SSS-Class Hunter is Going to Rest - Chapter 106



Only Krnovel

Episode 106 SSS-Class Hunter Tears the Crack (11)
2024.06.22.

Suzy looked at Saint like that and said firmly.

“Anyway, I think this is the last time. I will win no matter what, and I won’t try again.”

Elaine stared at Suzy and then straightened up. Then she leaned against the window frame and looked at Nature.

Nature was asleep on the floor with both hands tied behind her back. The shock from falling from the plane had not yet subsided, and her usually calm face was pale even while sleeping.

As if she didn’t really want to talk about this in front of Nature, Elaine checked a few more times to make sure he was really asleep before straightening her back.

“If you’re curious about which floor it is, I’ll tell you. Are you really curious?”

Peace hesitated and then nodded.

“Okay.”

“The 81st floor.”

“… … What?”

“It was the 81st floor.”

Peace looked quite shocked and glared at Elaine.

Not only Peace, but also Saint and Suzy were quite surprised by Elaine’s answer.

“The 81st floor?”

“We’ve already passed that.”

“Are you lying?”

Elaine slowly brushed her bangs back and chose her words.

“It’s true. There’s no reason to lie to me.”

Peace couldn’t hide his bewilderment and asked again.

“I died there?”

Elaine leaned against the window again and said.

“It wasn’t that simple. Daphne knew the strategy up to the 100th floor, and we climbed the tower after hearing and memorizing it all. Of course, our speed was faster than now. However, we gradually let our guard down because we thought we knew too much. The moment a variable arose, things went wrong in an instant.”

Suzy stared at Elaine as she spoke calmly about Peace’s death.

Thinking about it again seemed more difficult for Elaine than for Peace.

The two of them seemed to be on good terms and bad terms, and they seemed to be playing around, but when they actually started fighting, there was no one who was that close. They were like brothers who really trusted and relied on each other.

He must have been quite shocked at the time. That must be why he tried to talk about it as if it was nothing serious.

Suzy had seen her teammates or people she had fought with die quite a few times. She

knew how burdensome it was.

So what would Peace’s death have been like to him?

“Stop asking. Why are you digging that up, Peace?”

“No, I’m just saying it because it’s absurd. I’m not digging it up.”

“Honestly, the 81st floor was hard. It was much harder than the 84th floor.”

“… … That’s it. An EX-level guy suddenly popped out and I couldn’t see its body, so it was killing me.”

“No matter what happened, it wouldn’t have been strange. And probably… … .”

‘Probably. I must have been mentally exhausted from doing the 100th round and couldn’t concentrate properly. That must have been the cause of Peace’s death.’

When I thought about it that way, I understood myself who had said that I would put everything down.

How many times had I seen Peace die

? Saint’s death?

Elaine’s death?

How much fear would it have been that if I died, everything I had built up would go down the drain?

It must have been a different kind of fear than just the fear of death.

Soo-ji smiled bitterly.

She hated that she kept feeling sorry for herself in another timeline.

She shook off her thoughts and spoke clearly to Peace.

“I’m sorry for telling you such a cliche, but Peace. Peace is better than the Peace of the timeline Elaine experienced once. We cleared the 81st floor in one go. Remember?”

“… … It wasn’t a floor that I could clear in one go, to be honest. Even if I went back again, I wouldn’t be confident that I could clear it on my first try.”

“No wonder I made a resting floor on the 82nd floor when I was building the tower. And the ‘Great Beings’ bet that we couldn’t beat them.”

“That’s right.”

“It was probably about the level of the quasi-boss of the Tower of the Sage. So, Peace. It’s okay. Stop thinking about that and just think about going upstairs.”
Peace nodded as if his mind had calmed down a bit, and relaxed his straight back.

Then he muttered.

“… … As I told you last time, our children have already lost their parents once… … so they are always anxious.”

Suzy nodded as if to tell her to continue talking, squatting down on the cloak Elaine had laid out.

“So?”

“If possible, I never want anyone to experience losing someone again. Well, it might seem contradictory to say something like that while working as a hunter.”

“Not at all. Not at all. I came to the tower to protect someone precious to me.”

“… … That’s right. That’s why it was a shock. They say you always climb the tower with the determination to die, but I think I unconsciously thought that way. Whether it was luck or skill, wouldn’t you still survive? It was an arrogant thought.”

“Arrogance is like Peace. What’s wrong with that?”

Before Suzy could answer, Saint intervened first.

“Team Leader. Even if you try to calmly persuade Mr. Peace, he won’t understand.”

Saint’s brown eyes sparkled as he smirked at Peace.

“And when has Peace ever been polite?”

Peace made a pouty face.

“… … Why are you saying such disappointing things, Saint?”

“If you don’t have that kind of confidence, honestly, how can you go forward? So, it’s just the way you are now that I like it. Just keep living like that.”

The expression on Saint’s face as he said those words was strangely serious.

Peace must have noticed it too, as he tried to joke around before quickly blinking. After a long thoughtful expression, Saint spoke again to him who was scratching his head.

“Peace.”

“… … Huh?”

“You have two children.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll protect you so you don’t die, so stop thinking about that ridiculous Elaine story and just stay right next to me.”

Saint’s face had returned to its usual playful state, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a strange current flowing between them.

“I’m a hundred times better than Saint, but even if I protect you, I… … .”

Boom!

At that moment,

an impossibly huge black scythe cut off Peace’s words and tore through the space.

Suzy jumped up from her seat, holding a sword in each hand, Elaine ran out and blocked the group with a huge shield, Peace aimed his longbow, and Saint poured speed-related buffs on the group.

It was a reaction speed that made it hard to believe that everyone had been lying around talking about this and that.

Boom!

The scythe that had disappeared with a swish tore through the space once again.

Suzy gritted her teeth and stared at the gradually widening crack.

Her heart was pounding like crazy.

There was too much at stake in this battle right now.

‘Absolutely.’

She looked at the man blocking her way.

‘I will definitely succeed.’

Boom!

The third time the giant scythe tore through space, its blade touching the shield Elaine had set up on the ground in front of her.

With a loud noise, Elaine’s body was pushed back. The shield’s trajectory dug into the floor.

If she hadn’t equipped an item that wouldn’t wear down its durability, it wouldn’t have been strange if Elaine’s body had been cut in two instead of just being pushed back, it was such a sharp and dull blow.

Boom!

The moment the black scythe struck again, Suzy leaped forward and crossed the crack.

[Trait 〈Gaze of Objects〉 is activated.

Status of all monsters within an 80m radius can be checked

〈Demiurge〉 EXS

– A being that creates beauty.

– It has 8 arms and 8 weak points.

– It can create cracks that divide space, as well as change the structure of the tower.

– Guardian of the item 〈Deviation〉.

– Critical damage option: Inflicts one of the following status abnormalities: ‘Poison’, ‘Bleeding’, or ‘Burn’ with a 4% chance. Inflicts the status abnormality ‘Inanimate’ with a 20% chance.

– Strength 1,910, Stamina 999,999]

Suzy clicked her tongue as she looked at the hood of the god of death staring at her. She

had already heard about it from Elaine, but this was the first time she had encountered such an unbelievably strong creature, so she was really nervous.

Just meeting gazes with the red eyes glowing red under the hood made her throat feel choked. She

had barely managed to defeat the EX-class monster 〈Demogorgon〉 after a really long battle that was tiresome, but it inflicted status abnormalities evenly despite having 5 times more health than that one.

Besides, according to Elaine, that guy couldn’t be hit anywhere except for his weak points. And those weak points were all inside his joints, which weren’t easy to hit.

She glanced at the other team members who had safely crossed the crack, then grabbed her sword with both hands and roared.

“Try investing all your money in penetration!”

Boom!

The scythe of the Grim Reaper slashed at the spot where she was standing, but Suzy dodged it before she could see it. She

wasn’t fast enough to dodge after seeing it with her own eyes.

The moment their red eyes met, she followed Elaine’s advice to get away from where she was standing.

“Ugh.”

Suzy wiped her cold sweat as she looked at the ground she had been standing on, shattered into pieces.

“But you know, I really missed you. Have you ever heard that?”

Suzy dodged between the shields Elaine had used to cover her body, then jumped up and shouted loudly.

“There’s a saying, ‘the best of both worlds!’”

She shouted loudly and spread her wings.