The Returned Hunter Has Awakened to a Hidden Class - Chapter 55
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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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55
Chapter 55
Artemis (1)
The sky was stained with flames, and the earth trembled with the roars of monsters.
[25th Floor – Artemis]
The castle once called the city of knowledge and technology now stood in the middle of a massive battlefield.
“Block the right wall!!”
“Catapults, aim and fire!!”
The soldiers’ shouts echoed along the city wall.
Dozens of siege weapons launched fireballs, their light briefly illuminating the pitch-black sky in red.
But that alone was not enough.
Kieeeeeee-!
Outside the walls, hordes of monsters surged forward like a black sea.
At their vanguard was a worm as large as a building.
Craaack-
As its massive mouth opened, crimson vomit crashed against the city wall.
Sizzzzzzle-!
Stone and iron melted away in an instant.
Soldiers screamed and dodged, but those who couldn’t escape were swallowed by the acidic discharge.
“We can’t hold! Fall back further!”
“We have to hold! If this breaks, it’s over!!”
The desperate battle continued.
Crash-!
At that moment, another shadow fell over the city wall.
A massive form that looked like an entire forest had been uprooted.
A Dark Orc.
While ordinary orcs were warriors barely over 2 meters tall, Dark Orcs were nearly twice that size.
Its torso was twisted like an ancient tree, and the bark covering its entire body looked as hard as steel armor.
When the monster’s axe struck the city wall.
Boom!
The barrier of stone and iron cracked.
The sight of the supposedly sturdy wall crumbling like paper left the defenders breathless.
“Stop it! The east gate is breaking!”
But the desperate cry was already hollow.
Of the four main gates, the east gate was on the verge of collapse, and the north and west gates were barely holding.
The castle was slowly but surely being devoured by the monsters surging like a black tide.
The situation looked grim.
“Someone… please…”
Desperate enough to rely on prayer.
A moment of despair.
Whoooooosh──!
A gust of wind swept through.
In an instant, from the east gate to the north gate, west gate, and south gate.
‘Something’ passed beneath all the walls surrounding Artemis in a single moment.
Too fast for the eye to follow.
As if the world had been cut and reconnected, thousands of monsters climbing the walls froze along a circular trajectory.
“…What, what is that?”
“I can’t even see the movement…”
“What just passed by?”
The defenders’ eyes widened.
At the center of that spectacle.
A sword quietly sheathed in its scabbard.
And standing before it, an expressionless woman.
It was Han Su-in.
When she had drawn it, when she had cut, when she had sheathed it again.
No one had seen.
Only her hand slowly falling away from the sword hilt.
Click-!
With the sound of the sword sliding completely into its sheath.
────────!
From the east gate to the south gate, the bodies of monsters climbing the walls split apart in unison.
Splaaaaaash-
Dark blue blood and black entrails burst forth as thousands of monsters collapsed all at once.
The most powerful skill of Han Su-in, who had awakened to the hidden class Blade.
「Final Whisper」.
Kim Jun continued the momentum.
Whooom-!
Crimson demonic wings spread wide, momentarily blocking even the sunlight.
The shadow soon fell over the heads of the Dark Orcs filling the battlefield.
“Gruuu…?”
“Guooo…?”
The moment the massive orc horde looked up.
Thunk-!
Kim Jun’s greatsword plunged deep into the ground.
“「Ragnar–Explosion」.”
Rummmble!
The earth where 「Dragon Eater」 was embedded cracked, and black fissures spread like wildfire.
At first, it seemed like simple tremors.
Crack, crackle-
Soon the earth split apart and the battlefield shook.
Even the defenders on the walls staggered, losing their balance.
Boom boom boom boom-!
After a thunderous roar that shook the mountains, an explosion finally erupted.
Boooooooom-!
Like a volcanic eruption, red lava burst forth and consumed the battlefield.
In an instant, the flatlands transformed into a boiling sea.
“Grooooooo!!”
The Dark Orcs let out agonized screams.
Some tried to flee in panic, but.
“Where do you think you’re going.”
The moment Kim Jun’s gaze swept across the battlefield.
Crimson marks were branded on every Dark Orc’s body.
The mark imprinted by a single glance became shackles.
And upon them, a draconic incantation was laid.
『Don’t move.』
Just one word.
At that resonance, thousands of massive monsters froze in place.
Only their wide-open eyes trembled, while their arms, legs, and even their massive bodies remained motionless.
Kim Jun’s view from above in the sky.
In front of the east gate, an endless expanse of dark brown forces.
Monsters packed densely all the way to the distant rocky mountain foothills.
At a rough estimate, five thousand.
All five thousand of those monsters had their feet submerged in lava that had risen to their ankles.
“Graaaaaaah!!”
But they couldn’t flee.
Dominated by Kim Jun’s 「Draconic Incantation」, they could only scream in place regardless of their will.
While the red lava rose to their waists, to their chests, to their necks.
Flesh burned away, bones were exposed, and wails filled the battlefield.
Whoooosh-!
Crimson flames devoured the forms of the Dark Orcs.
The monsters, not even allowed to struggle, slowly melted away.
The battlefield was filled only with screams and flames.
Kim Jun looked down upon it all.
With his black wings spread wide, he stood majestically in the air like a judge.
As if releasing the frustration that had been suppressed in the Dark Souls section.
Kim Jun began to rampage.
『All of you, disappear.』
*
Artemis.
Among Hunters, this place had a separate nickname.
‘City of Skills’, ‘Castle of Knowledge’.
Because there was something possible only here.
Skill fusion.
Combining two ordinary skills you possessed to create an ability of a completely different dimension.
It was something unimaginable on other floors.
Moreover, knowledge accumulated over hundreds of years remained intact here.
Research materials piled up in each mage tower, countless experimental records awaited Hunters.
If Tebe was where beginners built their foundations.
This place was literally the heart of the Tower, where those becoming true climbers expanded and deepened their abilities.
Outside the city gate was hell.
Broken siege weapons and piles of corpses still lay scattered, uncleared.
But the moment they passed through the city gate.
“…Gasp.”
The party’s mouths fell open simultaneously.
The scene spread before their eyes was truly spectacular.
White marble columns stretched endlessly, and in the city center stood a mage tower that pierced through clouds, imposingly tall.
Such beauty even during wartime.
“Is this…really the same world?”
Park Min-soo muttered in a daze.
Kim Jun grinned and pointed to the central mage tower.
“See that? That’s the Skill Fusion Center.”
“Fusion Center?”
“You can create new skills or fuse existing skills there.”
“…!!”
Before Kim Jun could finish his explanation.
“W-wait for me!!”
Ryu Ji-a jumped up and shouted.
And then ran straight toward the mage tower.
“Hey, wait! Ryu Ji-a! Hey, kid!”
But her figure had already disappeared toward the mage tower entrance.
The other companions tilted their heads in confusion, but only Kim Jun understood.
Why Ryu Ji-a was so excited.
‘Because she’s a monster who possesses dozens of skills.’
Ordinary Hunters find it difficult to obtain even one skill in their lifetime.
If lucky, two; only truly exceptional ones might have about three.
But Ryu Ji-a was different.
She, who became Korea’s youngest S-rank Hunter, already possessed over ten skills even before the Tower appeared.
All of them rare and powerful skills at that.
If those skills could be properly fused…
‘A-rank would be natural, and even beyond that would be possible? If she’s lucky, she might get recognized by Adelaine and awaken immediately…’
Kim Jun also fell deep in thought.
‘Which skills should I fuse?’
The first things that came to mind were his signature skills.
「Explosion」, which he’d used since awakening as a Hunter, and 「Diabolic Override」, obtained through his second awakening.
[Skill: 「Explosion」]
[Grade: C]
[Description: Flame explosion occurs at sword tip during sword strikes]
At first glance, it seemed like a simple skill.
But the power of flames bursting like bombs at the end of each sword strike had already been proven.
And 「Diabolic Override」 was a passive skill that demonized all skills for 30 seconds, greatly increasing their power.
What if he mixed a passive skill with an active skill?
‘Hmm…’
Various other combinations came to mind as well.
For instance, what would happen if he combined the 「Detection」 skill with the 「Acceleration」 skill?
The 「Acceleration」 skill that moved in a straight line as fast as lightning.
If that were combined with the 「Detection」 skill that perfectly detected everything around?
‘Would it turn out as I imagine?’
It was possible.
Artemis’ Magic Tower could certainly make such miracles reality.
As long as a Hunter’s individual mana capacity and imagination, plus the compatibility between existing skills, aligned properly.
In fact, countless Hunters had created their own unique skills here in the past.
Kim Jun felt the urge to run to the mage tower immediately, following Ryu Ji-a.
However.
Sniff sniff-
Kim Jun stopped walking due to an intense smell piercing his nostrils.
“Mm.”
“Haha…”
“Ugh…”
The other party members also looked at each other and laughed awkwardly.
Just from their expressions, you could tell they were all thinking the same thing.
Come to think of it, the problem was that they’d been running frantically until now.
As a result of climbing from the 21st to 25th floors while engaging in endless battles with monsters, their entire bodies were covered in traces of the battlefield.
Black bodily fluids from Dark Orcs, dried red blood, fragments of monster fur and scales.
They were essentially walking piles of waste.
“Let’s find a place to wash up and rest first.”
Kim Jun said, scratching his head.
Fortunately, Artemis was lined with some of the world’s finest luxury accommodations.
Luxurious inns equipped with various magical facilities were targeting Hunters’ wallets.
Among them, there was one place that caught Kim Jun’s attention.
[Olympus Paradise].
“What a grandiose name.”
“The price is grandiose too…”
“You’re paying, right, hyung?”
“…?”
“Hahahahahaha!”
A massive magical hot spring and a penthouse that seemed to float above the clouds.
This place was an architectural marvel that exquisitely combined these two elements.
It was in a completely different league from those hard, creaky beds in Tebe.
It felt as if a space where gods rested had been transported directly to the human world.
Among Hunters, it was actually known by the nickname ‘Heaven on the Surface.’
The reaction of Hunters who had stayed there even once was unanimous—nothing but rave reviews.
Just one night’s sleep on the cloud-like soft bed would completely wash away all bodily fatigue.
Soaking in the hot spring enchanted with special magic would even fully restore damaged mana circuits.
Just how amazing the effects were could be seen from the behavior of the Hunters who visited this place.
Countless Hunters would generously pay the room fees with money they’d earned from hunting monsters all day long.
“Let’s go warm up our bodies.”
“Let’s go~!”
The four of them, excluding Ryu Ji-a, headed toward [Olympus Paradise].
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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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