I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 93

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

#Episode 93.
I looked up at my opponent.
The being who called itself my Master made no effort to conceal its hostility.
Even just from the torrential aura swirling around it, I could sense this was no ordinary existence—yet I found myself smiling.
“Good. A straightforward fight is far better than this.”
I raised my sword and shifted my stance, keeping the blade sharp and my center of gravity steady, deliberate and unwavering.
The floating being threw its head back and laughed.
―A sword? Do you mock your Master with such a weapon? Or do you believe a blade alone is sufficient? Either way, your arrogance knows no bounds!
It seemed my opponent was superimposing another figure onto me.
And I thought I might know who that other figure was.
We were inside Phatalith’s Trial, and this castle itself bore the name Fatalis’s Castle.
Moreover, each of the previous floors appeared to be constructed from someone’s memories.
I suspected these were Fatalis’s memories.
‘Perhaps this being as well.’
Could this be a manifestation of the Master from within Fatalis’s recollection?
Of course, this was merely speculation. It was possible Fatalis had extracted memories from another being entirely to construct this trial.
Rumble!
But that wasn’t what mattered now.
The aura swirling around my floating opponent was growing stronger by the moment.
―Dangerous magical power.
Even Onyx commented upon witnessing it. And in that instant.
Whoooosh!
Crimson mana erupted from my opponent’s body like an explosion.
A violent wave, as if reality itself were warping, pushed against the space around us.
Though my opponent remained motionless, an immense pressure bore down upon my body.
Yet I did not retreat.
Instead, I began moving forward slowly, deliberately.
Tap—.
The sound of my footstep echoed through the vast chamber.
The crimson aura swept over me as I approached.
―Excellent. Prove it to me! Whether you have already surpassed your Master, or whether you possess the right to ascend to greater heights!
With that, my opponent cried out in a ringing voice and thrust the staff in its hand forward.
Whoosh!
Crimson flames began blooming in the air—hundreds of them, at the very least.
The moment I saw them, I lowered my stance and kicked off the ground.
Boom—!
Simultaneously, the crimson flames transformed into arrows and rained down upon me.
Explosions erupted wherever the flames struck.
Yet I evaded every attack, closing the distance to my opponent at tremendous speed.
Through the flames and smoke spreading across the chamber.
Whoosh!
I burst through it and surged forward until I was right in front of my opponent.
Clang!
But my blade never touched their body.
Just before the sword made contact, a crimson barrier materialized and blocked the attack.
Boom!
The barrier’s powerful recoil sent my body flying backward.
I didn’t resist it, instead dropping to the ground before rolling away from the flaming arrows streaking toward me.
―It’s like an automatically triggered defensive barrier.
“I felt the same thing.”
I answered Onyx while continuing to run.
If they were reacting based on sight, their eyes would have been tracking my movements before I swung the blade. But they weren’t. They couldn’t keep up with my speed.
It was likely a system where the barrier deployed automatically in response to attacks.
―How will you break through the defense, Master?
I chuckled at Onyx’s curious question and replied.
“Why ask something like that?”
The answer was already decided.
I dodged a few more flaming arrows, then leaped toward my opponent again and swung my blade.
Clang!
Once again, the barrier blocked my attack. Simultaneously, my body was launched upward by the recoil.
I was using the barrier’s recoil to my advantage.
Clang!
I swung again. The attack was blocked once more.
This time, I used the recoil to spin my body.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Then I channeled that rotational momentum directly into striking the barrier repeatedly.
―Futile effort!
Of course, my opponent wasn’t just watching passively.
They fired flaming arrows at me while suspended in the air, and simultaneously raised their staff to unleash a new spell.
Boom!
I evaded all the arrows, but a powerful shockwave erupted right in front of me, sending me hurtling backward.
Unable to land precise hits on such a mobile target, they’d switched to a spell that struck an entire area.
It was a surprisingly effective strategy against me.
“Ptui!”
I spat out blood and wiped my mouth. That last attack had been quite intense.
In truth, each flaming arrow packed considerable power—I’d only survived because I’d dodged well.
The monster I’d faced on the second floor had been troublesome enough, but comparing it to this entity hovering in the air was almost embarrassing.
Yet I wasn’t particularly discouraged.
My attention lay elsewhere.
‘The barrier weakened for a moment.’
As I struck the barrier with my sword, I noticed it growing visibly thinner in real time.
It appeared the barrier weakened as damage accumulated—a structure designed to degrade with each blow.
I committed this observation to memory and began formulating a new strategy to exploit this weakness.
―You wretched rat! Where have all the secret techniques you’ve mastered gone?
At that moment, my opponent cried out again, their voice trembling with rage.
I let out a soft chuckle at their outburst.
“Don’t worry. Even if I forget those petty techniques, defeating you poses no problem whatsoever.”
―Such arrogance pierces the very heavens!
Even as we exchanged words, my opponent continued their relentless assault, yet I evaded every single attack with ease.
Then, closing the distance once more, I struck their barrier repeatedly.
Boom!
Occasionally my opponent unleashed shockwaves in surprise attacks, but I sensed them coming and sidestepped. There was no reason to fall for the same trick twice.
Clang!
After striking the barrier roughly twenty times, what had been pitch black now shimmered with a pale gray hue.
It flickered unstably, appearing as though it could shatter at any moment.
―Unleash the tempest!
Yet instead of reinforcing the barrier, my opponent conjured another spell entirely.
Whoooosh!
Wind began to swirl violently around my opponent’s form.
This was no ordinary breeze.
Sharp as blades, it tore through the walls and floor, leaving jagged cracks in its wake.
The intent was clear—to prevent me from closing in at all.
―Quite a skilled mage, I must admit.
“Is that so?”
―Fast casting speed, formidable power, and likely several trump cards hidden away. Mages are that sort of breed, after all.
I nodded as I listened to Onyx’s assessment.
Now that I thought about it, this was my first true battle against a proper mage.
I’d faced opponents who wielded magic before, but none who commanded it with such fluidity and mastery as this one.
‘Before, it felt like they were merely incorporating magic into combat.’
Fighting a mage certainly felt different. Rather than clashing directly, they prepared multiple techniques and deployed them strategically based on the situation.
But I had no intention of playing along with their approach.
Boom!
I pushed off the ground once more and charged toward my opponent.
Flaming arrows streaked through the air and blade-like winds whirled around me, yet I paid them no mind.
Because I could see the flow.
When one could read the flow, approaching the opponent while minimizing damage became far from difficult.
In an instant, I reached my opponent again and swung my sword.
Clang!
My blade struck the barrier once more.
I spun through the air, my sword tracing an arc as I continued my assault.
A deafening clang!
Blocked again.
A violent shockwave erupted outward!
A powerful shockwave burst forth.
Normally, I would have sensed the shockwave in advance and withdrawn, but this time I did not.
“Ugh!”
Instead, I endured the pain and turned that impact against itself, driving my blade toward the barrier.
A sharp metallic ring!
At last, I succeeded in shattering the barrier.
My blade closed the distance to my opponent in an instant.
―How foolish!
But in that moment, a new barrier unfurled above my opponent’s body.
All this time, refraining from reforming the barrier had been for this singular moment.
The plan was to catch me off-guard and land a decisive blow.
Though not as resilient as a carefully woven barrier, it was sturdy enough to withstand several attacks.
Yet in my opponent’s eyes, a flicker of bewilderment suddenly crossed their gaze.
Everything had gone according to plan, yet inexplicably, a smile had bloomed at the corners of my mouth.
A crackling surge of electricity!
In the next instant, azure lightning poured forth from my body.
The electricity coursed through my blade, and I wielded it with a precision entirely unlike before.
Infused with the essence of Shattering Soul.
My opponent felt the power contained within that strike transcend all previous dimensions, and hastily cancelled their ongoing spell, layering additional barriers in desperation.
“How foolish indeed.”
Had I merely prepared a stronger attack, multiple barriers might have sufficed.
But all this time, I had not been battering the barrier simply to break it.
I had seen it clearly.
The flow of the barrier.
The gaps I had identified perfectly through countless strikes.
My blade slipped through!
It passed through the barrier as if nothing existed there at all.
My opponent attempted something in desperation, but no matter how swift their casting, it could never outpace the blade’s advance.
A wet puncture!
My blade pierced straight through my opponent’s body.
And it did not stop there—azure lightning erupted from the wound. I had determined that merely striking a vital point would not suffice.
―AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
My opponent shrieked helplessly as electricity coursed through the blade, unable to mount any defense.
The suspended body began its descent toward the ground.
Yet I remained vigilant, delivering a sweeping slash across their form.
A heavy impact!
When my opponent struck the ground, they did not move again.
Is this truly the end?
Such thoughts lasted only a moment.
Whoooooosh!
From the collapsed body, crimson mana suddenly surged forth once more.
‘Was it playing dead?’
Jung Han-sung immediately swung his sword again. Yet no matter how many times he severed the opponent’s body, the mana showed no sign of stopping.
Rather, it poured out faster and faster, coalescing into a single form in the empty air.
―You are… a monster.
―I cannot accept you.
―Come with me.
Three voices echoed simultaneously.
Not through my ears, but resonating directly within my mind.
Soon, the crimson mana that had taken human form scattered with a piercing sound, rushing toward Jung Han-sung.
I couldn’t discern what it was, but I could sense its effect was far from ordinary.
It had to be the opponent’s final gambit.
“Hah.”
Yet Jung Han-sung did not evade it. Instead, he moved the sword in his hand.
Screeeech!
With the first form of the Soul-Rending Blade, I pierced through the crimson mana. But it did not scatter—instead, it clung to me once more.
Crash!
So I immediately unleashed the second form, slashing through it. And at once, I deployed the third form.
Whoooosh!
The crimson mana trembled, then surged toward Jung Han-sung once again.
And Jung Han-sung began repeating the forms he had unleashed thus far.
Thrust, slash, slash again—pressing forward.
The crimson mana clung tenaciously, relentlessly.
Jung Han-sung felt it.
The obsession, rage, hatred, envy, and jealousy contained within that mana.
It was not mere mana. It was an amalgamation of every negative emotion.
Hideous feelings that, by their very existence, stained everything around them with their own hue.
Yet Jung Han-sung’s sword remained unwavering even as it continuously clashed with that mana.
The blade, infused with azure lightning, extended straight and true, piercing through the mana.
Crash!
Then, at some point, the crimson mana trembled and began to scatter. Jung Han-sung watched, his sword still extended.
All those negative emotions dispersing into nothingness.
And when I looked ahead once more.
―You’ve arrived.
―At last.
Before me stood the two puppets I had seen on the 1st Floor. But they were not standing upright as before.
Someone was holding those puppets.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————