I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 253

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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 253
Crack—!
Within the chaos of lightning and toppling stone pillars, a blade pierced flesh.
“Ugh.”
A searing sensation erupted from my side.
My armor had absorbed most of the impact, but the shock still reverberated through my organs.
This is dangerous, indeed.
—This is terrible.
Even Onyx, who had directly blocked the attack, clicked his tongue in dismay.
There was no helping it.
The number of enemies had somehow swelled to ten.
In simple terms, ten versions of Jung Han-sung were attacking him.
The sense of crisis felt even more intense than when I’d fallen into Sargon’s trap before.
“However, they’re not perfect.”
I spoke while swinging my blade.
The first one that had suddenly appeared behind me initially resembled me almost exactly.
But it gradually split apart, and they began diverging from me more and more.
At first, they wielded swords and displayed other abilities, but now many don’t even carry blades.
Some wielded lightning, others the swordsmanship taught by the Heavenly Demon, and still others Arthur’s techniques.
Some used necromancy, while others manipulated only the power of the Earthland.
—But what does this have to do with negation?
Even amid this urgent chaos, Onyx couldn’t suppress his curiosity and muttered thus.
In truth, that was a question I wondered about as well.
What connection did fighting these beings have to purging negation?
It was a question I had yet to answer.
But there was no time to ponder it further.
Boom—!
Lightning streaked diagonally through the air, toppling a stone pillar.
Through the gap, another Jung Han-sung charged forward mercilessly. This time, not with a blade, but with a bare fist.
Whoosh!
I tilted my head back to evade the strike, but the sharp wind pressure made my jaw tingle.
Then, something odd caught my eye.
Its expression.
‘What is this?’
The one who had thrown the punch bore intense fury etched across its face.
I brushed it aside and observed the others. Then something became apparent.
The first one that had appeared had worn an expressionless face, but now it was different.
Each carried a distinct aura.
Some raged with anger, others wept with sorrow, and still others displayed boredom.
Moreover, they wielded my abilities far more skillfully than I did myself.
Not multiple abilities, but just a single one.
‘Negation.’
I narrowed my eyes.
Something was coming to mind.
I wondered if I was overthinking this, but I couldn’t shake the feeling.
‘Denying what I am now.’
I pondered this while blocking another’s attack.
‘The paths I never took.’
Each of these beings was a fragment of me, yet simultaneously embodied the roads I had forsaken.
The one who summoned lightning from the void wielded electricity far more deftly than I ever could.
The one wielding the Heavenly Demon’s blade moved with the grace of a master swordsman.
Every step carried profound martial subtlety.
Even Arthur’s blade, which I had mastered most deeply, was subtly superior to mine.
It was as if this was what I might have become had I focused on just one path.
Crash―!
I dodged the attack while contemplating.
I had wondered before—wouldn’t my strength have been greater if I’d concentrated on a single ability?
But I had not chosen that path.
Boom―!
I had gone further than that.
All the things I had never chosen—these fragments possessed them one by one.
I could recognize them now, though belatedly.
Rage. Sorrow. Greed. Boredom. Arrogance. Self-loathing. Envy.
Emotions any human should feel. My fragments were surrendering completely to these feelings as they faced me.
―Hey, there’s one that’s completely strange too.
At Onyx’s words, I looked where he was pointing.
There stood a creature shaped like a skull. Beside it writhed something gelatinous and sluggish.
Seeing that, I let out an involuntary laugh. This was practically spelling out the hint.
Shed the negation.
Face the paths you never took, and overcome them.
“Yeah. It was an obvious mission.”
I said, swinging my blade lightly.
“In other words, I just need to defeat all of them, right?”
―If we’re looking at results, then yes.
“Good results are good results.”
After a brief exchange with Onyx, I kicked off the ground.
Unlike when I had wandered in confusion, there was no hesitation in me now.
That instant.
Crash―!
The earth split open as lightning erupted skyward.
The clones reacted in unison and scattered, but it was already too late.
Lightning and Earthland’s dual forces herded the clones into a single location. I had deliberately confined the space to prevent them from spreading too widely.
From the center of it all, I charged forward with my sword in hand.
“Let’s finish them one by one.”
I swung my blade at the nearest one.
These enemies were certainly troublesome.
But the reason the battle had dragged on so long was simply that I hadn’t known exactly how to approach them to complete my objective.
Had I known from the start that annihilating them was the goal, the situation would likely have unfolded differently.
Crash―!
Before they split, perhaps it would have been different.
But now that the enemies had divided as much as they could, they couldn’t keep pace with my original body.
Rumble!
Of course, the enemies tried to gather together and deal with me.
While a single clone couldn’t match me, multiple clones united could certainly overwhelm me.
―Roooar!
―Strike!
The problem was that I wasn’t alone either.
The Bone Dragon and numerous undead fought desperately, preventing the clones from converging.
I also continuously manipulated the Earthland to prevent the enemies from rushing at me all at once.
Thus, I created a battlefield favorable to myself and began hunting the enemies one by one.
During this, some enemies suffered fatal wounds but split instead of dying.
However, far more enemies had already divided as much as they could, and they simply vanished without leaving anything behind.
And so the enemy’s numbers steadily decreased.
Crash―!
In the end, at the very last moment, only two clones remained.
The one wielding lightning and the one wielding Arthur’s swordsmanship.
It wasn’t particularly surprising.
These were the two powers I had relied on most, and their potential was equally high.
The two beings stood shoulder to shoulder as they glared at me.
Without hesitation, they rushed at me simultaneously.
Rumble!
Thunder roared as the blade flew in. A sword cutting precisely through the gaps in the flow.
Seeing this, I stamped the ground hard.
Boom!
Using the True Angle taught by the Heavenly Demon alongside my control of the Earthland, the ground shook violently and the surrounding flow became chaotic.
Naturally, the opponent’s extended blade twisted unnaturally as well.
Crack!
The lightning dropped by the other clone didn’t even need to be dodged.
I simply accepted it and dispersed it in all directions.
Lightning is an extremely powerful force, but it’s difficult to inflict serious damage on someone who uses the same power.
The skill gap between the two wasn’t at a level that would hinder me.
Kwaaaaaaang―!
Thus, I could continue pushing them back relentlessly.
Of course, they resisted without yielding until the very end.
I saw the expressions blooming across their faces.
Competitive spirit. And despair.
One was an emotion deeply familiar to me, while the other was an emotion I’d grown accustomed to in the ‘past’.
In a sense, these were the two emotions that defined my life up to this point.
Clang!
I unleashed increasingly brutal attacks upon them.
Before ascending further, I had no intention of leaving any lingering attachments behind.
To shed everything and ascend—that was my objective.
Thus, I thrust my blade forward with greater force than ever before.
Squelch!
At last, my blade pierced through someone’s neck.
The other had already collapsed on the ground, their limbs shattered.
“Hah.”
Though they all bore identical appearances, their expressions were distinctly different, making them easy to tell apart.
The one still standing at the very end was I, bearing the marks of exhaustion.
―It’s over.
“Yes.”
Having successfully eliminated all the clones, I exhaled deeply and gazed into the void.
A message materialized before my eyes.
A message confirming the completion of Floor 197.
The message itself was unremarkable, but this reward was quite exceptional.
“Echo of the Soul.”
It was a small orb.
With my knowledge of necromancy, I could immediately recognize that the Echo of the Soul was, in simple terms, an extraordinarily rare item.
“Hmm.”
And I immediately thought of its use upon seeing it.
‘Using it on the Bone Dragon would be most efficient.’
There was no one better suited for this item’s effects than the Bone Dragon.
I made that decision and placed the item in my inventory.
Then I immediately gazed into the void and spoke.
“To Floor 198.”
For now, I planned to push through to Floor 198 without rest.
* * *
I eventually cleared Floor 198 and returned to my Unique Space.
I could have returned to the Territory, but the reason I came to my Unique Space was simple.
It was to calm my mind before challenging Layer 199.
‘Layer 199 might be where I finally fail.’
Until now, I had never climbed The Tower with failure in mind.
But Layer 199 was different—I couldn’t help but feel the weight of tension.
It wasn’t solely because of Lilith’s warning.
Many others had cautioned me that Layer 199 was exceptionally treacherous and difficult.
‘Surpassing Layer 199 is, in essence, transcending my limits.’
Truthfully, merely reaching Floor 198 meant there were scarcely any within The Tower who posed a genuine threat to me.
My Territory was expanding at a staggering pace, and by now, most hesitated to even approach me.
Yet I gazed upward.
I still thirsted for what lay above.
‘Earning more wealth here wouldn’t bring me joy.’
Prestige and status were the same. Such things stirred little within me.
I simply wanted to see the end of this Tower.
I knew it too.
That it would not be easy.
Once I surpassed Layer 199 and Layer 200, everything would truly change from that point onward.
Standing at the apex of transcendence itself.
It would feel like endless adventure.
Though nothing was certain yet, even other transcendents seemed never to have glimpsed the ‘end’.
Perhaps I harbored a hope without guarantee.
But still.
One cannot know their limits without attempting to challenge them.
“Haah.”
I exhaled deeply, then slowly closed and opened my eyes as I began preparing to challenge Layer 199.
I modified my undead servants.
I inspected my equipment once more. Through sufficient rest, I achieved peak condition.
After spending an entire day composing my mind, I finally steeled my resolve.
Rising from my seat, I gazed slowly into the void.
If I succeeded, I would step into a different realm. But if I failed, I would lose everything.
“I will challenge it.”
Yet there was no hesitation in my eyes.

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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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