Chapter 180

Cho-i Hyeon brought her Constellation to mind. As if in response, a system window appeared before her eyes.

[The Constellation’s status has been elevated, lowering the grade of the skills received from the Constellation!]

“Ugh, that’s unfair.”

[The skill ‘Sanity Paralysis’ has been downgraded!] [The skill ‘Immortal’ has been downgraded!] [The skill ‘Pain Sensation’ has been downgraded!]

Cho-i Hyeon cleared away all the Entities and opened her stat window.

[Cho-i Hyeon (SSS-grade)] [Sanity Paralysis (L)] [Immortal (L)] [Pain Sensation (SSS-grade)]

Cho-i Hyeon smiled at the more satisfying result than she expected. It seemed that what was once EX-Rank had been downgraded below that, but even downgraded, a god was still a god, and it seemed capable of producing this much output. She turned around. Everyone who had been to the hidden dungeon seemed to have made their choice, as they were surrounded by what looked like stardust. And soon, the stardust disappeared and was absorbed into their bodies.

“How do you feel?”

Cho-i Hyeon asked them. They were staring at the sky with bewildered faces. The holes were disappearing one by one.

“…What exactly is a Constellation?”

“Hmm, it would be easy to think of it as a guardian deity.”

“A guardian deity that grants skills?”

“That’s right.”

Taehyeok Sa looked around at his guild members and opened his mouth.

“First, let’s go back to Paehyeok.”

Everyone nodded. The people were completely exhausted. It was natural, given that they had returned from an EX-Rank dungeon only to be urged to make a choice by some unknown beings.

“I should go back to Hwayeon too.”

“Me too.”

They smiled bitterly. All the Paehyeok Guild Members had returned, but the Hunters they had brought with them had not. Their two guilds’ combat power would probably decrease for a while. It might even cause them to drop in the world guild rankings for a time.

“Let’s not get involved in recruiting talent for a while.”

“Of course. With all this, are you really suggesting we get involved in recruiting talent?”

Gihyeon Park said, as if dumbfounded. Jihan Kim seemed to think the same, as he was also glaring at Taehyeok Sa.

“It would be best for Paehyeok to only focus on dungeon activities for a while. No matter what, dungeons will continue to appear, and we can’t stop protecting people there.”

“To think I’d get advice on something like this.”

“Well, should we step up when Paehyeok, which has the most high-grade Hunters, should be the one to do it? We’re busy just cleaning up the mess.”

“Alright, alright.”

Taehyeok Sa waved his hand. The two of them then got into their respective cars with bitter expressions. They had come with several people, but only the Guild Master was returning. Taehyeok Sa didn’t know how that felt, so he quietly saw them off.

“Let’s go back too.”

“Yes, understood.”

So, Paehyeok’s Group and Zhixuan returned to the guild for now. No one spoke on the way back. They probably all had a lot on their minds. Cho-i Hyeon, sitting in the front seat, looked out the window at the few remaining holes in the sky. Those would probably disappear once someone made their choice too.

“How should I use this power?”

Nara Shim, who was sitting in the back seat, spoke. Cho-i Hyeon chuckled and replied without looking back.

“I just have to do what I can do.”

“What I can do?”

“Yes, if you look, won’t there be plenty of things only I can do, things I must do?”

“That’s right…”

“Taehyeok Sa.”

“Yes.”

“Please work hard from now on. Oh, you didn’t go to the hidden dungeon, but you used a hidden item, didn’t you? Did anything pop up?”

“Nothing.”

Cho-i Hyeon suddenly recalled the name of a Constellation that had revolved around her. ‘Beast with 999 Lives.’ She thought it might be the Constellation that came from Myoyeong’s Hidden Dungeon.

Cho-i Hyeon stretched out with a yawn.

“Our Guild Master will have to move diligently to get a Constellation too.”

“The Entity too, it seems.”

Cho-i Hyeon rolled down the front window. The wind blew, making her long hair fly wildly. She slowly watched the hole disappear and the sun begin to set, her eyes sparkling.

“Anyway, we survived.”

“…Right.”

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

Taeyang Kang’s voice was heard. She smiled broadly, looking out the window. The sunset glow tinged her face red. She chuckled lightly towards the outside and closed her eyes.

“We’re just getting started now.”

No one answered, but it was a clear fact that everyone knew. Then her hair fluttered, as if proving she was alive. Cho-i took a deep breath. And slowly exhaled, opening her eyes.

“Let’s keep surviving.”

A strange determination was mixed in her voice.

“Survive and do what we can do.”

Her eyes, like crumbling starlight, gleamed with the sunset’s light. So they returned to their guild. And the sky soon turned dark. A few holes remained, but these too would soon disappear. But a different Calamity would surely come to them, and each time, she would step forward without hesitation. Cho-i Hyeon decided to relish the fact that she had survived. Forever, until her last breath.

***

Cho-i Hyeon shouted as she climbed over the fences.

“Nara Shim, aren’t you going to do it properly!”

“Ah! I’m not used to the skill yet!”

Crash-! As Cho-i Hyeon broke down the wall, a giant monster appeared. The Entity looked like a mass of flesh with human skin peeled off, and had two eyes protruding like a snail’s eyes. The Entity, with several tentacles like an octopus, swung its tentacles and aimed at Cho-i Hyeon.

“Stop at the right time!”

“Ah! I get it!”

“You’re an S-Rank now, so do your part!”

“Ugh! If you have time to nag, XX, just avoid it!”

Cho-i Hyeon heard that sound and looked back.

[Mimutar’s Tentacles (S-grade+)]

“The attacks aren’t landing properly because of all that flesh. I think we need to aim for the weak spot between the tentacles.”

“Can you do it right this time?”

“Of course!”

Cho-i Hyeon skidded to a stop. With a single swift motion, she swung her sword from bottom to top. Slash! The flesh split and parted into two. A gush of black, blood-like fluid burst out. A core-like object was briefly visible inside, but the fleshy masses quickly began to squirm, as if trying to regenerate.

“Hey! Now!”

“Got it!”

Nara Shim cast a skill.

[Casting skill, action halt.] [The target’s time is stopped for 10 seconds!]

The monster’s movement ceased. Cho-i Hyeon, sword in hand, plunged into the opening. Aiming for the core, she thrust her sword, feeling the tip pierce something soft with a squelch. After 10 seconds, the monster began to thrash. Cho-i Hyeon sliced the core vertically and quickly retreated. The monster thrashed its tentacles, breaking walls and floors, before finally slumping down.

“Ah, this was the last one, right?”

“Yes, anyway, dungeon breaks are increasing these days, it’s a problem.”

Nara Shim wiped her forehead and said. Cho-i Hyeon patted her back. Then she started walking down the alley that had opened up. Cho-i took out a small communicator embedded with a magic stone from her pocket and reported.

“Jamsil District dungeon break dealt with.” -You’ve worked hard, Hunter Cho-i. “You’ve worked harder, sister.”

Cho-i Hyeon replied to Yeonhan Kim. Nara Shim pressed close to her side and continued.

“Sister, we don’t have anything scheduled for today, right?” -No, I think it’ll be fine since we’re not on standby today. “Awesome, then I might be able to rest a bit. Want to grab a bite to eat?”

“What are we eating?”

“Mala Tang?”

Nara Shim said that and walked ahead. Cho-i Hyeon casually followed behind her, then looked back. Only the slumped corpse of the monster remained. She looked closely at the entity and grinned. And then immediately followed Nara Shim. It had only been six months since the Age of Constellations began. The number of dungeons was steadily increasing, and dungeon breaks were frequent. But there were also many hunters who had grown stronger, so things were somehow getting done. In particular, guilds had begun recruiting mainly hunters with Constellations. Those who had visited hidden dungeons and obtained Constellations. People called them lucky. But those who had actually obtained Constellations felt a strange discomfort at that word. Because going to a hidden dungeon and obtaining items was the result of risking their lives and the lives of their comrades. It wasn’t something they had obtained by chance or luck. But Cho-i Hyeon didn’t have any particular thoughts on the matter.

‘It was definitely a stroke of luck that I got the hidden ring back then.’

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be standing here like this.

[The Constellation ‘First Calamity’ claims it’s due to their doing.] “Stop it. Don’t open your mouth here.”

After putting her through all that trouble. She grumbled and called out to Nara Shim, who had already gone far ahead.

“Hey! Wait for me!”

“You hurry up!”

It seemed she was very hungry. Cho-i Hyeon couldn’t help but smile brightly. Nara Shim, seeing her bright smile, flinched and started walking even faster. That sight was amusing. Sometimes black holes would appear in the sky. When that happened, guilds would interpret it as the appearance of someone who had opened a hidden dungeon and would move busily. This was especially true for Hwayeon and Geumsin. They needed to quickly replenish their hunters.

“Maybe I should go visit sometime.”

And after that incident, Cho-i Hyeon became the strongest hunter in the world. Surpassing Taehyeok Sa. Taehyeok Sa didn’t seem to have any regrets about it. And then Nara Shim shouted loudly.

“Hunter Taeyang Kang!”

“Hello.”

“What brings you here?”

“To see Cho-i Hyeon.”

“Honestly.”

Nara Shim clicked her tongue and gestured for Cho-i Hyeon to hurry up.

“Hey! We’re leaving without you!”

“Like Taeyang Kang would ever leave me behind.”

She laughed and ran towards them. Her long hair fluttered in the wind. The sky was blue, and thankfully, the world was still turning. Many people raised their smartphones as she passed by. She ignored the fact that she was being filmed and approached Taeyang Kang.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Her relationship with Taeyang Kang was still ambiguous. It was the same with Taehyeok Sa, and with Gihyeon Park and Suui Kim. As for Zhixuan, well, he was only interested in her blood, so he was excluded. But she liked things just the way they were now. She wanted to live her life as herself. Carrying one person felt harder to her than carrying the world’s problems. And no one forced responsibility on her. She felt the blowing wind and smiled lightly. Taeyang Kang looked down at her and smiled gently, and Nara Shim, feeling very much that she should excuse herself, began to slowly move away.

“Ah, this feels good.”

She ran forward. As she quickly moved ahead, Taeyang Kang and Nara Shim followed behind her. She burst into laughter. She would live on. Unchanged, from now on.

“I’ll go first!”

As the world’s strongest hunter, until her last breath.

“The Returned C-Rank Tank Won’t Die!” Complete