Walkthrough for the Transcendental Hunter's Ruins - Chapter 9

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 9
The Disaster Administration Ministry was the Hunter Bureau’s parent organization.
Yu Jeong-tae, director of the Hunter Bureau, had been summoned by Lee Chul-soo, minister of the Disaster Administration Ministry, and the two were now in a closed-door meeting.
The minister fixed Yu Jeong-tae with a steady gaze and asked his question.
“So… you just let him walk away?”
Yu Jeong-tae nodded as though the answer were obvious.
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I? Should I have detained him instead?”
The subject of their conversation was none other than the identity of the one who had cleared the Legendary-grade Dungeon.
When word reached the government that an Awakened with Transcendent-grade traits had emerged, it sent shockwaves through the halls of power.
Minister Lee had just come from the Prime Minister’s office, where he’d been pressed with an unreasonable request: recruit that Hunter under direct government control.
“That’s not what I mean… If that Hunter approached the Hunter Bureau, shouldn’t we take active steps to recruit him? We should ensure he contributes to the nation in every possible way.”
“Are you suggesting we imprison him and threaten him into joining the Hunter Bureau?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. But when talented individuals emerge, it’s the director’s duty to ensure they cooperate with the state however possible.”
“All we need is for resources to flow into this country smoothly. What more could you want? That young man already left the Hunter Bureau a valuable item as a gift.”
……
Despite both being high-ranking government officials, the two didn’t appear to get along particularly well.
The Hunter Bureau was technically under the Disaster Administration Ministry, but there was a fundamental difference in perspective between the minister and the director.
The minister was a civilian non-Awakened, while the director was a government official who had spent years as an active Hunter—an Awakened himself.
As director, Yu Jeong-tae worked to prevent Korean Hunters from fleeing overseas or selling dungeon resources abroad, but at the same time, as a fellow Awakened, he valued the freedom of his Hunters.
His position was simple: as long as Hunters remained in the country and cooperated with the state, that was enough.
The minister, by contrast, wanted the state to take direct control over Hunters themselves.
From the state’s perspective, a powerful Hunter operating under government authority and subject to control was far preferable to one running wild independently.
“If a newly Awakened Hunter suddenly causes trouble, it could be catastrophic.”
“What sort of trouble?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know? Surely you, of all people, understand how easily someone with that kind of overwhelming power could turn to crime.”
But then again, if that were the case, there was no effective way to control him even if he did commit a crime.
‘The guy’s the strongest person in the Republic of Korea right now. What am I supposed to do about it?’
Yu Jeong-tae pushed the folder on his desk toward the minister.
“Look it over carefully. This young man named Jeon Jae-woo won’t cause any trouble. He strikes me as a sincere person. What exactly are you so worried about?”
Sincere, his foot. According to his profile, the kid was unemployed before he Awakened.
“If he has the strength to clear a Legendary-grade Dungeon alone, wouldn’t it make sense for him to work with the Hunter Bureau and contribute to clearing even higher-grade dungeons?”
“If he’s doing well on his own, pushing control on him will only breed resistance.”
“Even so, there must be limits to what one person can accomplish as dungeon ranks increase. Besides, isn’t there a limit to how many times a Hunter can enter dungeons in the first place?”
……
The minister had a point.
From the moment of their Awakening, Hunters have a set maximum number of dungeons they can clear.
[Clearable Dungeon Count: 10]
This limit appears in their status window for all to see.
Jeon Jae-woo, having already cleared two dungeons, had watched his clearable count drop from 12 to 10.
Once that number reached zero, there would be no way to clear any dungeon through normal means.
This is why most Hunters approach each dungeon entry with extreme caution, careful not to waste their limited attempts.
For a Hunter as powerful as Jeon Jae-woo to enter dungeons at his own whim was, from the state’s perspective, a massive loss of potential.
If he spent his limited entries clearing only ordinary or rare-grade dungeons instead of contributing to Legendary-grade or Ancient-grade clears, that might satisfy him as an individual, but it was something the state couldn’t simply ignore.
Yu Jeong-tae had not been blind to these concerns.
Legendary-grade dungeons were difficult, yes, but not beyond the Republic of Korea’s capabilities as a nation.
If Jeon Jae-woo exhausted all his attempts clearing only Legendary-grade dungeons alone, the Republic of Korea would lose any opportunity to clear Ancient-grade or higher dungeons.
Still, Yu Jeong-tae wasn’t worried at the moment.
“There’s no need to be overly concerned. He just completed a Legendary-grade dungeon, so he’ll need time to recover. He won’t attempt another clear right away.”
……
They were just getting to know each other. There would be plenty of time to gradually build rapport and subtly guide him.
That was when it happened.
Knock-knock-knock!
An urgent knock sounded at the minister’s office door.
“Come in.”
A Hunter Bureau staff member hurried into the office.
“My apologies, Minister. Director, I have an urgent report.”
“What is it?”
The staff member paused to catch his breath before delivering news that fell like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
“Another Legendary-grade Dungeon that appeared recently has been cleared. Again, it was cleared by that Hunter, Jeon Jae-woo.”
???
Lee Chul-soo and Yu Jeong-tae’s eyes went wide in an instant.
It was an event that overturned Yu Jeong-tae’s assertion that things would be fine for the time being.
***
The Tomb of Swords—a Legendary-grade Dungeon by name.
True to its title, the atmosphere inside the Dungeon felt largely sunken and heavy.
Even though it wasn’t raining, the air pressed down with an oppressive weight.
As Jeon Jae-woo surveyed the interior, he swallowed hard.
‘It’s like walking into a mass grave.’
There weren’t actually tombs scattered about the place.
Instead, hundreds of swords stood planted across the hillside in their stead.
And around them, spirits of indeterminate nature drifted lazily through the air.
‘Wow. Real ghosts.’
Jeon Jae-woo reviewed the Dungeon’s exploration conditions once more.
[‘Tomb of Swords’ Exploration Condition: Grant peace to all the guardian spirits who wander, unable to depart from the swords even in death. (0/138)]
Given that they were called guardian spirits, these didn’t seem to be metaphorical—they appeared to be genuine spiritual entities.
Jeon Jae-woo asked from behind Myeol-geop’s shelter.
“What exactly are those things?”
[Commonly known as Wraiths—spiritual-form monsters. They’re the most dangerous among entities that exist as pure souls.]
Myeol-geop had no trouble contending with monsters, yet seemed unusually attentive to his master’s safety.
[Creator. They are quite hostile toward living beings. Please stay behind me at all times. You must not leave my side under any circumstances.]
Jeon Jae-woo nodded without complaint and obeyed Myeol-geop’s instruction.
‘Right. I was going to do that anyway.’
Only a madman would venture ahead of Myeol-geop in a Legendary-grade Dungeon.
The fortunate part was that all the Wraiths were Bound Spirit Guardians.
They could only remain in the vicinity of the swords where they dwelled, unable to venture beyond a certain range.
Had they been able to move freely, wouldn’t the Dungeon’s rank have climbed even higher?
Even a single one of these guardian spirits was at least an A-rank Hunter’s level.
“But will you be alright? You don’t seem to have a straightforward way to deal with them.”
The enemy was a spirit monster with no physical form.
It was well-known that ordinary physical attacks didn’t work on them.
That’s why, even among Hunters, undead-type monsters were considered especially troublesome opponents.
No matter how strong Myeol-geop was, it was unclear what could be done through conventional methods of attack.
[You needn’t worry about that.]
“You have some way to handle it?”
[My trait, Annihilation, automatically releases mana suited to the opponent’s nature, capable of destroying it accordingly.]
“??”
—A strange humming resonated through the air.
Soon, Myeol-geop’s List Blade became enveloped in peculiar mana.
It was certainly mana, yet mana of an uncommon variety.
Like the difference between water, milk, and juice—all liquids, yet distinctly different.
In that instant, the Wraiths that had been radiating hostility toward this direction flinched and showed signs of retreating.
But as mentioned before, the Bound Spirit Guardians couldn’t escape beyond their fixed domain.
Myeol-geop immediately rushed at the guardian spirits of the swords, who had no means of fleeing.
—A terrible shriek.
Myeol-geop’s blade cut through the guardian spirits with overwhelming force.
Physical attacks that would ordinarily pass straight through a spiritual form now connected.
The guardian spirits, cleft in two, grew faint one by one, then vanished.
‘…I honestly can’t tell what makes them stronger compared to goblins.’
For being monsters of a Legendary-grade Dungeon, they were surely incomparably stronger than goblins—yet before such overwhelming power, the distinction seemed meaningless.
Myeol-geop continued cutting down the guardian spirits of the swords.
[‘Tomb of Swords’ Exploration Condition: Grant peace to all the guardian spirits who wander, unable to depart from the swords even in death. (54/138)]
[‘Tomb of Swords’ Exploration Condition: Grant peace to all the guardian spirits who wander, unable to depart from the swords even in death. (77/138)]
[‘Tomb of Swords’ Exploration Condition: Grant peace to all the guardian spirits who wander, unable to depart from the swords even in death. (91/138)]
The numbers in the exploration condition climbed rapidly.
Still, being a Legendary-grade Dungeon, it seemed to take slightly longer than when clearing the Golden Palace.
The Wraiths showed some resistance, holding out for several exchanges against Myeol-geop.
[‘Tomb of Swords’ Exploration Condition: Grant peace to all the guardian spirits who wander, unable to depart from the swords even in death. (138/138)]
And shortly after, Myeol-geop finished clearing the Dungeon without difficulty.
[The exploration mission has been completed.]
[The ‘Tomb of Swords’ Dungeon now belongs to Jeon Jae-woo.]
A notification appeared informing him that the exploration mission was complete.
Jeon Jae-woo let out a low whistle.
‘This one really can’t do anything it can’t do.’
According to the status window description, it was apparently the supreme combat weapon of some ancient era.
Whether wraiths, ordinary monsters, or any situation that might arise—it seemed to have contingencies for everything.
Well, in any case, he’d cleared the Legendary-grade Dungeon. Now it was time to gather the spoils.
This Legendary-grade Dungeon, unlike the Apostle of Death’s altar, harbored no special resources or ore veins lying dormant within.
But the spoils of the dungeon were immediately visible to the eye.
A low, resonant hum echoed through the chamber.
Over a hundred swords were embedded in the walls on all sides.
The wraiths of the swords had vanished, yet an ominous aura still lingered about them.
Jeon Jae-woo reached out carefully to extract one of the blades.
Grasping the sword with its ominous presence presented no particular problem.
But no matter how hard he strained, the blade wouldn’t budge even a hair’s breadth from the ground.
“Nngh—!”
He threw his full force into pulling it, managing perhaps a millimeter of movement.
This was absurd—more stubborn than Excalibur itself, lodged faster than any sword had a right to be.
Jeon Jae-woo abandoned his attempt and stood catching his breath.
The sound of metal scraping against stone rang out in quick succession.
Myeol-geop walked the perimeter methodically, extracting every embedded blade and collecting them.
“Master. I have recovered all the swords you required.”
“……”
Jeon Jae-woo felt a faint pang of self-reproach at having delegated every task to the golem without lifting a finger.
A Transcendent-grade Hunter’s Guide to Dungeon Clearance
Author
: Autumn
Publication Date
: June 16, 2026
Publisher
: Aces Media Co., Ltd.
Editor
: Aces Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
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and no part of its content may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and author.
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UCI
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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