SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 57

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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 57. Bibliomania (2)
3
Hunters sat gathered in the Library.
“…….”
“Hmm….”
Hunters arranged in a wide circle. At the center lay hundreds of Apocalyptic Books stacked in towering piles. Soon they would have to choose one, but no one dared approach the mountain of books.
For good reason. Just moments ago, fifty of their comrades had been swallowed by the books. Everyone was either terrified or despondent.
In such an atmosphere, could anyone laugh so cheerfully without being a complete lunatic?
“Ahaha!”
Remarkably, there was such a lunatic.
“Fifty eliminations right out of the gate! Now that’s a painful blow.”
A blond boy. By universal agreement, one of the world’s foremost madmen. The Heresy Inquisitor stroked his chin.
“But progress has always demanded sacrifice. We must not forget their sacrifice! Instead, we must dedicate ourselves even more fervently to clearing this dungeon!”
“…….”
“Take heart! We almost lost a hundred, and yet we’ve held to fifty—that in itself is remarkable fortune. Rather than grieve what we’ve lost, we should rejoice in what we’ve preserved!”
The more the Heresy Inquisitor spoke, the darker the atmosphere grew.
Bookmark Maids still circulated around us. They’d brought hot coffee and tea from somewhere and were serving it, and of all two hundred fifty Hunters present, only the Heresy Inquisitor eagerly accepted with “Ah, thank you so much!”
“Hm?”
The Heresy Inquisitor sipped his tea and tilted his head.
“Aren’t you all having any? It’s delicious?”
“First…….”
I cut him off.
No good ever came from letting a psychopath ramble on.
“Heresy Inquisitor, why don’t you keep quiet for a bit.”
“What? Why is that?”
“The more you talk, the more our morale sinks. People lose heart. If we lose any more morale here, we’re in serious trouble. So until I say otherwise, please be silent.”
“Ah, that would indeed be serious trouble.”
The Heresy Inquisitor beamed.
“Understood, Your Majesty! I’ll gladly hold my tongue!”
The Hunters looked back and forth between the Heresy Inquisitor and me with bewildered expressions.
Don’t look at me like that. I’d simply gotten a sense of how to handle that lunatic.
“Now then.”
I deliberately raised my voice to shift the mood.
“Everyone, I’m sure you’ve all understood this much: you cannot challenge that Constellation carelessly. For now, we have no choice but to obey the quest the Librarian gave us.”
The Hunters’ attention slowly turned to me.
Instinctively I felt the weight of it, but I swallowed the feeling.
‘I’m Rank 3 now.’
The third-most powerful voice in this gathering!
I had to grow as accustomed to drawing eyes as I was to breathing.
I kept my face perfectly neutral and opened my mouth.
“But following the quest doesn’t mean we’re at a disadvantage. Everyone, take a look at the Quest Window.”
At my words, the Hunters’ gazes fixed on empty space.
The same hologram I was seeing would appear before their eyes.
+
[Remake the World. Volume 1]
Difficulty: Undetermined
Mission Objective: There are countless worlds, and countless forms of Annihilation. The Constellation ‘Librarian of the Back Room’ calls this Series Discontinuation. This Librarian desires that worlds abandoned mid-story for unreasonable reasons might resume their narratives once more.
First, choose one of the Apocalyptic Books marked for Series Discontinuation!
Should you succeed in saving that world, it shall be registered as your 22nd Floor.
※However, failure in this mission means the 22nd Floor will not be opened.
+
“You’ve all read it?”
The Hunters nodded. Some even answered “Yes.” Was this the effect of silencing the Heresy Inquisitor? For now, no Hunter seemed inclined to challenge my authority.
“The most important part is at the end: ‘Should you succeed in saving that world, it shall be registered as your 22nd Floor.’ You all understand what that means, don’t you?”
The Hunters looked confused.
They didn’t yet grasp how extraordinary this reward was.
I spoke.
“The reward changes completely depending on which world you save. Suppose, for example, you rescued a world rich with diamonds. Then that world would become our 22nd Floor.”
“……!”
The Hunters’ expressions began to shift dramatically.
“Diamonds are just an example. For people like us who live in the Tower, we don’t need scraps of coal like that. But what if we’re talking about a world abundant in food, water, and every kind of ore?”
“Self-sufficiency…….”
The Black Dragon Lord murmured.
“So we could actually achieve true self-sufficiency.”
“Exactly.”
I rose from my seat and walked toward the towering stacks of books piled in the center of the room—the Apocalyptic Books the Librarian had selected for us to choose from.
“H-hey! Four Kings!”
Viper shouted from behind me.
“If you touch that carelessly, another tentacle monster might—!”
I picked up one of the Apocalyptic Books at random. A shriek tore through the hunters as they clamped their eyes shut, bracing for another tentacle beast. Some even bolted for the exit without thinking.
But one second passed, then two, then three—and nothing happened.
The Apocalyptic Book lay quiet and ordinary in my hand.
“Huh? That’s strange.”
Viper cracked open her single eye cautiously.
“Nothing happened……?”
“Heh heh.”
The Librarian, drifting lazily in the air, chuckled.
“Quite right! Unless I exercise my powers, the Apocalyptic Books are nothing but ordinary tomes. Though there are certainly Forbidden Books that grow dangerous the moment you touch them. But those are sealed deep in the vault, so fear not.”
“I see.”
I nodded.
Opening the book in my hands, another hologram materialized before me.
Information about the book itself.
+
[Solmeuwin Academy Chronicles]
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Difficulty: D-rank
Participant Limit: 4–5 people
※Currently experiencing series discontinuation.
Description: Solmeuwin is a storied magical academy. A ordinary academy where friendship and competition, love and jealousy intertwine. This Apocalyptic Book might have remained a simple academy tale—if only a world-ending Artifact hadn’t been sealed in the academy’s basement!
Reason for Discontinuation: A villainess noble had her fiancé (the Crown Prince) stolen by a female student who underwent reincarnation in her second life. Furious, she broke the Artifact’s seal, releasing the Arch-Demon and bringing about the world’s destruction.
+
“…….”
The reason for discontinuation—essentially the cause of the world’s apocalypse—was genuinely pitiful.
Worlds destroyed by meteor strikes or tsunamis would’ve been better off by comparison.
‘How sad. A world unmade because of a lovers’ quarrel among children…….’
The Librarian had every right to be exasperated.
Think about it.
* * *
“Ah.”
Understanding crystallized in the Crown Prince’s icy gaze like a crack spreading through blue gemstone, and the long misunderstanding that had kept them apart finally thawed and dissolved in the light of his second life.
“My other half was here all along. Lady Sylvia. You were my other half.”
The Crown Prince murmured as though sighing, then dropped to one knee. Sylvia held her breath in silence, her heart trembling with unspoken emotion.
Both understood without words that they would carry this moment to their graves.
In that instant.
With a bang, the Crown Prince exploded.
“Eek?”
The next moment, Sylvia burst apart as well.
As Sylvia’s consciousness faded, she heard only chaotic screams.
“Kyaaaah!”
“A demon! A demon has appeared!”
“How unlucky.”
The world.
That was the moment it ended.
* * *
Imagine if you were deeply engrossed in a romance novel and it suddenly cut off like that. Any reader would be furious.
If that’s true for a book, how much worse must it be for an actual world?
‘Anyway.’
That’s not what matters right now.
“Everyone! Come over here and examine these books, will you?”

I shouted at the Hunters.
“Each book has different difficulty levels and content. We need to separate out the ones we can actually clear—and more importantly, the ones that will give us the biggest advantage!”
A few Hunters stood up from their seats.
But the vast majority still just stared blankly at each other.
-You fool, you keep using formal speech, and that’s exactly why they won’t listen. Don’t you get it yet? These Hunters have the comprehension skills of rocks.
Backhoe Spirit said this.
-Right now you’re managing two hundred fifty Hunter heads. Two hundred fifty. If you don’t bark at them in crude speech, they won’t even hear you, let alone obey.
‘Really?’
-Every time you level up, you hear “Your presence has become more distinct.” Know what that means? It means your pride has grown stronger. The higher a Hunter’s level, the more insufferable their ego becomes. They won’t take directions.
Fair point.
I infused my Aura and unleashed the Lion’s Roar.
“There are hundreds of Apocalyptic Books—you think I’m reading all of them alone? Get over here and read!”
Flinch.
Only then did the lazy Hunters struggle to their feet.
“Listen up, all of you!”
I kept barking orders without pause.
“We’re dividing into groups. Anyone who’s read novels or history—move to the left! Anyone who thinks you don’t know a thing about novels or history—move to the right! Now! Move it!”
The Hunters’ pace quickened.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The crowd split into two streams.
“Those of you who read—sort yourselves by genre! Romance lovers over here! Fantasy over there! Mystery readers, form your own group! Go, go!”
The Library atmosphere finally became bustling.
Under my command, the Hunters were scurrying about.
“Alright, from this moment on, everyone is reading books!”
I held up the Apocalyptic Book and tapped it sharply.
“We’re dividing hundreds of books by genre and distributing them. The romance group reads romance. Each of the other groups reads according to your genre! As you read, I want you to judge whether each book is a failure or a success.”
“Yes! Yes!”
The Heresy Inquisitor waved her arms eagerly.
She was still following my instructions and keeping her mouth shut.
“…Yes, go ahead, please.”
“My lord! I don’t understand what a failure is! Please explain the criteria! If the story is good, it’s a success, and if the story is bad, it’s a complete disaster—is that right?”
“No, not at all.”
I opened one of the Apocalyptic Books and showed her.
“For example, this is a failure.”
+
[Surviving in the Volcano!]
Genre: Survival, Romance
Difficulty: D-rank
Participant Limit: 2 people
※This series is currently discontinued.
Description: This world was devastated by nuclear war. Yet human resilience is truly wondrous! After the nuclear war, on the surface of the earth, the protagonist and the protagonist’s lover survived. The protagonist couple swear that after overcoming all hardships and trials, they will become the new Adam and Eve.
Reason for Discontinuation: The place where the protagonist couple camped on the final night happened to be an active volcanic zone. During the night, the volcano erupted. The protagonist and the protagonist’s lover were both struck dead by rocks flying from the volcano. Humanity perished.
+
I spoke in a tone of despair.
“This isn’t just a failure—it’s a complete catastrophe.”
“But why?”
The Heresy Inquisitor tilted her head in confusion.
“A new Adam and Eve—isn’t that romantic and wonderful?”
“There’s no point saving this world. A nuclear war has already destroyed it.”
I sighed and closed the book.
“What good does winning the 22nd Floor in a world crawling with radiation do? We’d all just get contaminated and die.”
“Ah.”
Speaking of which.
In the past, Yeom Je had cleared the Grand Library using an absurd method.
From the 22nd Floor to the 29th Floor, he cleared nothing but worlds filled with lava and volcanoes.
‘That madman.’
Yeom Je has immunity to fire. Even in a hellscape of flowing lava and erupting volcanoes, he could stroll about at leisure.
He selected Apocalyptic Books based purely on how easily he could clear them.
He gave not the slightest thought to which Apocalyptic Books would actually benefit us.
‘If we play this right, we could unlock eight treasure vaults!’
Anyway, people who live thinking they’re hot stuff are no help at all.
They’re just a liability to everyone else trying to survive in the Tower.
‘This time I’ll pick only Apocalyptic Books where I can extract maximum value.’
Books that spawn monsters useful for Hunters’ practical experience, or ones crammed with rare minerals, or ruins filled to bursting with artifacts as the setting, or ones where spicy chicken and sweet-and-sour pork frolic through forests and shrimp tempura dance in the seas.
No, scratch that last one. If it actually existed, it’d be pretty terrifying.
Anyway!
“Remember this! It doesn’t matter if the story is garbage or not!”
I shouted as I handed out books to the Hunters.
“Don’t worry if the protagonist is insufferable, or the logic is all over the place, or anything like that. Just read it! Read it from beginning to end, and calculate whether saving this world would actually benefit all of us…….”
I stopped.
I’d halted mid-distribution.
One of the Hunters met my gaze.
“Um, Black Dragon Lord?”
“Yes, what is it?”
It was the witch.
I slowly opened my mouth.
“This is the [Mystery] group.”
A gathering of people who regularly enjoyed mystery novels.
For some reason, the witch was sitting there as if she belonged.
When I checked her Character Window earlier, didn’t she show up as a romance fan?
“I know.”
The witch nodded as if it were obvious.
“You think I’d sit here without knowing where I am?”
“Um… Black Dragon Lord, you like mystery novels?”
“Of course.”
Sip.
The witch drank her black coffee with serene composure.
“I’m an intellectual woman.”
…….
This is insane.
Why is the Guild Master suddenly cosplaying as a normal person? She likes dramas, she likes romance, and you can tell at a glance she’s the type who goes wild for melodramatic romance novels.
‘No way.’
I realized something.
‘She doesn’t want people to know she’s into romance…?’
Now that I thought about it, the [Romance] group had unusually few Hunters. There weren’t even any men there. By contrast, for some reason, the [Martial Arts] group was crawling with men.
I’d bet money that hardly any of them actually read martial arts novels for real.
‘Wow.’
My mind went blank.
‘Even in this situation, these people are cosplaying?’
-I told you so.
The Backhoe Spirit muttered dully.
-High-level Hunters live on pride alone. And all these guys have earned titles too. They’d rather die than lose face. Didn’t you see? All fifty of them doing a suicide charge just now? Every single one of them is insane.
I was going to lose it.
“I mean, Black Dragon Lord… even so, surely not…….”
“What do you mean, ‘even so’?”
The witch replied nonchalantly.
Her impassive face felt like an impregnable fortress.
I desperately searched for something to say and spoke slowly.
“Well… I always thought of you as a very romantic person, Black Dragon Lord. So I was a bit surprised to see you in the Mystery group instead of Romance…….”
The witch’s fingers paused around her coffee cup.
“Hmm, is that so?”
The witch’s voice was exactly as it always was.
“Do I look like someone who’d fit with romance?”
“Yes, well, rather the opposite—if you weren’t here, I’d think something was odd. It feels like you’re wearing clothes that don’t suit you at all…….”
“Sigh.”
The witch set down her cup and stood up.
“If the Lord puts it that way, I suppose I can’t refuse. I’ve never read a romance novel in all my years, but fine. Maybe it’s time I got familiar with a new genre. After all, a Hunter must always embrace new challenges—that’s the proper way.”
“Well said, indeed…….”
“Right. I understand.”
The witch walked briskly toward the Romance group.
He looked like a cowboy from a Western film, walking off into the desert beyond.
I had no choice but to watch her departing figure with a profoundly ambiguous heart.
“Remarkable, my lord!”
The Heresy Inquisitor looked up at me with eyes gleaming like stars. She too was sitting in the mystery group.
“Once the Black Dragon Lord settles somewhere, she rarely gets up, you understand. Ah-ha! We’ve truly been blessed with a magnificent newcomer!”
“…You also read detective novels?”
The Heresy Inquisitor broke into an angelic smile.
“I know Sherlock Holmes!”
…….
“Ah, and Doctor Watson too.”
I quietly murmured a command in my mind.
‘Character Window.’
A soft shimmer.
Letters materialized before my eyes.
+
Name: Heresy Inquisitor
Affinity: 50
Preferred Genres: [Fairy Tales] [Mythology] [Legend]
Disliked Genres: None
Preferred Characters: [Human]
Disliked Characters: None
Preferred Plot: [Greatest Happiness for the Greatest Number]
Disliked Plot: None
Mental State: ‘I know Sherlock Holmes! Ah, and Doctor Watson too.’
+
Mad.
My skin crawled.
‘Is her outer appearance completely identical to her inner thoughts?’
Moreover, there was nothing she disliked, nothing she hated.
‘Is this really even human?’
Shock and horror consumed me.
A pure natural born psychopath.
“Hmm? What’s the matter, my lord?”
The psychopath tilted her head curiously.
I took a moment to consider how to handle this.
Then I pulled a marker from my breast pocket and wrote on the back of the Heresy Inquisitor’s hand.
[Fairy Tales]
I spoke with a solemn expression.
“Heresy Inquisitor.”
“Yes!”
“From now on, you belong to the Fairy Tales group.”
“The Fairy Tales group!”
“That’s right. This group has only you in it. You alone must verify and review every book that comes into this group.”
“Oh! What a weighty responsibility!”
The psychopath’s eyes sparkled.
I nodded.
“Yes, quite weighty. I’m counting on you, then.”
“Ah-ha-ha! Don’t you worry! My lord, I shall conduct a thorough review!”
Right.
Among hundreds of Apocalyptic Books, there wouldn’t be a single fairy tale.
I then dug through the group to see if there were any Hunters in disguise as ordinary people. The results were astonishing. Out of two hundred fifty people, over a hundred were concealing their true reading preferences.
‘These lunatics….’
In the end, it took three hours just to reorganize the groups.
I sent one hundred twelve cosplayers back to their proper places.
But even I….
When I reached the final person, I fell silent.
+
Name: Viper
Affinity: 32
Preferred Genres: [Otherworld] [Strongest Being] [Chaos] [Harem]…….
Disliked genres: [Politics], [Crime]
Preferred characters: [Older sister type], [Younger sister], [Married woman], [Pure], [Cheeky girl], [Crossdressing pretty boy]….
Disliked characters: [Mafia], [Gangster], [Blonde tanned delinquent]
Preferred plots: [I was summoned to another world and it turns out I’m a pure cheat character with the blood of the strongest dragon on the continent and the supreme empress of the demon realm, so let me show you what overwhelming power means—is that a problem?], [It seems my younger sister has become a god of creation for my sake, but as an ordinary high school student who just wants a peaceful daily life, this is truly troubling] and so on—[Cheat], [Overwhelming power], [Harem], [Guess I have no choice but to step up]….
Disliked plots: [NTR]
Mental state: ‘Damn it. What is this Nine Palaces Striking Method? What’s with this martial arts stuff, seriously. Every single line I read is about opening moves, parrying techniques, and sweaty men. Geez. Don’t the writers have any consideration for their readers?’
+
The figure wore an eye patch over one eye.
The figure was a swordsman known as the Master of Heavenly Martial Arts.
The figure was… the emperor of light novels.
“Huh?”
Viper glanced back at me.
“What? Why are you staring? I’m busy reading.”
And Viper was sitting in the [Martial Arts] section.
“No, I…”
I found myself unable to say anything at all.
“I apologize for interrupting your reading. Please, go ahead…”
“Fine.”
I turned and walked away without strength.
Coming to this 21st Floor, I understood it clearly now.
The high-ranking Hunters were all mad.
And I had to carry all of them.
SSS-Rank Hunter Who Must Die to Live (Serialization)
Author | Shin Noa
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, Daereung Post Tower 1st)
Email | [email protected]
Website | www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Shin Noa 2019
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder, and the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.
Violation of this may result in criminal and civil legal 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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