I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 31

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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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#Episode 31.
The power already exists within me.
If I could awaken immediately upon hearing those words and break free from this trap, it would be ideal.
But nothing of the sort happened. The words merely echoed vaguely in my mind.
The first thing that came to mind was the sword I’d received from Arthur. Yet something told me that wasn’t the answer.
In truth, I couldn’t use it right now. The charge was perilously insufficient.
And so, I looked up at the Heavenly Demon.
In a space where nothing but pitch-black darkness surrounded me, the Heavenly Demon’s presence—hovering alone—was overwhelming.
Was it because of such a space? Or was it the inherent presence of the Heavenly Demon itself?
―You’re overthinking this.
The Heavenly Demon spoke to me in a flat, emotionless voice as I pondered.
―You have less than two minutes remaining, wouldn’t you say?
At those words, I snapped to attention. The Heavenly Demon was right. The subscription lasted only three minutes. I had no time to waste.
Truthfully, I was caught off guard by this unexpected form of subscription.
Arthur’s one-on-one lecture from before had felt somewhat similar, but at least that explanation contained some hints.
Could a mere three-minute conversation provide a breakthrough for my current predicament?
No—such doubts weren’t important right now.
I formulated a question in my mind. I couldn’t speak in this place.
When you say the power already exists within me, do you mean I have the ability to escape right now, but I’m simply failing to recognize it?
The Heavenly Demon tilted his head slightly to one side before responding, as if to confirm the question had been properly conveyed.
―It’s not a matter of recognizing or failing to recognize.
Then what is it?
―It’s a matter of how you wield that power.
What do you mean by that?
―Even with an identical blade, its effectiveness differs depending on who wields it. Should this seat hold a sword, I could cleave mountains themselves. But you? At best, you’d manage to sever the neck of some insignificant creature.
The Heavenly Demon flicked his finger.
―That would be the extent of your capability.
Though his condescending tone stung a little, the analogy itself became crystal clear to me.
‘In other words, I’m not fully controlling the power I possess.’
―Precisely.
The Heavenly Demon saw through my thoughts with perfect clarity and lifted the corner of his mouth in a slight smile.
―Still, since you’ve subscribed to this seat’s channel for the first time, I shall offer you a clue.
He opened one hand.
A worn blade materialized in his empty palm. The Heavenly Demon slowly raised it and continued speaking.
―What you need now is the concentration of power.
The Heavenly Demon’s sword moved slowly backward. And then, at a certain moment.
The blade pierced through a single point.
──────!
A flow that had been invisible until now became visible.
I understood.
It wasn’t that there was no flow in this place. Nor was it that there was so much flow my vision was blinded by it.
A very rough current connected this entire space as one continuous thread, again and again.
And his blade pierced straight through the center of that flow.
With absolute precision.
Clearly, yet decisively.
―That’s enough.
I lifted my head at his voice.
The Heavenly Demon stared directly into my eyes as he spoke.
―Give it a try. One last time, and then I’ll offer my thoughts before I go.
At those words, I nodded.
Less than a minute of subscription time remained. There was no room for idle thoughts if I wanted to receive his guidance.
I closed my eyes briefly and recalled what the Heavenly Demon had shown me. Then, turning it over in my mind, I slowly took my stance.
Empty the mind.
Act only as I have seen.
Grasping an invisible blade, I twisted at the waist, stepped forward, and extended one hand.
───!
In that instant, I felt the surrounding Darkness being pushed back.
Yet I could clearly sense it fell infinitely short of the single strike the Heavenly Demon had demonstrated.
I naturally expected criticism to come from the Heavenly Demon.
―What….
But the voice that reached me carried unmistakable surprise and admiration.
―Indeed, it seems your reaching me was not mere chance after all.
The Heavenly Demon nodded as if he had come to understand something, then looked directly at me and spoke.
―You need no advice from me now. It would only hinder you.
But surely you need guidance? The Darkness remains unchanged, does it not?
―Tch. Greedy, aren’t you. With your talent, you would have escaped on your own even without my help. Figure it out yourself. Just figure it out.
With those words, the Heavenly Demon turned sharply away.
―A true monster, this one.
And with that final remark, he scattered like smoke.
A moment later, a message appeared before my eyes indicating the subscription period had ended.
Once more, only pitch-black Darkness remained in my vision.
‘No.’
I closed my eyes, then opened them.
The Heavenly Demon’s cryptic parting words had left me momentarily dazed, but my heart felt somewhat lighter nonetheless.
I cannot see the clear flow like when the blade pierced that single point. That is only natural.
For that was the perspective he had shown me in that fleeting instant, meant only for me.
Yet the moment I unfolded my strike following the one the Heavenly Demon had shown, I understood clearly. What kind of space this was. What I needed to do. And how to do it.
‘By using what I possess.’
I raised my hand.
I have no blade to carry with me inside the Labyrinth. But that doesn’t matter.
‘I’ll break through this place.’
I already possessed everything I needed.
When the Heavenly Demon extended his sword forward, the first thing that caught my eye was the rough, turbulent flow and the enchantingly beautiful trajectory of the blade.
But I also knew that wasn’t all there was to it.
The sword he held in his hand was nothing more than an ordinary iron blade.
The sword path he displayed contained neither graceful swordsmanship nor any profound principles.
What mattered was piercing through the essence.
‘Of course, perfectly recreating that would be beyond me.’
Unless I stood at the same level as him and saw the same things, it would be impossible.
But it didn’t need to be perfectly identical. What mattered was the result.
If it was difficult to replicate that with a dull iron blade and ordinary swordsmanship, then I would pour everything I had into reproducing a similar result, even if only approximated.
I raised my hand.
Crackle—
Blue lightning surged upward.
The outline of my hand still remained hidden. This Darkness was relentlessly determined to keep everything imprisoned beneath it.
Snap—
And I intended to pierce through this Darkness.
* * *
How much time had passed?
An hour? A day? Thirty minutes? A week?
I couldn’t tell.
The sense of time in this place was strange. Sometimes it felt like considerable time had elapsed, yet other times it felt like mere moments.
What was happening outside?
Was Onyx still out there? What was Cheon-ung doing? Had the mission already failed? When I escaped, would it still be the Desolate Land?
Various thoughts surged up and faded away. And such musings never lasted long.
‘Still not enough.’
I looked ahead.
There were ‘cracks’ there. Like a spider’s web spreading outward, I could glimpse the landscape beyond the fissures for a moment.
But that was only brief.
It restored itself with terrifying speed and draped only pitch-black Darkness once more.
‘A single point. Pierce through.’
I attempted hundreds of methods while holding only that thought. And as if to prove it, they all failed.
But there was definitely a sense of moving forward. Despair? I felt none of that.
Rather, it was exhilarating.
‘The things I possessed were truly magnificent.’
Until then, I hadn’t truly felt it.
Of course, I had known that the abilities I acquired through subscription were exceptionally superior.
But knowing and truly understanding are different things.
I had merely chased after knowledge that remained in my mind, hastily wielding the power others had granted me.
The sword I had swung all this time was nothing but a blade I wielded carelessly while marveling at its sharpness.
That was precisely why I found joy in this moment.
How sharp was the blade in my hand? What was its length? How much did it weigh?
How should I swing it to cut more effectively? At what angle would my movements become most threatening?
As if rebuilding everything from the ground up, I was methodically retracing each of my powers.
‘Indra’s lightning reveals the very essence of what electrical force truly is.’
Destructive, swift, and simultaneously beautiful. Before this, I had merely wrapped this power around my body and weapon.
I had been content to use such tremendous force only as a supplementary tool.
Most enemies fell to my blade alone, and those slightly more threatening couldn’t withstand it once I added lightning to the mix.
But now things were different.
Even when I squeezed out everything I possessed and attempted every conceivable method, the Darkness before me remained impenetrable.
‘How considerate of it.’
To prepare such trials that allowed me to challenge myself again and again, squeezing out everything each time.
I felt like offering my gratitude to that Sargon creature.
That was why I never stopped.
‘My power is insufficient.’
I attempted everything possible with lightning.
‘My breathing and blade are out of sync.’
I pondered what a blade truly was, what swordsmanship truly meant, and attempted to embody it.
‘The tip wavered.’
I repeated the same motion hundreds of times over.
A sudden epiphany that would allow me to break through the trial before me in one stroke never came. At least not this time.
‘The lightning was actually hindering me.’
Still, I did not stop.
I continued to fail and continued to attempt. And then, at some point.
“Ah.”
A blade that shouldn’t exist extended in a perfectly straight line.
Azure lightning traced the path of the blade. Not merely supporting it, but moving with intention of its own.
I felt it.
“I succeeded.”
‘This thrust—I executed it properly.’ Or so I sensed.
Had the Heavenly Demon witnessed this moment, he would have clicked his tongue.
He had merely shown me how to pierce through this place, yet I had created a technique far beyond what he had taught—several times greater in refinement.
Truly, a monstrous talent.
But unaware of such praise, I broke into a broad smile.
Crack!
I saw the Darkness splitting apart.
Beyond it, a world existed.
* * *
―Damn it, damn it. Damn it! Are your muscles just for decoration?
“Ah, no. Even if you say such things…”
Heavenly Demon regarded Onyx with a troubled expression.
He had only become aware of Onyx’s existence five minutes ago.
It was while he stood in awe—no, in shock—watching Han-sung cleave through that colossal beast.
Suddenly, a black sphere erupted from the monster’s corpse and engulfed Han-sung.
That was when Onyx appeared. Or rather, when he separated from Han-sung’s body?
The black sphere had consumed only Han-sung himself.
Along with the equipment he wore, Onyx had been ejected outward.
Heavenly Demon gathered the scattered items while trying to make sense of the situation, and that was when Onyx spoke to him.
―Cut that damned sphere apart!
Those were his exact words.
But Heavenly Demon’s expression remained troubled.
“It won’t budge.”
The sphere that had suddenly erupted and swallowed Han-sung now lay inert on the ground.
Naturally, Heavenly Demon had attempted to sever it somehow. But every attempt had failed.
No matter what method he tried, the sphere remained completely immobile.
―Do something!
But Onyx, unsatisfied with Heavenly Demon’s efforts, shrieked in an angry voice.
Heavenly Demon looked at Onyx, who wrapped around Han-sung’s armor. How could he describe that form? A serpent? It looked like a child had roughly sculpted a snake from clay.
“Sigh.”
Heavenly Demon scratched his head vigorously and raised his weapon.
Honestly, he doubted he could cleave or cut through that sphere no matter what he tried, but giving up went against his nature.
He approached the sphere and lifted his weapon. Just as he was about to swing—
A sharp crack split the air.
Suddenly, a section of the sphere split open, and something shot out from within.
A brilliant flash erupted.
Something brilliant blue. A form like lightning given shape. And… a blade.
It took the form of a sword.
The blade stopped mere inches from Heavenly Demon’s face.
“Ugh, ugh!”
Only then did Heavenly Demon realize the sword had nearly pierced through his skull, and he stumbled backward.
And only then did he notice someone standing beyond the now-split sphere.
“What?”
It was Han-sung.
He looked at Heavenly Demon, who stood frozen in an awkward stance, and narrowed his brow.
“Betrayal…?”
“N-no, that’s not it!”
Heavenly Demon startled and lowered his weapon.
“I was trying to cut the sphere! The sphere!”
“The sphere? Ah.”
Han-sung, stepping out from within the sphere, turned to look back at Heavenly Demon’s words and nodded in understanding.
“Onyx, is that true?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Onyx stared blankly before glancing back and forth between me and Cheon-ung.
―Yeah. I kept pushing you to try something, Master.
“No, the way you’re saying it makes it sound like you forced me into it!”
―Didn’t you?
“I didn’t!”
I chuckled at their exchange, then began methodically gathering and equipping the gear I’d collected in one spot.
Cheon-ung watched me, lost in thought.
I’d only spent roughly five minutes inside that sphere.
Yet somehow, I felt distinctly transformed. As if I’d achieved some profound realization.
Most of all, moments ago.
That mysterious ‘blade’ that had pierced through the sphere.
It was… an entirely different dimension of technique.
He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what made it extraordinary, but the fact that he could sense its magnificence spoke volumes.
“Well then, shall we go?”
One thing was certain.
I’d found my footing. Among all the people he’d encountered so far—many of them rankers—Cheon-ung was half-convinced.
That given time, I would stand above them all.
“You’re not coming?”
“Ah, I’m coming!”
Cheon-ung quickly hurried after me.

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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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