The Returned Hunter Has Awakened to a Hidden Class - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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10

Chapter 10

Minotaur’s Labyrinth (1)

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[You have entered the 7th Floor.]

[Quest Generated: Gargoyle Lord Subjugation]

[Objective: Defeat the Gargoyle Lord.]

[Reward: 1,000 EXP, 1,000 Coins]

—-

 Usually, hunters who reach the 7th Floor are only around level 10.

 And that’s only for those who dedicate themselves to hunting day and night in the Tebe Outskirts. Most give up in frustration before even reaching this height.

 But Kim Jun was different.

 Currently level 36.

 With the Dragon Heart implanted in his body and being the first to obtain a complete equipment set, his growth had been explosive.

 Even defense in the thousands was nothing more than thin paper to Kim Jun now.

『Stop.』

 As he uttered the dragon tongue in a low voice, the surrounding gargoyles stopped moving one by one as if time itself had frozen.

 Among them, frozen like stone statues, only Kim Jun’s footsteps echoed.

Step- Step-

 A faint smile formed on Kim Jun’s lips as he entered the Lord’s Domain.

“It’s been a while.”

 The Gargoyle Lord was easily three times the size of a regular gargoyle.

 Its skin was like limestone that had endured a thousand years, its fangs sharp as spears, and the wind from its spread wings shook the entire 7th Floor.

 Kim Jun slowly drew the greatsword from his back. The blade engraved with red dragon scale patterns gleamed as it caught the dim light of the floor.

“Kieeeee!”

 The floor vibrated with the Gargoyle Lord’s roar. Its massive body charged toward Kim Jun.

 A moment that would terrify any hunter.

 Kim Jun simply stood in place and waited. With a calm expression.

Whiiish-

 The moment the giant monster reached right in front of him.

Whoosh—!

 A single slash cut through the air.

 Following the arc drawn by the sword, flames like dragon’s breath exploded forth.

 「Dragon Claw」 glowed red as its unique skill 「Dragon Claw Enhancement」 activated.

 The Gargoyle Lord’s ironclad exterior melted and cracked like butter.

 The sound of stone melting echoed like the screech of twisting metal.

 It took only 1 second to break through 1000 defense.

 「Dragon Claw Enhancement」 had the ability to ignore 10% of the opponent’s defense. For most hunters, this was a negligible amount, but for Kim Jun, it was different.

 That 10% gap became a critical crack for lava to flow through, and the flames used that opening to instantly melt away the remaining defense.

“Kieeeeeee!!!”

 With a scream filled with agony, the Gargoyle Lord’s body was engulfed in red flames. Its massive form split in two and crashed to the floor.

 Its once-solid body was now nothing more than a lump of stone melted in lava.

—-

[Quest Complete: Gargoyle Lord Subjugation]

[Rewards Obtained: 1,000 EXP, 1,000 Coins]

[First Clear Reward: ‘Gargoyle’s Core’ Obtained]

—-

 8th Floor. Ice Golem’s Sanctum.

 The Ice Golem swung its fist toward Kim Jun.

 He ignored it.

 With a single swing of his greatsword, flames spread, and the six-meter-tall golem turned to steam and vanished.

 Kim Jun didn’t stop walking.

 9th Floor. Mage’s Library.

 Belphast the Mage cast ten elemental spells simultaneously. Kim Jun simply swung his sword once.

 The mage’s body scattered into ash. 

*

Ding-!

—-

[Hunter Global Announcement]

– Tower’s First 7th Floor Clear Achieved!

– Clear Time: 04 minutes 12 seconds

– Conqueror: [Identity Concealed]

– First Clear Reward: ‘Gargoyle’s Core’ Obtained

—-

“What? Already the 7th Floor?”

 A hunter group engaged in fierce battle at the Tebe Outskirts Mine on the 5th Floor checked the announcement with surprised eyes. One hunter gulped down his water bottle.

“It’s probably either the ‘Azure Dragon’ or ‘Black Tiger’ guild. Only they could do this.”

“Still, isn’t this too fast? We’ve been on the 3rd Floor for two days now…”

 Before he could finish speaking, another notification rang out.

Ding-!

—-

[Hunter Global Announcement]

– Tower’s First 8th Floor Clear Achieved!

– Clear Time: 01 minute 38 seconds

– Conqueror: [Identity Concealed]

– First Clear Reward: ‘Eternal Freeze Core’ Obtained

—-

“Wh-what. Already the 8th Floor…”

“This doesn’t make sense…”

 The hunters’ faces turned pale. Then once again, a notification rang out.

Ding-!

—-

[Hunter Global Announcement]

– Tower’s First 9th Floor Clear Achieved!

– Clear Time: 00 minutes 58 seconds

– Conqueror: [Identity Concealed]

– First Clear Reward: ‘Elemental Enhancement Rune’ Obtained

—-

“This speed is absurd…”

“This isn’t something a human could do…”

 The ‘Warrior’s Respite’ tavern in Tebe was packed with hunters without room to step. Everyone was waiting for the next announcement while raising their drinks.

“Hey, the 10th Floor is the final boss of this section. No matter how fast, it’ll take at least an hour,”

 Kim Do-hun, a hunter with scars covering his face, said.

“What are you talking about? Did you see the speed so far? I bet 100 coins they’ll clear it within 10 minutes!”

 Park Jae-hyun slammed the table as he spoke.

 The tavern owner Black Jo looked at Park Jae-hyun with wide eyes.

“Here we go again. Didn’t you empty your savings with betting before?”

“Black Jo, I’m sure this time! I’ll follow the rules!”

 Black Jo sighed. ‘Warrior’s Respite’ was originally the oldest tavern in Tebe Village.

 Black Jo was a former Tower conqueror who opened this tavern after retirement.

 One of his unique specialties was fairly mediating bets between hunters, which naturally made this place an unofficial betting hall.

“Really? I bet 200 coins on 20 minutes!”

 Lee Min-woo shouted.

“I bet 300 coins on clearing it today!”

 Jung Seok-ho joined in.

“Tch, you’re all crazy. Didn’t you see the notice when entering the Tower? The 10th floor boss is on a completely different level from floors 7-9. I bet 500 coins on not clearing it today!”

 Choi Seo-yun said with a confident voice.

 Black Jo, as he always did, began writing the betting details on the blackboard behind the tavern. Every bet had rules.

-Prepayment, at least 2 witnesses, 10% commission, and no objections to Black Jo’s final judgment-

“I’ll only take money for 5 minutes!”

 Hunters rushed forward with their coins.

 Among them were those who had taken out all their saved coins.

 10 minutes passed.

 20 minutes passed.

 1 hour passed.

 But the 10th floor clear notification didn’t appear.

“Ha! I won!”

 Choi Seo-yun stood up and shouted.

“Hey, the day isn’t over yet,”

 Jung Seok-ho objected.

“Still, at this pace, it should have been cleared already, right? Maybe they’re just taking a break today.”

 Yun Ji-a muttered from one side of the table.

“Or they died to the 10th floor boss.”

 At those words, the tavern fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“No way! A monster who cleared floors 7 through 9 in less than 4 minutes couldn’t possibly lose to the 10th floor boss!”

“Just wait quietly! It’ll be finished today!”

 Midnight was approaching.

“10 minutes left! In 10 minutes, Choi Seo-yun who bet on ‘impossible to clear today’ wins!”

 Choi Seo-yun’s face was filled with joy at the thought of receiving the expected prize money. But Park Jae-hyun, who had been counting down the 10 minutes, looked gloomy.

 The clock pointed to 11:59.

“10! 9! 8!”

 The hunters began counting down.

“7! 6! 5!”

 Then,

Ding-!

 The tavern froze instantly.

—-

[Hunter-wide Announcement]

– Tower’s first 10th floor clear achieved!

– Clear time: 11 hours 13 minutes 43 seconds

– Conqueror: [Identity Undisclosed]

– First clear reward: ‘Minotaur’s Horn’ obtained

—-

“Exactly 5 seconds before midnight. Just barely counts as ‘today’.”

Bang!

 Choi Seo-yun slammed the table. Her face turned pale.

“500 coins… all my coins…”

 The tavern became noisy again. Jung Seok-ho let out a cheer. Other hunters who won their bets also celebrated by clinking their glasses.

“A Minotaur…”

“So the 10th floor boss was a Minotaur.”

“The 10th floor really is on a different level.”

 Lee Min-woo said while emptying his glass.

“People like us would definitely die. We should just stay stuck in Tebe.”

 Just then, a hunter near the window close to the tavern entrance shouted.

“Look over there!”

 All eyes turned toward the window. On the street, a man was approaching with slow steps.

 His appearance, covered in red liquid, looked miserable at first glance.

 But looking closely, it wasn’t his blood.

 The Minotaur’s blood.

 Surprisingly, his armor was perfectly intact.

 It was hard to believe this was someone who had fought the Minotaur for 12 hours – his equipment didn’t have a single scratch.

 Only red blood and dust, evidence of fierce battle, covered him.

 Most noticeable were the massive greatsword hanging on his back and the huge horn in his right hand.

“Ah, damn tired.”

*

 Kim Jun felt familiar dizziness as soon as he set foot on the 10th floor.

 The Minotaur’s Labyrinth. The maze itself was the boss’s domain.

[You have entered the 10th floor.]

[Quest Generated: Minotaur Subjugation]

[Objective: Defeat the Minotaur.]

[Reward: 5,000 EXP, 5,000 Coins]

 The high walls of the maze surrounded him. Black mist flowed across the ceiling.

 Kim Jun frowned. Even before his regression, this maze was one of the most troublesome obstacles.

“It’s a bit different this time.”

Crash-!

 Kim Jun drew his flame-wreathed greatsword and struck the wall. With an explosive sound, the stone wall shattered into pieces.

 But instantly, space twisted and an identical wall appeared behind the destroyed one. As if it had been there from the beginning.

‘As expected, meaningless.’

 A space created by magic where another wall appears the moment you destroy one.

 Even with Kim Jun’s power, breaking through was impossible here.

‘The smell…’

 A beast’s scent brushed Kim Jun’s nose.

 The smell of blood, the scent of a bull, and a stench like moss and mold mixed together enveloped the entire maze.

 Throughout the labyrinth existed the Minotaur’s Avatars. Monsters that could appear anywhere, anytime.

 Weaker than the main body, but beings that would be lethal if encountered while trapped in the maze.

Groooo-

 A roar like a bull’s cry came from the distance. The Minotaur was wandering the maze searching for prey.

 Due to the maze’s structure, it was difficult to determine which direction the sound came from.

 The real purpose of this maze was to waste time, exhaust the challenger, then make them face the Minotaur King in a completely exhausted state.

‘I spent a whole month here before.’

 Kim Jun recalled his pre-regression memories.

 That time when he got lost in the Minotaur’s Labyrinth and wandered for a month.

 Even that was thanks to an artifact he accidentally discovered while exploring the labyrinth.

‘「Ariadne’s Thread」.’

 That thread used by Theseus in Greek mythology. The only way to escape the Minotaur’s Labyrinth.

 Kim Jun closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“「Detection C」 activated.”

 The skill obtained after defeating the 6th floor hidden boss, the Goblin Shaman.

 Instantly, Kim Jun’s pupils were dyed with blue light.

 The walls of the maze became translucent, and thin waves of mana began flowing throughout the Labyrinth.

 Among them, the strongest wave was touching the wall at the end of the left passage.

 It looked like an ordinary wall, but when seen through his detection skill, that place emitted a blue light unlike the other walls.

“That’s the place.”

 A smile spread across Kim Jun’s lips. The location where Ariadne’s Thread was.

 This time, one day would be enough, not a month.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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