorted that we couldn’t meet anyone else at all?”
“That’s right.”
Jung Han-sung nodded at Maria’s words.
“We were probably just spinning in circles over a distance of only a few steps. So even if there were people nearby, we couldn’t have encountered them.”
Of course, had I wished, I could have found the others.
But there was no reason to do so, so I simply escaped the Distorted Space directly.
“The Distorted Space won’t persist indefinitely anyway. There are far too many people trapped within it.”
The spatial distortion spread throughout the Ancient Ruins was incredibly powerful, but considering the strength and number of those who had entered, it would be difficult to keep holding them indefinitely.
At most, they should all be freed within a day or two.
“So let’s move quickly.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Thus, Jung Han-sung intended to complete his business and escape within the remaining time.
After explaining this far, Cho Cheon-woong looked around and spoke.
“Hmm, but the smell of blood has grown stronger again.”
“There are insect corpses scattered on the ground.”
Maria followed up with her observation.
Indeed, the scent of blood lingered in this space, and upon careful inspection of the floor, one could discover the bodies of black insects.
“It seems the Insect Summoner crossed the spatial distortion early. There appear to be a few others as well.”
“Did they fight?”
“It’s possible, or it might not be.”
Jung Han-sung committed the traces to memory and moved forward.
“What’s more important is that the Insect Summoner seems closer than expected.”
“What? The Insect Summoner?”
Jung Han-sung nodded to Cho Cheon-woong, who asked in surprise.
“The aura emanating from the insects is very strong. It means they haven’t been dead long.”
“Then….”
Cho Cheon-woong was about to ask something else when it happened.
Crash!
The ceiling above Cho Cheon-woong suddenly collapsed, and a swarm of insects came pouring down from the opening.
Startled, Cho Cheon-woong swung the weapon in his hand frantically.
“Argh!”
Splat splat splat splat!
Dozens of insects burst apart from that single strike. But the number of insects pouring down appeared to be in the thousands at minimum—truly a futile effort.
“Hmm.”
Meanwhile, Jung Han-sung didn’t simply evade the insects as before. Instead, he spread electricity around him while simultaneously scanning his surroundings with his eyes.
‘The aura feels much stronger.’
The insects he’d encountered previously had given off the impression of moving according to predetermined objectives.
But these insects felt entirely different. Each and every one of them seemed to be under strong, direct control.
Hum—.
Jung Han-sung continued burning the insects while probing the surroundings with electricity.
Even now, the Channel he’d subscribed to proved invaluable to him.
Through his enhanced control over the strengthened electricity and his newfound understanding of space, he could probe the surrounding area with remarkable precision.
About a minute passed like this.
“Found it!”
Jung Han-sung’s eyes widened as he swung the sword in his hand.
Boom boom boom boom boom—!
That powerful strike brought the wall crashing down entirely.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
Insects immediately began pouring out from the wall he’d destroyed.
But instead of evading them, Jung Han-sung advanced toward the wall, swinging his sword.
As if searching for something.
Crash crash crash crash!
After swinging his sword several more times, it suddenly struck something solid.
Rather than frowning, Jung Han-sung’s lips curved upward as he drew even more power into the strike.
Crackle crackle crackle crackle!
Electricity spread forward through the blade.
The clustered insects writhed frantically and rushed toward Jung Han-sung.
He swung his sword once more and spoke.
“Come out. I’ve already figured it out.”
Clang clang clang clang!
The sword struck something again with a sharp metallic sound.
And finally, something hidden among the insects revealed itself.
“Impudent creature!”
Suddenly, space rippled, and a man in a black robe burst forth.
The moment he appeared, he stretched both hands and unleashed insects of different colors toward Jung Han-sung.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
This time, the insects struck fiercely against the armor Jung Han-sung wore.
A power on an entirely different scale from the insects he had faced before.
The Insect Summoner, who had remained hidden until now, had finally revealed themselves.
Jung Han-sung adjusted his grip on his sword and spoke.
“Why don’t you come and see for yourself whether I’m being arrogant or not.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————