The Returned Hunter Has Awakened to a Hidden Class - Chapter 4

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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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4

Chapter 4

Dragon Slayer.

“ROOOOOOOOOAR-!!!”

 A massive roar shook the entire cave.

 It hurt as if his eardrums would tear.

 The piles of bones scattered on the floor rattled and scattered in all directions from the vibration, and fist-sized rocks fell like rain from the ceiling.

 And from the darkness, it revealed itself.

 Red Dragon.

 Forty meters in body length alone.

 Each scale that glowed ruby red was the size of a shield.

 The hot breath emanating from its curved neck alone made the surrounding air ripple.

 Even with its wings folded, it was a presence that overwhelmed the entire cave.

“I’ve been curious about something.”

 Kim Jun opened his mouth. His voice carried curiosity.

“Why exactly did you come down to the 5th Floor?”

 Kim Jun knew. That each floor of the Tower was a complete world unto itself.

 But those worlds weren’t completely isolated. Powerful beings could cross dimensional boundaries and interfere with other floors.

 But for it to be the 5th Floor.

 This was far too blatant.

 There were only three places in the Tower that were friendly to Hunters.

 Tebe on the 5th Floor, Artemis on the 25th Floor, and Caldion on the 50th Floor – humanity’s last bastion and final stronghold toward the Tower’s summit.

 Among them, Tebe was a place that could never be abandoned. A sacred ground where novice Hunters received their promotions, maintained their equipment, and laid the foundation for Tower conquest.

 If Tebe fell, Tower conquest itself would become impossible.

 That a Red Dragon from the 80th Floor had descended to the same floor as such a Tebe was by no means a coincidence.

“I ask you. Why did you leave the 80th Floor and come here?”

“Kekekekeke.”

 The Dragon sneered.

“How dare a mere human question me.”

 Rage blazed in its red eyes.

 To itself, one of the Tower’s absolute species.

 For a mere human to speak with such an insolent tone.

“Ah, but I suppose you’re also trapped here.”

“Insolent!”

Fwooooosh-!

 The Dragon’s neck arched back as massive flames poured forth.

 Kim Jun was already moving. Using bones on the floor as footing, he lowered his body and rolled to the side.

Whoooosh-!

 The flames that passed through where he had been standing licked the cave wall. The bones instantly turned to ash and scattered in the wind.

‘Definitely a being that shouldn’t exist on this floor.’

 A record he had read in Caldion’s library before his regression came to mind.

 [Tower Chronicles – Guardian of Tebe].

 Kaiser, father of all Warriors, the first Warrior Promotion Officer, and founder of Tebe.

 The record of how, on the day a pair of Red Dragons appeared in Tebe, he risked his life to lure them here and seal them with a barrier.

 Without his sacrifice, Tebe would have long since turned to ash.

 But this barrier wasn’t eternal either.

 Kim Jun recalled his memories from before regression.

 Right when he had purchased information about the Dragon Slayer hidden class from an information broker on the 50th Floor.

 By fate’s cruel joke, immediately after obtaining the information, this Red Dragon had broken through the barrier and invaded Tebe.

 The Dragon’s heat, continuously emanating for hundreds of years, had finally melted Kaiser’s seal.

“Aaaaah!”

“Please save us!”

“All forces! Defend Tebe!”

 The devastation of that day was still vivid.

 Tebe engulfed in flames, people screaming as they fled, and the city instantly reduced to ash.

 Thousands of residents lost their lives, and the beautiful city was completely ruined.

‘Such tragedy must never happen again.’

 Even without the hidden class, this was why it had to end here and now.

“Do you dare have the luxury of thinking about other things in my presence?”

 The Dragon twisted its neck and glared at Kim Jun.

Thud!

 Its massive hind legs kicked off the ground as it rose. That enormous body overwhelmed the entire cave.

 Kim Jun gripped his greatsword differently. A faint red aura swirled around the blade.

‘I’ve seen it countless times in the Dragon’s Plains.’

 Dragon patterns he had observed while watching Ryu Ji-a die engulfed in flames, even as he lost his comrades.

 Flame breath, charge, tail swipe, diving attack. Things he had seen countless times.

Thud!

 Claws raked the ground. Kim Jun had already rolled to the side to dodge.

 The Dragon’s neck arched back. Red light surged from deep in its throat. The air began to heat up.

‘Here it comes!’

ROOOOOAR-!

 Flame breath erupted like a waterfall.

Thud thud thud-

 He quickly threw himself behind a fallen boulder.

 The hot flames licked the rock, and the solid stone instantly glowed red and began to melt.

 The heat of the flames reached even beyond the rock.

‘Not yet.’

Whiiiiish-

 The sound of cutting wind was heard. The Dragon’s tail swung toward the rock.

CRASH!!

 The rock shattered into pieces. Fragments scattered in all directions.

 But Kim Jun was already hanging from a stalactite on the cave ceiling.

 Gripping the stalactite with one hand, he firmly held his greatsword with the other.

“When did you!”

“Too late.”

 Dragons, called transcendent beings.

 Their entire bodies were covered in scales harder than steel, and each attack was lethal.

 What was such a Dragon’s only weakness?

 The neck.

Snap-!

 Using the stalactite as a foothold, he threw his body. Gripping the greatsword with both hands, he fell toward the Dragon’s neck.

 The tip of the greatsword made a sharp whistling sound as it cut through the air.

Shiiiiiing-

 The Dragon tried to turn its head to dodge, but,

Thruuuust!!

“GROOOOAR! How dare a mere human!”

 The Dragon writhed frantically. It shook its neck left and right, twisting its body to try to shake him off.

“I won’t let go.”

 Like a venomous snake that never lets go once it bites, Kim Jun didn’t release his greatsword despite the dragon’s desperate thrashing in all directions, pushing it even deeper.

 And a single word flowed from Kim Jun’s lips.

“「Slash」.”

────!

 A flash of light blazed forth.

*

“Geez, just how far up has hyung climbed? We’re ascending quickly too.”

 Park Min-soo said while panting.

“He must have reached the 5th floor by now, right?”

 The remaining four members of Han Guild were following behind in a party formation after Kim Jun had gone ahead alone.

 S-rank Tanker Park Min-soo, S-rank Healer Lee Seo-yeon, S-rank Assassin Han Su-in, S-rank Mage Ryu Ji-a.

 Excluding Kim Jun, they were South Korea’s top-level Hunters.

“Strange. All the bosses are gone.”

 Ryu Ji-a said while looking at the Quest window.

[Objective: Defeat 15 Goblins, Defeat Goblin Leader]

[Reward: Experience 20, 10]

[Objective: Defeat 50 Slimes, Defeat Giant Slime]

[Reward: Experience 50, 20]

“It seems the Guild Master cleared them all before moving on.”

 Lee Seo-yeon said in admiration.

“To defeat all the bosses by himself.”

 It was the same up to the 5th floor. All the bosses on every floor had disappeared, leaving only regular monsters behind.

 Nevertheless, this party of four S-rank Hunters couldn’t keep up with Kim Jun’s pace.

“Are we really the same S-rank? I always wonder about that.”

“Hehe. A fool like you is different from my oppa.”

“Ryu Ji-a, do you want to keep acting up?”

 Just as Ryu Ji-a was teasing Park Min-soo and moving forward, they saw a city surrounded by massive walls in the distance.

 White marble buildings bathed in sunset light created a magnificent spectacle.

“There’s a city!”

“So it’s not just monsters that appear?”

 The four were admiring the majestic sight of Tebe and walking forward when it happened.

 Suddenly the air flashed.

Ding-!

 Suddenly a massive notification window filled the vision of all Hunters who had entered the Tower.

—-

[Hunter-wide Announcement]

– First Dragon subjugation in the Tower achieved!

– Subjugator: [Identity Undisclosed]

– Hidden Class ‘Dragon Slayer’ acquired!

– Warrior class change trial temporarily suspended

—-

“Dragon defeated? Is that hyung?”

“What was the Warrior class change trial that it’s been suspended?”

“What’s a Hidden Class?”

“….”

*

“Cough!”

 Kim Jun lightly coughed and stood up. The dragon’s massive body lay collapsed on the cave floor. It was no longer breathing.

Ding-!

—-

[Dragon Subjugation Complete!]

[50,000 Experience gained!]

[Level Up! 6 → 30]

.

[Hidden Class ‘Dragon Slayer’ acquired!]

[Skill 「Dragon Blood Awakening S」 acquired!]

[Skill 「Berserk D」 acquired!]

[Skill 「Brand」 acquired!]

[Skill 「Dragon Slash C」 acquired!]

[Title ‘Dragon Hunter’ acquired!]

—-

“It’s over.”

 Though his entire body was stained with the dragon’s blood, seeing the massive experience gain only brought a smile to his face.

 From level 6 to 30. He had risen in an instant.

 Not only that.

“Sorry, but I need to harvest your body.”

 Dragons, as befitting their existence, provided vast amounts of harvestable materials.

Scrape scrape-

 First, he peeled off the dragon’s scales. Each scale that glowed ruby-red would become material for the finest armor.

Crack-!

 He separated the dragon’s bones. ‘Dragon Bone’, harder yet lighter than any metal, was a core material for legendary weapons.

“Dragon eyes, dragon claws, dragon teeth….”

 He collected them one by one. Every part held value that couldn’t be converted to money.

 But then.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

 A strange sound could be heard.

 He turned his head to find the source of the sound. It was coming from the dragon’s chest.

“No way.”

Rip-

 When he split open the chest, inside was a massive heart still beating.

 「Dragon Heart」.

 A heart the size of an adult man was pulsating, sparkling like a red ruby.

 Red blood vessels like flowing lava spread across its surface like a web, and with each beat, mana spread out in waves.

“Ha, haha!”

 He couldn’t help but be amazed.

 A heart that beats independently with a certain probability even after a dragon’s death. A legendary material with infinite value beyond S-rank.

 Generally, it was known that even if you killed 100 dragons, finding one in a beating state was extremely rare.

“Something I only saw around the 80th floor….”

Thump-thump thump thump!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

 The Dragon Heart began beating even more intensely.

 Each time the heart contracted, red flames erupted from within, like a small furnace. Life force and mana were condensed and circulating endlessly.

“This will be useful later.”

 He carefully lifted the Dragon Heart. The moment it touched his hand, hot warmth and powerful mana were transmitted.

‘Heavy.’

 As befitting its size, he could feel considerable weight. But there was nothing to worry about.

 Kim Jun touched a small leather pouch hanging from his waist.

‘「Subspace Pouch」.’

 Essential equipment provided as standard to all Hunters entering the Tower.

 A magic item with a separate space unfolded inside, allowing storage of items regardless of weight and volume.

 As he pushed the Dragon Heart into his dimensional pocket, the massive heart turned into particles of light and disappeared.

Ding-!

—-

[Material Collection Complete!]

[Dragon Scale S x47 Obtained!]

[Dragon Bone S x23 Obtained!]

[Dragon Eye S x2 Obtained!]

[Dragon Claw S x20 Obtained!]

[Dragon Fang S x4 Obtained!]

[Dragon Heart S x1 Obtained!] 

[Dragon Blood A 2L Obtained!]

—-

“…Did I dismantle it too cleanly?”

 Looking at the dragon’s remains with barely any bones left, literally cleaned up perfectly, he felt somewhat sorry.

 As if a skilled butcher had passed through.

“…Think of it as karma from your past life.”

 He shrugged his shoulders.

“Exit.”

Swoooosh-

*

“Damn it.”

 Reddel was muttering while staring blankly into the air.

 The Dragon’s Nest. The minimum recommended level was a whopping 50.

 He wondered why they had designated such a place as the Warrior class change trial location in the first place.

‘Are they trying to cut off the buds from the start? Kaiser, what exactly are you…’

 Throughout the Tower’s countless ages, how many had died here.

 From outsiders to Tower residents. Just counting those he could remember, it would easily be at least 2,000 people.

“The guy’s already dead anyway, why am I even waiting…tsk.”

 Reddel dusted off his bottom and stood up. Just as he was about to end this meaningless wait and return to Tebe.

“Huh?”

 Someone was walking out from the direction of the Dragon’s Nest.

“No way…”

 But something was strange. An aura of a different caliber was emanating from that being.

 The oppressive presence of a high-ranking being that seemed to be at least from the 30th floor.

 A dimensional pressure that could never be felt on a mere 5th floor crushed the air.

 Reddel’s entire body froze.

“Uh, uaah! Another invasion!”

 Covered in red blood from head to toe, approaching while emanating the terrifying aura that only beings from upper floors could possess.

 Only one thought entered Reddel’s mind.

 He had to run.

 He had to escape and inform Tebe that yet another monster from the upper floors had appeared.

‘The dragon wasn’t enough, now another monster!’

“D-don’t come! Don’t come!”

 He frantically pulled the reins. But that being was approaching at a much faster speed than expected.

“Uaaaah!”

“Reddel! Please calm down.”

 Kim Jun urgently called out to Reddel. With an expression that showed he had no idea why he was running away. 

 But the moment Reddel looked directly at Kim Jun’s face, he was even more startled.

 This face was definitely…that outsider who had entered the Dragon’s Nest earlier!

“Guhheok!”

 Reddel’s face turned deathly pale.

 It was shocking enough that the person he thought had been devoured by the dragon had come out alive covered in blood, but what was that aura about.

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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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