I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 250
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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 250
After the battle ended, I didn’t pause to catch my breath—I immediately set out to find the next target.
About ten minutes passed before I encountered the second target.
“Its appearance is quite different.”
I spoke upon seeing what stood atop the Hill ahead.
I’d anticipated something similar to the first enemy I’d faced, but this was entirely different.
What occupied the Hill was a tree.
Of course, it was no ordinary tree.
Like the first one I’d encountered, it was entirely stained black, and blood-red leaves hung from the tips of its branches.
At a glance, it was a tree that radiated an ominous aura.
And more than anything.
‘The divine essence is far more concentrated.’
This tree definitely contained far more divine essence than the one I’d faced before.
In terms of sheer divine essence alone, it held at least twice as much.
―Don’t let your guard down just because it’s a tree.
Onyx also warned me.
―If something so unremarkable possessed that much divine essence, someone would have already devoured it by now.
It was a remarkably convincing argument.
So I approached the tree cautiously without letting my guard down. And when I’d closed some distance.
Whoooosh―.
Despite no wind blowing, the leaves began to sway back and forth.
I narrowed my eyes.
It wasn’t merely a reaction to its movement.
‘The flow…’
The moment the leaves swayed, the flow of everything around me became violently tangled.
But the moment I stopped, the flow returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
This repeated several more times as I approached.
By the third occurrence, I deliberately tested my foot against that turbulent flow.
And immediately after.
Screeeeeech―!
Something like roots erupted from the ground right in front of me.
Of course, I’d already retreated backward before the roots even burst forth.
‘Roots?’
Was this its hidden means of attack? I thought that, then shook my head.
If that were all, the flow wouldn’t have become so violently tangled.
To me, it seemed like the truly dangerous technique hadn’t even been deployed yet.
There were a few things I could anticipate, though.
“Hmm.”
I pondered for a moment.
If I prioritized safety, I could approach carefully while confirming the dangers one by one.
But Jung Han-sung wasn’t particularly drawn to that approach.
If he proceeded that way, he’d be stuck here for quite some time.
Besides, it didn’t align with his style anyway.
Of course, that didn’t mean he’d recklessly charge in without fully exposing the creature’s abilities.
Crackle, crackle, crackle—
If his opponent was hiding its power, he’d simply draw it out.
Without hesitation, Jung Han-sung summoned lightning and unleashed it toward the tree.
Boom!
Thunder roared as lightning descended upon the tree.
Before it could make direct contact.
Whoooosh—!
Blade-like winds swept around the tree, and a pale barrier materialized simultaneously.
The wind targeted Jung Han-sung from a distance, while the barrier perfectly blocked the lightning.
The tree, apparently unsatisfied with that alone, extended its roots to ensnare Jung Han-sung’s feet.
But the moment roots and wind converged on him.
Whoosh!
Jung Han-sung vanished.
The roots and wind struck empty air, but Jung Han-sung had already closed the distance to the tree itself.
As if startled, the tree convulsed and unleashed its abilities in rapid succession.
Those attacks were certainly formidable.
But fundamentally, an attack only matters if it connects with its target.
Whoosh!
By the time the attacks reached him, Jung Han-sung had already shifted to another position, looking down at the tree.
‘Three abilities in total?’
Judging by how it hadn’t unleashed any others in this situation, that seemed to be the case.
Yet Jung Han-sung suspected the existence of a fourth ability.
The attacks so far had been threatening enough, but they didn’t quite measure up to the creature he’d faced before.
‘I need to provoke it further.’
From that point on, instead of merely evading, Jung Han-sung began tapping the barrier surrounding the tree with his blade.
Crash—! Bang!
With each swing, the barrier trembled violently.
Yet surprisingly, the barrier didn’t shatter easily. It was sturdy enough that he suspected this was its primary ability, not the other two.
Bang, bang!
But as he continued dodging while striking, cracks finally began spreading across the barrier.
Though far sturdier than expected, at this rate it would shatter before long.
‘If you’re hiding something, bring it out now!’
With that thought, Jung Han-sung pressed his assault on the barrier with relentless intensity.
And just as the barrier was on the verge of shattering.
Rustle, rustle, rustle—
The leaves trembled violently once more.
At first, roots had burst forth. But Jung Han-sung sensed something different this time.
A feeling that it wouldn’t end with mere roots or wind.
Simultaneously, the flow of energy surrounding him began to shift in unison.
Jung Han-sung’s brow furrowed at the sensation of hundreds of sharp spears all leveling themselves at him at once.
‘It’s coming.’
With that certainty.
I saw something tearing free from within the tree itself.
CRAAAAAACK!
It was a blood-dripping branch.
The branch moved with terrifying speed, targeting Jung Han-sung, and I attempted to dodge the attack naturally once more.
WHOOOOSH!
But the moment I evaded, it scattered droplets of blood in my direction.
In the past, I might have taken such an attack, but in that brief instant, I reacted.
ZZZZZZZT!
A net of electricity unfurled with a snap, obliterating every droplet that approached.
If it had ended there, it would have been disappointingly anticlimactic, but the vaporized droplets remarkably continued to exert their influence even in that state.
They dispersed as mist and clung to my body.
“Ugh.”
In that moment, I understood what ability the creature had hidden until the very end.
Parasitism.
Each particle clinging to my body was burrowing into me. Simultaneously, they surged ferociously toward my divinity.
I didn’t know what would happen if I left them unchecked, but it was certain they would have a terrible effect.
The tree that had extended the blood-red branch was shrinking at a noticeable rate.
For the creature, this was nearly a final self-destruct technique.
―Master! Hold your divinity firm!
Onyx called out to me in a loud voice with that warning.
Jung Han-sung furrowed his brow and, rather than answering, focused on controlling his divinity.
Crackle, crack―.
As the tree shrank, the power of the divinity clinging to my body grew fiercer.
‘Is it trying to devour all of my divinity like this?’
My prediction was accurate.
After all, the very method by which the tree had endured after its decline was oriented in that direction.
Burrow into an unsuspecting opponent’s body, absorb their divinity, and take root anew in that place.
This time, the process had been accompanied by fierce combat, but the outcome itself was similar.
If I failed to properly shake off my opponent now, I would become fertilizer for the tree.
‘It’s gnawing away at my divinity bit by bit.’
Even as I worked to control my divinity, I felt it gradually slipping away to the creature.
This wasn’t something I could prevent simply by holding my divinity in place.
It was as though my divinity was slowly being dyed in the creature’s color.
So I thought.
‘Simply blocking won’t suffice.’
That would only delay the inevitable—I couldn’t stop the opponent’s erosion that way.
‘I need to counterattack.’
I released my control over the divine essence and instead began grasping at the divine power that had infiltrated my body.
The moment I did, I felt the enemy’s divine essence eagerly bore into mine, as if it had been waiting for this.
But I paid it no mind and began devouring the opponent’s divine essence in turn.
Of course, it wasn’t easy at first.
I had no clear sense of how to absorb the enemy’s divine essence.
However, I had already absorbed the divine essence of several beings before.
Even though this divine essence moved with its own will, after a few trials and errors, I quickly grasped the technique.
Ssssshhhhh―.
As a result, the enemy’s divine essence began to be dyed in my color instead.
By then, roughly a third of my divine essence had already been surrendered to the opponent.
The enemy’s speed was still faster.
But I focused solely on dyeing the opponent’s divine essence in my color.
Then the speed gradually began to accelerate. My pace steadily caught up to the enemy’s.
‘Now!’
And so, finally, when my own divine essence had shrunk to roughly a tenth of its original size.
This time, my divine essence began to expand again.
I had surpassed the opponent’s speed.
My divine essence, which had dwindled to an almost perilous degree, rapidly reclaimed its territory.
The enemy thrashed about as if refusing to yield dominance, but it was meaningless.
The momentum had already completely shifted in my favor.
Thus, after a fierce struggle within the Mental Space.
Uuuuuuuuung!
I finally succeeded in completely devouring the enemy’s divine essence in reverse.
After confirming I had consumed the last fragment, I snapped my eyes open.
“Phew.”
As I exhaled deeply, Onyx spoke to me in an excited voice.
―Master! You’ve finally come to?
“Yeah. How much time has passed?”
―A whole hour!
At those words, I felt relief wash over me.
Subjectively, it had felt like days had gone by.
But even so, an hour was no trivial span of time. Especially considering I had no idea what dangers might be lurking in this place.
“Nothing happened?”
―Nothing until just now. But that thing just appeared.
Onyx spoke and pointed directly to one side.
When I turned my head in that direction, I saw a wolf with a black mane standing there.
It possessed far more divine essence than the two I had faced before.
Moreover, it was emanating a considerably more formidable aura.
“Is this the last one?”
But I murmured the words in a calm voice.
Had I encountered that creature from the beginning, I would have struggled considerably, but now I felt no sense of defeat whatsoever.
Crack!
Without hesitation, I kicked off the ground and charged toward the wolf.
And the wolf, in turn, did not retreat but rushed forward to meet me.
About ten minutes later.
Piercing!
My blade pierced through the wolf’s neck.
The wolf was formidable, but it could not compare to me, who had absorbed an enormous amount of divine power.
Whoooosh!
And I absorbed even that wolf’s divine power entirely.
My divine power had multiplied several times over compared to when I first set foot in this place.
―Impressive. At this rate, you’ve certainly earned the qualification to challenge even a demigod.
Onyx spoke, observing me.
I let out a soft laugh in response.
“Just watch. I’ll reach it soon enough.”
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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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