I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 236

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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 236
The Guardian, who had been about to unleash flames with its mouth agape, convulsed in agony and curled its body inward.
Though its frame appeared sturdy at first glance, the sensation of lightning searing through its throat must have been exquisitely painful even for such a creature.
“Gaaahhhhh―!”
Yet true to its nature as a Guardian, it shrieked defiantly and launched another attack in my direction.
The assault came with such speed and ferocity that I suspected it had been feigning injury to catch me off guard.
Whoooosh!
Of course, Jung Han-sung and Madel evaded the strike effortlessly—we had anticipated the counterattack.
Without hesitation, Madel drove several arrows into the creature’s swinging arm.
Thud, thud, thud―!
The Guardian, displeased by this, charged toward Madel.
Madel responded by pushing off the ground lightly and continuing to rain arrows upon it without pause.
Jung Han-sung watched this unfold and let out a quiet chuckle.
‘It must have thought he looked like the easier target.’
There was no reason to pursue the creature when Madel was already engaging it—especially since I had dealt the greater damage.
Still, from what I could observe, Madel seemed far from being overwhelmed. Even by my standards, his footwork and mobility were remarkably nimble.
“Good.”
Since he was buying me time, there was no reason to decline the opportunity.
I drew my blade and gathered lightning energy into it.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Azure electricity enveloped the sword.
It wasn’t a technique with any particular name—merely the act of channeling lightning to its absolute limit through the blade.
“Grrrrr!”
Only then did the Guardian seem to sense the malevolent aura and hesitate.
It appeared to be deliberating whether it should attack me instead.
But such deliberation came far too late.
Boom―!
I shattered the ground beneath me and launched forward like a projectile.
The landscape blurred past, and the Guardian’s attempt to raise its arm in defense seemed to move in slow motion.
My blade, of course, pierced its chest before the arm could reach me.
Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack!
A tremendous surge of lightning poured into the Guardian’s body alongside the thunder’s roar.
Burst!
Simultaneously, an arrow flew into the creature’s head and detonated. Madel had seized the opening and unleashed a devastating strike.
The Guardian’s massive frame staggered from the nearly simultaneous assault.
An ordinary monster would have had no chance of withstanding such a combined attack.
“Gaaahhhhhhh―!”
But the Guardian was no ordinary creature.
That said, it hadn’t emerged from my attack unscathed.
Quite the opposite.
The Guardian’s body was in such poor condition that it looked precarious at a glance. It was almost miraculous that he hadn’t collapsed outright.
Because of this, Jung Han-sung swept his eyes across the creature’s form and surroundings, and soon noticed something crucial.
‘A magic circle?’
There was something massive inscribed on the ground here—a grand magical formation.
And simultaneously, that power was binding the Guardian in place.
‘No, it’s not forcibly restraining him.’
Rather, the opposite.
Despite being in a state where death should have claimed him already, the creature stood perfectly upright—and it was all thanks to that formation.
A force was at work, one that bound the soul forcibly to the body.
“Madel!”
Jung Han-sung quickly relayed his discovery to Madel.
Madel nodded in understanding, then fired another arrow while creating distance between them.
If such a force was in effect, there were two approaches: destroy the physical body, or disrupt the magic circle’s power.
And Jung Han-sung determined that the latter would be preferable.
Kwaaaaaaang—!
The Guardian was demonstrating tremendous strength even in his mortally wounded state. To render him completely immobile would require considerable effort.
The magic circle, on the other hand, offered an immediately viable method to attempt.
Jung Han-sung summoned undead while maintaining distance from the Guardian, and focused his attention on The Earthland.
Kugugugung!
As he exerted his power, the surrounding earth trembled, and soon sections began rising upward.
He had lifted portions of the ground where the magic circle was inscribed.
Ordinary magic circles could be rendered ineffective simply by scattering parts of them.
‘It won’t work.’
But unfortunately, the magic circle carved here didn’t lose its effect from such a simple disruption.
Well, that wasn’t particularly surprising.
It would have been more remarkable if someone capable of designing such a powerful formation hadn’t taken precautions against damage.
Wouldn’t the probability of the magic circle being damaged during combat with the Guardian be extremely high?
Now the crucial question was understanding why the formation hadn’t been compromised.
Several possibilities came to mind.
‘It could have been deliberately made unnecessarily complex.’
The first hypothesis was that the portion capable of performing the core function existed separately, while the rest were merely dummy components that appeared convincing.
Considering the formation’s vast, almost staggering scale, this seemed quite plausible.
And second.
‘The entire magic circle could be a dummy.’
The actual mechanism performing similar functions might be concealed elsewhere in secret.
Certainly, magical energy emanated from the formation on the ground, but the possibility that it was a deception couldn’t be ruled out.
Kwaaaaaaang!
Jung Han-sung drew his sword as he watched the Guardian attack his undead.
‘Then ultimately, it would be faster to reverse-track the magic circle’s location through the Guardian himself.’
Unfortunately, accomplishing that required him to approach more closely, and it would be beneficial to recreate the same conditions as before once more.
inflicting a fatal wound.
Jung Han-sung immediately shared this information with Madel as well.
“Understood!”
Madel agreed to cooperate without hesitation.
Thus, the two of them slowly closed the distance again, searching for openings.
The Guardian unleashed increasingly ferocious attacks. Regardless of anything else, its assaults were remarkably threatening.
Not only did it possess extraordinary strength, but it wielded two swords with considerable skill, and its speed was extraordinary.
Crash―!
An undead creature flew backward from the Guardian’s blade.
But thanks to that, Jung Han-sung managed to close the distance further.
Rapid-fire!
Madel fired arrows frantically, attempting to expose the Guardian’s weak points.
As they all coordinated their assault.
Boom!
Another opportunity presented itself.
The creature opened its maw wide, preparing to unleash flames once more.
The moment Jung Han-sung saw this, I deployed a technique I had concealed and never used until now.
Flash!
My body flickered momentarily, and I swapped positions with an undead creature near the Guardian.
I had mastered this positional displacement magic long ago, but only recently had I become skilled enough to employ it in actual combat.
The Guardian’s head turned toward me, who now stood directly before it, but my blade moved faster.
Crash!
My sword struck the Guardian’s jaw upward. Simultaneously, flames flashed within its mouth.
The fire meant to be unleashed reversed course and poured into its body.
At the same time, I sensed a powerful mana surge emanating from the Guardian’s form.
I had missed it before in the chaos, but this time I didn’t overlook it—I traced where the mana was flowing.
“Found it!”
Immediately, I swapped positions with an undead creature I had deliberately kept at a distance.
The Guardian, suddenly separated from me, began charging forward at full speed.
It sensed the threat as well.
But I paid no attention to it and drew a throwing spear from my inventory.
I poured lightning into it, then hurled it without hesitation toward a specific location.
Thunder crackled!
Lightning struck.
The spear flew into the wall and embedded itself.
Massive explosion!
The wall collapsed with a deafening roar.
Among the stone fragments cascading to the floor, some bore intricate runic patterns.
“Grrrrgh!”
Almost simultaneously, the Guardian’s body, which had been charging at me at full speed, suddenly began to crumble.
Even so, he kept rushing toward Jung Han-sung without pause, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t overcome the limits of his physical body—his speed gradually diminished.
And finally, when he’d covered about half the distance, he crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
But Jung Han-sung and Madel didn’t immediately approach him. There was always the possibility he was feigning collapse to launch a surprise attack.
Besides, there was a more reliable way to confirm whether he was truly dead.
Simply waiting for the message.
And moments later, as the Guardian’s body trembled violently, the message appeared.
[You have completed the objective of Floor 115!]
[You have obtained the Essence of Purgatory as a reward!]
[In record time…]
It seemed he really had been playing dead and waiting. It took a full three minutes before the message appeared.
“It’s over.”
Either way, I had completed the clear properly. I told Madel.
“Is the contract finished with this?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, we cleared it without much difficulty. I appreciate it.”
The two of us didn’t bother closing the distance or exchanging formal farewells.
Since we’d already completed the clear, there was no further business between us.
But instead of leaving immediately, Madel hesitated before speaking.
“If we get another chance, let’s meet again.”
For something he’d hesitated to say, it was rather simple.
I chuckled softly and nodded.
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
Among all the people I’d passed by so far, very few had ever met me again on higher floors.
And so I exchanged farewells with Madel and chose to return.
Whoooosh!
The Unique Space I returned to was quiet, as always.
I walked over to one side and settled into a chair.
“My body’s sore.”
―Certainly, the Hidden Floor does have high difficulty.
“Tell me about it.”
Though I hadn’t sustained any injuries, using so much strength in such a short time left me with an extraordinary sense of exhaustion.
‘Still, I should be fine with just thirty minutes of rest.’
Considering how much more dangerous it could have been, I’d completed the clear very successfully.
As I thought this far, I suddenly remembered I hadn’t properly checked the rewards yet.
“Let me see.”
I opened my inventory, scanned through it, and pulled out the two newly acquired items.
“The Essence of Purgatory is…. Is it similar to a mana stone?”
At first glance, the Essence of Purgatory resembled a mana stone in appearance, but the power contained within it was far more concentrated.
Even more so than the highest-grade mana stones.
―The Essence of Purgatory is, as the name suggests, an item that only appears in Purgatory. You could call it a superior version of mana stones.
“Can it perfectly replace mana stones?”
―Not quite. There are some variations in how it’s used depending on the situation. That fox named Baek-seol would know the details better than I would.
“Hmm.”
Jung Han-sung nodded and proceeded to examine the next item.
It was a half-mask called the “Gaze of Purgatory.”
It covered only the area from the eyes down to just above the nose, and checking its description, I could immediately discern its purpose.
“A mask that allows one to see things in Purgatory that would normally remain hidden.”
It seemed to be a detection item or something of that nature.
Jung Han-sung turned it over in his hand while murmuring to himself.
“It looks like I’ll be heading back to Purgatory again.”

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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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