The Returned Hunter Has Awakened to a Hidden Class - Chapter 62
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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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62
Chapter 62
Sensory Deprivation Labyrinth (1)
To pass through the 7th Layer of Hell, a total of five materials were needed.
Kim Jun decided to first revisit the floors he had already cleared.
‘6th Floor and 9th Floor.’
The Tower allowed you to go back down to floors you had already cleared.
However, there was the inconvenience of having to return to the 5th Layer, Stronghold Tebe, and climb back up again.
But compared to obtaining the materials, it was a trivial matter.
[6th Floor].
The moment Kim Jun set foot on the 6th Floor, the familiar stench of blood hit his nose.
‘Still the same.’
Goblin corpses scattered everywhere.
Among them, Novice Hunters were moving about busily.
“Be careful! There might still be some left!”
“Hold your sword tight! If you drop it, you’re dead!”
Sweating profusely, they fought while watching each other’s backs.
For them, this place was a battlefield where they had to risk their lives.
‘I was like that too.’
Kim Jun fell into thought for a moment, then turned his head.
His target was the cave.
The place where the Goblin Shaman, the hidden boss, had been.
Flap-!
Kim Jun spread his demon wings.
Instantly.
Whoooosh-
A strong wind swept through the surroundings.
Dust and the smell of blood mixed together and swirled around.
“Aaah! What, what is that?!”
“Th-that’s…!”
The Novice Hunters were startled and turned around.
Black wings.
A man rising into the sky.
“Wings…? Is it a boss mob?!”
“No, the color is different! That’s…”
“A Hunter?”
“Is that a Hunter?”
“I think so?”
Their gazes focused on Kim Jun.
But Kim Jun didn’t even look at them.
He simply flew toward his target.
Whoosh-
A black shadow cut through the air and disappeared into the cave entrance in an instant.
“…”
A moment of silence.
“Wow…”
Someone let out an exclamation.
“Th-that’s what a high-level Hunter looks like…”
“He even has wings. Maybe someday we too…”
“Let’s work hard! We can do it too!”
The voices of the Novice Hunters could be heard, but Kim Jun had already entered deep into the cave.
The smell of decay, the stench of blood, and the strange magical power that still lingered.
The corpse of the Goblin Shaman remained on the altar.
Pale, hardened skin.
Dried-up eyes.
Abnormally elongated fingers.
Even in death, a strange aura still flowed from it.
「Witch’s Finger」.
An item called the ingredient for status ailment immunity potions.
“…This thing is supposed to be an ingredient.”
His brow furrowed.
The finger was even trembling slightly as if it were still alive.
‘Should I just go down without drinking it?’
Such a thought crossed his mind for a moment.
Slash-!
His sword flashed, cutting off the corpse’s finger.
[Item Acquired: 「Witch’s Finger」]
[Grade: C]
“One complete.”
A red liquid, whether blood or poison, dripped from the fingertip.
Kim Jun nonchalantly shoved it into his 「Subspace Pouch」 and left the cave.
But the sensation remaining on his fingertips lingered strangely long, not fading even as he took his steps.
[9th Floor].
Mage Belphast’s Library.
The ceiling was so high it seemed endless, and the bookshelves were intertwined like a maze.
Between the endlessly lined bookshelves were tens of thousands of books packed tightly.
The books seemed to breathe on their own, their pages fluttering despite the absence of wind.
Finding one specific book here was virtually impossible.
However.
“「Ariadne’s Thread」.”
Twang-!
「Ariadne’s Thread」 was drawn in the air, pointing in one direction.
Each time Kim Jun took a step, the bookshelves rattled.
Creak-
The sound of old wood groaning.
3rd Floor, West Section, 7th Bookshelf.
The thread disappeared, revealing a dust-covered book.
「Chronicles of the Mage」 Volume 6.
[Item Acquired: Chronicles of the Mage Volume 6]
[Grade: B]
“Two complete.”
Kim Jun nodded with satisfaction.
Thud-
A book fell from somewhere.
Soon after, a low rumbling sound like wind seeping through came from deep within the bookshelves.
Too low to be wind, too ambiguous to be whispers.
‘…Is it the Library’s own magic?’
The Library on the 9th Floor was commonly called a living space.
Books moved themselves to different positions, and bookshelves rearranged themselves as if shuffling.
Sometimes, like now, they made incomprehensible noises.
Kim Jun listened for a moment, then shook his head.
It wasn’t a threat.
Just a characteristic of this place, remnants of ancient magic.
Kim Jun thought this as he turned and left the Library.
Of course, D-rank and lower skill books could still be easily obtained here.
If lucky, even C-rank ones.
But for Kim Jun now, such trivial loot didn’t matter.
His goal was singular.
Ingredients for status ailment immunity potions.
“Return—Artemis.”
Swoooosh—!
Space twisted, and Kim Jun’s body disappeared into the light.
“….”
Above the bookshelf, five stories high.
A man leaned against the railing, looking down below.
A face hidden in shadows.
But his eyes were clear.
Hatred.
Dark, deep, burning hatred.
In the man’s hand was a worn book.
Half-opened pages with dark red letters glowing faintly.
「Forbidden Class Change Book—Hunter Devourer」
One who grows by devouring their own kind.
A twisted smile spread across the man’s lips.
“Wait for me, Kim Jun.”
A low, sunken voice.
“Your power, your position, everything you have.”
He slowly turned the pages.
Dark red characters carved on each page.
A forbidden profession that grows stronger by killing Hunters.
“I’ll make it all mine.”
At that moment, the entire Library trembled slightly.
Books shook in unison, and bookshelves creaked.
As if the Library itself was warning against that taboo.
The man slowly stood up.
And hiding the book in his chest, he disappeared into the darkness.
Drip—
Drip drip—
*
Pitch black.
It was a world that could only be described with those words.
“Ugh, I really hate this kind of thing.”
“Ow! Stop grabbing my arm!”
“No way! Muscle head! Let me hold on just a bit!”
“It hurts because I worked out!”
“Don’t work out before raids!!”
“How can I not work out?”
Park Min-soo grumbled.
The two bickering as usual.
But tension was mixed in their voices.
Nothing was visible ahead.
No sky, no ground, not even their own fingertips.
The sensation of floating alone in an endless night sky.
No, it was darkness deeper and thicker than that.
Kim Jun took out the 「Eternal Torch」 he had obtained on the 11th Floor.
Whoosh—!
Flames erupted, but…
‘It’s not bright.’
The light reached barely one meter ahead.
The darkness covering the 26th Floor swallowed even the torch.
Screech—
Screeeeech—!
Sharp sounds erupted from all directions.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
“Aaaah!”
Ryu Ji-a screamed.
Something pitch black burst out from the darkness.
Small bodies the size of palms.
But they rushed forward quickly, baring sharp teeth.
“They’re small but damn fast!”
Park Min-soo raised his shield.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Dozens clung on all at once.
In that instant.
Slash—
Han Su-in’s sword moved like lightning.
0.1 seconds before touching their bodies.
She cut down the invisible enemies using only the fleeting sensation of clothes fluttering.
“「Inferno」!”
With Ryu Ji-a’s shout, red flames exploded.
Kwaaaaang—!!
Fire engulfed the surroundings.
Dozens fell screaming as they burned.
Screech! Screech!
But it wasn’t over.
They swarmed again from the darkness.
“This really has no end!”
Ryu Ji-a complained.
Kim Jun just watched the scene.
He didn’t help.
The battle continued.
5 minutes.
10 minutes.
20 minutes.
Monsters pouring endlessly.
Park Min-soo’s shield held the front line.
Han Su-in’s sword precisely cut down enemies in the darkness.
Ryu Ji-a’s magic cleared out the masses.
Lee Seo-yeon’s barrier sustained everyone.
‘They’ve gotten much stronger.’
It was incomparable to the speed before his regression.
Both himself and his companions.
But.
Kim Jun’s eyes darkened.
‘Still far to go.’
100th Floor.
The self-proclaimed ‘Almighty’.
That despair of being unable to do anything.
It was the first despair Kim Jun had ever felt.
To never experience such a thing again.
He had to make them grow faster, more harshly.
“Well then, everyone keep leveling up well.”
“What! Where are you going!”
“To catch the boss.”
“Alone again?”
“Yeah.”
A short, firm answer.
If he helped here, experience would increase but their senses wouldn’t grow.
In the end, they had to fight and endure on their own to grow.
That was what would benefit his companions too.
“Hyung, shouldn’t you not go alone?”
Park Min-soo asked worriedly.
“It’s fine.”
Of course, the 「Administrator’s Mark」 was still there.
But as long as he didn’t touch the trigger, there would be no problem.
Besides, the 26th Floor boss was tricky.
If his companions forced themselves to follow, it might just become more dangerous.
‘It’s right for me to shoulder all the unknown variables.’
His steps slowly moved toward the Boss Room.
The sounds of his companions’ battles grew distant, and the darkness grew thicker.
*
How long had he walked?
In the distance, a massive door came into view.
A door made of black marble.
Nothing was carved on its surface.
Just complete blackness.
Kim Jun stood before the door.
[26th Floor Boss Room]
[Boss: Shadow Lord Nusthalos]
[Grade: C]
[Level: 50]
Creak-
The door slowly opened.
Beyond it was deeper darkness.
Kim Jun took a step forward.
Swoosh-
In an instant.
[Vision has been blocked]
“Hmm.”
His vision went pitch black.
No torches, no light from mana, nothing could be seen.
Kim Jun took his second step.
[Hearing has been blocked]
All sounds disappeared.
His own footsteps, breathing sounds, even his heartbeat.
Complete silence.
The third step.
[Touch has been blocked]
The flow of air disappeared.
The sensation of the floor, the weight of his body.
He couldn’t even feel his own fingertips.
Void.
A space that could only be described with that one word.
A battlefield where you couldn’t see with your eyes, hear with your ears, or sense the enemy’s presence.
[Sensory Deprivation Labyrinth].
This was the name of this place.
Before his regression, Kim Jun had struggled here.
No, it wasn’t just struggling.
Fighting an invisible enemy while losing your senses was nearly impossible.
‘Back then…’
Memories from before his regression flashed by.
The Boss Room he had entered with his companions.
The moment they lost all their senses, everyone fell into panic.
They couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything.
They couldn’t even tell if their companions were beside them.
They couldn’t distinguish between the boss’s attacks and their companions’ skills.
They just.
Randomly spammed skills.
Relying on luck, hoping to hit something.
They attacked each other.
Ryu Ji-a’s lightning burned Kim Jun, and Kim Jun’s flames engulfed Park Min-soo.
They couldn’t tell who was ally and who was enemy.
They just got wounded, and those wounds healed with Lee Seo-yeon’s healing.
That was the only signal.
‘We’re still alive.’
‘The battle is still continuing.’
Only Lee Seo-yeon’s infinite healing held everyone together.
They endured like that for 30 minutes.
No, was it an hour?
In that place where even the sense of time had vanished, he couldn’t know for certain.
Luckily, Ryu Ji-a’s area magic hit the boss.
Barely, really barely, they had cleared it.
‘As expected, this place must be cleared alone.’
Kim Jun before his regression was strong, but.
He was following a normal growth trajectory as a Hunter.
Even if he accidentally hit a companion, it wouldn’t be fatal.
But now?
One shot of 「Ragnar Explosion」 would vaporize everything—allies, bosses, whatever.
It could shift the very earth’s crust.
If they came in together, the moment any of them got hit by even one of Kim Jun’s skills, their lives would be in danger.
Whoosh—
Something moved in the darkness.
Of course, Kim Jun couldn’t sense anything.
Shadow Lord Nusthalos.
The master of this space.
The one and only being that could move freely in this place.
Swish—
Kim Jun drew his sword.
He couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything, but.
‘It’s fine.’
Kim Jun knew.
How to fight.
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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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