I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 35

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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 35.
I retraced my steps back the way I’d come.
The moment I descended past the floor I’d originally been on, a metallic scent of blood reached my nostrils from somewhere.
―Doesn’t seem very old, Master.
I nodded at Onyx’s observation.
Before my awakening, I’d rarely encountered the stench of blood in my life, but things were different now.
Just from the smell alone, I could roughly gauge how long ago it had occurred.
This was the scent of blood spilled not long ago.
“There might be other climbers around.”
I adjusted my grip on my sword and slowly made my way into the Corridor.
The mission briefing contained no explicit mention of other climbers’ presence, but neither did it deny it.
―But even if there are other climbers, they wouldn’t pose a threat to you, would they?
“Normally, that would be true. But I can’t be hasty. There could be another exception like me.”
The serial killers, at least, didn’t concern me.
I’d already faced one and had a decent grasp of their power level.
On floors with this concept, the serial killers deployed as main monsters typically didn’t vary much between individuals.
Even when differences existed, they fell within a certain range.
Climbers, on the other hand, were completely unpredictable.
After all, wasn’t I myself far above the average climber’s level on this current floor?
There was one more thing I needed to be wary of.
‘Sargon.’
That wicked god was surely still watching me. I had no way of knowing when he might send another apostle or prepare another trap.
Of course, that didn’t mean I intended to cower like a coward.
If that were my plan, I would have cleared the floor quickly from the start and been done with it.
I was simply moving with sufficient caution.
About halfway through the Corridor.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
“Kugh!”
“Gasp, gasp! P-please… save me…!”
Screams echoed from ahead. Almost simultaneously, I saw several people rushing toward me from the darkness-shrouded Corridor beyond.
They were being pursued by something.
A towering frame that nearly scraped the ceiling. A gaunt, skeletal body in contrast. And where its hands should have been, cruel, razor-sharp hooks protruded from both arms.
But what truly caught my attention was the black mist seeping from its form.
‘A serial killer.’
It appeared to be one of the undead deployed in the Mansion.
Yet something about those fleeing was peculiar.
―They all seem to have lost their minds.
The undead merely plodded forward, not even bothering to swing the vicious hooks on its hands.
But those running away writhed in agony as though they were being attacked.
“Hmm.”
I focused on the black mist pouring from the undead’s body.
Every time it touched someone, they shrieked in unbearable agony.
Now that I looked closer, the undead didn’t seem to be pursuing the people with full force at all.
Even though it could reach them by simply extending its arm, it was following them at a leisurely pace.
As if it were savoring their suffering.
Whoosh—
Then, belatedly, the undead noticed my presence.
And the people saw me at almost the same moment.
“P-please…!”
They desperately stretched their arms toward me. Simultaneously, the undead raised its hooked arm high.
Seeing that, I understood what the undead intended to do.
So I pulled a throwing knife from my inventory and hurled it swiftly.
Clang—!
The knife and hook collided, producing a sharp metallic ring.
“Eek!”
The person near where the knife fell flinched in surprise, but if I hadn’t thrown it, he would already be impaled on that hook.
The moment the undead spotted new prey, it had immediately tried to execute its existing prey.
“Come this way.”
I drew another throwing knife and spoke to the people.
They hurriedly changed direction.
Of course, the undead didn’t simply watch. It raised its arm and simultaneously spread the black mist widely around.
“Uuuugh.”
“Gasp, g-get away!”
The people’s pace noticeably slowed. Some showed signs of confusion, while others trembled in pain.
Watching them, I pushed off the ground.
Clang!
The knife I threw again deflected the undead’s hooked arm once more.
If it continued to ignore me and target others, I’d make it clear.
Who the real threat was.
My blade became engulfed in blue lightning.
* * *
Debbie was a fairly promising Awakener.
She wasn’t on the level of those prospects who casually received contracts worth hundreds of millions. Such individuals were truly rare.
In fact, simply awakening an ability sufficient to help climb The Tower was enough to be evaluated as genuinely talented.
More than half of all Awakeners possessed abilities that were either too weak or offered little assistance in climbing The Tower.
Debbie’s ability, on the other hand, was combustion. She could produce fairly powerful flames. And she had been athletic to begin with.
Moreover, her fellow climbers were Awakeners of similar caliber to her.
So she thought they could clear this floor without much trouble.
Until a terrifying monster emerged from the darkness.
The moment they first clashed, they realized this was a monster they absolutely couldn’t face. And they understood too late.
Why did the mission description say to escape while avoiding the killers?
So they abandoned any thought of confrontation and tried to flee immediately. But even that proved impossible.
The moment the mist pouring from the creature’s body touched them, an overwhelming agony crashed down.
One of their companions even collapsed, thrashing at empty air as if seeing illusions, before the monster’s hook pierced through their skull.
What made it even more terrifying was that the creature didn’t seem to be exerting itself at all.
After the first casualty, the monster merely maintained a steady distance, chasing them as if savoring the sight of their suffering and desperate struggle for survival.
At this rate, we’d all die.
…As that thought crossed my mind, he appeared.
An East Asian man with sharp, piercing eyes.
Debbie instinctively reached out to him, crying out for salvation.
Crackle—!
He deflected the creature’s attacks in rapid succession, then without hesitation, raised a sword crackling with lightning and charged at the monster.
What happened next was even more astonishing.
“Gaaaahhh!”
The creature was shrieking.
Each time his sword connected with the monster’s body, chunks of black mist were cleaved away.
Occasionally the black mist touched the man’s body, but he merely frowned slightly.
As if it had no effect on him whatsoever.
Crack!
And so, when the man’s blade finally severed the creature’s neck.
Debbie found herself weeping without realizing it—tears mingling relief and awe.
“Phew.”
The creature they hadn’t dared to face, yet the man didn’t even appear exhausted after the battle ended.
The fight itself had concluded in mere minutes.
After wiping the blood from his blade, he turned his gaze toward Debbie and the others, asking.
“Are you all right?”
“Y-yes!”
“Thank you! Thank you for helping us!”
“We’re truly grateful!”
They all seemed to share Debbie’s impression, offering their thanks in voices filled with awe.
The man waved his hand dismissively and replied.
“It’s fine. I was planning to deal with these creatures anyway.”
He paused briefly in thought, then spoke again.
“Since I’m going to descend all the way down and eliminate everything in my path, feel free to come down after waiting about twenty or thirty minutes.”
“Th-thank you so much!”
Debbie answered with a voice full of emotion.
Even one act of help would have warranted endless gratitude.
But to think ahead for them like this—her heart could only overflow with appreciation.
Of course, they weren’t so selfish as to express their thanks in words alone.
“This is a small token of our gratitude.”
“Please take this as well!”
They retrieved various mana stones from their inventories—some large, some small—as they spoke.
The man wore a troubled expression again, but ultimately accepted them with a nod and took the stones.
Honestly, it was far from generous compensation. Most of them had been investing their earnings directly into equipment.
But rather than demand more, the man simply departed without further comment.
About thirty minutes later.
As they descended further, they witnessed it.
“Good heavens.”
A creature far larger than the monster they’d faced lay sprawled before them, its neck severed clean through.
* * *
“The difficulty is higher than I expected.”
Upon reaching the 1st Floor, I muttered to myself while observing the undead corpse sprawled across the ground.
By the time I’d descended this far, I’d already slain five undead.
On the previous floor, two undead had emerged simultaneously, and the ones on the 1st Floor were far more formidable than any I’d encountered before.
“Even if the mission is just about escaping, isn’t the difficulty level excessively high?”
―Hmm. Isn’t that because you’ve been descending directly without deviating, master?
“Directly?”
―The Corridor had an enormous number of rooms. It seems highly probable that something useful for escaping would be hidden in one of them.
“Hmm. That could be the case.”
In fact, Onyx was right.
First, in this mission, climbers are summoned to locations where no undead are present nearby.
Moreover, there’s always a room placed nearby containing something that would aid in escaping.
With good luck, one could escape without ever glimpsing a single undead.
I simply had no need for such caution, and the previous party, being unfamiliar with this type of mission, had moved far too recklessly.
“Well, regardless. I’ve gathered everything I need, so let’s depart.”
A silver key hung from my hand as I spoke.
It was the reward I’d received for completing the additional Quest—the reward leading to the Hidden Floor.
I could enter the Hidden Floor directly from this location if I wished.
But I decided to return to my Unique Space first. There was something I needed to do.
Since I’d already located the exit, I made my way toward it.
Soon, I arrived before a massive door.
Creak—
As I pushed the door open, the sound of aged hinges accompanied a blinding white light that filled my vision. Then a message appeared.
[You have completed the objective of the 27th Floor.]
[You receive the bone of ‘???’ as a reward.]
[Beyond mere escape, you have overwhelmingly subdued all of the Mansion’s murderers in a short time and obtained a clue leading to the Darkness of the Mansion.]
[You have achieved the clear rank ‘SSS’.]
[As an additional reward, you receive refined dark essence.]
Once again, I’d smoothly achieved the highest grade.
Though not in record time, my complete elimination of all the murderers had apparently earned high marks.
I nodded in satisfaction and immediately chose to return to the Unique Space.
A brief message flashed across my vision before everything went dark.
“Master!”
When my eyes opened again, Baek-seol greeted me.
“You’ve finished clearing a floor and returned?”
I smiled and answered.
“Yeah. Just one floor.”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Not a scratch. How about you—anything happen while I was gone?”
“No! I was thinking about how to decorate the space!”
Given that the space hadn’t changed much, she seemed to be deliberating quite carefully.
I chuckled and nodded, then sat down in a nearby chair.
“I have something to do for a bit, so just rest.”
“Understood!”
Baek-seol withdrew without protest, careful not to disturb me.
With her gone, I retrieved something I’d been putting off for a long time.
[Would you like to attend a one-on-one lecture?]
It was Arthur’s remaining lecture.
I’d judged that I’d finally reached a level where I could handle the next one.
Without hesitation, I answered yes.
Whoooosh—!
Instantly, time around me slowed while my vision began darkening from the edges inward.
As the surroundings transformed into an entirely different hue,
Arthur materialized before me.
―It’s been a while.
“Huh?”
―Were the Heavenly Demon’s teachings satisfactory?
His tone carried a faintly sharp edge.

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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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