I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 91

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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 91.
The ground trembled as if it might split apart, and the creature dragged its contorted limbs toward me.
A body that seemed to barely maintain human form, bones jutting through twisted joints, and a grotesque face where multiple facial features were jumbled together.
―Become one… become one… Kyaaaaaaaa!
It released an earsplitting shriek and stomped the ground.
Boom!
Debris scattered as the floor where I stood shattered. The creature had smashed the ground with both arms.
But I was already moving before the creature could even lift its arms.
Lowering my body and tracing a semicircular arc, I retreated and immediately swung my sword.
Shhwaaack!
―Gaaaaaaah!
With a satisfying impact, the creature shrieked in agony. One of its entire arms had been severed in a single strike.
But despite the dramatic reaction, the damage the creature sustained was surprisingly minimal.
Squelch!
The severed shoulder floated upward into the air as if rewinding, then—splat—adhered to the flesh extending from the creature’s arm.
The speed at which the flesh regenerated was nothing short of abnormal.
Kyaaaaaang―!
Moreover, the creature possessed surprisingly formidable physical abilities.
Each swing of its arm shattered walls into fragments, and despite its massive frame, its movements were deceptively swift.
It would be perfectly suited to serve as a boss on an ordinary floor.
‘So this thing just emerged from the start.’
I let out a hollow laugh.
No matter how I looked at it, this creature didn’t seem like the boss of this enormous castle.
At best, it might be a gatekeeper of the first threshold.
―Don’t you need a way to stop its regeneration?
Just then, Onyx posed the question.
It seemed like an attempt at advice, but I answered simply.
“No need to overthink it.”
Activating the Celestial Extreme Thunder Divine Technique, I lowered my body within the gradually slowing time.
“I’ll just cut it faster than it can regenerate.”
Swift as it was, the creature couldn’t possibly keep pace with me at this level.
Boom!
Thunder roared as I charged toward the creature.
The creature raised its arm, but now its movements appeared agonizingly slow to my eyes.
Rather than wait for the arm to swing toward me, I began attacking first.
Slash-slash-slash-slash!
My sword became a tempest.
I severed its limbs into pieces, twisted its torso, and struck its head repeatedly.
Flesh and bone erupted outward, and severed portions were carved into smaller fragments.
The creature’s form was torn to shreds before it could even scream.
I pressed forward without giving the creature even a moment’s respite, my breathing held steady as I relentlessly drove my blade forward.
As I ground the monster down with my sword in the most literal sense―
Crack!
Through the blade, I felt something distinctly foreign.
Something deep within that was far more than mere flesh.
And in that same instant, I instinctively pulled back.
Immediately after.
Shrieeeeek―!
From deep within that body, something erupted forth.
―Screeeeeech!
What shot upward with that piercing cry was neither wings nor tentacles, but a grotesque structure like black tree branches.
Those branches grew rapidly, lashing out in all directions as they unleashed their assault.
At a truly terrifying speed.
Boom-boom-boom―!
Each strike carried devastating force, shattering everything it touched as though bombs were detonating on impact.
Meanwhile, the creature’s main body writhed and regenerated.
Just from that alone, the pattern was crystal clear to me.
‘It’s buying time with those branches while recovering, and once the damage accumulates, it’ll repeat the same process all over again.’
So how to respond was already decided.
Rather than perfectly dodging every attack, the wise choice was to end this as quickly as possible.
Whoosh!
I continuously channeled my lightning technique while weaving through the branches to close in on the creature.
The closer I drew, the more branches came flying, and the faster they moved.
Near the core, they were moving fast enough to nearly match my speed even as I employed my divine technique.
The branches lashed out at me with savage ferocity.
Piercing through walls, splitting the floor, branches came from every direction.
I slipped through those gaps like the wind itself.
Crackle-pop!
Lightning trailed in my wake like afterimages, flickering brilliantly.
And thus, at last.
The creature’s core came into view.
Boom!
With the explosion of my lightning technique, my body shot upward in an instant.
Hundreds of branches surged upward in pursuit. But I paid them no mind, raising my sword high.
‘Moment of Eternity.’
A fleeting stillness.
Within that slowed time, my blade glided forward like a swimming fish.
Piercing!
I drove through the creature’s core.
From where the blade made contact, lightning erupted outward in all directions, obliterating everything in its path.
Whoooosh!
Just before the branches pierced through me.
All movement ceased.
As if time itself had frozen.
Thud.
“Phew.”
It was my breath that shattered the sudden silence.
Landing on the hardened branches, I glanced around and let out a hollow laugh.
“That was close.”
―It truly was a hair’s breadth away, Master.
“Not quite a hair’s breadth. If those branches want to reach me, they’d have to go through you first, wouldn’t they?”
As I chuckled and spoke, Onyx fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words.
Well, there was certainly danger involved as he said, but the reward was equally certain. I had eliminated the enemy with minimal effort.
‘The more strength I conserve, the better.’
If defeating this monster were all there was to this place, it would be different, but right now I had no idea what else might remain or how much.
So I needed to preserve my strength as much as possible. I wouldn’t be able to rest comfortably here anyway.
Crumble…
Then, the branch I was standing on slowly began to turn to dust and scatter.
I landed lightly on the floor beside it.
The branches extending from the monster’s body had filled nearly the entire room, so it took some time for them to disappear completely.
―There’s something here.
Moments later, something remained where the monster had turned to dust and vanished.
I approached and picked it up.
“Another key.”
It was a bronze-colored key.
I stroked my chin and pulled out the other keys.
Three keys already. A wooden key, an iron key, and a bronze key.
“I wonder what this one’s for.”
I muttered quietly and returned the key to my pocket.
For now, I planned to explore the surroundings.
“Let me know if you notice anything unusual.”
―Understood, Master.
I thoroughly searched the Second Floor, starting from the room where the monster had been.
Unfortunately, there was little to find. The Second Floor was as empty as the 1st Floor.
Eventually, after making a full circuit, I returned to the room where the monster had been.
“It seems I need to use that.”
―It appears so.
What we were referring to was the keyhole on the door.
I had known of its existence from the start but deliberately left it alone, wondering if there might be something else elsewhere.
“Let’s see.”
Jung Han-sung retrieved the keys again. He examined the keyhole on the door, then held the copper key and iron key up to it in turn.
Click—.
Neither fit.
But Jung Han-sung didn’t grow frustrated. Instead, he looked at the last remaining key and murmured to himself.
“Could it be this one?”
It was the wooden key he’d received from Chacha on the 1st Floor.
Jung Han-sung slowly inserted the wooden key into the keyhole. This time, the key slid smoothly into the opening.
Click—.
After hearing the key engage, Jung Han-sung slowly turned it.
Crack!
The moment he’d turned it all the way, the wooden key snapped.
Startled, he examined it more closely and saw that the key inserted in the hole had shattered, crumbling into dust that scattered away.
It didn’t appear to be the result of careless handling—it seemed to have been designed that way from the start.
‘Single-use, then.’
With that thought, Jung Han-sung grasped the door handle and pulled the door open.
Creak—.
Jung Han-sung’s brow furrowed at the sight that unfolded before him.
At first glance, it didn’t seem much different from before.
The wallpaper and floor were still ornate, and the buildings remained immaculate.
The only difference was that it had somehow become night outside.
Jung Han-sung looked up at the reddish lighting that illuminated the Corridor.
“Hmm.”
For now, scanning the surroundings revealed no immediate dangers.
Jung Han-sung slowly stepped out into the Corridor.
—Thinking about the 1st Floor, the Second Floor is probably empty anyway.
“Still, I should take a look around.”
If I carelessly passed by and missed an important clue, I’d have to backtrack.
Onyx didn’t contradict Jung Han-sung’s reasoning.
Having entered the Corridor, Jung Han-sung began slowly searching through the rooms on the Second Floor.
Most of the rooms were empty, just like on the 1st Floor, with nothing particularly noteworthy.
But the last room he visited was different.
“What’s this?”
The room was decorated with what appeared to be valuable gemstones.
Jung Han-sung examined them carefully, wondering if they might be another trap, but sensed nothing unusual.
—They just look like ordinary gemstones.
“Out of nowhere?”
—Could they be a reward for the floor? Isn’t Phatalith’s Trial known for having the most reliable rewards?
“Hmm.”
After a moment’s consideration, Jung Han-sung turned to leave.
—Aren’t you going to take them?
“Besides, I don’t have an inventory right now anyway, so carrying anything would just be a burden.”
I didn’t even know what it was, so it felt unsettling, and it was obvious that carrying it would be inconvenient regardless.
Without hesitation, I slipped out of the room and made my way back through the Corridor toward the center.
There, a Staircase leading to Floor 3 awaited.
I paused briefly to glance upward, then began ascending the Staircase slowly.
And when I reached the top.
“….”
I stopped short upon seeing the Corridor beyond the Staircase.
Numerous people stood there. Yet again, they were far from ordinary.
―Masks. How classical.
True to Onyx’s final murmur, they all wore masks.
Identical masks, every single one.
The masks were smooth like white porcelain, with only eye holes carved through—no mouth, no nose, no expression whatsoever.
They stood motionless in place, like sculptures.
I paused to observe them carefully.
‘Their clothing and builds are all different.’
They wore identical masks, but examining their bodies revealed they were entirely different people.
The question was why they stood so still.
I scrutinized them intently, but there was nothing more I could discern.
In the end, I decided to proceed as I always did.
To simply try engaging with them.
Whoosh―.
I moved slowly and stepped fully onto Floor 3.
I half-expected them all to turn and stare the moment my foot touched down, but nothing of the sort occurred.
So I moved slowly, walking between them. It was unavoidable if I wanted to explore Floor 3.
‘There’s still room to pass through, at least.’
Though there were quite a few people, they weren’t packed so densely that passage was impossible.
I moved carefully to avoid contact with the others as I navigated the Corridor.
After thoroughly examining the Corridor, one thing caught my eye.
‘It’s here too.’
A bronze keyhole gleaming on a door.
Considering everything I’d experienced so far, it seemed the bronze key I’d obtained on the Second Floor would work here.
So I withdrew the bronze key from my pocket.
And in that instant.
Without any warning.
Whoosh―!
Every person in the Corridor turned their head toward me in perfect unison.
“….”
I stood with the bronze key in hand, surveying my surroundings.
Beyond the masks with their eye holes, countless pupils fixed their gaze upon me.
What made it even more unsettling was that they kept their bodies perfectly still, turning only their heads to watch me.
The reason this was so disturbing was that some of them were looking in the opposite direction from where I stood.
‘The atmosphere here is genuinely eerie.’
A person with a weak heart would have felt their chest drop just from that sight alone.
But I surveyed them with a composed gaze.
Holding the copper key, I wanted to see what kind of reaction they would show.
I had expected the masked figures to rush at me.
But they didn’t.
Instead, they began to whisper in soft voices.
―That’s far enough.
―You can’t go any further.
―You don’t have the right.
―That’s not yours. Stop being greedy.
The voices didn’t enter through my ears—they burrowed directly into my mind.
―How did you even come to hold that key?
―It’s not yours.
―You’ve proven nothing.
―That’s not the way.
I furrowed my brow.
It wasn’t because of what the whispers were saying. I had little interest in such things from the start.
The reason I furrowed my brow was that the more I heard the whispers, the heavier my body felt.
It was as if something was being piled onto my shoulders, piece by piece.
And with each whisper, a feeling arose that I couldn’t ignore them—even though I myself didn’t judge them that way.
―You can’t do it.
―Take your time. It’s not like magic is the only thing that matters.
―Rest a little more.
―Don’t push yourself.
―You can’t.
The keyhole was right in front of me. Just a stretch of my hand away.
Yet for some reason, extending my hand that far felt difficult. It was as if my hand was bound tightly in chains.
Wouldn’t it be easier to let go of the key? Did I really have to insert it there?
―Someone like you climbing higher?
―There’s no answer. This is wrong.
―Staying here forever wouldn’t be a problem.
―Don’t worry. I’ll help you.
―You’re special.
―Give up.
―You are….
Amid the endless stream of whispers, I closed my eyes.
It felt as though my body was sinking into a deep mire. At some point, I could no longer feel even the anxiety.
Instead, coziness welcomed him.
Why not simply remain here? Did I truly need to climb any higher?
I felt so good. I had already accomplished so much. What reason could there be to ascend further, enduring hardship all the way?
Why climb at all?
Why reach for heights beyond…?
“There doesn’t need to be a reason.”
Then, words spilled from Jung Han-sung’s lips.
“You climb because you can.”
Light began to shimmer slowly in his reopened eyes.
Give up?
I had tried that before. I had surrendered to fleeting comfort, and I had set things down in exhaustion.
And I had felt how hollow it all was.
That must be why.
Why I continue to ascend The Tower.
Not because I harbored some grand purpose, nor because I possessed some lofty ambition.
Simply because I could climb.
Because I was curious what lay in those distant heights.
Above all, because I was capable of it.
So Jung Han-sung gathered strength in his drooping arm and lifted the key.
The masked figures’ gazes sharpened further. Whispers reverberated ceaselessly through his mind.
It felt as though hundreds, thousands of voices were pouring words directly into his brain.
Yet those gazes and whispers no longer held any sway over Jung Han-sung.
He lifted the key.
Click—!
And inserted it directly into the keyhole.

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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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