SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 23

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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 23. Welcome, Heroes! (2)
[Normal Stage Reward.]
[Blessing of the War God descends upon you!]
[You can observe the tower’s map from floors 11 to 20.]
Whoosh.
A translucent map materialized before my eyes. A sort of minimap, you might say?
Red dots and blue dots tangled together in chaotic patterns across the map. From the terrain, it seemed the red dots represented monsters and the blue dots represented human troops.
-Tsk, tsk… fine, fine. I knew some ridiculous perk was coming!
Baehureung scowled and grumbled.
-So while everyone else crawls around on the ground, you just gaze down from the heavens, is that it? Ugh, sure. Never mind building real strength—just keep scheming your little tricks. This tower’s the same as everything else: the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. The winners keep winning, and the ones who are already doing well just….
But Baehureung couldn’t sustain the grumbling.
[Hidden Stage Reward.]
[Blessing of the Human God descends upon you!]
[You can observe the names, stats, and positions of all NPCs from floors 11 to 20.]
-…Huh?
The notification of perks didn’t end there.
[Hidden Stage Reward.]
[Blessing of the Commerce God descends upon you!]
[You may select and claim one item from those existing on floors 11 to 20.]
Whoooosh!
Two lists materialized side by side next to the minimap. One displayed the names and stats of NPCs in neat rows. The other laid bare the names and effects of items with brutal clarity.
“…….”
-…….
We were at a loss for words.
“Kill them! Push forward steadily!”
“Graaaagh! Th-the goblins are throwing spears!”
On the front lines ahead, hunters fought with grim determination. Orcs shrieked, human soldiers bled. Amid the deafening chaos of the battlefield, silence settled only between Baehureung and me.
It didn’t last long.
“Ah, what a game of pure skill this is…….”
-What a goddamn luck-based pay-to-win garbage game!
Our completely opposite exclamations cut through together.
3
Theme.
Each floor of the tower has an assigned Theme.
Or maybe “genre” would make it easier to understand.
Floors 1 through 10 are literally the [Tutorial].
There are hunting grounds prepared, and even cities where you can rest at leisure. It’s the stage where beginners get accustomed to the tower.
And floors 11 through 20 are…….
‘A Demon King Invasion.’
Or a Demon King hero story.
You could call it a defense game, given that the point is to protect humanity’s empire.
‘You crush the demon king’s forces as they pour in like a pack of dogs.’
Anyway, the crucial thing is that the nature of combat has fundamentally shifted from before.
Monsters no longer wander one at a time, like they did in the beginner hunting grounds. They move in groups. They form units. They build armies.
There are only two ways to defeat a monster army.
‘Either become a lone legion strong enough to devour an entire army by yourself…….’
I looked toward the front lines.
The Sword Constellation scattered blue aura as it slaughtered monsters.
‘…or lead an army of your own and fight that way.’
I smiled quietly.
‘This time, I choose the latter path.’
I’d received quite the perks, after all.
Wouldn’t it be wasteful to just sit idle with such enormous privilege?
Of course, I had no talent for commanding armies. I’d never done it before, so that was natural. But a talent you don’t possess can always be forged.
I was perfectly confident I could develop this new skill.
“Status screen.”
Before plunging in earnest into the battlefield, I first checked my current situation.
+
Name: Kim Gongja
Rank: E-Class
Skills (5/5)
1. I Want to Be Like You (S+)
2. Regressor’s Clockwork (EX)
3. Sword Constellation (A+)
4. Goblin High Society (F)
5. Fire Caution Day and Night (A)
※Blessing of the War God is currently active.
※Blessing of the Human God is currently active.
※Blessing of the Commerce God is currently active.
+
Good.
I let a smile settle at the corner of my mouth as I spoke.
“Say, Sword Constellation. A moment ago, you cursed this game as pure luck-based garbage, didn’t you?”
-Yeah, I cursed it! You damn zombie!
“Let me show you why I said it’s a skill-based masterpiece instead.”
I pulled up the Non-Player Character list first.
According to the Blessing of the Human God, countless NPCs arranged themselves in neat order.
+
[Enjoo] Status: Conscript / Location: Level 11, Port City of Kunggur
[Karia] Status: Common Soldier / Location: Level 11, Port City of Kunggur
[Sort] Status: Serf / Location: Level 13, Barony of Panbasa
[Rafa Casavella] Status: Sergeant / Location: Level 14, Barrier Canyon Horome
[Dorf] Status: Blacksmith / Location: Level 12, Imperial Capital Hakamnea
.
.
.
+
The list sprawled across the air—tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of names.
For now it was nothing but a tangled mess, disorder incarnate.
But.
“Show only NPCs located on Level 11.”
The list understood my command and began rearranging itself.
The smaller names scattered like dust and vanished, and only what I’d requested remained—NPCs on Level 11—reappearing in the list, newly organized.
+
[Enjoo] Status: Conscript / Location: Level 11, Port City of Kunggur
[Karia] Status: Common Soldier / Location: Level 11, Port City of Kunggur
[Kort] Status: Sergeant / Location: Level 11, Port City of Kunggur
[Amalgam] Status: Conscript / Location: Level 11, Port City of Kunggur
.
.
.
+
I continued without pause.
“Sort by the rank of their Skills. Show the top 100 only.”
-Huh.
Baehureung let out a short intake of breath. He’d caught on to what I was doing. Where before he’d merely been petulant, now his expression shifted to genuine urgency.
Baehureung hurriedly tried to stop me.
-Wait! Zombie! This isn’t it. Please, let’s just grow stronger step by step and fight, yeah? Huh? Train gradually, build our strength, learn swordsmanship—isn’t that so much better?
“We can do that later.”
-Argh! Even if you’re an unscrupulous bastard, this crosses a real line! Aren’t you ashamed, bearing a name like Gongja!
“Mm. No, not particularly ashamed.”
Regardless of what Baehureung said, the list moved according to my will. Crack—crack—crack. The letters scattered into the void, then reassembled and snapped back into place.
Once the reorganization was complete, a fresh list appeared.
+
[Rohan Panbasa] Status: Commander of the Panbasa Knight Order
[Sarvas Aikim] Status: Regional Commander for Kunggur
[Jeshuar Kamancha] Status: High Knight of the Imperial Knight Order
[Tomund] Status: Senior Enlisted of the Shield Unit
.
.
.
+
Done. Almost there now.
I shouted, ignoring Baehureung’s thrashing.
“Mark NPCs with unit command skills! Top three only!”
—Aaargh! Aaaaargh!
That’s right.
I had no talent for commanding military forces myself.
But what did that matter?
If I didn’t have the skill, I could just steal it from another NPC!
+
[Sarvas Aikim] Position: Commander of the Kunggur Front
[Rohan Panbasa] Position: Commander of the Panbasa Knight Order
[Sein Kamen] Position: Colonel of the Shield Unit
+
The list that had stretched to hundreds of thousands was now down to three names.
I issued my final command to the roster.
“Mark the positions of these three on the map.”
—You con artist bastard!
The names marked through Blessing of the Human God scattered and transformed into green light, slipping cleanly into the minimap that Blessing of the War God illuminated. Perfect. The positions of NPCs with command skills were now displayed on my map.
“Okay. Now mark my current position!”
And finally, my own location.
“See? This is the kind of game that rewards practical thinking. Look how someone with just basic resourcefulness can turn a decent privilege into an absolutely excellent one—all thanks to yours truly using his head.”
—You’re messing around! Using your head? You’re just scheming like crazy!
“Heh heh. Scheming is a skill too.”
Preparations complete. No reason to hesitate now.
I spotted the nearest NPC on the map and sprinted toward him. Lucky for me, he was close by—the general who’d greeted the hunters with “Brave warriors!” when they first appeared. He was the NPC with the finest command skill.
“General Sarvas Aikim.”
“Hmm? Ah! Brave warrior from beyond worlds. What brings you here?”
The general turned from issuing orders to his adjutants to face me. His mustache was impressive. His skill would be too, I imagined.
—Run!
Baehureung shrieked.
—Flee now, you pathetic NPC fool! This isn’t a brave warrior—he’s a con man! If he gets his claws on you, he’ll drain you down to the bone!
A con man.
Living with this ghost for a few days had turned him into a full-fledged Korean.
“I’m honored you believe in me as a warrior, General. There’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
“Speak freely! Thanks to you all, a battle we thought hopeless now shows promise of victory. If it lies within my power, I shall fulfill any request with gladness.”
“Please. Kill me.”
The general’s eyes widened.
“What do you mean?”
“Truth is, I have a final resort. A kind of self-detonation. If I end my life, divine blessing will descend upon the entire battlefield. Once that blessing activates, the Empire is guaranteed victory.”
I made my expression as grave as I could. Surprisingly, expressing emotions this way was simple—I just had to recall the moment I burned to death at Yeom Emperor’s hands, and my face would naturally harden, my voice turning somber.
—No! That’s a lie! This zombie bastard has no such self-detonation technique!
Sigh.
The pathetic ghost who died in the tower with only a hundred floors remaining should just stay quiet.
“Such… such a blessing exists? But I cannot—killing a brave warrior’s life with my own hands is unthinkable!”
“General Sarvas Aikim. Think about what matters more. Whether you draw your blade or not, I will take my own life. It’s the surest way to help the Empire.”
I spoke with grave conviction.
“I’m asking this of you as a favor.”
“A favor…?”
“You’re the commander bearing the weight of this port, General. No one desires the Empire’s victory more than you do. Rather than take my own life with my own hand or fall to some vile monster, I want to entrust my fate to you, the one bearing responsibility for this battle.”
……
“We have no time. Please!”
The general’s face turned anguished.
“For all that I must seek the Empire’s survival, to have to claim the life of one who traveled with such effort from another world…”
—Hey, hey! You believe that? Ugh, damn it! You really believe him? Is there really not a single trustworthy person in the universe that you’d believe a zombie like Kim like this? Really?
“It must be true that our world is cursed. The coming of the Demon King from legend alone, the endless flood of monsters, and now this—having to claim a brave warrior’s life—it must all be the work of a curse…”
—That curse in your own damn head is what’s cursed!
“Ah, divine powers. Please do not forgive us our sins…”
The general sighed like a tragic protagonist, then grasped the hilt of his sword. With a soft whisper, a blade of impressive elegance emerged.
“…At the very least, I shall grant you a swift end, without pain.”
“I’m grateful.”
And I truly was.
Dying didn’t bother me, but suffering did.
“Please, may I have the honor of knowing your name?”
“Kim Gongja.”
“Kim Gongja…. On behalf of the Empire, I thank you. You are a true hero!”
Shwing.
The general’s blade fell true—a clean beheading, exactly as promised. The Aura-laden steel severed my neck in a single stroke.
[You have died.]
[You randomly copy a Skill from NPC Sarvas Aikim.]
As expected, copying Skills from NPCs was possible too.
As darkness swallowed my vision, the spirit’s shriek pierced through.
—Stop dying already, you bastard! You think Skills grow on trees?
I answered him silently.
‘As the sage once said: what sweet profit!’
And so the delightful cycle repeated.
SSS-Rank Hunter: Must Die to Live (Serialized)
Author │ Shin Noah
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelung Posttower 1st)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Shin Noah 2019
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. The content cannot be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and author.
Violation of this may result in criminal and civil liability.

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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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