The Regressed EX-Class Martial God Decided to Become a Thousand-Star Hunter - Chapter 53

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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 53
53.
‘I thought I’d grown accustomed to our team leader by now. Familiar enough that nothing would surprise me anymore…….’
I was wrong.
Kim Han-ryul felt a chill crawl up his spine and settle at the base of his skull, vivid and undeniable.
How could it be otherwise?
The neck of a dragon that had once ruled the world—withered though it was—came clean off in a single stroke and crashed to the ground.
Thud!
A tremor as if the earth itself had shaken.
Before he could stop himself, a voice tumbled from his lips.
“In……sane…….”
He was tired of calling things monsters.
This wasn’t a monster anymore.
Something beyond that.
The sensation of witnessing something incomprehensible.
In that brief moment, Ju Do-gyeom—drenched in sweat as though rain had fallen on his hair alone—exhaled a thin breath.
“Hah…….”
His brow furrowed slightly.
Now Kim Han-ryul understood.
When Ju Do-gyeom expressed emotion to that degree, it meant considerable pain was flooding through his body.
Should he go closer and offer support?
He was still deliberating when it came.
『Additional objective cleared. Withered Dragon, Seidron defeated 1/1』
『2-member party play in progress. Reward bonus increased 50%.』
『Personal contribution measured. 0%』
『Your party member’s legendary exploits shine upon you like a halo.』
『Title “Witness to the Dragon’s Death” granted.』
『Fortune activation.』
『Magic Power: C ⇒ C+』
『Fingerprint item, Inventory Major Expansion granted.』
『Your current system inventory capacity expands 3-fold.』
“……!!”
The system had sent reward messages while the dungeon was still in progress—not upon completion.
This was the first time it had happened.
He’d never even heard of it before.
More than that, despite his contribution measuring zero percent, the rewards were more lavish than clearing a decent dungeon.
‘And what’s with the title?’
The system had such a thing?
Kim Han-ryul stood bewildered.
Without even glancing at her, Ju Do-gyeom drew another Mana Cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips.
A small flame flickered at his fingertip, igniting the tobacco into smoke.
“Hah…….”
Another deep exhalation.
With an expression now somewhat more at ease, Ju Do-gyeom walked silently past the fallen Withered Dragon and into the Underground Passage beyond.
“W-wait, let’s go together. Team leader!”
Kim Han-ryul hastened after him in alarm.
* * *
Walking through a rather lengthy subterranean cavern deeper within the passage.
Messages that had been streaming continuously since the moment Ju Do-gyeom felled the dragon echoed through his mind.
『Acquire secret skill unique to Trait (Heavenly Killer Nature) – Point Explosion (Lv.MAX).』
『Upon activation, all buff effects applied to user are removed.』
『Upon activation, all damage and curse-related effects applied to user are doubled in potency.』
『Upon activation, all user’s ability stats are reduced two ranks for a set duration. (1 hour)』
『……Additional objective cleared. Withered Dragon, Seidron defeated 1/1』
『2-member party play in progress. Reward bonus increased 50%.』
『Personal contribution measured. 100%』
『Legendary.』
『Decapitated the Withered Dragon in a single strike.』
『Title “Dragon Slayer” granted.』
『Fingerprint item, Inventory Ultra-Expansion granted.』
‘Your current System Inventory capacity will expand fivefold.’
‘The most useful body part of the Withered Dragon will be automatically transferred to your Inventory.’
‘Luck activation.’
‘The most useful body parts of the Withered Dragon will be automatically transferred to your Inventory.’
‘The remaining corpse will naturally decompose and vanish as time passes.’
‘This applies even after transport outside the Dungeon.’
‘Additional luck activation.’
‘Special item: Withered Dragon’s Mana Stone will be granted.’
‘Three of your current Ability Stats will increase substantially at random.’
‘Mana C- => C’
‘Vitality C- => C’
‘Agility C- => C’
‘Secret Technique – All effects of Point Explosion will be applied.’
‘Mana Cigarette effect activates.’
‘Temporary Mana Rank increase D+ => C’
It never ended.
Honestly, he couldn’t keep up with all of it even if he’d tried to focus.
The violent throbbing that wracked his entire body was far too intense.
There were two reasons he’d lit the Mana Cigarette in the midst of it all.
First, a Mana Cigarette was still a cigarette.
And cigarettes carried a certain numbing effect among their benefits.
It boosted pain resistance, if only slightly.
‘But what mattered more was the surge in pure Mana.’
His Mana stat, which had dropped two ranks as a penalty from using Point Explosion.
He dragged it back up to its original level, and through that newfound power, he held together a body that threatened to collapse at any moment.
That was all that kept him standing.
As time passed, his blurred vision gradually sharpened.
Of course he knew.
‘This too will be temporary.’
Thirty minutes at most.
Once his body could no longer endure it, a far worse backlash would come crashing down.
He wasn’t worried.
If his calculations held true, most of the problems would be resolved by then.
If anything, he felt relieved.
‘At least the Heavenly Killer Nature isn’t raging right now—that would’ve been the real problem.’
It was quiet.
Even when he checked through the Bunsim Yi-gong technique, the same silence held.
Strangely, he could feel it being careful, watching him.
That said, he hadn’t let his guard down for a moment.
As he’d learned from painful experience, the Heavenly Killer Nature was far more cunning than it first appeared.
Ju Do-gyeom pressed forward with full awareness of its presence.
Kim Han-ryul, who’d been following quietly behind, spoke up.
“Team leader.”
“We’re almost there.”
“No, not that. Are you alright?”
“…Of course.”
Ju Do-gyeom turned his head briefly, meeting his eyes as he answered.
Kim Han-ryul, seeing the unexpected clarity in his gaze, broke into a relieved smile.
“Thank goodness. The way you just pulled off something impossible like that, I thought something else had gone wrong!”
“Don’t worry. So far, there’s no problem.”
“…So there could be problems later?”
Ju Do-gyeom shook his head.
“What I mean is, you might have to shoulder some of the burden.”
“Oh! If that’s all—well, just leave it to me! Ha ha ha!”
Kim Han-ryul laughed with hearty warmth.
Then, quite suddenly, he tilted his head.
Something he’d momentarily forgotten in the shock of recent events had just surfaced.
“…Don’t tell me you’re talking about that White Knight Party situation?”
That seemed too much for one person to handle alone.
Ju Do-gyeom nodded with calm composure and replied.
“You can do it. Han-ryul.”
“…….”
“Conserve your strength.”
“…….”
So this was why he’d hunted that dragon alone.
Kim Han-ryul wanted to grumble, but he’d seen enough to keep his mouth shut.
The end of the passage came into view.
More precisely, an altar situated at the passage’s terminus, and upon it, a rather large spherical object.
Kim Han-ryul’s eyes widened.
“That…… is that an egg?”
“…….”
Ju Do-gyeom fell silent.
His brow furrowed deeply.
It wasn’t fresh pain that had surfaced.
Enduring it this long had rendered this level of suffering almost numb.
Then why the scowl?
‘……What is that?’
This egg-shaped object was a variable he hadn’t anticipated.
In that uncertainty, Ju Do-gyeom and Kim Han-ryul reached the end of the passage.
Drawing the Daebu, Ju Do-gyeom swept a quick glance around, then placed his palm on the unfamiliar egg-shaped object.
『Earth Dragon Egg – Grade: Unmeasurable』
『This is an Earth Dragon Egg. Hatching requires ???.』
“…….”
Ju Do-gyeom’s pupils dilated slightly.
“What? What’s wrong?”
Watching him from beside the egg, Kim Han-ryul placed his own hand on it, saw the information, and his expression shifted to shock.
“Wait…… an egg? A real egg? A dragon’s egg?”
The message content even suggested that hatching was possible.
“Boss, Team Leader…… you came here from the start to get this?”
“No.”
Ju Do-gyeom shook his head and sank into thought.
‘……What I was originally meant to secure here was hidden beneath this altar.’
He retraced his memories.
Before the regression.
What he had seen upon reaching this place.
The long Underground Passage, and the monsters blocking the way.
The Altar he’d encountered at the end.
Back then, Ju Do-gyeom had thought:
Not that someone had taken something from this altar, but that something was hidden within it.
The scent of a Hidden Piece had been far too strong.
So after deliberation, he’d destroyed the altar and obtained ‘that thing’ hidden beneath it.
But all that thought and process had been a mistake from the beginning.
To be clear:
Ju Do-gyeom was not the first visitor to this Magic Erosion Zone.
There had been visitors before him.
Recently, Yoris and his party members who were now hot on their heels.
And further back, the one who had originally been the master of this Earth Dragon Egg.
‘The Demonic Dragon Lord. So it was him who killed the Withered Dragon.’
One of humanity’s two most catastrophic villains in recorded history, alongside Jin U-seong.
After his death, he had gone into hiding alone, accumulated power, and returned as a calamity—the Earth Demonic Dragon itself.
That was right.
To put it simply, the Earth Dragon Egg now before their eyes.
This was none other than the egg of the future calamity, the Earth Demonic Dragon.
It was the very reason Ju Do-gyeom, despite his shock at the egg’s true nature, could grasp the situation so quickly.
An unbidden smile crossed his lips.
Only a few months since the regression.
He had killed Jin U-seong.
He had saved Lee Seo-ah from becoming the Witch of Gluttony.
And on top of that, the Earth Dragon Egg that would have been reborn as the Earth Demonic Dragon now rested in his hands.
Which meant the Demonic Dragon Lord’s power had been weakened as well.
‘Things are going smoothly.’
Of course, it was true that any number of unforeseen variables could still crop up, but for now there was nothing to do but feel relieved.
Ju Do-gyeom placed the Earth Dragon Egg into his inventory.
Kim Han-ryul asked.
“So that’s it? We’re really done? The escape…….”
Ju Do-gyeom shook his head.
Instead, he raised his fist.
Bang!
He shattered the Altar.
Ignoring Kim Han-ryul’s shock, Ju Do-gyeom found the hidden mechanism concealed in the cracks of the broken Altar and pressed it.
Then.
Grrrrrk—!
With a metallic screech like some beast’s cry, a small crevice opened at the end of the sealed passage.
Inside lay the Red Ring.
The very item Ju Do-gyeom had originally set out to obtain.
He grasped it in his hand, placed it in his inventory, and turned to Kim Han-ryul.
“Now we’re truly done.”
“Dramatic. Very dramatic. So we just escape from here as planned?”
“That’s right.”
At his response, Kim Han-ryul grinned and pulled something from her inventory.
“Ta-da!”
“An Emergency Return Scroll.”
A magical scroll that would return them directly to Earth without needing to fulfill the Dungeon’s conquest conditions.
“I mentioned it before—this one’s for the party. If we tear it up and use it right now…….”
“Wait——.”
Ju Do-gyeom didn’t even have time to stop her.
Whoosh!
The scroll tore.
Ju Do-gyeom pressed his hand to his forehead.
Kim Han-ryul tilted her head in confusion.
“What’s wrong? Your condition isn’t even good right now, so there’s no reason to fight the White Knight Party. Any moment now we should get the return message…….”
And we can escape.
But the expression on Kim Han-ryul’s face hardened.
The message never came.
The system’s return notification that should have sounded.
“……Why?”
Was it because the Dungeon was an escape-type without conquest conditions?
No.
There was quite a bit of information within the Hunter community about people using Emergency Return Scrolls even in Magic Erosion Zones on the fields.
‘The only difference is that we’re inside the Magic Erosion Zone……. Oh?’
Understanding dawned on Kim Han-ryul’s face.
Ju Do-gyeom approached her side and tapped her shoulder.
Kim Han-ryul’s expression crumbled.
“My… my billion won……!”
“I tried to stop you. Kim Han-ryul.”
“You should have… should have warned me faster……!”
“You tore it before I could even speak.”
“Uuuu…… uuuuu…….”
“Don’t cry. We don’t have time for that.”
“Uuuuu…….”
…….
Ju Do-gyeom shook his head and turned back toward the exit of the Underground Passage.
Kim Han-ryul followed behind him, her shoulders slumped.
* * *
And shortly after arriving at the passage entrance.
Ju Do-gyeom and Kim Han-ryul
came face to face with the Yoris party, gathered with exhausted expressions before the Withered Dragon’s corpse.
Many eyes meeting across the distance.
Yoris shouted.
“Battle stations—!”

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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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