The Regressed EX-Class Martial God Decided to Become a Thousand-Star Hunter - Chapter 30

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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 30
Episode 30.
At Kim Han-yul’s voice, Ju Do-gyeom’s head turned.
A wall niche halfway up the staircase.
Inside it sat a single stone statue, no larger than a palm.
A figure of a long-haired woman pouring water from a jar onto the ground below.
A well-crafted sculpture.
Most people would think exactly that at first glance.
But Ju Do-gyeom’s eyes perceived it entirely differently.
‘Divine Power.’
A special force—usable only by certain Professions—flowed from the statue.
Faint as it was, Ju Do-gyeom’s sensitivity to Mana didn’t miss it.
Watching him, Kim Han-yul asked.
“What is it? You didn’t know about that either?”
“I didn’t.”
“……You’re lying.”
“It’s the truth.”
He thought he’d communicated quite clearly.
Yet Kim Han-yul’s eyes remained clouded with suspicion.
Ju Do-gyeom looked at her with an exasperated expression.
“Nope, won’t buy it. No way, boss.”
She waved her hand dismissively, threw him a laugh, then crept cautiously toward the Goddess of Abundance Statue.
What followed was thorough inspection from every angle.
She looked up, looked down, peered into the niche with her nose nearly pressed against the stone.
For all her casual demeanor, it was the practiced procedure of a seasoned Dungeon Hunter.
Suspicion before touching.
“There don’t seem to be any traps… but how do I even…….”
The words hadn’t finished leaving her mouth.
An arm shot out from beside her and yanked the Goddess of Abundance Statue free in one smooth motion.
It was Ju Do-gyeom.
“…….”
Silence.
Nothing happened.
Kim Han-yul couldn’t help but cry out.
“Boss! At least give a warning……!”
“It seemed safe enough.”
Future information?
No—this time it was pure intuition.
And Ju Do-gyeom’s intuition tended to prove remarkably accurate.
Kim Han-yul thrust out her lower lip as she spoke.
“See? You definitely knew all along.”
Ju Do-gyeom shook his head once more.
He had neither the method nor the inclination to explain.
Instead, he examined the Goddess of Abundance Statue intently in his grip.
『Goddess of Abundance Statue.』
『Imbued with faint Divine Power.』
“…….”
That was all the System had to say.
No effects, no usage instructions, no origins.
The absence of any additional notation meant the item had the lowest possible Rank—Unranked.
It didn’t look particularly useful.
‘Hmm.’
Ju Do-gyeom fell into thought, regarding the statue.
This secret vault in the Throne Chamber.
Everything—the existence of the second Hidden Piece and the method to open it—had come from Dang Ho, the Poison King.
Yet nowhere in that information had the statue been mentioned.
There were only two plausible explanations.
First: someone had arrived before Dang Ho, reached this place, and carefully restored the statue to its original position.
The likelihood was low.
Someone who’d made it this far would never have left the treasures below untouched in favor of carrying off something apparently worthless.
Then there’s the second possibility.
Dang Ho himself retrieved it and returned it to the Divine Temple.
And he left out that part of the story.
Either he forgot, or he didn’t think it mattered.
‘That’s the more likely scenario.’
This was always how secondhand information worked.
No matter how vivid Ju Do-gyeom’s memories became thanks to Vivienne’s magic.
It couldn’t resurrect what the messenger himself had let slip.
‘That Dang Ho fellow.’
He clicked his tongue silently.
The image that surfaced was his grinning face.
In wuxia novels, the Sichuan Tang Clan was infamous for its ruthlessness across all under heaven.
Yet its last descendant wore an easy-going demeanor that seemed all wrong for the title.
He was prone to blundering, surprisingly enough.
‘Which is why Vivienne scolded him fairly often.’
For him, it was the past.
By this era’s reckoning, the future.
He was smiling without quite realizing it, lost in that memory, when—
“Team leader, what are you thinking about?”
Kim Han-yul asked, her narrow eyes curious.
Ju Do-gyeom shook his head.
“Nothing much.”
“Hmm……”
Kim Han-yul’s lips pouted slightly.
Ju Do-gyeom paid it no mind.
Just as she had adapted somewhat to him.
He too had grown entirely used to her grumbling by now.
Instead, he tossed the Goddess of Abundance Statue he’d been holding into his Inventory.
‘Either way, I can just take care of putting this back later.’
After that, he spoke.
“Let’s move. The real thing is downstairs.”
“……”
“Han-yul?”
“No, never mind. It’s fine.”
“……?”
“I said it’s fine.”
Fine? What’s fine?
As Ju Do-gyeom tilted his head in confusion.
Kim Han-yul, who had been following behind, swept past him and descended the stairs with long, quick strides.
Ju Do-gyeom tilted his head for a moment but didn’t think much of it.
‘As long as I do what needs to be done.’
Everything else barely registered his concern.
* * *
They descended all the way down the stairs and arrived in the Underground Vault.
The space was smaller than he’d expected.
A library.
Bookshelves lining the walls, their spines crammed tight with volumes.
The Orcs hadn’t made it this far down, so instead of signs of chaos, a thick layer of dust testified to the passage of years.
At the far end.
A small jewelry box sitting atop a low table beside the bookshelf caught his eye.
“Oh……?”
Kim Han-yul let out a short sound of intrigue, her guard rising.
Ju Do-gyeom stepped closer and abruptly flipped the lid open.
Kim Han-yul cried out.
“Eek-! Team leader, please!”
Ju Do-gyeom answered.
“Get used to it.”
“Wow, really, and you call that advice…… Unbelievable. Just wait. Team leader. Someday I’ll get my revenge on you exactly the same way.”
Even as she grumbled, Kim Han-yul stepped closer.
Ju Do-gyeom paid no attention.
There had never been any concern from the start.
With the Goddess of Abundance Statue, he’d relied on instinct.
Now he had more solid information to work with.
—Well… a trap? There wasn’t one. For a B-Rank Dungeon, it’d be excessive to add something like that. That would be overkill, total overkill. Even thinking about it makes me shudder.
And what lay inside such a Jewelry Box?
A Necklace adorned with gems as varied and colorful as the expression of distaste that had crossed Dang Ho’s face.
When Ju Do-gyeom lifted it, the chunky stones clattered against each other, scattering light.
Beside him, Kim Han-yul poked her head forward and her eyes widened in amazement.
“What is this? It looks seriously expensive. Why are there so many gems hanging off it like this? This is insane. Team leader, are we rich now?”
Ju Do-gyeom shook his head.
“Most of them are fake, unfortunately.”
“Huh? But they’re glittering like this? They’re all fake? How is that possible?”
……
Instead of answering, Ju Do-gyeom let Mana flow through the Necklace.
Then—
Whoosh!
Most of the gems that had been shining even in the darkness of the Underground Vault scattered like sand and vanished.
A brief silence.
“Wow.”
Kim Han-yul’s admiration pierced right through him.
Ju Do-gyeom confirmed the single red gem remaining at the left end of the Necklace, plucked it cleanly, and tossed it lightly to Kim Han-yul.
“Whoa—!?”
Startled, Kim Han-yul caught the gem with the quick reflexes of a graceful panther.
She asked him.
“What is this?”
Ju Do-gyeom’s answer wasn’t necessary.
The moment it touched her hand and curiosity bloomed,
the System answered for him.
『Gem of Duplication – Grade: Hero』
『Can duplicate one additional entity from the list registered in your Manifestation and Summoning skills.』
『Duplication eligible grade: B-Rank or below.』
『Usage limit: three times per week.』
Kim Han-yul’s eyes grew as wide as saucers.
“Wait, what? That’s insane! This… you’re giving it to me? Really?”
Ju Do-gyeom answered with a nod instead.
It was only natural.
After all, it had been hers to begin with.
In the future as well, this Gem of Duplication had belonged to her.
To be precise: Dang Ho had found it here and sold it.
It circulated through the market, its price inflated many times over, and Kim Han-yul had bought it back again.
The only difference this time was that she’d obtained it without spending a single coin.
Still, it had returned to its rightful owner.
‘I’m sorry to Dang Ho, but—’
Well, he could make it up to him with extra later.
‘Let’s meet as a Hunter, Dang Ho.’
By then, Kim Han-yul was already bouncing excitedly, shouting with delight.
“Kyaaah! Team leader, you’re the best! I’m going to serve you with all my loyalty forever! Really, I won’t even care about traps anymore—I’ll just open anything—and even if you take me to some weird Dungeon, I absolutely won’t complain. I’m really, truly going to do my best, team leader!”
Ju Do-gyeom knew the truth.
That it was a promise she wouldn’t be able to keep.
Still, he just nodded anyway.
Hoping she’d spare him the complaints for a while.
Ignoring her wouldn’t be hard, but he found it somewhat noisy.
A strange thought occurred to him as well.
‘What exactly happened in the future’
that had turned this Kim Han-yul into that quiet, dour-faced woman he’d known?
‘…I suppose I’ll never know.’
Now that he’d returned to the past and crossed paths with himself, the same future wouldn’t repeat.
Perhaps it was because this Dungeon relied so heavily on conversation with Dang Ho.
Seized by an odd feeling, Ju Do-gyeom spoke to Kim Han-yul, who was still twisting about with laughter so infectious.
“Kim Han-yul, head back first.”
“Me first? What about you?”
“I’m thinking of returning the Goddess of Abundance Statue to the Divine Temple.”
“Oh, that. I could come along too, if—”
Kim Han-yul stopped mid-sentence, closing her mouth.
Then she nodded.
“I’ll do what you say. I just swore loyalty, and if I don’t follow through on that, that’s pretty pathetic, isn’t it? Not even a moment’s resolve. Ha-ha!”
Then, with a grand wave of her hand toward Ju Do-gyeom:
“I’m heading out!”
And with that, Kim Han-yul vanished back to Earth.
Ju Do-gyeom watched her go, then climbed the stairs alone in silence.
* * *
Kim Han-yul had returned to Earth.
Since her entry point had been Ju Do-gyeom’s apartment, her exit naturally led back to the same place.
Looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings, a faint sigh escaped her lips.
“Ugh……”
That face of Ju Do-gyeom’s as he’d asked her to go first.
At first glance, it looked much like always—but it wasn’t.
There was something heavy pooling in those glassy eyes.
‘What on earth was that?’
She’d never seen it before.
A look like that on someone’s face.
‘Ugh, seriously, my instincts are too sharp for my own good.’
She’d noticed something she shouldn’t have.
“Tsk.”
Kim Han-yul clicked her tongue and shook her head, surveying the somewhat cluttered room.
Should she tidy up?
‘Come on, forget it. He’s my team leader, not a servant. And definitely not my boyfriend.’
He’d manage on his own.
With that thought, she turned to leave—
But Kim Han-yul cried out:
“Never mind, I’ll do it! I swore loyalty, and cleaning a room is nothing! Not a big deal! And now I see there’s dishes from when I ate too. I’ll take care of it!”
* * *
“My ears are burning.”
Who was talking about him like that?
Wondering, Ju Do-gyeom entered the Divine Temple.
The orcs that had filled the outer walls were nowhere to be seen.
By the Dungeon’s design logic, it was probably set so that once the great warrior died, the orcs would flee.
‘In reality, they probably just disappear.’
And whenever someone entered, they’d respawn again.
Sometimes he wondered.
How was this world within a Dungeon even created?
Even in the future, nothing about this had ever been clarified.
Or perhaps, when the world fell into chaos, there simply wasn’t time to think about such things?
“Vivienne didn’t say much about it either.”
Come to think of it, Vivienne.
‘…Has she still not checked her mail?’
Since it had been a while since he’d checked his own, he’d need to look into it.
With that thought, he walked deeper into the darkened Divine Temple, and came upon a Prayer Chamber barely maintaining its shape among scattered debris.
In the center sat the half-destroyed Goddess of Abundance Statue that Kim Han-yul had mentioned.
『Broken Goddess of Abundance Statue.』
『…….』
It was small.
About the size of what fit in an Inventory.
Ju Do-gyeom approached, moved it aside, and took out the Goddess of Abundance Statue from his own Inventory, setting it carefully in place.
‘This way, it’ll be easier for Dang Ho when he comes.’
He was about to return to Earth—
Whoooosh!
A brilliant light erupted from the statue.
The radiance filled the entire Divine Temple, then coalesced into a single stream that poured swiftly into Ju Do-gyeom’s body.
『The Goddess of Abundance holds deep affection for you.』
『The Divine Power of the Goddess of Abundance flows through you.』
『Your profession is advancing.』
『Universal Chef => Sacred Universal Chef.』
『All dishes crafted through your profession skills now carry the blessing of sacred sanctity.』
Ju Do-gyeom’s face drained of color, overtaken by bewilderment.

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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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