The Returned Hunter Has Awakened to a Hidden Class - Chapter 111
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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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111
111
Nest of the Birds (6)
“I seal Kaiser’s second legacy in this place.”
The moment he read the inscription carved into the stone wall.
Rumble-
The cave began to shake.
At first it was a small vibration.
But it gradually grew larger.
Thud thud thud thud thud-
Like a heartbeat. Like a signal that something enormous was awakening from sleep.
“Whoa, waaah!”
Park Min-soo screamed.
“Brace yourself.”
An earthquake of magnitude 10 or higher struck the cave.
Stone walls crumbled, the cave walls pushed outward, and the space began to transform.
The ceiling, which had been so low that Park Min-soo’s head nearly touched it, gradually rose higher.
Kwaaaaaaaaa-!
The ceiling rises. Both walls expand outward. The floor shakes too.
Kwaaaa-!
The sounds of massive stone structures being reconstructed continued endlessly.
Like a giant sheet of paper being unfolded.
The narrow tunnel gradually widened, the low ceiling gradually rose higher, and the cramped space gradually became vast.
Finally.
Kugugugu…
The transformation stopped.
“To think it could expand this much.”
Park Min-soo muttered.
What spread before their eyes was no longer a narrow cave.
A vast open space transformed enormously in all directions.
Like a massive underground plaza. Or like someone’s tomb.
And there.
In the distance.
Several swords stood.
No, they were embedded.
Dozens of swords were embedded in a row.
Like crosses on graves. Or like markers honoring soldiers who died in battle.
The moment Kim Jun and Park Min-soo saw that sight, they felt a strange sensation.
Looking closely at those swords, they weren’t simply old weapons.
The rusted surfaces bore traces left by time. But that wasn’t all.
Along with the rust.
Blood was stained on them.
As if used hundreds of times. No, thousands of times.
Blood that had soaked in that deeply. Rust and blood mixed together, displaying a dark, deep color.
As if time had gradually changed that red color to black.
As if someone’s blood.
Was recorded on these swords.
“This is eerie, isn’t it?”
“Stay alert.”
A strange aura pervaded the air.
Among those dozens of swords, the one positioned at the very center looked different.
“Look over there.”
Kim Jun pointed.
That sword was definitely rusted. It also had traces of blood like the other swords.
But from its surface, a red light still flowed faintly.
As if the fire hadn’t completely gone out.
As if something was still alive.
“What exactly are we supposed to do here?”
“We’ll find out if we pull it out.”
The two walked forward cautiously.
Passing between those swords standing like tombstones.
They couldn’t know what story lay behind each sword, but they definitely felt the weight of it.
Finally.
They stood before the central sword.
The sword that held a red light.
The only sword among all the others that maintained life.
Kim Jun reached out his hand.
Thunk-
He pulled out the rusted sword.
At that moment.
Wooooong-!
The entire cave resonated.
As if something had received a touch it had been waiting for a very long time.
—-
[Emergency Quest Generated!]
– Quest Name: Kaiser’s Second Legacy
– Content: Defeat Kaiser’s Doppelganger
– Difficulty: ★★★★★
– Reward: Acquire 「Kaiser’s Legacy」 Second Seal!
– Note: Only obtainable by players who have acquired 「Kaiser’s Legacy」
—-
A quest appeared.
*
Wooooong-!
The entire cave resonated.
The moment that resonance stopped.
The space changed once more.
Dust rose up.
No, it wasn’t dust.
It was red light.
Red light swirling like mist.
It began to envelop the interior of the cave.
Sssssssss-
From within the red mist.
Shift-
A form was revealed.
It had the shape of a human.
But it wasn’t human.
That thing made of red light looked like a spirit.
Transparent yet deep red. Like some will that had been imprisoned for a long time had obtained a body.
Red light flowed down from its entire body.
That soul-like being.
Thud-
Picked up the sword that had been embedded just moments before.
The sword was held in its hands.
At that moment, the sword shone again.
Red light explosively bloomed from the rusted surface.
As if the soul’s blood was seeping into the sword.
As if the sword was coming back to life.
And it.
Ching-
Raised the sword horizontally.
Toward Kim Jun.
Threateningly. No, provocatively.
As if telling him to prove himself.
“Hyung, what are you going to do?”
“You stay out of this.”
Of course, if Tank Park Min-soo joined in, even if it was Kaiser’s Doppelganger, it wouldn’t be a piece of cake… but still.
It would definitely be relatively easy to clear.
“Will you be okay? No matter how I look at it, it’s extraordinary… It has an aura that rivals what you showed last time, hyung.”
Park Min-soo remembered.
The wave from when Kim Jun became an EX-grade being in the [Labyrinth of the Reaper].
Though it was just for a moment, that tremendously overwhelming wave.
But this soul now seemed to match that aura.
A feeling that it would be absolutely impossible to clear.
Moreover, hostile ‘targets’ that need to be cleared in this Tower of Trials always boast ridiculous health, as usual.
Of course, since it’s Kaiser’s Doppelganger who was human, it would be different from ordinary ‘monsters’.
But that difference probably wouldn’t be significant.
Besides, Kaiser was the Tower’s first warrior and the one who first created the Hidden Class ‘Dragon Slayer’.
No matter how much of a doppelganger it was, it was still Kaiser’s Doppelganger.
Its strength would be unavoidable.
But.
“It’s pride. Pride.”
Kim Jun muttered.
A reason that was neither efficient, nor calm, nor rational, nor logical.
Kim Jun’s attempt to face that doppelganger alone right now was.
For exactly such a reason.
As one who inherited Kaiser’s Legacy.
As one who follows Kaiser’s path.
And.
“It’s a conversation between those who wield swords.”
The pride that it cannot be broken with help from others.
That kind of pride.
“Kekekeke. That’s so like my hyung!”
Park Min-soo burst into laughter.
There was no need to back down. As the same man, as a warrior.
There was no way he wouldn’t understand that feeling.
Such fights were indeed something that had to be proven alone, a man’s duty.
“Good. Then prove it, hyung. But if things go wrong, I’ll step in, okay?”
Park Min-soo muttered and stepped back.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Kim Jun smiled at Park Min-soo’s frivolous words and took a step forward.
Step-
The distance to the soul shortened.
Kaiser’s Doppelganger moved as well.
Step-
It walks.
Slowly. But surely. Toward Kim Jun.
In its eyes, only the sword was visible.
Step step-
A little faster.
It began walking a little faster.
As if wanting to cross swords as quickly as possible.
As if its body was reacting.
As if instinct was moving it.
It wasn’t just Kim Jun.
No matter how much it was Kaiser’s Doppelganger, a lingering thought.
That being was also one who wielded a sword.
The moment one holds a sword, the desire to cross blades blooms.
It wasn’t reason.
It was instinct.
Tap tap tap-
Faster.
Tap tap tap tap-
A little faster.
Tap tap tap tap-!
Finally it begins to run.
Kim Jun moved too.
Tap tap tap tap tap-!
The two beings charge toward each other.
The one who walks Kaiser’s path, and Kaiser’s lingering thought.
Three steps distance.
Clang-!
The swords met.
A single exchange.
Booooooooooooong-!!
A massive shockwave exploded.
Whatever was created by the meeting of the two swords covered the entire cave. The air itself rang.
Sound waves as if the world was splitting apart.
Sparks flew.
Red sparks and black sparks mixed together.
Kwaaa-!
The cave walls shook. Dust rose. Park Min-soo raised his arm to cover his eyes.
But the fight had already begun.
After that single exchange ended.
The very next moment.
Ching-!
The doppelganger’s sword swept horizontally.
Fast.
Too fast.
As if the red light itself was cold.
Kim Jun blocked it from above.
Clang-!
Another collision sound.
But the two didn’t stop.
The Doppelganger spun its sword.
The trajectory of its rotating downward strike looked like a red circle being drawn.
Kim Jun threw his entire body.
Not to evade.
He moved to the side and counterattacked.
Swish-!
The sword grazed past.
The Doppelganger planted its foot and launched its body.
It twisted its body in mid-air and swung its sword.
From above.
From the side.
From below where the terrain was destroyed.
Swords coming from all directions.
But Kim Jun moved too.
Dragging his feet, launching his body, raising and lowering his sword.
Clang-!
Clang-!
Clang clang clang-!
Collision sounds rang out continuously.
Like a melody flowing, a violent yet beautiful song of blades spread out.
Crack-
Sparks kept flying.
The Doppelganger’s sword came up from below.
Clang-!
Kim Jun pressed down from above and blocked it.
But the Doppelganger wasn’t pushed back.
Instead, it spun in place.
Spinning its sword.
Launching its body.
Converting back to an attack.
Tap tap tap tap-!
The Doppelganger’s feet stepped on the ground as it moved forward.
The sword drew an arc.
From above to the side.
From the side to below.
From below to above.
Continuous movement.
Like a storm.
Kim Jun didn’t retreat either.
Clang-!
The sword was blocked from the side.
Clang-!
He parried another attack.
Crash-!
Faster.
Stronger.
Both their movements grew increasingly rapid.
As if time itself was flowing at a different speed.
Whoooosh-!
Another shockwave exploded.
It was when the Doppelganger’s sword pressed Kim Jun’s sword downward.
That pressure.
That weight.
Kaiser’s power contained within it.
But Kim Jun wasn’t pushed back either.
Instead, he threw his body to the side.
Moving behind the Doppelganger like teleportation.
And struck down with his sword from above.
Clang-!
The Doppelganger spun its sword to receive it.
Above their heads.
Both swords stopped.
Briefly.
Only a moment’s pause.
Then.
Tap tap-!
The Doppelganger launched its body.
Rolling to the side.
Spinning in mid-air.
Returning to attack stance again.
Kim Jun followed.
Swoosh-
Crash-
Clang clang clang clang-!
The collision sounds never ceased.
The entire Cave echoed.
Sparks kept flying.
Dust swirled.
The spectacle created by these two beings.
Was like watching a battle of ‘sword gods’.
A duel of sword against sword.
“What, what is this.”
Park Min-soo could only be stunned by the scene unfolding before his eyes.
Well, it was because he couldn’t see it at all with his own eyes.
The speed and precision of Kim Jun’s movements after growing to SS-rank.
Even without using special skills, it had completely changed.
Though he swung his sword the same way, the weight behind it was different.
Though he moved the same way, those movements were also extraordinary.
Clearly the same motions.
Yet an indescribable difference in ‘class’ could be felt.
Whether it was experience, power, or something else entirely was unknown.
But it was definitely a fight on a different dimension than before.
“Good thing I backed out. Hmm.”
Park Min-soo muttered.
If he got caught up in a fight like that, even someone as sturdy as himself wouldn’t be surprised to lose a limb or two.
It was that dangerous.
At that moment.
“An opening.”
────!
Kim Jun caught the Doppelganger’s opening.
In that instant, he unleashed 「Dragon Slash」.
A red flame sword aura cut through the air.
Whoosh-
But Kaiser’s Doppelganger, as if it had predicted even that, threw its body and lightly evaded.
As if it had already known.
One step, two steps.
The Doppelganger’s feet stepped on the ground.
One slash, two thrusts.
The endless dance of swords connecting, breaking, clashing, and flowing never ceased.
‘Vicious and violent.’
If that Kaiser’s Doppelganger’s swordsmanship was the same as Kaiser’s.
Kaiser’s swordsmanship was quite different from Valderion’s.
No, completely different.
Valderion showed refined and static sword paths, yet savage when necessary.
Even those savage sword paths, when examined closely, moved according to a kind of rhythm and predetermined course.
But Kaiser’s swordsmanship.
Kwaaaaaa-!
It was similar to that of Kim Jun’s summon, Andras.
Unpredictable because it wasn’t predetermined.
Requiring moment-to-moment responses because the moves couldn’t be read.
Having many openings, but also inducing the opponent to expose many openings.
Clang-
Clang-
Screeeech-!!
That kind of sword path.
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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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