The Returned Hunter Has Awakened to a Hidden Class - Chapter 12

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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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12

Chapter 12

Even the Tower has underground levels. 

 When news of clearing the 10th Floor spread throughout Tebe, the village was instantly swept up in a festive atmosphere.

“This time for real…!”

“That mysterious being will liberate us all!”

 Cheers erupted from every corner of the streets. It was a moment when the light of hope shone upon people who had lived trapped in despair for so long.

 Of course, not everyone was optimistic.

“…Still, they’ll fail in the end. It only gets stronger from here…”

 Some still shook their heads and spoke negatively.

 But even they couldn’t hide their hearts beating deep in their chests.

 Though it wasn’t a special holiday, all of Tebe’s residents voluntarily came out to the streets.

 It was to commemorate this historic day of clearing up to the 10th Floor in one go.

 Merchants put out more generous food than usual, and tavern owners distributed free drinks.

 But the main character wasn’t there.

“Is this all you’ve got?”

“Grrgh! It’s because hyung is too strong!”

Clang!

 Park Min-soo’s shield and Kim Jun’s greatsword clashed endlessly, sparking flames.

 While Kim Jun could now break through all floors alone, that too would soon reach its limit.

Thwack!

“Gugh!”

 The 190cm giant Park Min-soo was struck by the hilt of the greatsword and fell backward.

“Is it over?”

“Still far from it!”

Clang!

 Park Min-soo raised his shield again, but Kim Jun’s attacks didn’t stop.

 Like a blacksmith tempering a lump of iron, Kim Jun mercilessly hammered Park Min-soo.

Thwack-! Thwack-! Thwack-!

 Precise and intense strikes continued like hammer blows.

 Even as blood flowed from Park Min-soo’s body and groans escaped him, Kim Jun’s hands didn’t stop.

 Rather than going easy as usual, he truly pressed hard. Even when wounds formed and blood flowed, he showed no mercy.

 The comrades watching from one side of the training ground were flustered. They wanted to intervene but couldn’t easily step forward.

 From the current Kim Jun flowed an aura completely different from before.

 Something unapproachable, something that couldn’t be defied.

 Kim Jun opened his mouth toward the fallen Park Min-soo.

『Stand up.』

 It was Dragon Speech.

“Gugh!”

 When Park Min-soo collapsed from exhaustion, Kim Jun used Dragon Speech to make him stand. 

 Park Min-soo’s body rose on its own. He was forcibly made to stand regardless of his will.

 This happened repeatedly several times.

 Every time Park Min-soo reached his limit and collapsed, Kim Jun made him stand with Dragon Speech, and when his stamina dropped…

“Seo-yeon.”

“Y-yes!”

Whoosh-

 Recovery through Lee Seo-yeon’s heal. 

 And training began again.

‘You absolutely cannot fall.’

 Kim Jun’s eyes grew coldly calm.

 There was a limit to how far he could climb alone.

 From the 50th Floor onward, a party was absolutely necessary, and certain floors required party play as mandatory. 

 In such places, Park Min-soo’s role as a tank was absolute.

 He had to become much stronger than before his regression.

 Not just himself, but all guild members had to become powerful enough to obtain hidden classes.

 Only then could they set foot in the 100th Floor, that bastard’s ‘garden’. And this time, they could completely finish him off.

 Kim Jun knew. How infinite the results that human effort and determination could create were.

 Breaking through walls thought to be limits, making the impossible possible – that was what humans were.

“Ugh, uwaah! Hyung, hyung-nim! Please, hyung-nim!”

 Park Min-soo cried out desperately, but Kim Jun’s expression didn’t change.

『Stand up.』

 Dragon Speech echoed again.

 Park Min-soo didn’t know yet. What kind of being he could become, what kind of power he could wield.

 That’s why Kim Jun was teaching him directly.

Thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack!

 The ruthless training continued.

*

‘How long will it take?’

 Kim Jun fell into thought while looking at his guild members.

 Every class had hidden classes. And those classes could advance up to the 4th awakening.

 For Warriors, there was ‘Warlord’ specialized in pure physical attack power and ‘Dragon Slayer’ specialized in fire attribute attack power.

 Among these, Dragon Slayer was the class Kim Jun had obtained.

 Mages were divided into ‘Sorceress’ which maximized elemental magic and ‘Arcana’ which handled forbidden magic.

 Assassins had ‘Reaper’ specialized in stealth assassination and ‘Blade’ specialized in nimble swordsmanship.

 But Healers and Guardians were a bit special.

 The Healer’s hidden class ‘Bishop’ focused purely on healing and buffs, while ‘Valkyrie’ was a hybrid class that handled both healing and attack support.

 Guardians were the same. ‘Bastion’ specialized in complete tanking and party protection, but ‘Holy Knight’ was a class that combined tanking abilities with healing.

 However, Holy Knight had the condition that one had to convert to the Tower’s religion to change classes.

‘Min-soo would never convert.’

 In any case, it remained unchanged that they had to grow powerful enough to achieve hidden classes.

 For now, the priority was for him to quickly clear the path and guide his comrades along it.

 And when the appropriate time came, awaken everyone to hidden classes.

‘Su-in…’

 Kim Jun’s expression darkened momentarily.

 Even before his regression, most guild members had obtained hidden classes.

 Park Min-soo awakened as Bastion, Ryu Ji-a as Sorceress, Lee Seo-yeon as Bishop.

 But only Han Su-in was different. She lost her life on the 32nd floor and couldn’t reach a hidden class.

 And the Assassin’s hidden class was obtained by one of the Assassin Guild ‘Eum’ bastards. 

‘They’re all dead now, so it doesn’t matter.’

 Kim Jun brushed off the dust and stood up, making a resolution. He wouldn’t repeat past failures.

 For now, focusing on what needed to be done was important.

‘A place where disgusting bastards appear.’

 Floors 11 through 15. That place was one massive world where every floor was connected.

 And the theme of that world was…

 Heaven.

 Golden palaces spread across pure white clouds.

 Crystal spires soaring high into the sky emitted sacred light, and the sound of angels’ wingbeats echoed endlessly.

 But behind that beauty awaited trials beyond imagination.

“There’s somewhere I need to go first.”

 Kim Jun muttered. If he stepped foot on the 11th Floor without any preparation, he would unknowingly become their slave.

 To Hunters seeing Heaven for the first time, it was a place so beautiful it couldn’t even be compared to Tebe.

 Massive cathedrals dyed in golden light and an endlessly stretching Sea of Clouds created a fantastical landscape.

 But the moment they encountered the angels, everything changed.

“Fear not.”

 This was always the angels’ first words.

 Why did they bother to say not to fear? The reason was simple.

 The true forms of angels were so grotesque that humans could barely endure them.

 Seraphim had six massive wings while their entire bodies burned with fire, and Cherubim simultaneously possessed four faces – lion, eagle, human, and ox.

 Most shocking were the Ophanim. Their massive wheel-shaped bodies were densely covered with thousands of eyeballs, and whenever those eyes blinked simultaneously, an eerie sound echoed through the air.

 Since humans couldn’t help but be terrified at such sights, angels always began with the words ‘Fear not.’

 Even if one wasn’t deceived by their grotesque appearance and sweet words, true despair began from that point.

 All beings in Heaven possessed divine power. And divine power was the source of all elements and absolute force.

 All attributes that Hunters used – fire, ice, lightning, wind, earth – were derived from this very divine power.

 In other words, it was a relationship between source and tributary.

 The problem was that angels wrapped their entire bodies in divine power itself.

 All attribute damage -50%.

 Even Hunters’ ultimate techniques could only deal tickling-level damage to angels.

 This was exactly why countless powerful Hunters had fallen into despair on the 11th Floor before his regression.

“D-damn it. Nothing works!”

“My ultimate secret technique…”

 They had to face the moment when all the techniques they had so painstakingly refined, the skills they had learned by risking their lives, became powerless.

 Kim Jun was no exception either.

 Even dragon flames couldn’t display their full power before angels, and he could only find a breakthrough after losing one arm.

 If S-rank Healer Lee Seo-yeon hadn’t been there at the time, he would have had to climb the rest of the Tower with one arm.

 However, even Heaven’s ‘monsters’ had weaknesses.

 The power of darkness that came from Hell, standing at the opposite end of light.

 Kim Jun took out a key from his inventory.

—-

[Item Check]

「Key of Choice」

Grade: ???

Description: A mysterious key that opens hidden paths

Usage Condition: Complete Minotaur subjugation

—-

 Before his regression, he could only learn the true purpose of this key after clearing the 50th Floor.

 A mysterious information broker who appeared after defeating the 50th Floor boss.

 It was shocking information delivered by someone who approached with a mysterious smile while wearing a worn cloak.

“Do you think there are only paths going upward just because it’s called a Tower? Young hero, there are also paths going downward.”

 Kim Jun couldn’t understand those words at first. But only after seeing the map that information broker handed over could he realize it.

 That the Tower contained not only Heaven but Hell as well.

 The basement of the Tower.

 Hell.

 A world completely opposite to Heaven. There existed the power of darkness that could only be obtained there.

“This time I’m going straight there.”

 Kim Jun gripped the Key of Choice tightly.

 He would head to the basement right now to acquire dark attributes, then use that power to break through Heaven head-on.

*

Kiiiiiek-

Kuuuuung!

 Basement 1 of the Tower.

 A black river wound between cliffs where red lava flowed down. 

 Instead of clouds, ash and smoke swirled in the sky, while the groans of souls echoed like wind from the distance.

 In the middle of that despairing landscape, there was a being sitting on a simple wooden chair.

 One of the 7 Great Demon Lords, the Lord of Lust, Asmodeus.

“Welcome, stranger.”

 He slowly raised his head to look at Kim Jun. His voice was surprisingly gentle.

“What have you come to kill me to obtain?”

 He had the perfectly beautiful form of a human.

 Long silver hair covered his shoulders, and his white skin was perfect like a sculpture.

 However, deep sadness lingered on that beautiful face.

 As if he had resigned himself to everything.

 Before such an Asmodeus, Kim Jun spoke unexpected words.

“Asmodeus, I have not come to kill you.”

 Kim Jun stepped forward with his greatsword sheathed on his back.

“I’ve come to have a conversation.”

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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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