I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 68

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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 68.
The number of soldiers visible across the Plains was truly staggering.
So the Heavenly Demon had expected Jung Han-sung to ask a question—whether he needed to defeat all those soldiers, or something along those lines.
But Jung Han-sung did not.
“Understood.”
He simply gazed at the Heavenly Demon with a resolute expression.
At that sight, the Heavenly Demon let out a hollow laugh without thinking, then raised his sword.
His expectations had been confounded, but he found the outcome far from displeasing.
Rather, that unwavering spirit was a sight to behold.
―Very well. Then I shall demonstrate three fundamental techniques in succession.
The Heavenly Demon immediately raised his sword and assumed an equestrian stance.
Jung Han-sung felt a far more crushing pressure from the Heavenly Demon standing motionless in that stance than from the hundreds of soldiers charging at him.
Whoosh―.
The Heavenly Demon then extended his sword forward from the equestrian stance.
The blade advanced at neither a slow nor a swift pace, piercing through a single point.
The first technique: Soul-Piercing Flash.
Swish.
Next, the Heavenly Demon lifted the extended sword upward, then brought it down in a cutting motion.
Soul-Splitting Thunderfall—a name that belied the leisurely movement of the blade, yet Jung Han-sung swallowed hard.
He could perceive it clearly.
Had he stood before the Heavenly Demon, he could never have blocked that deceptively slow slash.
He might barely evade it if he exerted his full strength.
But the Heavenly Demon’s movements were not yet complete.
He now demonstrated the third fundamental technique Jung Han-sung must master.
Lifting the downward-cutting blade to mid-height, he rotated his body lightly and slashed in all directions with his sword.
Only then did the Heavenly Demon lower his sword and speak.
―The third technique: Soul-Carving Fierce Wheel. Did you observe it properly?
“…Yes. I did.”
Jung Han-sung nodded with a hardened expression.
Soul-Piercing Flash, Soul-Splitting Thunderfall, Soul-Carving Fierce Wheel.
At first glance, these three techniques might appear as nothing more than a thrust, a slash, and a spinning cut.
Yet to Jung Han-sung’s eyes, trained by Arthur in the fundamentals of swordsmanship and how to perceive flow, they revealed far more.
‘The flow twists and advances with the blade, bending all things to its will.’
The sword the Heavenly Demon had displayed was, in essence, a force that warped the very principles of existence.
―Practice sufficiently before you speak again. After that, I shall begin your trial.
“Understood.”
Jung Han-sung nodded and raised his sword.
It was impossible to perfectly replicate what the Heavenly Demon had shown in a single attempt.
But grasping even a thread of it—that, I could do.
As I had with the previous techniques.
If the Heavenly Demon had heard this, he would have scoffed with exasperation once more.
It was only natural that Jung Han-sung could not reach the level of skill the Heavenly Demon had displayed in a single stroke.
After all, he had unveiled the swordsmanship that the legendary prodigy of ages past had once mastered to the absolute limit.
Yet it was equally true that what Jung Han-sung had learned was far from merely a “thread” of understanding.
Otherwise, the Heavenly Demon would have had no reason to be surprised.
In his prior training, Jung Han-sung had already perfectly grasped both the essence and form of the first and second techniques. All that remained was to become accustomed to them.
And so it was.
For this reason, the Heavenly Demon had prepared this trial.
Though he called it a trial, in truth he had emptied his own coffers to provide Jung Han-sung with a training ground.
It was unavoidable.
This was the first time the Heavenly Demon had witnessed such talent. He harbored no regret over the spent fortune.
Only curiosity and anticipation—wondering how far this man could advance.
Four hours had passed.
Jung Han-sung lowered his blade.
Sweat dripped steadily from his brow after wielding his sword without pause.
Yet rather than sitting to rest, Jung Han-sung turned to the Heavenly Demon standing to one side and spoke.
“I am ready to begin.”
―Rest? By the way, you only get one chance.
There was no need to verify whether he had mastered all three techniques.
The Heavenly Demon had already confirmed long before that Jung Han-sung could execute all three techniques properly.
At his current level, ordinary disciples would likely have believed Jung Han-sung had trained the Soul-Cleaving Sword for years.
“It is fine.”
Jung Han-sung answered the Heavenly Demon’s question with calm composure.
The Heavenly Demon simply nodded instead of asking further, then slowly raised his hand.
―One hour remains. Then, let us begin.
The moment the Heavenly Demon’s raised hand descended once more.
―Kyaaaaaaaa!
The soldiers who had been motionless sprang back to life.
Jung Han-sung, standing not far away, remained unperturbed and slowly assumed his stance.
At first glance, it appeared reckless.
Hundreds of enraged soldiers surged toward him like a tidal wave, a torrent of overwhelming force.
Yet Jung Han-sung did not retreat.
Instead, he too stepped forward.
Shhhhwack!
At the moment of collision, Jung Han-sung’s blade pierced through the throat of the soldier who had raised his sword first.
A thrust as swift as lightning.
But in that brief instant, three more soldiers encircled him.
Jung Han-sung’s response was simple.
Shhhhwack!
With a light spin in place, his blade swept through the air, and the soldiers surrounding him clutched their throats and fell back as if choreographed.
Yet the soldiers continued, endlessly surging toward Jung Han-sung.
Then Jung Han-sung extended his leg once more.
Whoooosh!
And in the next instant, Jung Han-sung’s body stretched forward in a fluid motion, his blade severing the necks of every soldier in its path.
Shattered Soul Step was a movement technique the Heavenly Demon had devised to complement the Shattered Soul Blade.
Like the blade itself, it was neither intricate nor ornate.
Crack!
But it was swift and devastating.
Jung Han-sung crushed the enemies blocking his way and surged across the battlefield without pause, a whirlwind of destruction.
The soldiers, seized by inexplicable fury, felt no fear, no hesitation—they charged at Jung Han-sung with reckless abandon.
They were willing to throw away their lives if it meant inflicting even a minor wound upon him.
Jung Han-sung’s response was simple.
Whoooosh!
He swung his blade.
His feet never stopped moving.
No matter how fierce the enemy’s assault, like a gust of wind or a beam of light, Jung Han-sung could not be broken as he danced across the battlefield.
The Heavenly Demon watched from the elevated terrain, arms folded across his chest.
A smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.
“His blade grows sharper even now.”
I knew Jung Han-sung was the type to grow stronger through actual combat.
I had witnessed it before, after all.
But I never expected him to develop at such a rapid pace. And yet he has already exceeded my expectations multiple times.
Whoooosh!
In that moment, several more soldiers lost their heads to Jung Han-sung’s blade.
Even without watching to the end, I could tell—that one would pass this trial with ease.
And my assessment proved accurate.
Precisely forty minutes had elapsed.
“Huff… huff…”
Standing alone on the vast Grassland were only Jung Han-sung and the Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon walked slowly toward Jung Han-sung, who was breathing heavily, and withdrew something from his robes.
―Excellent. This is the promised gift.
It was nothing other than an old key.
It looked as though it might crumble at a single tap, yet Jung Han-sung sensed an odd aura emanating from it.
“A key… I see.”
―Yes. The key to the Demon Heart Pavilion.
The Heavenly Demon handed it to Jung Han-sung and spoke again.
―Use it only after you have rested sufficiently and your mind and body are both at peace. The method of use will come to you naturally.
“…Understood.”
Jung Han-sung carefully placed the Demon Heart Pavilion key into his inventory.
The Heavenly Demon gazed at him for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
―…Go. When we meet next time, know that it will be far more severe than this.
Various words came to mind, but the Heavenly Demon simply turned away with a flourish.
It would be unbecoming of the King of Demons to pathetically beg for subscriptions.
…There was always a reason why his subscription ratings perpetually hovered at the absolute bottom.
“I will keep that in mind.”
But Jung Han-sung, unaware of the Heavenly Demon’s true thoughts, merely bowed his head in gratitude.
Slowly, the surrounding scenery began to distort.
Whoosh―.
When I came to my senses, I had already returned to my Unique Space.
“Phew.”
Only after confirming my return did I stagger over to a chair and sit down.
“I’m exhausted….”
Even on normal days, I would collapse immediately after training, but today—with both training and actual combat—I felt as though I might pass out at any moment.
I considered returning to reality right then, but shook my head.
Normally I preferred to sleep outside whenever possible, but when my condition was this poor, resting in The Tower was more efficient.
Besides, I had returned to Earth just before and ended up sleeping far longer than expected.
‘To the Territory.’
So I rose and opened a portal leading to my Territory.
Whoosh―.
Rising again, I crossed the portal and entered the Territory.
“Come one, come all! Fresh mushrooms foraged from deep within the Forest!”
“How much venison do we have left?”
“Why is wheat so expensive?”
The moment I arrived, I was startled once by the noise assaulting my ears, and a second time by the bustling Village before me.
“Master!”
Baek-seol came rushing over to me as I stood there, bewildered.
Only then did I gather my wits and ask her.
“What’s going on? Why are there so many people?”
“They’re visitors and settlers to the Village!”
“Visitors and settlers?”
“Yes! As the Village’s Prestige increased, people started arriving!”
At that, I immediately opened the Village management window to check.
The number that appeared was higher than I expected.
[Current Prestige: 850]
100 is Tier 1. 250 is Tier 2. 500 is Tier 3. And 1000 is Tier 4.
‘The last time I checked, it was around 470, wasn’t it?’
So during my absence, the value had increased by a whopping 480 points.
“Why did it increase so much?”
“You should be able to see the detailed breakdown in the status window!”
“Really? Let me see.”
Jung Han-sung wandered for a moment before quickly locating the stat changes just as Baek-seol had indicated.
[Rare Herb Collection +5]
[Rare Herb Collection +5]
[Rare Ore Mining +5]
[Rare Ore Mining +5]
For the most part, the stat changes related to rare herb and ore collection were the most frequent.
‘So the rare herbs are for dark magic, and the rare ores are magical stones?’
I wondered why my fame would increase from mining those, but I found the explanation readily available.
‘Territories where rare resources are collected receive considerable attention from inhabitants.’
So my fame stat wasn’t rising because I’d done something particularly honorable.
It simply increased the more well-known I became.
Which meant that having abundant rare resources also contributed to my fame stat.
If rare resources were plentiful, the territory would grow wealthy, and if the territory grew wealthy, the inhabitants would benefit as well.
However, for identical resources, the stat gains diminished over time before disappearing entirely.
It wasn’t something that would increase indefinitely.
Moreover, the fame increase wasn’t solely due to resource collection.
[Rare Resource Sales +50]
[Lord’s Fame Increase +100]
Rare resource sales. And lord—meaning my own fame increase.
I immediately grasped what that meant.
‘Is that referring to the transaction in the Neutral Zone?’
I hadn’t revealed my identity during the transaction, but my fame still seemed to have increased.
‘Right. If I’d revealed myself, it probably would’ve increased more than double.’
Of course, I had no intention of exposing my identity in the Neutral Zone just to gain fame points.
That would become far too bothersome.
In any case, I grasped the general situation, closed the window, and looked ahead again.
Excluding the undead, the village had fewer than ten residents, but now there were easily over twenty people.
“Would you like me to brief you on the detailed status?”
“No.”
I shook my head at Baek-seol’s question, then spoke as I moved forward.
“I’m going to get some rest first.”
I looked like I was about to collapse right then and there, status assessment or not.
Baek-seol, belatedly noticing my condition, urged me to rest well before withdrawing.
Thus I quickly returned to Han-sung’s Home and surrendered to sleep.
I awoke roughly seven hours later.
The moment I rose, I stretched and walked out of the house.
“Wow! So these are those famous undead laborers?”
“Seems like it!”
Upon waking, I opened my eyes wide at the sight of so many additional people.
‘What is all this?’
The population had doubled.

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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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