I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 33
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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 33.
I tilted my head slightly.
‘A serial killer? An escape?’
I’d already experienced an escape mission before. Back then, there were monsters and traps blocking the way out, just like now.
The difference was the theme.
Before, I only had to escape from some unknown Cave, but this time there was a specific location and a clear enemy set in place.
―Well, doesn’t that mean nothing’s really changed, Master?
Onyx always spoke casually, and as if to compensate for it, he consistently added “Master” at the end of his sentences. I chuckled and replied.
“Yeah. The core is the same. But I can’t think of it as completely identical.”
―Why not?
“Because in missions with such a strong theme, the difficulty skyrockets the moment you deviate from the intended route.”
For instance, in the previous mission, the instruction was simply to work together with others and escape.
This time, however, there’s an additional clue: ‘Avoid the serial killer and traps within the Mansion.’
“This likely means the serial killer is a monster that climbers at merely Floor 20 level can’t handle. That’s why it says to avoid and escape.”
―I see. That makes sense.
Onyx replied as if he understood, but soon asked again with a puzzled tone.
―But what does that have to do with anything?
“Huh?”
―That doesn’t apply to you, Master. The part about it being difficult to confront.
“Well… I suppose you’re right. Hmm, that’s not it either.”
―What’s not it?
“A worthwhile channel.”
I answered and scrolled through the subscription window.
It was natural enough, but I wasn’t just chatting with Onyx for no reason.
“Another characteristic of high-themed floors is that there’s plenty worth harvesting. It’s not just a space created for the mission—they bring in actual existing locations.”
―Ah, so that’s what you were aiming for.
“Right. I’ll subscribe to the Intuition channel too, but this time I want to farm more thoroughly… Oh. This one looks decent.”
I pointed sharply at one section of the subscription window.
[Blessing of Plutus’s Apostle]
At first glance, you might wonder what this has to do with the current situation, but Plutus is the god of wealth from ancient Greek mythology.
According to the detailed description, this channel allows you to receive blessings bestowed by an apostle of Plutus.
‘From experience, channels like this have excellent cost-effectiveness.’
Channels of divine entities have superior effects, but their cost-effectiveness is terrible.
With low-tier tickets like Bronze, subscribing often ends in mere seconds. Sometimes it’s even 0.1 or 0.01 seconds.
Conversely, channels of relatively inferior entities allow for comparatively longer subscription times even with Bronze tickets.
However, their effects fall far short.
In that sense, the channel I’d chosen now fell somewhere in the middle.
The channel’s owner itself isn’t a divine entity, but the power it contains is closely related to divine existence.
[Subscription time with a Bronze ticket is one hour.]
One hour.
It was shorter than I’d anticipated, but still not a bad haul. Besides, I’d never intended to wander the Mansion all day anyway.
I decided to subscribe.
[You have subscribed to Plutus’s Apostle’s Blessing using a Bronze Ticket.]
[This subscription is valid for one hour.]
The moment I subscribed to the channel, a hazy figure materialized before my eyes along with the message.
It was the form of a woman dressed in white, and she approached me, covering both my eyes with her palms.
I felt something boring into my eyes.
There was no particular pain. However, as the woman’s form vanished, my vision underwent a transformation.
‘Light?’
Golden particles of light appeared.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say I’d gained the ability to perceive what was previously invisible.
“I should follow that.”
―Follow what?
“Something like that exists.”
I then subscribed to the Intuition channel as well, and without hesitation, I began walking in the direction of those particles.
―Hmm. By the way, this place is quite eerie.
Onyx, whose attention had belatedly turned to his surroundings, poked his head out from my body.
I nodded at his words.
“Right? It’s like something straight out of a Western horror film.”
The floor was covered with what looked like a crimson carpet, and the walls were lined with antique wallpaper and candelabras.
While there were candles lit here and there, there were more that weren’t, so the Corridor remained dimly lit.
Whoooosh.
Moreover, there were broken windows scattered on the opposite side, and occasionally a chilling breeze would blow through.
―A film? What’s that?
“Huh? You don’t know what a film is? Well, do you at least know what a play is?”
―Of course I do.
But neither Onyx nor I were particularly fearful of such things.
If anything, I found people far more terrifying than ghosts or monsters.
Having witnessed the depths of human depravity throughout my life.
So I exchanged various remarks with Onyx and, while walking through the Corridor, I also checked what lay beyond the windows.
After all, I needed to consider how to escape the Mansion separately from the treasure hunt.
But there was nothing of note. Beyond the windows stretched only endless Darkness.
It seemed I would have to find clues purely within the Mansion to escape.
Since I wasn’t particularly concerned about the escape itself, I proceeded without worry.
And soon I discovered a Staircase.
“Hmm. This is…”
I came to a halt before the Staircase.
“Both directions…?”
The particles of light extended both upward and downward.
However, there was a difference in their brightness. The particles leading upward were more luminous than those leading down.
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
‘The exit is most likely to be downstairs, right?’
This wasn’t based on any particular clue—just the logical assumption that doors are typically on the first floor.
To escape the Mansion quickly, descending would have been the wiser choice than ascending…
“Let’s go up.”
I didn’t deliberate long and headed toward the upper floors.
After all, why had I spent tickets to subscribe to this channel in the first place? To find something valuable.
Even Onyx, unable to perceive the particles, affirmed my decision.
―Come to think of it, if there’s anything precious, it would likely be on the upper floors.
“Exactly. If escape were the goal, most would head downward.”
Going upward was a path that diverged from escape.
Unless this Mansion had such an unusual structure that the entrance was on the topmost floor.
I followed the particles up the Staircase.
―It’s identical to below.
The moment I reached the upper floor, Onyx offered a brief observation.
True to his words, the upper Corridor differed little from the one below.
What must have once been quite luxurious décor now bore the marks of time and broken windows scattered throughout, giving it the appearance of an abandoned dwelling.
The light particles traversed the entire Corridor, pointing toward the far end.
Upon confirming this, Onyx spoke.
―Be careful, Master.
“Understood.”
I nodded simply.
There was no need to ask what to be cautious of. The moment my foot crossed the threshold of this floor, I felt it immediately.
A thick, metallic stench of blood.
‘A trap? Or a murderer?’
With such thoughts, I proceeded slowly. I decided to rely on my subscribed Intuition channel for traps.
While there were channels related to traps, I hadn’t felt the need to subscribe separately.
Most could be avoided through intuition alone, and most traps could be handled with my abilities.
Whoosh—
Instead, I moved my steps with deliberate caution.
Even without the blood scent, my intuition kept warning me. Something was nearby.
As I progressed roughly halfway through the Corridor—
“…!”
I sensed something and quickly ducked my head.
Fwip fwip fwip!
Immediately after, short arrows streaked past where my head had been. They were coated with a sticky black liquid at their tips.
―A pathetic trap.
Onyx spoke in a dismissive tone. Well, he was right—it wasn’t particularly threatening.
I could have evaded it even without subscribing to the Intuition channel.
But something felt off.
The eerie chill I’d felt just before the trap activated couldn’t have come from something so trivial.
It felt more like a premonition of something far more sinister about to emerge….
CRASH―!
Before I could even finish my thought, something burst through the wall beside me.
I reflexively stumbled backward to evade it, and as I confirmed its identity, my brow furrowed.
‘An arm?’
It was indeed an arm. An enormous, grotesquely thick arm.
Not quite as abnormally sized as the giant I’d faced before, but far too large to belong to any human.
Its identity became clear soon enough.
BOOM!
“Hmm.”
The arm’s owner revealed itself by demolishing the wall.
“Well, well.”
Under different circumstances, I might have applauded such a dramatic entrance, but I had no such luxury.
Murderous intent poured from its eyes in torrents.
As expected, the moment our eyes met, it swung its massive arm at me without hesitation.
CRASH―!
I moved swiftly backward to dodge the attack while assessing the creature.
Its entire body was grotesquely muscular.
Not the kind of physique from mere exercise, but rather as if it had been subjected to some illicit enhancement drug.
But what troubled me more were the stitching scars crisscrossing its body.
As if multiple bodies had been stitched together into one.
In one hand, it wielded something resembling a Chinese cleaver.
‘Is this thing a serial killer?’
That was the only conclusion its appearance and murderous aura suggested.
―Hmm, is it undead?
Onyx’s voice reached me then.
I dodged another attack before responding.
“Undead?”
―Yes. Look how violently it’s moving, yet it’s not breathing at all.
“Ah. You’re right.”
I hadn’t noticed immediately because of how forcefully it was attacking, but he was correct.
―That’s probably why you didn’t sense it hiding either. Any living creature would emit signals I could detect, but I felt nothing from this thing.
“True enough.”
Living creatures inevitably leak certain signals—breath, the scent of nervous sweat, heartbeat.
Yet even as I’d passed near this creature, I’d detected nothing. Not a single sign of its presence.
“Grrrrr….”
As I conversed with Onyx while focusing solely on evading attacks, the creature suddenly halted.
As if frustrated by my evasions, it opened its mouth wide, attempting something.
As if annoyed by the way it keeps slipping away, it opens its mouth wide and tries to do something.
The moment I saw it, I reflexively swung my sword.
“Grrr…!”
Clang!
The undead, about to unleash a cry, hastily raised its arm to block the attack. I couldn’t deliver a fatal blow, but at least I could silence its scream.
―Good judgment. It clearly looked like it was trying to summon the others.
“Yeah. That’s what it seemed like.”
It definitely looked that way.
And from that last attack, I could tell.
“This is about all it has.”
Compared to the monsters that typically appeared on Floor 20, it was certainly stronger.
Rather than face it head-on, the orthodox strategy would be to evade skillfully and escape.
“Well, this should be fine.”
―Huh? What should be fine?
“It shouldn’t take that long.”
Of course, I didn’t need to follow the orthodox approach.
“Let’s finish this quickly.”
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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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