The Regressed EX-Class Martial God Decided to Become a Thousand-Star 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
57.
At first, he thought it was a trick of the eye.
‘…No, it wasn’t.’
It was no trick.
Marcus swallowed hard without thinking.
Just moments before, he’d been about to give the order to withdraw.
The Mana Stone pouches were heavy with their haul, his team’s condition was solid, and all that remained was to reach the Escape Portal safely.
Let’s come back in a month.
The farewell, as common as it was, had frozen on his lips before he could say it.
The Mana Corruption Zone.
Beyond that violet barrier, the moment your foot touches the ground, you die.
At least, that was the common knowledge he’d always known.
He’d hunted through this corrupted field dozens of times, but he’d never seen anyone enter what lay beyond.
He’d never even heard anyone speak of trying.
And yet now.
From the very heart of that death-land, two motorcycles were roaring out.
“Team lead, that…”
“I see it.”
Cody’s voice trembled.
Marcus was little better.
Corruption Monsters surged around the motorcycles like a wave.
It made sense.
The Mana Corruption had expanded to this degree.
He couldn’t begin to imagine the monster density inside.
But that wasn’t the problem.
That wave kept parting, retreating from the motorcycles as they drew near.
On the lead motorcycle.
A man sat in the saddle, wielding something through the air.
A heavy weight hanging from the end of a chain.
Each time it swept in a wide arc, the heads of the monsters charging forward burst apart like grain stalks.
Not one at a time.
Four or five with each swing.
Marcus had no short history as a Hunter.
He knew how difficult chain weapons were to master.
As free as their length, and as unpredictable as their freedom allows.
Even those called skilled could barely maintain two arcs while standing still.
Yet this man wielded it on a moving motorcycle with one hand, bending its trajectory as he went.
The chain moved like a living serpent through the air, crushing only the obstacles in its path with perfect precision, and the motorcycle never wavered in its direction.
Never slowed its pace.
A straight line.
From start to finish, only a straight line.
“What… what is that?”
Cody beside him let out a dazed whisper.
Marcus couldn’t answer.
He felt the same.
They weren’t being pursued.
These weren’t the backs of those in retreat.
This was simply the back of someone traveling their own path.
Like someone kicking pebbles aside as they walk, they were racing through the death-land itself.
Behind them.
A woman on the second motorcycle unleashed gunfire, finishing off those that crept in from the side.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
Close enough now that they could hear the gunshots clearly.
Flames erupted where the bullets passed, and the monsters shrieked as they crashed to the ground.
Someone muttered from behind.
“Is that even possible?”
No one answered.
They were seeing it with their own eyes, yet couldn’t believe it.
“They look East Asian?”
“Wait… I know that woman.”
One of the team members pointed a trembling finger at the motorcycle behind them.
“Isn’t she a Korean Incarnation Mage?”
“An Incarnation Mage?”
“She’s pretty famous. A rising star making waves back in Korea… I heard she could create all sorts of things with something called Incarnation Magic, but…….”
The team member’s words trailed off.
At the edge of the purple Mana Corruption Zone.
A new materialized form descended as a cluster of light solidified in mid-air and fell.
‘A boss monster from the broken munitions factory?’
‘It seems different somehow, though…….’
‘What is that doing here?’
While doubt and shock rose in everyone’s minds.
The mysterious materialized form that crashed to the ground belched fire, firing bullets and cannon rounds to obliterate the monsters clustered around the curtain’s entrance.
Marcus spoke up.
“……Did she directly create that with this Incarnation Magic or whatever it is?”
“……Probably?”
At those words, everyone’s eyes shifted toward the woman, then quickly back to the man.
Within the brilliant explosions created by the materialized N.MK-II.
The man who flew in with crackling blue lightning was now wielding a large Daebu, slicing through monsters.
Honestly, the monsters looked like mere straw dummies against him.
The moment the path opened completely.
The man mounted the motorcycle that regenerated before him and escaped through the curtain.
Kim Han-ryul emerged from the dust cloud and followed behind him.
Every movement was seamless.
Marcus spoke again.
“……So then, who is that man?”
“……I don’t know. First time seeing him.”
“Isn’t he a famous Hunter? With skill like that? You’re always on the Hunter Community.”
“……Look, team leader. Just because I spend time on the Community doesn’t mean I know everyone, does it?”
“He seems Korean too… Why are all these talents pouring out like this?”
In the meantime.
The purple barrier was pushed back.
The two had completely escaped the Mana Corruption Zone.
There was no special ceremony, no flashy display.
Just, as naturally as if nothing was wrong.
Like stepping over a threshold.
Marcus swallowed without thinking.
It wasn’t because he didn’t know what that place was like.
What terrified him was the composure with which they exited—as if they knew a land that should have been terrifying in its mystery.
The two motorcycles maintained their speed, cutting straight across the field.
Their destination was clear.
The Escape Portal.
The faces of the approaching pair burned vividly into the eyes of those watching.
The man remained expressionless throughout.
The woman was smiling and shouting something at him.
And the next moment.
A cluster of light swallowed them both, and the loud exhaust sound cut off abruptly.
Only silence remained across the field.
“…….”
“……D-did they just go?”
“Yeah. They really did.”
Cody muttered in a hollow voice, and no one contradicted him.
Two people had just passed through the place they’d been calling the barrier of death as if it were a morning commute.
That fact still hadn’t sunk in.
Marcus stared for a long time in the direction where the portal had been.
He snapped back to reality when he felt the cool purple barrier pressing in from behind.
“We should move too.”
“W-what? Team leader?”
“No time. Move.”
This was no moment to lose their heads.
The Corruption is closing in even as we speak.
If we stand here entranced, we’ll become prey for the Corruption Monsters—not the architects of what we just witnessed.
As Marcus turned, his teammates shook off their daze and followed.
That’s when it became clear.
Other teams were stirring to life all around them.
All wearing the same hollow, half-absent stare.
Some walked backward, their eyes still fixed on where the portal had been.
Others checked the Magical Engineering Action Camera hanging from their necks again and again, desperate to confirm it was still there.
They hadn’t been the only ones to witness that impossible sight.
* * *
Earth was peaceful.
Beyond the window, the low hum of the city at dusk; in the air, the familiar scent of daily life instead of Mana.
After days spent beneath the violet sky of the Corruption Zone, even this ordinary scene felt strange and new.
Of course, only one person was lost in such sentiment.
The moment they arrived home, Kim Han-ryul threw himself onto the sofa.
“Ah… I feel like I’m going to live. Home really is the best.”
“This isn’t your home, Kim Han-ryul.”
“Come on, what’s with that between us? Leader. Your home is my home, and my home is your home.”
…….
Ju Do-gyeom opened his drowsy eyes.
Kim Han-ryul watched him for a moment, then waved her hand dismissively and closed her eyes again.
As if to say she was about to get some proper rest.
Ju Do-gyeom let out a quiet laugh and didn’t press further, heading instead to the kitchen.
He returned with two glasses of water; Kim Han-ryul opened her eyes to accept hers.
“Thanks, leader. You’re the only one for me!”
She took the glass and drained half of it in one go, then spoke as if something had just occurred to her.
“By the way, when we were leaving, there were a lot of people around. I saw quite a few of those magical gear action cameras… is that okay? Didn’t you not want to be recognized because of the Jin U-seong incident?”
Ju Do-gyeom nodded.
“This much is fine.”
Ju Do-gyeom understood himself well.
An Awl in the Pouch.
As the saying goes—a hidden needle that will eventually pierce through.
He could not hide forever.
Besides.
‘This much is necessary.’
Things had begun to unfold differently than Ju Do-gyeom had anticipated.
In such circumstances, maintaining contact with old colleagues he might encounter was something he couldn’t help but keep in mind.
And as he’d said before, when that meeting came, an appropriate reputation would be invaluable.
So only one problem remained.
In what manner, and to what extent, should he become known?
Nothing on the scale of the Jin U-seong incident.
Some would view it favorably.
But others would see it as a threat and inevitably become troublesome.
So he’d kept silent.
But the escape from the corrupting fields was different.
It was just right.
Enough to spark curiosity and interest, yet not dangerous enough to warrant serious concern.
There was no need to worry that someone might suspect Ju Do-gyeom was the one who killed Jin U-seong.
The Corrupting Fields is a C-Rank Dungeon.
The Mana Corruption Zone is classified as high as B+, but using that alone as grounds to suspect him as the killer of Jin U-seong—who carried A+ Rank danger—would be a stretch.
Of course, if a pattern of similar incidents accumulated, the calculus would change.
‘But by then, it won’t matter anyway.’
Watching Ju Do-gyeom lost in thought, Kim Han-ryul swirled her remaining water.
“Well, you’d have a reason for it, I’m sure.”
As always, she didn’t pry too deeply.
Instead, she shifted the conversation in an entirely different direction.
“Speaking of which—now that our team is starting to become known, shouldn’t we decide on a name?”
“A name?”
“A team name, a team name. Now that we’re starting to get out there, isn’t it good to settle on one? If it’s too hard……”
She paused, then spoke again with a teasing smile playing at her lips.
“Should I come up with one for you? I’m confident I could.”
“No.”
The refusal was instant.
“Whoa, whoa—shouldn’t you at least think about it before turning me down?”
“There’s nothing to think about.”
“Hmph. Better than some angsty teenager’s name, anyway.”
“Better than something childish.”
……
……
Their gazes locked in the empty air between them.
Neither one backed down.
One sprawled across the sofa, the other standing.
As the silence stretched, Kim Han-ryul’s brow narrowed by degrees, while Ju Do-gyeom’s expression grew steadily more composed.
Between them lay a perfect, mutual understanding: neither trusted the other’s sense of naming in the slightest.
It was Ju Do-gyeom who broke the silence.
“I’m the team lead.”
No logic. No persuasion.
Just rank.
“……Tch. Do whatever you want.”
Kim Han-ryul jutted out his lower lip and drained the last of his water.
Then he pushed off the sofa, rising to his feet and heading for the entrance.
He grabbed the door handle, then turned back with just his head.
“So we’re not hitting any Dungeons for a few days, right?”
“That’s right. We’re settling accounts and cleaning things up for now.”
“Okay. Then I’m sleeping like a dead man for a few days, so don’t call unless it’s urgent.”
“Fair enough.”
“Get some rest. And don’t go stirring up any more trouble.”
He thought it was a familiar line.
It was the sort of thing he used to say.
Mostly to this woman right here.
When Ju Do-gyeom let out a soft chuckle, Kim Han-ryul snapped his hand to his forehead.
“Roger that—!”
A salute, and the door closed.
The living room fell quiet.
Ju Do-gyeom picked up the two empty cups and made his way to the kitchen.
His mind already running through the tasks of the coming days.
Settlement, fence work, restocking depleted supplies.
How the wider community reacted could wait—he’d check on that later.
* * *
At that same moment.
A video had appeared at the very top of the Korean Hunter Community’s real-time popular board.
[Video] Two-Person Team Just Emerged from Inside the Mana Corruption Zone
The title alone was enough to draw attention.
The attached video was just over a minute long.
The screen was shaky and distorted in the way typical of Magical Engineering Action Cameras, yet the content it captured was unmistakable.
Two motorcycles tearing through the violet barrier, and Corruption Monsters exploding outward each time the chain at its end whipped through the air.
The spectacular explosion show of an N.MK-II falling from the sky, and
Between the gaps, a man wielding a Daebu, performing a slaughter of Corruption Monsters.
Comments were updating in real time.
-You see this?
-They came out of the Corruption Zone? This isn’t edited?
-Are they trapped and just escaped?
-Doesn’t look like it—they came from pretty far away.
-The footage is full throttle from start to finish. These aren’t the movements of someone who was trapped.
-This is fake. How would a person survive in the Mana Corruption Zone in the first place?
-Yeah, but what if there’s some hidden area we don’t know about?
-Hidden area, my ass. If something like that existed, it would’ve been cleaned out already.
-Regardless, breaking through that barrier—that’s insane.
-Wait, isn’t that Kim Han-ryul?
└An Incarnation Mage? No way.
└└Yeah, that looks right. I’ve seen him a few times—that’s definitely him.
-Kim Han-ryul was at that level?
└I don’t think he was quite there before.
└└But he’s been hitting dungeons like a madman lately, so he must’ve grown like crazy.
-But who’s the guy next to him? I’ve never seen him before.
└No clue.
└└He fights pretty well though. Honestly, better than Kim Han-ryul?
-Since when do we have a Hunter using chain weapons in this country? I’ve never heard of one.
└He looks Korean though—who is he? This is insane.
Nobody had the answer.
With no one knowing, the comments multiplied.
Since the profession of Hunter was born, the logic of this world had remained constant.
Strength was always a topic.
And strength whose identity remained unknown became more than mere gossip—it became an incident.
View counts updating by the minute swelled with each refresh, their digits climbing higher, and the video spread from one forum to another, into yet another community.
Edited clips began to circulate.
The segment of the chain crushing the monster’s skull at its end, looped infinitely on repeat, garnered far more comments than the original.
The questions were the same everywhere.
When did an Incarnation Mage grow this strong?
Who was the man beside him?
Which team did he belong to?
Why didn’t anyone know?
The more unanswerable the question, the longer it burns.
It was the moment Ju Do-gyeom became the talk of the town.

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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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