SSS-Class Suicide Hunter

1.

It was my turn to ascend to another heaven, but in reality, floors 73 and 74 were nothing special.

Literally the moment I set foot on the stage, I was deemed ‘pass’.

“Ah, seriously. It wasn’t long ago that I got thoroughly defeated by you, and now I’m supposed to judge whether you pass or fail? Just go ahead and move up.”

The hunter in charge of the 73rd floor was Liao Fan, the Venomous Snake of Chen Mu-mun.

Venomous Snake was summoned by [The Wand Of Ages] and told that he had been given the role of judge. With a frown, he waved his hand dismissively.

“After all, a loser must adhere to the way of losers. Since I didn’t lose my head even after a life-or-death battle, the least I can do is lift the winner’s spirits and make them happy! You don’t even need my approval to pass.”

Thus, the 73rd floor was cleared in about 2 seconds.

Oh, for your information, the 73rd floor was a place called the Martial Heaven. If everything was traded in the Gold Heaven, here, everything in the world was settled by duels.

A kind of Valhalla. A resting place for souls who wish to wield their swords even in death. Perhaps it’s the heaven where unique warriors like the Sword Emperor would end up if they died in the tower?

[Your judge has decided to pass you.]

[You have received the approval of the judge.]

Thank you for the quick clear.

“Does it matter to you that you’ll forget coming here?”

“Eh? People forget so many things in life. It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter at all.”

Venomous Snake left coolly, as if he truly had no regrets. His attitude was in stark contrast to the Count, who treasured her memories and procrastinated until the very end.

Well, if I ever itch to fight a strong opponent on the 73rd floor, I’ll just come back. Duels have been a dime a dozen so far, so there’s no real loss. At least not for now.

As for the next stage, the 74th floor…

“Ahaha! A heaven, you say! What an interesting concept for a place!”

You could guess who it was just by the laughter – it was the Heretic Questioner, Bambolina. After hearing the whole story from [The Wand Of Ages], Bambolina laughed heartily.

“However, if the stage clear condition solely depends on my approval, there’s no need to waste time. Master. Please proceed without hesitation!”

Even though the Heretic Questioner had changed in many ways after meeting me, he still prioritized efficiency. He had no interest in [the hidden secrets of the stage] or [quests that sincerely impress him]. He was the type to smile broadly and ask, ‘That’s nice! So, what’s in it for me?’

What caught the Heretic Questioner’s attention was something more practical.

“To subjugate several constellations in such a short time, impressive! Perhaps we should change your alias from Death King to Master of Starry Sky?”

The Heretic Questioner’s eyes sparkled like morning stars.

“Participating in the auction as [Goddess of Protection] was also splendid. How about it, Master? Why not bestow one of the stages you own to Hamustra? Then, the constellations we can use in our tower would include [Goddess of Protection], [The Eye Living in the Labyrinth], [The Ox that Harvests Ruins], [The Musclehead Who Dreams of Sinning Against Heaven], [The Librarian in the Corner], and so on. It would make for a formidable force!”

“Uh… No, that’s a bit difficult.”

I thought to myself that Uburka’s title as a constellation is always horrible, as I responded.

“I want Hamustra to experience human life. For at least several decades. If Hamustra returns as [The Librarian in the Corner], it would undoubtedly be a tremendous help, but that would be useless for Hamustra’s growth. Unless he wishes it himself.”

“Hmm… Indeed. If that is Master’s will, then there’s nothing I can do…”

Sensing my firm resolve, the Heretic Questioner didn’t press any further. He only licked his lips.

Fundamentally, the Heretic Questioner absolutely respected my wishes. To put it a bit extremely, if I were to order him to become a constellation, he’d likely respond, “Understood! Please wait 30 years!”

The 74th floor, judged by such a Heretic Questioner, was the Law Heaven.

This place was somewhat more complicated than the Martial Heaven, where everything was resolved through duels.

According to information disclosed by Hishmith Kritz, the laws of the Law Heaven were as follows:

+

[Law Heaven]

Floor: 74th

Constellation: ‘Non-Sanctioned Jurist’

Difficulty: C~A+

Explanation (Lv.1): A world where everything operates according to laws. Every resident of this world can create a world law equivalent to physical laws, but only once in their lifetime.

Here, everyone has the power to legislate once in their lifetime.

Someone can establish a law saying, ‘Fighting amongst each other is forever prohibited.’ And then, fighting really would be prohibited! However, if someone else says, ‘I abolish the law that prohibits fighting amongst each other forever,’ that law would be nullified immediately.

Once nullified, that’s the end! Since you can’t legislate twice in a lifetime, you must think carefully about how to use your one-time power.

Not any law can be established. There are a few, exceptional laws that are prohibited.

Three examples of impossible laws include:

-No tyrants allowed! Laws that negate other people’s right to legislate are not recognized. (ex: ‘Only I can make laws in this world.’)

-No smart Aladdins! Laws that indefinitely increase your one-time legislative power are also not allowed. (ex: ‘I can legislate 100 times.’)

-No greedy guts! While it’s recognized that you can nullify another person’s law, you cannot abolish more than two laws at once. (ex: ‘I abolish all laws that have been established up to now.’)

Aside from these exceptions, you can wish for anything!

Of course, that’s if other people recognize your law. There will always be people who might use their once-in-a-lifetime authority just because they dislike you.

Be cautious!

+

Even just hearing about it made me think this was a very tricky heaven.

‘I’m not even sure how to clear this one.’

How many absurd laws might be lurking around?

For instance, there will surely be a law like [Using aura is prohibited]. There are far more people who can’t use aura than those who can. It’s utterly unfair. That would mean I’d lose my biggest weapon right from the start.

And that’s not all. There’s a high chance that a law like [Using skills is prohibited] exists.

I’m surrounded by monstrous hunters, but in reality, acquiring even one skill is a stroke of luck. The majority don’t have any skills.

Would people really tolerate skills? Even if they did, there’d likely be a law like [You can’t harm others with skills].

‘It’s better not to stay in such a dangerous place for long!’

After all, a wise man does not enter into danger.

My name is Gong-ja, a gentleman among gentlemen, so I should not hesitate to be cautious. Uh, if that sounds like nonsense, that’s because I simply accepted the Heretic Questioner’s stamp of approval.

[Your judge has decided to pass you!]

[You have received the approval of the judge!]

The Heretic Questioner vanished with a “Best of luck! Ahaha!”, leaving behind his laughter as an aftertaste in the place where he disappeared. Following Venomous Snake, another lightning-fast clear occurred.

So, by this point, you can understand the strategy I’ve adopted in the 70th-floor zone.

If I’m interested, I stay. If there’s a need, I delve deeper into conquering it. However, if there’s no need, I gladly skip over it.

Unless it was an exceptionally intriguing heaven, I intended to skip the 75th floor as well. Therefore, as one might guess, something out of the ordinary happened on the 75th floor.

First, let me introduce the hunter summoned as the judge of the 75th floor.

“Wh-where is this? Why was I suddenly summoned? Eek… Who are you!? Kidnapping me now won’t affect the operations of the Alchemy Department! I’m only in charge of developing potions, I don’t deal with sales or distribution! I was content just having my shop on the 20th floor…! Why does the world not even consider my small wishes!?”

The hunter wrapped her head as if this wasn’t her first time experiencing such a situation.

You might say it’s an overreaction, but it was quite justified.

Not only did I recognize the hunter’s talents, but so did guild leaders like the Count. Although she didn’t wield a sword at the forefront, she contributed to the tower’s conquest no less than anyone else, was contributing in real-time, and most importantly, played a significant role in breaking the [Chronicles of Heavenly Demon].

“……Huh? Gong-ja ssi?”

The Alchemist belatedly realized my presence and stared blankly at me.

“Where have I come to now…?”

I greeted her with a broad smile.

“Welcome. This is the entrance to the afterlife.”

The Alchemist’s face turned pale.

Why. It’s not like I said anything wrong?

2.

My one joke came back to me as a fierce backlash.

The Alchemist, not even considering the possibility that I was lying, nearly fainted upon hearing that this was the gateway to the underworld. Naturally, once she regained her composure and belatedly understood the situation, she gave me a cold scolding.

Why say she gave me a cold scolding rather than a fiery one? Well, because the Alchemist’s anger went something like this.

“From now on, I’m stopping the supply of special potions to Gong-ja ssi.”

“I’m sorry!”

The Alchemist looked down at me through her frosted glasses.

“I’ll only remove the strawberry flavor from the potions I provide to Gong-ja ssi. How about mugwort flavor? Are you interested in spinach flavor…? Frog eyeball flavor? Mosquito wing flavor? Or should I create the taste of nasal mucus on the fourth day of a flu for you…?”

“That, that’s like the most famous fantasy in the outside world, a chocolate-like flavor!”

“Sigh…”

The Alchemist shook her head in disbelief.

It was as if she was dealing with a mischievous kid from next door. Thinking that I might actually want to try a snot potion, her treatment wasn’t entirely misplaced.

Everything is an experience. To put it fancily, it’s an experience. Ex-perience. Doesn’t it sort of sound like a magic spell?

“Anyway, I understand what I need to do. It’s quite surprising that there are heavens, multiple ones, in the tower…”

The tower is originally a place of wonders, the Alchemist murmured.

Then, she mentioned something that no one summoned as a judge had mentioned before, but something that anyone would have thought about.

“Gong-ja ssi. Will we be sent here when we die?”

“…….”

“To lose our memories. To forget our past lives as if they were a previous existence. Depending on our personalities, desires, scattering to one of the nine heavens…”

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

The Alchemist’s tone contained much more bitterness about the possibility of scattering in this world than fear of death. Oblivion and farewell. After all, death is just those two concepts tied together.

“Ugh.”

The Alchemist, lost in thought, then shook her head from side to side.

“It’s useless to think about such things. Alright, Gong-ja ssi. Please proceed to the stage without worry. If it seems dangerous, I’ll immediately recognize your pass, so please come back.”

“……Hmm. I’ll be back.”

“Yes, take care. I won’t tell you to be careful. As long as you’re not dead and your breath is still with you, I can save you… Just preserve your neck at least.”

A small laugh escaped me. This person really knows my personality now.

Indeed, I’ve known the Alchemist for quite a while. She was one of the first people I tried to get close to immediately after I regressed. If it weren’t for me, the Alchemist would have struggled for a long time before finding success, and without the Sensory Amplification Potion she created, I would have had a hard time awakening my aura, so we were comrades who shared success.

“Yes. I’ll do my best.”

I waved at the Alchemist and headed straight to the next floor.

The ground undulated as it swallowed my body.

[You have entered the 75th stage.]

[You step into a place you were originally not supposed to enter.]

I opened my eyes.

“……?”

And as soon as I opened my eyes, I noticed something was amiss.

It was impossible not to notice.

“Huh?”

The whole world was in black and white.

The scene unfolding before my eyes lacked any color, only grayscale. Moreover, only black and white were distinctly outlined.

Had it merely been devoid of vibrant colors, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Haven’t I encountered countless extraordinary landscapes by now?

The problem was that the world was flat.

“What? ……Huh?”

And it was quite significantly flat.

Bluntly revealed, a [2-dimensional plane] was spread out.

I blinked. For some reason, objects didn’t appear in 3D. As I kept blinking, my brain slowly began to adapt to this new dimension, perceiving the world as if a side-scrolling RPG game was being displayed on a monitor.

In other words, my field of view was limited to a third-person perspective.

“What, what’s this?”

I instinctively moved my foot.

Squirm.

Then, something squirmed in the middle of the screen.

As ‘it’ in the center of the screen moved, the screen itself moved along with it.

The view of this world was confined to a square frame. However, as ‘it’ moved, the view also shifted, illuminating new scenery. Though the mountains were represented as △△△ and clouds as OOO, like a child’s drawing.

And ‘it’, placed in the middle of the screen, if described from top to bottom, was…

At the top, there was a (‘-‘).

Below that was a horizontal line ㅡ. At both ends of the line, there were tridents, depicted as ∋ㅡ∈ in the drawing.

Then, for a while, there was a vertical line. The vertical line split into two, firmly standing on the ground of this side-scrolling world.

Surprisingly, as I moved my feet, the lower part of ‘it’ moved. When I moved my arms, the tridents moved.

Could it be?

Curious, I opened my mouth wide.

(‘д’)

Immediately, ‘it”s expression changed.

“…….”

Sometimes in life, we come to unavoidable conclusions. In my case, at this moment, the truth I faced was harsh, but there was no avoiding it.

“……Is, is that me!?”

Then, the Stickman in the middle of the 2D screen assumed what it thought was a sophisticated and dynamic expression.

∑(°v°)!?!?

No.

Why are you unnecessarily cute…?

*****