Chapter 5 (2/2)

‘Thank god . ’.

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There was only one thing left . To safely make it to another statue!.

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Jinwoo was now the only one who had not made it to the protection of statues holding instruments . Accordingly, the complete rage of the Statue of God was now focused solely on him . Jinwoo ran away from the crashing footsteps of his chaser and sped across the room . .

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BOOM!.

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BOOM!.

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As he barely dodged and rolled away from the Statue’s stomps, his panting became heavier and heavier . Although he was the lowest of the E-rank Hunters, as a Fighter-class Hunter, his body offered what little help it could in this situation . .

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‘Just a little bit more!’.

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Taking notice of the Statue of God’s footsteps closing in on him, he focused and strengthened his legs . His speed increased . There was but a few steps until he reached his target statue . .

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“NO, NOT THAT WAY!”.

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Mr . Song had shouted at him . .

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Having focused on the Statue of God’s movements until now, Jinwoo turned his attention to the statue he had arrived at . .

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“Ah!”.

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‘It’s not holding an instrument!’.

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He now realized what appeared to be an instrument in the statue’s hands was actually a shield . Without mercy, the statue raised and brought down the shield in its hands . .

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“Uwah!”.

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Jinwoo threw his body to the side . .

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“Kiyaah!”.

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Juhee screamed . .

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As he rolled across on the floor, he looked up . The Statue of God was almost upon him . .

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“Out of the frying pan…”.

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His tumble on the ground had opened a cut on his forehead . Blood flowed down to his eyes, obscuring his vision . Jinwoo rapidly looked left and right . .

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‘Instrument, instrument…’.

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But no instrument registered in his eyes . .

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The Statue of God raised its foot . .

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“Shit!”.

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BOOM!.

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Jinwoo barely evaded the stomp by throwing his body to the side . But he was reaching his limits . Feeling faint, he found it hard to maintain balance for some reason . .

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‘Please…’.

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If there was a God, he wanted to pray to it . In that moment, Jinwoo noticed a statue that was neither holding a weapon nor an instrument . .

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‘That’s!’.

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He crawled with last vestiges of his strength, placing his hopes on the statue . With a final twist of his body, he threw himself at the feet of the statue with a book in its hands . Facing the Statue of God that was heading toward him, he realized he had no strength left to move . Panting heavily, he looked at the face of the Statue of God . As if made worse by his persistent resistance, the anger in the face that looked down upon Jinwoo was greatly magnified . .

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It stopped before Jinwoo . .

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Faced with a giant as tall as a building, Jinwoo struggled to breathe . .

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‘Guess I’m a cornered rat…’.

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The Statue of God simply continued to stare . .

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‘This is the end…’.

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Certain of his impending doom, Jinwoo saw his death in the eyes that were looking down at him . .

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In that moment, he heard a beautiful and melodious singing coming from behind him . With effort, he turned and looked at its source . The statue that he was resting on was now singing with a holy voice; its sound echoing throughout the temple . Looking back, Jinwoo saw the Statue of God’s face starting to relax . The traces of its demonic rage disappeared as the Statue’s face returned to its original emotionless visage . .

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As the statues’ music ended, the Statue of God turned and returned to its seat, appearing as if nothing had happened . .

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BOOM!.

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The sound of the giant sitting down rang throughout the temple . .

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“Hah . Hah . Are… we… safe…?”.

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Jinwoo faintly smiled through his heavy breaths . .

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Juhee quickly ran to him,.

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“Jinwoo!”.

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Having reached him after running with all her might, Juhee collapsed next to him in tears . .

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“Oh my god… oh my god…”.

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She used all the mana at her disposal and tried every healing magic she knew . But it had no effect . .

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One by one, the scattered Hunters gathered before Jinwoo . Their expressions equally dark . .

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“Oh no… Jinwoo . ”.

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Amidst their pitying looks and words, Juhee cried without ceasing . .

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‘Why are they looking at me like that?‘.

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Jinwoo wanted to ask, but he lacked the energy to speak . So, he tried to gather his strength and stand up . .

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“…?”.

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A pool of blood had gathered where he was sitting . Jinwoo finally was able to understand the situation he was in . .

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“Ah…”.

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His right leg had disappeared below the knees . .

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He looked across the room to the statue holding a shield . The base of the shield was covered in blood . .

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His missing leg below it . .

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He turned and saw blood dripping down from Juhee’s nose . Her body had reached its limits . A B-rank Hunter’s healing was insufficient for the regeneration of a body part . Yet she continued, her efforts like collecting water with a broken pitcher . And as she continued, both her mana and vitality quickly decreased . .

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“It’s okay, Juhee . You can stop now…”.

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“No! I can heal this! I’ll heal you!”.

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The Hunters watched the pair with pity . .

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Of the 17 that had entered, only 6 remained . .

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Of the 6 remaining, 2 had received a seriously injury . .

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Mr . Song and his arm, and now Jinwoo with his leg . .

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Although their lives were saved, no one could put on a smile . .

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Suddenly, a thundering noise rang throughout the temple . .

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At its center, the ground with the magic circle inscribed upon it started rising, forming an platform . .

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Jinwoo realized the final trial had arrived . .

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‘Prove your Faith…’.

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He had already been contemplating its meaning . .

-5 . The Final Trial-.

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The rising ground stopped at waist height . .

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“An altar…”.

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Jinwoo absent-mindedly spoke to himself . .

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‘An altar?’.

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‘Did he just say an altar?’.

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The man who had saved their lives not once but twice; Jinwoo was not a high leveled Awakened Being[1], but a lowly E-rank Hunter that they looked down on in the past . .

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‘If it wasn’t for Mr . Sung, we would be…’.

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The Hunters’ thoughts were in union . Jinwoo’s words up until now were a lifeline to them . And now this man had uttered the words, “altar” . The quick-witted Mr . Kim was the first to speak,.

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“I think I understand . ”.

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He unsheathed the sword at his waist . Normally a weapon to be used in slaying magic beasts, its purpose this time was different . .

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“Even an idiot like me can understand what you mean by ‘altar’ . ”.

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The Hunters looked at Mr . Kim’s drawn sword, gleaming with sharpness, and gulped . .

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“Hey, Mr . Kim! Why are you taking that out now?”.

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“Let’s talk about this, talk!”.

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Mr . Song’s C-rank was the highest in the party . With him out of commission, there was no one else in the party would could match Mr . Kim, whose skill shone even amongst the other D-rankers . .

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Mr . Kim pointed his sword at the altar . .

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“The last Commandment was, ‘Prove your Faith’, and now this altar appeared in the middle of the room . ”.

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Mr . Kim’s gaze shifted to Jinwoo,.

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“We have to sacrifice someone at the altar, right, Mr . Sung?”.

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Jinwoo nodded . It was his guess as well . One of the living 6 had to become a sacrifice . .

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‘That’s probably the last rule…’.

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As he raised his head, he saw Mr . Kim approaching him with a strange look in his eyes . A streak of sweat fell down the side of Jinwoo’s head . .

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“Ahjussi… what are you going to-”.

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“Just sit there quietly!”.

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Mr . Kim pointed his sword at Mr . Song, who had been sitting next to Jinwoo looking over his injuries . .

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“Who is the one who dragged us all here? It’s Mr . Song right here! Then shouldn’t he be the one to pay the price for all this?!”.

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“Ahjussi!”.

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Jinwoo yelled and tried to get up, but Mr . Song’s hands stopped him . Jinwoo turned and look at the man . .

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“ . ”.

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Mr . Song shook his head without a word . His eyes begged Jinwoo to stay quiet . Jinwoo wanted to say something, but swallowed his words . Mr . Song slowly got up . .

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“Mr . Kim is right . I have to take responsibility . ”.

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“Then we’re in agreement, old man . ”.

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Mr . Kim gestured towards the altar with his sword . .

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“If you’re in, then let’s hurry up . 11 people died because of you . ”.

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Translator’s Notes:.

[1]: “Awakening Being” (각성자; gak-sung-ja): “to awaken” gak-sung + “person” ja > a person who had underwent Awakening . All Hunters are Awakened Beings . Not all Awakened Beings work as Hunters . .