The Returned Hunter Has Awakened to a Hidden Class - Chapter 42
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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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42
Chapter 42
El’s Territory
Though where could be truly safe in the Dark Souls world.
“Master?”
“What.”
“These little ones, who are they?”
“Read my thoughts. Too lazy to explain.”
Fortunately, protecting the three girls were Andras and Kim Jun.
Even though they’d been heavily nerfed due to Dark Souls’ laws, they had already adapted.
Slash-
Two soldiers’ heads rolled simultaneously.
The red line drawn by Andras’s blade-arm, followed by Kim Jun’s brief angle change and strike.
Mere minions couldn’t hold back the two, unless they were bosses.
Of course, that varied depending on the situation.
Some minions were more troublesome than bosses. In fact, countless Hunters had lost their lives to such creatures.
Dark Souls’ laws were merciless.
Even a single minor attack would cause ‘stagger,’ and once in a hit state, you couldn’t transition to the next action.
That restriction applied to Kim Jun as well.
He could somehow handle around ten or so.
But if hundreds swarmed like at the Lion King’s Citadel.
Even Kim Jun would have surely met his end while surrounded.
“Ah, so that’s what happened.”
“Yeah.”
“How pitiful.”
Andras, having skimmed through Kim Jun’s thoughts, looked down at the children.
Pasia, Presendia, Putra.
The Manager’s daughters who carried Royal Blood, children raised as ritual sacrifices.
‘You look scary, so smile when you look at them.’
‘Got it.’
The moment the massive demon’s smile was revealed.
“Hehehe. I’ll keep you safe. Hehehehe.”
“Hiccup!”
“Gasp!”
“Huuu…”
The three girls simultaneously shrank back in fear.
Anyway.
What mattered now was finding a place to ‘entrust’ these children.
Leaving them behind the Boss Room, between the altar and pile of bones, was a disgusting choice.
Moreover, the children couldn’t even properly control their bodily functions.
They needed to be washed at least once.
“Where should we go?”
“What, Master. Don’t you have any ideas?”
“I’m thinking right now.”
The 18th Floor was largely divided into five territories.
This place ruled by the Lion King, [The Primordial Land].
[The Swamplands] where the ‘Flowing Time Tower’ stood.
[The Grassland] where Strasfer Fortress, the rebel knights’ stronghold, was located.
[The Fertile Lands] where Count Aurellius’s manor existed.
[The Shadow Lands] from which the dead endlessly emerged.
‘Which do you think would be good?’
‘Why are you suddenly speaking through thoughts?’
‘In case the kids overhear.’
The Count’s Domain in [The Fertile Lands] was prosperous, unlike this world.
It had its own military force and maintained neutrality unless provoked first.
On the surface, it seemed like a flawless refuge.
‘He’s royalty. Just like these children.’
Kim Jun’s memories stirred unpleasantly.
Count Aurellius.
He approached with a friendly smile, ‘protecting’ and ‘supporting’ Hunters.
Only to use them.
Even before his regression, countless people had trusted that smile only to be betrayed.
The more Royal Blood gathered, the stronger the ritual’s power became.
Entrusting the children to him would be like putting them in a breeding ground.
‘Why is that, Master? Aren’t they family?’
‘That’s exactly the problem.’
There was no such thing as family here.
Blood wasn’t a bond, but a symbol of rule and the price of sacrifice.
Royalty didn’t protect each other.
They devoured one another.
‘The Fertile Lands are out.’
‘What about the Shadow Lands?’
‘If we take the children through there, the mourners will catch their scent. If we’re unlucky, a growth ritual might be forcibly triggered.’
‘The Grassland?’
‘Strasfer’s rebel knights certainly have honor. But seeing the children’s Royal Blood, their swords would leave their sheaths first.’
‘Master. Being a regressor, you know well.’
‘…’
In the end, two places remained.
The outskirts of the Lion King’s territory. And the long-abandoned sanctuary at the border between the swamplands and grassland.
Before his regression, Kim Jun had used that sanctuary once.
The blessing carved into the wall.
[Those who have spilled blood cannot remain in this place.]
That place was a neutral zone that didn’t induce combat.
It was the best option for temporarily hiding the children.
‘We’ll go there. First wash the kids, escort them to the sanctuary. Then head to the Clock Tower.’
‘Good. I’ll carry the little ones.’
‘Don’t scare them.’
‘Hehehe, I’m nice.’
‘Don’t do that.’
Behind the Boss Room was a small lake.
The stagnant water was murky, but sufficient for washing faces soaked with sweat and blood from battle.
Kim Jun removed his coat, soaked it in water, and carefully wiped the children’s hands and faces.
When Putra sneezed from the cold water, Andras blocked the wind with his large palm.
Though his appearance was hideous, his touch was strangely gentle.
Once they finished cleaning up, the escort began in earnest.
[The Primordial Land – Rear Gate of the Lion King’s Citadel]
Kim Jun took the lead, the children stayed in the center, and Andras covered the rear.
Though not as grand as the southern main gate, the rear gate was also a sturdy city gate.
A double structure of blackened rusted iron plates and stone reinforcement. The width was narrow, but the thickness was considerable.
In front of it, dozens of soldiers waited with spears and shields at the ready.
“Intruder!”
“But we came from inside?”
At one soldier’s shout, spear tips poured forward all at once.
Kim Jun’s greatsword rang out briefly.
Slash-
As a red trajectory cut through the air, three soldiers who had been charging while gripping their spear shafts tumbled to the ground with broken backs.
Andras grabbed the head of a fourth soldier approaching from behind with his bare hands.
Crunch-
With a dull sound, the skull shattered and blood splattered in all directions.
But the soldiers did not retreat.
The next line formed a wall with their shields pressed together, and spear blades extended through the gaps again.
“Master, twelve more remain.”
“I can see that.”
Kim Jun took a deep breath and advanced.
As his greatsword swung horizontally, shields split in half and forearms flew through the air.
Andras opened a breakthrough by splitting five soldiers in half at the waist from the opposite side.
Screams and the metallic sounds of clashing armor filled the entire gate area.
A moment later.
“Whew.”
“They’re all dead, Master.”
Only the stench of blood and corpses remained.
The back gate that dozens had guarded was enveloped in silence.
[Swamplands – Ghoul’s Reservoir]
Even the outside air held no freshness.
The damp humidity of the swamp and the stench of rotting metal vibrated through the air.
He stopped briefly to distribute jerky to the children.
The moment it touched their hands, all three devoured it hastily without looking around.
Like starving baby animals.
“Eat slowly. You’ll get indigestion.”
Kim Jun spoke quietly, but the children only nodded while desperately trying not to lose even the scraps remaining in their hands.
Noble bloodlines called descendants of Royal Blood.
Yet the sight before him was of children in starving beggar’s rags.
That fact weighed heavily on Kim Jun’s heart once again.
Splash-
As they stepped into the swamplands, the air became even more murky.
Ghouls crawled out from the blackened, rotting water surface.
Monsters with flesh fallen away, dragging their bodies with only claws and bones remaining.
“Master, three on the left.”
“Got it.”
Kim Jun’s greatsword cut horizontally.
As Andras swung his arm, the rotting corpses burst and sank into the swamp.
Splash-splash-
Putrid water droplets scattered in all directions.
The children held their breath, but this time they didn’t cry.
They simply held each other’s hands tightly.
[Swamplands – Sanctuary of Rest]
Had they walked for about two hours?
The fog lifted, revealing a small abandoned church.
Behind the collapsed stained glass, a faint blue tombstone stood.
Old and cold words were carved into the tombstone.
[Neutral Sanctuary: ‘Sanctuary of Rest’]
[Rule: Those who launch a preemptive attack in this place will face the judgment of the ‘Saint’]
Kim Jun carefully placed his palm on the tombstone.
A cool sensation seeped into his fingertips.
This sanctuary had existed since before the Tower devoured all worlds.
When each world still maintained its independent order, a saint had established this place.
She erected this tombstone to protect the souls of ‘Deceased Travelers.’
‘Travelers,’ or ‘pilgrims.’
Those who had accepted death and sought enlightenment.
Under the laws of Dark Souls, the living and dead wandered mixed together.
The souls of the dead became corrupted, fell, and ultimately disappeared the moment they were devoured by monsters.
That was the second death, true annihilation.
So the saint sacrificed all her prayers and life to create the sanctuary.
A ‘land of rest’ where the dead could take their final respite before embarking on their distant journey.
A sacred, inviolable boundary that briefly protected souls before they could be devoured by monsters.
Those traces still remained.
The tombstone maintained the rules of this place in place of the vanished god.
If someone drew their sword first, ‘judgment’ would immediately descend.
Even monsters dared not carelessly touch this area.
“Stay here.”
He led the children inside the sanctuary.
Around the tombstone were thin blankets and dry biscuits left by someone.
Instead of the swamp’s rotting smell and stench of blood, the scent of old dust lingered.
That alone made this place sufficiently ‘livable.’
Kim Jun crouched down in front of the children for a moment.
Three pairs of eyes looked up at him.
“Wait just a moment, really just a moment. I’ll finish quickly and come back.”
“It’s scary…”
“Can’t we come with you…?”
“Sniff…”
Small fingers grasped his sleeves.
As if they would never meet again if they let go.
Kim Jun couldn’t answer for a long time.
There were many more things he wanted to say to them.
Things that didn’t suit children, not stories about ‘survival’ and such.
“I’ll be back soon. Soon. Don’t worry.”
Step-
As he left the sanctuary’s shadow, the swamp air enveloped his body again.
The mixed scents of humidity, rusted iron, and old blood pressed against his throat.
The Flowing Time Tower.
A den of time where clock hands turned backwards.
There lay Manager Tempora’s relics, and the 「Scepter of Regression」.
“The smell really is the worst.”
Andras wrinkled his nose and muttered.
“It’s worse than Hell, Master.”
The swamp was submerged up to their ankles, and unidentifiable rotting debris floated on the water’s surface.
With each step, things that might have been skulls or stones crumbled underfoot.
Rotting aquatic plants and bones tangled together to form a quagmire, and with each step he pulled his foot out, wet squelching sounds echoed.
As wind blew from the distance, the form of a tower with an eerie chill revealed itself in his vision.
‘Flowing Time Tower.’
The tower was grotesquely twisted as if it had been built by stacking dead corpses.
On the walls, clock hands of various sizes turned backwards, making ominous sounds.
Through the cracks in the tower’s walls, unknown mechanical devices were exposed along with blue light.
Walking and walking until he could see it right before his eyes.
The moment Kim Jun set foot into the ‘Flowing Time Tower’.
[‘Crimson Inquisitor’ is invading.]
[Eliminate the intruder.]
Red mist began to rise slowly over The Swamplands.
From within the mist, the form of a person revealed itself.
A face covered in leather, ceremonial robes soaked in blood, and souls wailing at the tip of a spear.
“Who are you?”
“….”
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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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