SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 6

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 6: Hero Hunting (3)

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"Uuuk, Gag...!"

The brink of death can awaken latent powers.

This adage has long circulated in the Hunter community: face death to awaken your skill. Perhaps it wasn't just a saying, but actual truth. At least it seemed more plausible than awakening skills through sheer envy, no matter how extreme.

Thus, I did not let my guard down.

Keeping my guard up, I swung my sword straight at him.

"Hah!"

To ensure the psychopath before me wouldn't awaken his powers by chance.

"Agh….."

Die.

"Groan..."

What enraged me the most wasn't just that this psychopath had burned me alive without a second thought, nor the pain and injustice of it. There was something else that infuriated me more.

'He said his name.'

Before I returned to the past.

Before the Flame Emperor burned my head to a crisp, he smiled and said:

- But you know I'm the Flame Emperor. You saw me kill the Saintess.

- So, you must die.

- My name is Yoo Soo-Ha. Farewell.

Every bit of it sounded like something a madman would spout. But one part was truly strange. I could not bear how infuriating and disgusting it was.

'The last thing he said.'

Why did he reveal his name while killing me?

Did he think I didn't know who the Flame Emperor was?

No, that wasn't it.

'He was showing off.'

The Flame Emperor.

That murderer... was posturing.

As if it was a sacred duel where warriors reveal their names. In his mind, as he killed me, the Flame Emperor must have thought:

- I, at least, reveal who I am as I kill.

- Thus, I am honorable.

How dare.

"Someone like you..."

How dare a psychopath like you.

"A bastard like you, doing such things...!"

A man who had killed a witness who merely happened to be passing by. A man who had set a village on fire, then returned shamelessly and acted as though he had done nothing wrong. A human who was no human at all. A person who was no person at all. A beast. A demon lower than any beast.

Pretending to be noble.

"Don't make me laugh!"

Thrust!

My sword pierced Yoo Soo-Ha's neck.

"..."

Yoo Soo-Ha was already silent. No screams, no groans. In a secluded hunting ground, where no one else passed by, Yoo Soo-Ha lay on the ground, his eyes lifelessly gazing at the sky.

He was dead.

"Haa, huff... Haa..."

Perhaps 'dead' was an understatement. He wasn't just any hunter, and his death was far from ordinary.

A man who would have become the Flame Emperor. A legend who would have reached the world's top rank. The one who would have single-handedly conquered the tower's 10th floor after no one had managed it for years.

Was killed by me.

"Sigh."

I exhaled deeply.

"Finally, some sanity returns..."

I was about to remark on my return when I stopped. Were they attracted by the smell of blood? Wolves. Large wolves, their dark fur marked as if tattooed by human hands. Known as prairie wolves, the more complex their patterns, the stronger they were.

The patterns on these wolves were simple, but... they were still not opponents an F-rank Hunter like me could afford to challenge out of bravado.

"..."

First, I retrieved the wallet Yoo Soo-Ha had stolen from me.

Cautiously, I stepped back.

"You want this corpse, don't you?"

Pointing to the body, I spoke.

"I don't need it. Take it."

I retreated.

-Grrrrr.

The wolves approached the corpse. Rip! Their teeth tore through the clothing. As one wolf bit in, others joined. Rip, tearing... Soon, the body was hidden beneath their massive forms.

"Eat well."

I quickly retreated.

'Is it over?'

I buried the bloodied clothes. Deep in a hole I had dug earlier. I washed off the blood with water I brought in plastic bottles. Changing into fresh clothes from my backpack, I still couldn't quite believe it.

'Is it really over?'

If my new clothes looked too clean, it might raise suspicions. I deliberately rolled in the dirt. When they seemed dirty enough, I returned to Babylon, the city on the 1st floor of the tower. A Vigilante Corps member was on guard but merely glanced at me before yawning and looking away.

'Ah.'

No one knew.

'It's over.'

I went to a pub and ordered a beer. Even after finishing one and ordering another, no one paid me any attention. No one knew what I had done.

The pub's TV showed only old news.

-Today, another attempt to conquer the 10th floor was thwarted.

-Although the Hunters ranked second through seventh all joined forces in an attempt to break through the 10th floor...

-There's growing criticism of the Sword Saint, ranked 1st but not participating in the raids...

There was no breaking news about 'Hunter missing on 2nd floor hunting grounds.'

It was expected. The loss of a novice Hunter's life was a daily occurrence. Just as no one paid attention to me, nobody cared about the disappearance of an unknown Hunter.

So.

'It's over!'

Yes.

I had successfully hunted down the monster.

"Khh."

I raised my empty glass high.

"One more beer, please!"

"You're drinking a lot today. Did the hunt go well?"

"Yes, very well. Extremely well!"

I couldn't have felt more relieved.

For a few hours, I filled my heart, now light and breezy, with beer. It wasn't until the sun began to set outside the pub that I slowly started to think about reality.

'What do I do now?'

There was much to do.

'I could win the lottery. I could sell strategies for the higher floors that nobody else knows. Wow, my life's looking up. It really is!'

I looked up at my ability window.

The ability window, visible only to the Hunter themselves.

Name: Kim Gong-Ja

Rank: F-Rank

Skills (2/4)

1. [I Want to Become Just Like You] (S+): Passive

2. [Returner’s Winding Clock] (EX): Passive

3. None

4. None

"Wow, who needs side dishes?"

My ability window was like the most delicious side dish in the world. An S-Rank skill and an unheard-of EX-Rank skill. It's like adding caviar to a steak dinner.

'Wanting more would be greedy. Yeah.'

But the satisfied smile on my face was short-lived.

"...But I have no combat skills."

Ah.

Is this how human nature is?

I slowly started noticing what I lacked.

"No matter how much money I make, a Hunter needs to be a Hunter... Having money without power, I’ll be robbed eventually..."

The society within the tower was even more brutal than the outside world.

Elegantly put, it was a survival of the fittest world. Simply put, the law of the jungle.

If only I could just run away to the outside world...

'Once you enter the tower, you can never leave.'

That was the rule.

Even an S-Rank Hunter with spatial movement abilities couldn't leave the tower. It was simply impossible.

The only person who could interact with the outside world from Babylon was the leader of the Sang-Ryun (Merchants Union), the Hunter known as "Countess."

'The guild leader can send items outside and bring them in, but apparently cannot personally leave the tower...'

In other words, entry was at one's discretion, but exit was not.

Only those ready to abandon everything in the outside world could become true Hunters.

Wealth, relationships, status, nationality, everything.

Maybe... even their humanity.

"Right."

Of course, I was no different.

"Come what may, I have to succeed in the tower."

Buoyed by the alcohol, I murmured. Success. I desperately wanted to succeed.

Why had I idolized the Flame Emperor in the first place? Because I was taken with that damn bastard's character? Did he even have any character to speak of? The reason was much simpler.

I envied the Flame Emperor's dazzling achievements and success.

"Let's succeed, Kim Gong-Ja. Yeah. After dying 4090 times, what can't I do? I must succeed..."

Then.

-Jingle.

The pub's front door chimed.

At first, I didn't care who entered.

How impressive could a Hunter be who starts drinking in the early evening?

But soon, other drunkards began to whisper.

"Hey, isn't that person over there...?"

"Huh? Seems like it."

"Why here...?"

The pub quieted oddly. Everyone held their breath. Now curious, I couldn't help but look.

A well-dressed elderly man in a black suit stood there.

"Hmm."

Dressed as if he was about to head to the office, with a plain, bright red tie. He looked like an ordinary businessman, enough to make you wonder, 'Did I accidentally return to the outside world?'

Except, his shoes were red sneakers, not formal shoes.

'Wow. What kind of fashion sense is that?'

It was extremely unbalanced.

But the oddity wasn't just his attire.

"Milk."

"Yes?"

"Warm milk mixed with a bit of vodka and sugar. Honey would be better than sugar."

Faced with the bizarre order, even the pub owner seemed baffled.

"Uh... Sir, I'm not a bartender, so..."

"Don't worry, I'll pay properly."

The pub owner reluctantly nodded. The other patrons continued to sneak glances at the suit-clad elderly man. He seemed quite famous.

'Who is he?'

I frowned slightly.

'It's strange. I know most of the famous Hunters.'

It wasn't bragging, but there was no one who envied top Hunters as much as I did. I knew everyone from the Flame Emperor to the top 100 rankers. They were all objects of my jealousy.

But this strangely dressed elderly man was unfamiliar.

'Where have I seen him? Where?'

It took a while before I remembered.

'Ah!'

Not other than in my own room.

Among the myriad of newspaper clippings stuck on my wall.

「Sword Saint missing for 22 days. Is this the worst turmoil for the Hunter industry?」

'It's the Sword Saint!'

That's right. Before Yoo Soo-Ha rose to fame as the Flame Emperor, this man was the most famous.

I had simply forgotten because he was a Hunter whose heyday had been more than ten years ago. Even I could hardly recognize at a glance someone who had been active that long ago.

Someone who, for some reason, would soon disappear.

'Ah, right... It's 11 years ago.'

I suddenly felt the reality of having returned to the past.

'In this era, it's not the Flame Emperor, but this elderly man who's the strongest in the world...'

It was intriguing.

Despite knowing it was rude, I couldn't help but steal glances at the Sword Saint's side profile. How should I describe it? Like seeing a great figure who had died long ago, right in front of me. It was an odd sensation.

'Wow. That old man probably has an S-Rank skill too, right?'

I smirked, sipping my beer.

'Not a weird skill like mine, but a proper combat skill...'

That's when it happened.

"Huh?"

My hand froze unknowingly.

Suddenly, my S-Rank skill flashed in my mind.

[I Want to Become Just Like You]

Rank: S+

Effect: Automatically activated when killed by an enemy. You copy one of the skills of the enemy that killed you and make it yours. You may not copy from an opponent you’ve already copied from. The copied skill is selected randomly.

*However, you will die!

'Wait a minute.'

It was as if lightning struck my brain, illuminating everything.

The same sensation I had when I thought of a way to kill the Flame Emperor engulfed me.

[I Want to Become Just Like You]. It's a great skill. If I wanted, I could die to any Hunter and copy their skill. The downside, of course, is that I have to die.

But.

'I don't die anymore, do I?'

Because I now have another skill.

[Returner’s Winding Clock]

Rank: EX

Effect: Activated automatically on death. You will return 24 hours back in time from the moment of your death. Your memories and stats are preserved while returning.

*However, the higher your Hunter rank, the more severe the penalty.
*This skill was copied from Hunter Yoo Soo-Ha.

'So.'

A chilling current ran up my spine.

'Can I just copy them all? Just choose any Hunter, die, and that’s it?'

The most obvious fact. Yet, due to the tension and pressure of needing to kill the Flame Emperor, I hadn't realized it until now.

'...Even the current world's top-ranked Sword Saint?'

Gulp. I swallowed the remaining beer.

The Flame Emperor, who would become the top ranker in the future, possessed the cheat ability of regression. Then what about the Sword Saint before his disappearance, the Hunter who ruled this era? What kind of ability did he possess? Might his skill be every bit as incredible as the Flame Emperor's?

'If I can copy that...'

I gazed at the elderly man's back.

'This is huge.'

Apparently.

My hunt wasn't over yet.

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