The Returned Hunter Has Awakened to a Hidden Class - Chapter 51
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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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51
Chapter 51
75th Floor
Whoooosh-!
“Ugh!”
A sword aura so fast it was barely visible sliced through the air, flying toward Kim Jun.
He instinctively ducked low.
Trickle-
His cheek was slightly cut, and red blood trickled down.
“As expected… this won’t be easy.”
Kim Jun caught his breath briefly.
What had just attacked him was none other than an Undead Soldier.
This place, the 75th Floor.
Originally, it wasn’t just a simple front line, but an important gate that supplied the city called Drackenhardt on the 76th Floor.
It was a strategic point that supported the Hunters’ front lines, and a passage connecting to a city like the capital.
However.
When Drackenhardt on the 76th Floor fell and became ‘monstrous.’
That influence spread downward, completely consuming the entire 75th Floor.
In other words, the current 75th Floor was land occupied by Drackenhardt.
It was a battlefield of a dead kingdom where Undead Soldiers and undead knights ran rampant, having completely lost its original function.
The ‘mob’ right before his eyes was one of those Undead Soldiers.
However.
‘To think this level is just a mob.’
Just grazing Kim Jun’s flesh was heavy and sharp enough to be fatal.
“Master! What the hell is this situation!”
Andras growled and shouted.
“I don’t know either. But it’s definitely not a welcome situation.”
Kim Jun muttered briefly and gripped his greatsword.
The situation was still at its worst.
His mana was gradually recovering, but it would take time to fully recharge.
Andras, who had swept through all the gates on the 19th Floor, was also in a state of heavy power consumption.
That’s when it happened.
Boooooo-!
“Damn.”
A horn sound that rang out fiercely.
Soon after, chilling footsteps that shook the ground came rushing in.
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
Like one giant heart beating, the sound of military boots falling in perfect synchronization.
Movement without a single error.
What revealed itself from the fog was.
“Grrrr…”
“Must protect… the kingdom…”
“Intruders…”
Dozens of Undead Soldiers.
“This won’t be easy.”
Kim Jun said with a low laugh.
“It won’t be easy.”
Andras responded in the same tone.
Their numbers were only about ten or so.
But the problem wasn’t quantity, it was quality.
These weren’t simple monsters.
They were originally residents and soldiers who lived here, who became ‘undead’ after being consumed by Drackenhardt.
In other words, monsters with intelligence and cunning.
They formed a circle and slowly but surely closed in, surrounding Kim Jun and Andras.
*
Crack-!
Kim Jun’s greatsword swung and an Undead Soldier’s upper body flew off.
But in exchange, a deep wound was carved into Kim Jun’s arm.
“Grgh…!”
Even taking down one required alternating between 「Parrying」 and 「Vital Strike」, squeezing out his stamina.
“Hehe, hehehehe…”
Beside him, Andras was letting out maniacal laughter while butchering two of them.
However, Andras’s body already had several deep wounds as well.
His breathing was also getting rougher.
After about 10 minutes of fierce battle.
Crash-!
The last Undead Soldier was split in half and collapsed.
“This won’t work.”
Kim Jun gritted his teeth.
Surely just a moment ago, he had been in the Boss Room on the 19th Floor.
According to his memories before regression, the box that dropped then should have been a first clear reward.
And inside it should have been the 「Crown of El」.
But the moment he opened the box.
Out of nowhere, a debuff called 「Administrator’s Mark EX」 was applied, and he was forcibly transported to the 75th Floor.
“This kind of thing never happened before.”
Things gradually changing.
A pattern clearly different from before regression.
Moreover, the name of the ‘mark’ clearly indicated its source.
‘Administrator’.
“It’s not time for them to appear yet.”
“Then?”
“Before regression, I first met them on the 50th Floor. That was all.”
Kim Jun pressed his forehead.
Kim Jun still didn’t properly know what kind of being the Administrator was.
However, in his memories, they were beings who maintained neutrality and merely observed.
“Master. It seems we’ve been marked.”
“Yeah. We’ve been marked quite thoroughly.”
75th Floor.
Breaking through this place head-on was impossible even for Kim Jun.
Even dealing with just a few mobs required consuming almost all his stamina and mana.
And even then, processing ten per day was the most he could manage.
‘I won’t even be able to level properly.’
He thinks.
He thinks, and thinks again.
Though this was his first time experiencing this, there had been many strange incidents before regression too.
…Of course, they weren’t as blatant as this.
‘I need to find a way somehow. A method…’
But Kim Jun’s contemplation didn’t last long.
Thud thud thud thud thud-!
The sound of hoofbeats shaking the earth.
“Damn it.”
“Can’t I just kill them all?”
“We’ll both die.”
Their identity was phantom knights.
Had they noticed the sounds of battle from this place?
Dozens of phantom knights were charging toward them in unison, wielding spears and swords.
The sound of metal ringing from beyond the distant hills.
At this rate, their arrival was certain within a minute.
“…”
At that moment.
Twang-!
Ariadne’s Thread, which had been pointing toward Presendia and Putra, suddenly changed direction.
It pointed straight at Kim Jun’s subspace pocket and stretched taut.
“Ah…”
And what Kim Jun pulled out was.
—-
[Item Information] : 「Scepter of Reversal」
[Grade] : S
[Unique Skills] :
– 「Reversal」: Once per day, return to [15 minutes] ago
– Description : The scepter wielded by Tempora, Manager of the ‘Flowing Time Tower’ and descendant of El.
The power to make time flow backward stems from royal legitimacy, and only displays its full power when used by a true successor.
—-
“Turn back time…”
“Can it turn back like the Flowing Time Tower?”
“Yes.”
Even if he returned 15 minutes, there was no guarantee the same events wouldn’t repeat.
He didn’t know when or under what conditions the 「Administrator’s Mark」 had appeared.
He couldn’t be certain the mark would disappear even if he regressed.
The most reliable method would be to die and then use the 「Phoenix Feather」.
However.
“I can’t waste that here.”
Using his one and only resurrection chance in this situation would be foolish.
Kim Jun gripped the 「Scepter of Reversal」.
“「Reversal」.”
Swoosh-!
*
When he opened his eyes, what he saw was the ‘Fallen King Beor’.
The massive body was swaying precariously.
Its health was already at rock bottom.
A death cry burst forth.
“I can’t…die like this…”
“Don’t worry.”
Kim Jun raised his greatsword high.
“This is the second time.”
Slash-!
Blood spurted up like a fountain.
Beor couldn’t even let out a proper scream before collapsing.
Crash-!
The massive body collided with the floor, shaking the entire Boss Room.
[Boss Defeated: Fallen King Beor]
‘…So this is the point I returned to.’
The moment when Beor had 10% health remaining.
The moment when the battle inside the Boss Room was already reaching its climax.
“This sucks.”
“Seems so.”
“Your words are getting shorter.”
“Not really.”
Though their conversation was hollow, the conclusion was clear.
He hadn’t returned to the point Kim Jun wanted – before entering the Boss Room.
Kim Jun looked around again.
The Boss Room door was still firmly shut.
“It won’t open…”
Even after defeating the boss, he couldn’t leave the Boss Room until opening the chest.
[A reward chest has appeared.]
A golden chest was glowing temptingly before his eyes.
Even if he didn’t want to open it, he had no choice but to reach for it.
However.
[Warning!]
[Currently ‘Kim Jun’ is afflicted with the 「Administrator’s Mark EX」 debuff.]
[You will be forcibly summoned to the 75th Floor!]
The familiar message appeared once again.
Veins bulged on Kim Jun’s forehead.
‘As expected…the moment I open the chest, I’m forcibly summoned.’
He used the scepter again.
The second 「Reversal」.
A brilliant light flashed, and when he opened his eyes again.
Fallen King Beor was staggering and coughing up blood.
Once again with 10% health remaining.
Once again just before the finished battle.
“Even after returning, it’s the same spot.”
Kim Jun tightened his grip on the greatsword.
Now it was certain.
The scepter only turned back exactly 15 minutes.
It didn’t let him choose the desired point, whether before battle or before entry.
In other words, the current situation was completely trapped.
Defeat the boss and a chest appears before his eyes.
Open the chest and get forcibly summoned to the 75th Floor.
An endlessly repeating loop.
“Ah, I’m sick of this kind of thing now.”
“Me too.”
Kim Jun twisted his lips in a sneer.
He had already experienced this kind of repetition to the point of exhaustion in the ‘Flowing Time Tower’.
He never wanted to experience it again, yet here he was facing it once more.
The first thing he checked was the 「Administrator’s Mark」.
—-
[Debuff Status Window]
[Current Debuff Applied] : 「Administrator’s Mark」
– Grade : EX
– Effect : The Administrator ‘observes’ the test subject.
– Special Condition : When the test subject is in an ‘isolated state’, the Administrator’s preset trigger activates.
Isolated State : Existing alone without companions (summons and contracted beings count as one person)
Triggers can be defined by the target’s specific actions (e.g., opening chests, disarming traps, acquiring treasure, etc.), location entry, passage of specific time, etc., and are automatically executed according to conditions preset by the Administrator.
– Removal : Impossible.
—-
“The description is long too.”
Kim Jun snorted.
“「Dragon Blood Awakening」.”
Whoooosh-!
He tried using a skill that temporarily removes all status ailments as an experiment.
“Still there.”
Either it didn’t count as a ‘status ailment’, or the S-rank skill was blocked by the EX-rank skill.
[Debuff Status Window]
[Current Debuff Applied] : 「Administrator’s Mark」
「Administrator’s Mark」 was still floating in the status window as if mocking Kim Jun.
“What will you do now, master.”
“Hmm…”
When you defeat a boss, a chest appears.
However, until you open the chest, you cannot leave the Boss Room or enter the next floor.
The closed Boss Room door can only be opened from outside, and those trapped inside have no means of escape.
Moreover, leaving the chest alone wasn’t safe either.
It would automatically open after a certain amount of time.
In the end. Whether you open the chest or not.
The trigger would activate, and forced summoning was unavoidable.
“Andras.”
“What is it, master.”
“Why don’t you practice parrying while we’re at it…”
“?!”
There was only one method.
Don’t defeat the boss, and keep deflecting attacks to buy time.
As the [Debuff Status Window] showed, the mark only activated in an ‘isolated state’.
Since Andras was a summon, the system still recognized Kim Jun as being ‘alone’.
In other words.
He couldn’t kill the boss until other ‘people’ arrived here.
“You do it.”
“Parrying is boring though…”
There was only one way to buy time without killing the boss: infinite parrying.
And naturally, such tedious work was Andras’s job.
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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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