The Returned Hunter Has Awakened to a Hidden Class - Chapter 104

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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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104

104

Labyrinth of the Reaper (1)

Whoooosh-

32nd floor.

The moment he stepped foot here, the air felt different. It was humid, smelled of earth, and had a thick scent of grass.

And currently, Kim Jun was.

Rustle-

“Quiet.”

“…”

In a super sensitive state.

He was extremely sensitive to even the smallest footstep.

“Why are you like th…”

“Quiet!”

Step-

“Shhhhhh!!”

“…;”

He wouldn’t allow even the smallest sound.

“Quiet.”

“Ah, I didn’t even say anything…”

“Quiet.”

“Geez… oppa has changed…”

“Be. Quiet!”

“….”

Kim Jun, who had never once scolded Ryu Ji-a, was in such a super ultra-sensitive boss state that he was reprimanding her like this.

‘This place is…’

32nd floor. [Labyrinth of the Reaper].

A massive maze.

Walls made of countless bushes stretched endlessly.

The height easily exceeded 5 meters, they were thick, and dense.

Green bushes. With thorns protruding. Full of vitality.

The maze’s structure was complex. There were countless branching paths, many dead ends, and it was impossible to tell where was where.

Moreover, the maze even changed periodically.

This was a floor where they played hide and seek.

Hunters had to explore the maze, open boxes, and find keys inside them.

Once they found a key, a portal to the 33rd floor would open.

The boxes contained various rewards.

Coins, potions, equipment, skill books. With good luck, you could obtain good items.

But there were also trap boxes. Mimics with teeth would jump out and bite.

And most importantly.

‘The Grim Reaper.’

The being that roamed this maze, hunting Hunters.

Wearing a black robe, wielding a scythe, thirsting for Hunters’ lives.

Physical attacks didn’t work on it. Slashing, stabbing, striking – nothing worked. Because it was a being that dealt with souls.

If caught by the Grim Reaper, you would enter a ‘Soul Bind’ state.

Your body would freeze, you couldn’t move, and you’d be stuck standing in place.

To escape, another party member had to use holy water to rescue you.

But holy water came randomly from boxes. The probability was low. It was hard to obtain.

‘Su-in…’

Kim Jun looked at Han Su-in.

Han Su-in stood silently. She was watching their surroundings. Her hand gripping the sword was tense.

A memory surfaced in Kim Jun’s mind.

The 32nd floor before his regression.

Han Su-in had died here.

By the time Kim Jun arrived, it was already too late to do anything.

Her limp hands. Hanging powerlessly.

Her body grown cold. No longer feeling any warmth.

Her body stiff and rigid. Rigid enough to tell how much time had passed.

Kim Jun had knelt down on the spot. He held Han Su-in. But it was all useless.

And what Kim Jun saw was.

Her with nothing left.

All the equipment Han Su-in had been carrying was gone.

Her sword, her armor.

Everything had disappeared.

Someone had taken it.

After that, Kim Jun went mad.

No, saying he went mad wasn’t enough.

After leaving the maze, he searched every Hunter in the Tower.

To find Han Su-in’s equipment. To find the culprit.

He wandered endlessly. Without eating or sleeping.

And finally, at some tavern, he discovered an assassin from the Assassin Guild ‘Eum’ wearing Han Su-in’s sword.

Kim Jun dragged the bastard out right there.

Outside. Into an alley. Where people couldn’t see.

And he slammed the bastard’s neck against the wall.

He broke his fingers one by one. Slowly. Listening to the sound of bones breaking.

The bastard screamed. Begged. Sobbed. Confessed. That he had killed her.

That he had stabbed her from behind to steal her items.

The very woman who had saved his life from the Grim Reaper.

Kim Jun didn’t stop.

He broke all the fingers. One by one. All ten of them.

And then he broke his arms. Both of them.

He broke his legs too. His knees, his ankles.

The bastard could no longer even scream and just convulsed.

Only then did Kim Jun slit his throat. Slowly. Painfully.

The bastard died.

But Han Su-in’s warmth that had already grown cold could never return.

Kim Jun’s heart also stopped then.

The lively atmosphere disappeared completely.

The laughter with party members, the light jokes – everything vanished.

Kim Jun’s appearance of slaughtering monsters to the point where even they would feel pity began from that moment.

‘Never again…’

Kim Jun clenched his fist.

He would never let such a thing happen again.

This time was different.

The speed was so different from before his regression that only Kim Jun’s party of five was here.

There were no other Hunters.

But still, Kim Jun was anxious.

Every time he looked at this place, he kept remembering Han Su-in’s limp corpse.

That appearance from before his regression. Collapsed and bleeding. Staring into empty space with vacant eyes.

That memory tormented Kim Jun. It kept surfacing like a nightmare.

So he was on edge. He startled at the smallest sounds, was wary of everything, and constantly checked on Han Su-in.

‘It’s okay. This time I’ll protect her. It’s okay. It’s okay.’

This was Kim Jun’s resolution and at the same time, like an incantation to comfort himself.

That such a thing would never happen again.

Rumble rumble rumble-!

Suddenly vibrations rang out.

The ground shook. The air trembled.

Creak creak creak-!

The walls began to move.

Left, right, forward, backward.

The massive thorn walls writhed like living creatures.

Roots were dragged up from underground, branches tilted in unison in the same direction, and the whole thing moved like one giant organism.

The path that had originally continued straight was blocked by walls. Branching paths disappeared.

Conversely, places that had been blocked opened up. New passages were created.

Dead ends became exits, and what had been exits became dead ends.

The entire maze was being completely rearranged.

Creak-! Creak-!

10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds.

Endless continuing changes.

And finally.

Rumble-

The vibrations stopped. The maze’s transformation was complete.

A new structure had been finished.

Kim Jun looked around. Completely different paths. Scenery he’d never seen before.

“Follow me. Quietly.”

Kim Jun took the lead.

He walked along the maze. Slowly, carefully.

Here and there he could see boxes.

Coins came out, potions came out, and equipment fragments came out.

They were lucky. Useful items kept appearing.

Park Min-soo obtained a health recovery potion. Ryu Ji-a got a mana potion. Lee Seo-yeon discovered a rare skill book.

They continued forward. Choosing the maze’s branching paths, avoiding dead ends.

Then.

Hiss-

A sound was heard from far away.

A strange sound. Like someone breathing. No, like someone sucking in breath.

‘Has it come.’

Kim Jun raised his hand and stopped everyone.

They froze. All of them. They didn’t even breathe.

Scrape, scrape scrape…

The sound grew closer.

Closer and closer. Slowly.

Cold sweat ran down Kim Jun’s back. His heart beat rapidly.

Hiss- Hiss-

The sound grew even closer. It seemed to have come right up to them.

Ryu Ji-a gripped Kim Jun’s clothes tightly. She was trembling.

Park Min-soo also held his breath with a tense expression. Lee Seo-yeon and Han Su-in were the same.

Kim Jun slowly, very slowly turned his head.

Beyond the corner, a shadow was visible. Long, dark, not in the shape of a human.

Scrape scrape… scrape…

It was a Grim Reaper.

Kim Jun gestured. Go the other way. Quietly.

The group held their breath and backed away.

One step, two steps, three steps. Very carefully.

Hiss-

The Grim Reaper turned the corner and appeared.

Its black robe rippled without any wind.

Its scythe glowed faintly.

Kim Jun’s group completely stopped breathing. Afraid even their heartbeats might be heard.

The Grim Reaper slowly turned its head. Left, right. As if searching for something.

But it didn’t stop. It walked straight down the opposite path.

Hiss- Hiss-

It hadn’t discovered Kim Jun’s group.

“…”

“…”

The sound grew distant. Slowly.

Kim Jun entered a different branching path. The group followed. All of them breaking out in cold sweat.

They were safe. For now.

But they couldn’t let their guard down.

The Grim Reaper was still wandering around the maze, and they didn’t know when they might encounter it again.

They continued forward. Carefully. Muffling their footsteps with each step.

They opened boxes. They obtained items. But they had no leisure to rejoice.

Hiss-

The sound was heard again.

They hid. Behind a wall. Everyone crouched down and held their breath.

The Grim Reaper passed by. Right next to them.

Their hearts felt like they would burst. Kim Jun’s heart, and his companions’ hearts too.

The Grim Reaper disappeared.

They advanced again. Carefully. One step at a time.

They had barely taken a few steps when.

Rumble rumble rumble rumble!!!

The maze began shaking violently again.

But this time was different. Different from before his regression too.

The vibrations were much greater. The ground shook. The walls moved violently.

“What?!”

Park Min-soo shouted.

Creak creak creak-!

The walls shot upward. Higher. 10 meters, 15 meters, 20 meters. They kept rising.

They soared high into the sky with no end in sight.

And.

Creak-!

A ceiling appeared. A ceiling made of thorns completely blocked the top.

“This is…”

Kim Jun narrowed his eyes.

‘It’s different from before my regression.’

Kim Jun was shocked.

Before his regression, it hadn’t changed this drastically.

The walls had moved a little, but a ceiling hadn’t appeared.

‘It’s changed again. Again.’

Clang-!

Kim Jun struck the wall. With his sword. With all his might.

But the wall didn’t budge. It wasn’t cut. Not even a scratch appeared.

“As expected, it’s useless.”

Kim Jun muttered.

That damn ‘system dimension’ thing.

It couldn’t be destroyed. It was telling them not to use tricks like breaking through or flying out.

Rumble rumble rumble!!!

The vibrations continued. Stronger. More violent.

The walls moved frantically. Left, right, forward, backward. Randomly.

The entire maze was being completely rearranged.

“Hold on tight!”

Kim Jun shouted.

He reached out to his companions. He grabbed Han Su-in.

But.

Thud-!

A wall blocked between them. It separated Kim Jun and Han Su-in from the rest.

“Hyung!”

Park Min-soo’s voice was heard. But it was already beyond the wall.

“Min-soo! Where are you!”

Kim Jun shouted.

“Hyung! Hyung! Where are you!”

Park Min-soo’s voice was heard. But it was distant. Getting farther away.

“Ryu Ji-a! Seo-yeon!”

Kim Jun shouted again.

There was no answer. No, it couldn’t be heard.

Rumble rumble-

The vibrations stopped. The maze’s transformation was complete.

Kim Jun looked around.

Only Han Su-in was beside him.

Park Min-soo, Ryu Ji-a, and Lee Seo-yeon were nowhere to be seen. They were completely separated, blocked by walls.

“…”

Han Su-in looked at Kim Jun. Silently. With worried eyes.

But the one trembling more than Han Su-in was Kim Jun.

That time when Han Su-in was left alone. That time when she was betrayed. That time when she collapsed bleeding.

‘No. This time is different.’

Kim Jun calmed himself.

There were no other Hunters. No traitors. Park Min-soo, Ryu Ji-a, and Lee Seo-yeon were safe too.

But still.

‘The Grim Reaper…’

Kim Jun tensed up.

The Grim Reaper. The being that roamed this maze, hunting Hunters.

What if his companions encountered the Grim Reaper?

‘I need to reunite with them quickly.’

While having such thoughts.

Gulp-

What appeared before Kim Jun and Han Su-in’s eyes was.

The Grim Reaper that should have been only one.

Grooooooo-

The Grim Reaper that should have been just that.

Grooooooo-

Grooooooo-

Grooooooo-

.

.

.

Dozens, hundreds.

So many Grim Reapers that they couldn’t even be counted were all turning their heads in unison to look this way.

Under the empty hoods, the hollow void with nothing there. That space with no eyes, no face, nothing at all.

Creak, creak-

Staring straight at Kim Jun and Han Su-in.

Shrieeeeeek-

Began charging toward them.

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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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