The Returned Hunter Has Awakened to a Hidden Class - Chapter 96

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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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96

Chapter 96

Hostility (3)

“You insolent little brat!”

Pook-!

 A blood ice spear pierced through Choi Do-heon’s shoulder. The sound of bone breaking could be heard.

“Kugh!”

 Choi Do-heon collapsed to the floor. Blood poured out.

“Die!”

 Han Seo-jin launched another blood ice spear.

 But Choi Do-heon got up. Supporting himself with one hand on the ground, staggering.

“Just die quietly already!”

 Another blood ice spear flew at him. It grazed Choi Do-heon’s leg. 

Sizzle-!

 Flesh tore.

“Kugh!”

Thud-!

 Choi Do-heon fell to his knees again. But he got up once more.

 Again and again, over and over. His shoulder was pierced.

 He couldn’t lift his right arm properly. Strength had left it. There was no sensation.

 But Choi Do-heon kept getting up. Clenching his left fist, lowering his stance, advancing toward Han Seo-jin.

Tap-! Tap-!

 Taking steps. Moving to the rhythm. Never giving up.

“What…?”

 Han Seo-jin was flustered. Choi Do-heon was approaching. Even though he was injured. Even though he was bleeding.

“This damn bastard…”

 Han Seo-jin’s face contorted. His pride was wounded.

 Suddenly, the past came flooding back. The day the Blue Dragon Guild collapsed.

 The guild members’ gazes changed. Contempt was mixed in. Respect disappeared.

“The guild leader ran away.”

“Don’t call him guild leader anymore. That bastard Han Seo-jin…”

“If it weren’t for Kim Jun, we’d all be dead. While Han Seo-jin ran away.”

 Whispers could be heard.

 In the plaza, in the training grounds, everywhere.

 They avoided Han Seo-jin. They ignored Han Seo-jin. They mocked Han Seo-jin.

‘It’s all because of Kim Jun.’

 Han Seo-jin gritted his teeth. If only Kim Jun hadn’t existed. If Kim Jun hadn’t appeared.

 His guild would still be strong, and Han Seo-jin would still be at the top.

 But Kim Jun destroyed everything.

 That’s what Han Seo-jin thought.

 The truth didn’t matter. At least that’s what Han Seo-jin believed.

 Never dreaming that someone had guided him to think that way.

‘That’s why I became stronger. So no one could look down on me.’

 He killed hunters. Devoured them. Stole their power with 「Predation」. Became stronger. Much stronger.

 Now it was different. If he became just a little stronger, he could kill even Kim Jun in one blow.

 But.

‘C-rank? How dare a mere C-rank!’

 Choi Do-heon kept approaching. He didn’t die. He didn’t fall. He didn’t give up.

 And that annoying look in his eyes. Somehow it resembled Kim Jun.

“Die! I said die!”

 Han Seo-jin unleashed blood ice spears. Five, six, in succession.

 But Choi Do-heon dodged again this time. 

 Taking steps, twisting his body, barely avoiding them.

 And threw a punch. His left fist.

Thwack-!

 It grazed Han Seo-jin’s cheek.

“Got hit once? What makes you think you’re my brother’s rival?”

“You insolent…”

 Han Seo-jin’s voice trembled. With rage.

 Running away would have been understandable. He had become overwhelmingly strong.

 But standing up to him?

 He couldn’t understand it.

‘How dare you, to me?’

 To him, an S-rank? To him, who had devoured hundreds of hunters?

 But what he understood least in this entire situation was himself.

‘Why?’

 Why, despite becoming stronger, couldn’t he properly deal with a mere C-rank?

 Had his strength weakened?

 No. Han Seo-jin was giving his all with each move, attacking with killing intent.

 Had he been careless?

 That wasn’t it either. At first, he had been a bit careless after learning through 「Spy」 that Choi Do-heon was C-rank, but he quickly gave his all.

 Then why? What did that young boy possess that allowed him to keep getting up?

‘I came here to kill Kim Jun.’

 Han Seo-jin trembled. With rage, with bewilderment.

‘And I’m wasting time on this trash!’

 His target was Kim Jun. Revenge. Killing that man who destroyed his guild.

“I can’t waste time like this!”

 But now? He was taking this long against a single C-rank martial artist.

Whoosh-!

 Han Seo-jin unleashed blood ice spears. Over twenty this time. With all his might.

Kwaaaaang-!

 The blood ice spears poured down like a storm. Toward Choi Do-heon, from all directions, with nowhere to escape.

 Choi Do-heon tried to block. He swung his fist.

Pow-! Pow-!

 He struck two. But there were too many others.

Pook-! Pook-! Pook-!

 The blood ice spears pierced through Choi Do-heon’s body. His side, thigh, shoulder.

“Kugh…!”

 Choi Do-heon staggered. Blood poured out. His entire body was covered in wounds.

 But he got up again.

“…Still.”

 Han Seo-jin wore an expression of disbelief.

‘That guy who looks like he’ll die any moment.’

 Choi Do-heon was in tatters. Covered in blood.

 His whole body was wounded, one arm was unusable, and his legs couldn’t stand properly.

 It wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed right now.

 But somehow that guy kept pressing forward.

 Getting up, approaching, enduring.

‘This is dangerous.’

 That guy keeps growing. While fighting, while getting hurt, even while dying.

 Look at those burning eyes. That was clear evidence.

 The intuition that if he didn’t kill him now, he could become a major obstacle later.

‘My mana is running low, but…’

Zzzzrrrk-!

 Han Seo-jin activated 「Devour」. A massive mouth appeared, tearing through space.

“This is the end!”

 The mouth opened. Teeth were revealed. Suction force was generated.

Kwaaa-!

 Air was sucked in. Choi Do-heon’s body began to be pulled in.

“Kugh…!”

 Choi Do-heon tried to resist. He planted his feet. He put in strength. But it was useless.

 The suction force of 「Devour」 was too strong. His entire body was pulled. His feet left the ground.

‘No…!’

 Choi Do-heon desperately resisted. But his body was already at its limit. He was covered in wounds. His strength was draining.

 Little by little, he was being pulled toward the mouth.

‘If I get eaten like this…!’

 He would die. It would be over. Without even reaching the shadow of the one he admired. 

‘No!’

 Choi Do-heon gritted his teeth. He raised his head. He looked around.

 Something, anything. A way to hold on, a way to escape.

 Then he saw it.

 The ceiling.

‘There…!’

 He saw a crack. A crack in the ceiling.

 Being an old cave, it was weakened in many places.

 There were also cracks created by the blood ice colliding.

‘If I collapse that…!’

 He could create chaos. He could make a chance to escape.

 But.

‘Can I reach it?’

 The ceiling was high. It wasn’t a distance Choi Do-heon’s fist could reach.

‘However.’

 Before entering the Tower of Trials, and even after coming up here. Choi Do-heon had continuously refined it.

 His own fist technique.

 The art of striking. The technique of spreading impact. The technique of transmitting force to unreachable places.

 The only inheritance he received from his father.

 Choi Do-heon clenched his fist tightly.

 With all his might. He gathered all the remaining strength in his body.

 Blood flowed backward. Wounds opened up. His entire body screamed.

 But he didn’t stop.

‘If it were hyung.’

 Kim Jun came to mind.

‘He would have done at least this much.’

 Even in seemingly impossible situations, even in moments that seemed deadly, he still would have done it.

 So he too.

‘I can do it too!’

 Because that’s the only way to follow him. 

 It wasn’t that he could do it, he had to do it.

Uuuu-

 Mana began to gather. The little remaining mana, nearly depleted, concentrated in his fist.

 Muscles expanded. Bones creaked. Heat burst forth from his fist.

‘I’ll protect my comrades.’

 Kim Sa-ra, Kim Kyeong-tae, An Su-min.

‘I’ll get out of here.’

 Survive. Without fail.

‘Please…!’

 Choi Do-heon widened his eyes and aimed at the ceiling.

‘Reach!’

Uuuuuung-!

 And he shouted.

“「Martial Strike – Thread (-)」!”

───────!

.

.

.

Kwaaaaang-!

 A shockwave burst forth.

 The strike that began from his fist spread through the air and struck the ceiling hard.

Urururu-!

 The ceiling cracked. Fissures spread like a spider web.

“You still have this kind of power!”

 Han Seo-jin looked up.

Warururu-!

 The ceiling began to collapse. Stones poured down. Massive rocks fell.

“Damn…!”

 Han Seo-jin tried to block with ice magic. 

Tudududududuk-!

 But there were too many. They kept falling.

 Dust rose up. Vision was obscured.

Kugung-! Kwang-!

 Stones struck Han Seo-jin. 「Devour」 was also blocked by rocks and disappeared.

 And in that chaos.

Step-

 Choi Do-heon moved. Toward the entrance.

 Staggering and bleeding, but not stopping.

‘I have to tell hyung…’

 Choi Do-heon gritted his teeth.

 Han Seo-jin. S-rank Hunter Han Seo-jin was killing hunters. Eating them. Devouring them.

 A villain who laid hands on fellow hunters.

‘I must report this!’

 Kim Jun could stop him. Kim Jun could defeat Han Seo-jin.

 So he had to get out. Alive. To convey this fact.

‘Quickly…! Move!’

 Choi Do-heon tried to run.

 But his legs wouldn’t obey. His strength was gone. He staggered.

Thud-!

 He fell. He collapsed on the ground.

“Kugh…”

 He tried to stand up. But his legs wouldn’t move. He was too badly injured. It was his limit.

‘Still…!’

 Choi Do-heon pressed his hands against the floor.

 He crawled. Reaching out one hand, then the other.

 It was slow. Too slow. But he couldn’t stop.

‘I have to let them know…’

 About Han Seo-jin’s existence. About the villain who devours Hunters.

‘That way…other people…won’t suffer anymore…’

 Choi Do-heon kept crawling.

 Blood flowed onto the floor. His handprints were stained with blood.

 He could see the entrance. Little by little, he was getting closer.

‘Almost…there…!’

 Just then.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

 Han Seo-jin’s voice rang out.

 Choi Do-heon looked back.

 Han Seo-jin emerged from the dust. He was bleeding.

 He was injured from being hit by the rock, but he was still alive.

“I’ll never…let you leave alive!”

 Han Seo-jin came running.

 Creating sharp, spear-like. Red ice in his hand.

 Choi Do-heon crawled toward the entrance again. 

 One hand, then the other, desperately. Earnestly.

‘Please…!’

 He had to survive. He had to let them know.

‘Hyung…help me…!’

Swoosh-!

—————
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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