Editors: Spade, Roki
Proofreader: Sapphire
By the time Paradise Guild’s team had completely exited, there were about four hours left before the dungeon explosion.
The Chord members were already waiting in front of the gate. A strange wind swept fiercely around the torn space. It grew fiercer and fiercer, as if in warning of the approaching explosion, and the once-green gate grew darker, resembling the depths of the ocean.
The members of the Paradise Guild finally emerged from the gate. They were completely exhausted and could only walk out with the support of the Association’s Hunters, a look of despair painted all over their faces. As they had been the last to enter, the pressure of knowing that the dungeon would explode when they gave up was weighing on them.
The last person to come out was Cheon Hyeongwon, his head dripping with blood. He had a desolate look on his face, yet he still carried himself with an air of arrogance. He looked like a hero in a tragic movie, refusing to be supported by the Association staff even as he limped.
As he exited, he came face to face with Sa Hyeon leading the Chord team. They had already talked to the Hunters’ Association about re-entering, and the cameraman accompanying them would leave first once there was only an hour to go before the explosion.
But as Sa Hyeon approached the gate, Cheon Hyeongwon stopped him with a sneer.
“…What? You’re re-entering? You think you’ll be able to clear it if you try again?”
As Cheon Hyeongwon sneered at him, Sa Hyeon’s black eyes took in his disheveled state. His gaze was as though it was scanning an unwelcome guest who had suddenly blocked their path.
“Ah, I see. You’ve already lost your reputation, so you’re just going to die inside the dungeon in a pretentious last act of a noble sacrifice?”
The Hunters around Cheon Hyeongwon stared at him in disbelief at this rather harsh mockery. The Association’s staff also looked concerned at the sudden confrontation. Only Chord barely showed any reaction.
“Ah…” Sa Hyeon, who was leading the team at the forefront, sighed, before his eyes twisted into a wry smile, “I thought we would have to go in and collect bodies.”
With that, Sa Hyeon resumed his walk towards the gate, as if it wasn’t worth talking to Cheon Hyeongwon. The Chord Hunters didn’t bother to greet him either. Jung Yisun made eye contact with Cheon Hyeongwon for a moment, before ultimately, he too looked away and continued walking.
Most of the boss monsters in A-class and above dungeons had recovery skills, and they recovered much faster if their attacks were interrupted. Now that Chord was entering immediately after Paradise had just left, the boss monster wouldn’t have much time to recover; however, it mattered little regardless, since the Paradise team could barely land a single effective hit. Rather, it was safe to say that Paradise allowed it to heal from whatever damage was done by Crusade.
The faint smell of blood lingered in the dungeon. Sa Hyeon made sure that there were no monsters flying at them before ordering Yisun to restore the floor first. They’d gathered from the video that stepping on the black field would bind their feet, so the floor had to be restored.
Yisun stepped forward and quickly restored the path. Although he had consumed a potion, his ability was only half as effective because of the penalty period. Moreover, his restoration rate was still only at 30% to 40% since his ability had declined a year ago. Therefore, instead of restoring the ground as meticulously as possible, Yisun focused more on making sure that their feet wouldn’t touch the dark field. He calculated the range precisely so that they wouldn’t accidentally lose their footing and step on it.
As soon as he was done, Sa Hyeon called for Ki Joohyuk. The Mage stepped forward, holding his rod with both hands, and asked in a slightly sad tone, almost like he was about to cry, “Leader… Do I really have to do this?”
“Yes.”
“I might get knocked out right in front of the entrance… won’t I be a burden?”
“We’ve already confirmed that magic damage is useless against the boss monster, right? So, better to go all out and use up your mana now.”
Ki Joohyuk made a whimpering sound at Sa Hyeon’s nonchalant reply. He muttered about wanting to see the finale against the boss with his own eyes, but started moving when Sa Hyeon told him to stop being a burden and wasting their time.
Mob monsters would start attacking at a certain point in the path, the location of which they’d already analyzed on video. And just as he stood in that spot, an angelic monster flew out of the temple, shrieking like a pterodactyl. At the same time, Ki Joohyuk raised his rod high.
“Hyahh!”
With a strange yet powerful cry, flames raged around him. The tiniest of embers hovering around him gradually grew into a huge flame, spreading to cover the entire area.
The flames spread out like a curtain, reaching so high that you couldn’t see the end of them, even if you leaned your head back as far as you could.
It was still raining in the dungeon, but the flames burned through the rain, fueled by Ki Joohyuk’s incessant mana. Yisun’s mouth hung open in amazement at the sight. It was a moment that reaffirmed just why Ki Joohyuk was considered among the top five of A-class Hunters.
One monster briefly hesitated behind the curtain of flames, before promptly rushing forward with a sharp scream, breaking through the flames.Though strong, its speed was noticeably slower, and the flames cast a clear shadow over it.
As soon as Yisun noticed it, the entire shadow beneath the monster suddenly turned even darker, and a black mass suddenly burst out, as though it were a hand reaching out from the darkness. It turned out Sa Hyeon was using his powers.
The inky darkness stretched upwards in an instant, grabbed the monster’s body, and mercilessly slammed it to the ground with a thud.
Sa Hyeon’s command soon followed: “Cut off its wings. Or rip them off.”
Shin Jian was the first to rush over, stomping on the monster’s back and grabbing its muddy red wings. The creature slumped to the ground, grunting and struggling to take flight again, but the blood spilled on its back by Shin Jian’s hands was faster.
Finally, the wings were torn off with a crunch similar to the sound of bones breaking.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Yisun sucked in a breath at the unreal sight. Black blood dripped down the torn wing, and the monster let out a scream so different from its usual high-pitched shrieks.
He was then reminded of something. Nike was the winged goddess of victory, and Athena had cut her wings off because she didn’t want to send the symbol of victory somewhere else. Indeed, Nike statues with their wings clipped were commonly displayed in many countries. The wings were removed to prevent the goddess of victory from leaving.
So tearing off the wings of a Nike monster was more than just an attack, it was akin to removing its core. The monster on the ground shuddered, then fell limp, completely losing its ability to attack.
The Hunters’ faces lit up at the sight. The rest of the monsters, after hearing their brethren’s screams, followed and flew through the flames, only to fall to the ground one after another, either due to being momentarily slowed or to the shadows cast below.
Yisun had to swallow his disbelief. He was worried that the monsters would be flying too fast for them once again, when suddenly, at least ten jet-black hands rose from the shadows beneath them. Sa Hyeon was dividing the use of his ability to conquer the mobs.
The Chord Hunters quickly targeted the wings of the monster on the ground. Where they had struggled with this monster on their first entry, they could now advance with ease. Ki Joohyuk walked forward, maintaining his fire shield, while Sa Hyeon slammed the flying monsters down.
The scene of wings being torn off and slashed was quite grotesque, but thanks to this trick, they got into the temple much quicker. At the back of the temple, Yisun immediately restored Zeus’ throne, effectively blocking the endless monsters from entering the temple. The Chord Hunters had also heard about the hidden Easter egg throne, and each sighed in relief as they entered the temple.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to clear dungeons without you from now on, Restorer-nim.”
“That’s right, thank you so much.”
Yisun nodded awkwardly at the Hunters’ gratitude. In fact, if it weren’t for that throne, he wouldn’t have been able to re-enter this dungeon, so he was also grateful for its existence. Yisun was silently relieved as he watched the monsters stop flying towards them as soon as he restored the chair.
Suddenly, Ki Joohyuk fell forward like a paper doll. As Yisun panicked at the sight of Joohyuk collapsing, Na Gunwoo approached and applied a healing skill, as if it had been discussed beforehand. The recovery was only to where he could walk, but when he got back up, his face was still gaunt.
“Wow, this is clearly exploitation…”
Understanding what it was like to be healed when you’re on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, Yisun patted Ki Joohyuk on the back with a sympathizing look.
Everyone walked nervously, knowing that Zeus would appear soon. The boss monster appeared again and swung his scepter to smash a pillar. The team had already seen this attack before and didn’t panic, quickly getting into formation.
Zeus’ “aggro” had yet to be triggered, and Han Arin immediately used her Earthquake ability to soar into the air. With a flick of her staff, she stood eye to eye with Zeus, clearly trying to enrage the boss monster by getting so close and rising higher than his eye level.
“Let’s get it right this time. I’ve prepared so much for you.”
Han Arin dodged the scepter wielded by the boss monster and stubbornly slapped the monster’s forehead, as if mocking it. Somehow, it felt like she was more intent on venting her anger at being a lightning rod than simply turning off the aggro.
Soon, the boss monster spoke in a furious voice.
[You dare…! Lowly humans entering a God’s temple!]
“Listen here. You’re the one who trespassed on human land first, okay? Was it you who created this world? Wasn’t it Gaia who did it? What kind of bullshit are you saying, Zeus?”
Han Arin was annoyed at the boss monster who had trespassed on their human land without permission and was trying to destroy their most “valuable, when it couldn’t even pay its rent. While Han Arin distracted the boss monster, Chord’s Hunters continued to attack from below.
When the boss monster tried to swing its scepter downwards, it was blocked by the statue’s shadow; when it looked downwards, Han Arin swiftly punched it in the forehead. At that point, Yisun was sure that Han Arin was determined to pick on the boss monster.
Finally, the boss monster raised its scepter. When it used the Thunderbolt skill, even Sa Hyeon’s shadows couldn’t stop it.
[You impudent…]
Once those words were spoken, Han Arin started darting across the ground. Previously, she had only drawn Zeus’s attention to a specific area, but this time, she shifted the ground to travel around.
The towering ground cracked and moved forward like a cloud. The ground shook loudly as the boss monster followed the fleeing Arin with its raised scepter, and the rest of the Hunters attacked the pursuing statue’s defenseless back. They had analyzed that while casting its targeted attack, the boss monster could do nothing else.
As Yisun stared blankly at the scene, or more precisely, at the floor that was cracking apart, Ki Joohyuk asked softly from the side, “Restorer-nim, are you okay……?”
“…Ah, yes. Of course.”
Even though he was warned beforehand and knew it was natural for the building he’d restored to collapse in the middle of a battle, he still felt strangely bitter about it . Yisun pressed his hood tighter to hide his expression from the lurking cameras.
Meanwhile, the statue of Zeus was still chasing after Han Arin and trying to cast its Thunderbolt.
[Judgment…]
“Ct, olgra tf rtbkr eq ecjccbecmfv, jcv cbk tf’r eregqlcu pevlmlji jeatbglas.”
First trespassing, and now violation of sovereignty. Han Arin sneered sourly, and as she finished her sentence, the scepter of Zeus slammed down, causing the air to crackle. She quickly leapt to the ground.
With a loud crack, a thunderbolt struck down. Obstructed by the ceiling Yisun restored, it took a while for it to hit the temple. Once it did, it struck the ground exactly where Han Arin was only a moment ago, and the raised ground shattered and fell to the ground.
Han Arin barely dodged the lightning bolt. She then scrambled to her feet and rolled around on the ground, a look of elation on her face. Her thrilled expression reminded Yisun of why she was an S-rank.
Meanwhile, Yisun was hiding behind a pillar with Ki Joohyuk and Na Gunwoo. Beyond the pillar, they could see the Hunters, the boss monster, and Han Arin fighting. There were no Hunters around the area where the boss monster had struck the thunderbolt, so no one suffered any damage.
This time, when the boss monster swung its scepter at Han Arin again, the Hunters behind it attacked even more fiercely than before, attracting its attention. When Ki Joohyuk’s saw the confusion on Yisun’s face, he grabbed the pillar and exclaimed, “Ooh! Looks like it’s finally starting.”
“…What is?”
“Noona’s hidden ability. Hey, you gotta watch closely. Don’t miss a thing.”
Ki Joohyuk pointed with one hand to where Han Arin stood. The boss monster’s attention was diverted to the back, and Arin stood there alone, at least until Sa Hyeon, who had just released his shadow possession, was standing in front of her.
Han Arin sighed heavily at the sight of him. “Are you here to keep watch on me?!”
“Yes.”
“…You affirmed it right away…I have no words…”
“Make sure you use all of it this time.”
Han Arin trembled at Sa Hyeon’s unconcerned words, then quickly pulled out the necklace she had hidden beneath her clothes and snapped the string. Soon there were five colorful gems scattered across the floor, so precious and dazzling that even Jung Yisun, who was far away, could see them.
Han Arin let out another long sigh and dropped to one knee on the floor. She slammed her hand down on the ground, and one by one, started nailing the gems to the ground. Yisun understood now that when Ki Joohyuk had said, “You must drive the minerals into the ground as if you were performing a sacrifice,” it was not a metaphor.
After nailing all five gems, Han Arin clenched and unclenched her trembling hands, as if hesitating over something, but Sa Hyeon calmly spoke.
“Use it.”
“Ha…This is something I really, really cherished and saved…”
Han Arin pulled the box out of her waist pocket. She clutched the palm-sized box for a moment, then lifted the lid. For a moment, the jewel glistened in the flickering torchlight of the temple. It was so dazzling that it blinded even the distant Yisun.
It was a big, shiny diamond.
Even to Yisun, who had zero knowledge about gemstones, it looked very expensive and far more valuable than the gems she had just ripped from her necklace. Her hands trembled as she took it out, but Sa Hyeon, standing beside her, spoke kindly in reminder:
“You do realize that if you die now, you won’t be able to see it, right?”
” I won’t… see it once I sacrifice it either…”
“You don’t want to live to see another day?”
At those words, Han Arin let out a sob and lowered her head, holding onto the diamond with both hands. It was as if she was bowing to the gem. She glanced at the Hunters behind her, and finally, with a sharp intake of breath, slammed the last gem down. The thunderous blow resounded loudly.
The entire floor vibrated, in a much louder rumble than when she used her signature Earthquake ability. The ground shook so violently that it seemed as if it might split in half at any moment—the pillars shook, dust fell in waves, and even the Hunters paused in their attacks to concentrate on steadying themselves.
The floor creaked as the statue of Zeus turned around. The ground that Han Arin had embedded the jewel in rose to the heavens, coiling around itself like a whirling wind. It kept rising even higher than the ceiling, which had been pierced by thunderbolts.
Han Arin’s hand went to the rising stone pillars. As she reached for something embedded between the pillars, Ki Joohyuk quietly shouted out, “Excalibur…!”
Yisun stared at him in bewilderment for a moment, then gasped at the scene before him. Han Arin was holding something very eccentric.
What she had pulled out from between the stone pillars was a sword. The elongated hilt of the sword shone and shimmered as clear as a diamond, and all the lights in the temple reflected and diffused off its surface. The five colored gems she had strung together were intricately embedded within its hilt. It was truly a sword crafted from precious gems.
“Haa… I’ve never seen a sword so blinding in my whole life…”
Han Arin sighed quietly. By then, the boss monster’s scepter was pointed at exactly where she was standing. While Han Arin’s eyes were fixed on the sword, Sa Hyeon remained still even when he saw the oncoming attack. Yisun only grew increasingly nervous as he watched the scene.
A loud boom rang out. The rounded top of the scepter that had been slamming downward was cut off and sent flying, smashing into a pillar. Zeus’ scepter attack that no Hunter had ever been able to counter now shattered in an instant. The scepter was severed so cleanly that all that remained was a shabby stump.
While the boss monster paused, Han Arin leapt upwards, using her Earthquake ability again. She held her gleaming sword at an angle, and after locking eyes, taunted the statue.
“Let’s fight properly. It’ll be no fun if you die too soon, so don’t be so lame, hmm?”
Soon, a massive attack rained down. The boss monster tried to strike Han Arin down with the broken scepter, but in front of her sword, it could only get cut off like a branch. Han Arin jumped around, lightly swinging her enormous sword.
She leapt off the raised ground and lunged at the statue’s shoulder. Despite how light her movements seemed, her attack carried a mighty force. The longsword slammed into Zeus’ shoulder, and with a loud thud, he staggered back. His body, which had so far been unscathed by any attack, cracked and shattered.
Han Arin’s mouth curved in a twisted grin as she attacked relentlessly, not giving the statue a moment to retaliate. She slashed at its shoulder in a diagonal line, then spun her sword around once to strike even harder. The boss monster seemed to sense the danger and immediately slammed its hand down on the ground she had risen from, but Han Arin was undeterred and simply leapt from pillar to pillar. The onslaught of her attacks rattled the statue.
As Yisun stared dumbfounded at the unrealistic situation, Ki Joohyuk chuckled beside him and explained.
“That Noona isn’t simply a Mage, she’s a Magic Swordswoman.”
He hadn’t expected that, not only was she able to bend the ground to her will, but she could also draw a sword from it. As Yisun marveled at her abilities, the Hunters below resumed their attacks on the boss monster again. Sa Hyeon used Shadow Possession, once again freezing the boss monster’s movements, and as the slowed monster struggled, Han Arin’s attacks continued, unabated. The other Hunters’ attacks were also effective, as the already broken area was much less resistant.
The entire room was noisy as the sound of rocks being smashed resounded again and again, merging with the sound of magic being cast. Han Arin tried to slit the statue’s throat, but that part of its body was so resistant that it took dozens of strikes with her sword before it finally cracked. Deciding that she needed to get rid of its arms first, Han Arin mercilessly struck its shoulder.
One of Zeus’s knees buckled under the onslaught, and as the attack only got more intense, his arm fell off.
[You bastards……!]
Suddenly, the sky flashed white, and the air got so thick that it became hard to breathe. A loud booming sound erupted from the sky, and the air shook in tandem with the ear-splitting thunderclap. Yisun sucked in a breath and reflexively looked up at the sky. Dozens of lightning bolts struck in the sky, visible through the half-collapsed ceiling.
The scepter was shattered, so it couldn’t aim with precision; however, the area had already been dyed white, so Sa Hyeon lost power over his shadows. Freed from the pressure of the shadow, the boss monster immediately twisted its body violently, knocking Han Arin off its shoulders.
Then it scrambled to its feet and ran, the floor thudding loudly with every step it took. Dozens of thunderbolts continued to flash and roar in the sky, muddling the sounds. The deafening noise made Yisun dizzy, but he could tell that the statue was heading towards the ‘throne.’
He didn’t know what it meant for the statue of Zeus to return to its throne, but reflexively knew he had to stop it. Driven by that obsessive thought, he rushed forward.
“Ah, ahhhh! Restorer-nim—…!”
“Huh…!”
Ki Joohyuk and Na Gunwoo, who were still stunned by the loud thunder roars, were startled by Yisun’s sudden action. They rushed to catch him, but he ran faster.
A hypothesis flashed through his mind.
On their previous run, the dungeon had collapsed when he failed to maintain his hidden ability, which showed that keeping the restored interior intact was not merely linked to the physical distance between him and the building, but also to his ‘state of mind.’ The entire place was being kept intact by his own rational will.
And so, Yisun came to a conclusion. It was only a hypothesis, as he had yet to try it for himself, but strangely enough, he was certain of it. If he could control his hidden abilities, he might be able to destroy parts of the building that he had already restored.
Since he was still in his penalty period and needed to get as close as possible to his target in order to use his abilities with precision, Yisun ran after Zeus.
As he ran, his hood fell back, and he reached forward. His eyes shone golden as he stared straight at the direction the Zeus statue was running towards. The glittering gold dust that had been in that area for a long time was swept up in one fell swoop to where Yisun was.
With a loud crash, two pillars in the pathway collapsed. The ceiling shook for a moment, but not enough for it to collapse.
The statue of Zeus paused, then roared and charged forward again. It seemed intent on smashing the pillar out of its way and making its way to the chair. It didn’t even bother to look at Yisun, who was blocking its way from behind, so he was sure the desperate boss monster only had a little “HP” left.
Just then, Han Arin appeared from behind, whispering a ‘Good job’ as she ran past Yisun.
In a flash, she was right behind the statue and immediately swung her sword in a long, outstretched motion. With a loud crack, the boss monster’s ankle began to crack, before it crumbled and collapsed. Then Han Arin struck again, this time at a higher angle, slashing at its leg. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to kill it with a single blow, she swung her sword without hesitation. The sound of the blows echoed through the space.
Finally, the statue’s leg shattered, and the monster fell forward. It tried to move the rest of its body to escape, but Han Arin’s attack was even stronger, smashing all of its lower body.
[Ahhh…….]
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The sword dangling below scraped against its back. The boss monster shuddered and turned its head, and Han Arin briefly squatted down to face it. She patted the statue on the cheek and laughed, “It was fun while it lasted. But let’s end it now.”
Rising to her feet, Han Arin’s sword struck the statue squarely in the neck. The sword easily entered the body of the boss monster, whose resistance had already dropped. With the blade halfway in, Han Arin took a quick breath before gripping the handle with both hands and plunging it in once more.
With a sound similar to that of a glass ball shattering with electricity, the sword pierced through Zeus’s neck completely. Yisun blinked slowly as the tip of the sword emerged from the other side.
Suddenly, he felt his vision clear up. Just a moment ago, dozens of lightning bolts had been flashing in the sky, causing the air to shake, but now it was all gone. The pressure and heavy air that made it hard to breathe had also disappeared, so he exhaled slowly… and raised his head. The sky inside the dungeon was black, but the weather was synchronized with the outside, so Yisun could notice the current change.
The… rain.
The rain had stopped.
“…….”
Pale brown eyes stared blankly at the sky before disappearing beneath eyelids as Yisun let out a weary sigh. He stood in the center of the temple, feeling the air grow still and calm.
With only two hours until its explosion, Chord had cleared the third dungeon.
Min: And that’s the end of the third dungeon and third volume of the novel…! Sorry for the lack of updates this month but I’ve got one hell of a busy schedule… *cries* I’m literally being exploited at my internship, and I have yet to write a single page in my research paper, but I decided to translate this silly lil novel instead haha (no regrets).
As always tysm to the lovely trio for their high quality editing/proofreading and bearing with my blunders, love yall 
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Yay! Update! Thanks so much for the translation ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for reading~~🌸☺
Yeah for Yisan discovering more about his ability!
Thank you for update!
Thank you for reading~~🌸☺
Who said restorer were useless?!
Thank you for translating !
Those netizens getting face-slapped fr 🤭 alsoo Thank you for reading~~🌸
TRANSLATORR THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND TAKING THE TIME TO TRANSLATE DESPITE ALL YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES 😭. I HOPE YOUR INTERNSHIP GETS BETTER ! ❤
AAAA thank you marshmellow, it ends soon so hopefully then I’ll have time to focus on the novel hehe and thank you for reading~~🌸
Thank you so much!
Thank you for reading~~🌸
Thank you for the chapter
Thank you for reading~~🌸
thank u for the update!!
(also dw about uploading! look after urself first. get good grades! <33)
Aaa thank you sm I’ll try HAHAHA also tyy for reading~🌸
Yeah, May is really hard month for everyone! I’m also do my research for study and it’s so hard
Thank you for your translation 💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝
Yesss May-June are Hell-mode for us studens cries Let’s doo wellllll, good luck on ur reseaarch <3
aand thank you for reading~~🌸☺
Yeah! I hope your research will ended good! 🥰🥰🥰
Thanks for the chapter 🌹
Thank you for reading~~🌸
I really love it!! 😍
Thank you for enjoying~ 🌸💞
Thank you so much for the translations!! I really like the manhwa and I just started the novel, please don’t drop it! ><
Thank you for reading~🌸💞 I don’t plan on dropping Traces of the Sun any time soon, but I’m taking some time off cause it’s the end of the semester and I’m struggling with my paper! Once i survive these few weeks, I’ll start updating again~
Omg, thank you sm for your hard work! And good luck with your paper!! If you don’t mind me asking, what else are you reading (besides Traces of the Sun)?
Hmm haven’t had much time to read recently but currently reading Yes&Yes, Don’t pick up boyfriends from the trashbin, and Debut or Die!
Oh, I’ve been recommended Yes&Yes before, is it good? Never heard of Debut or Die, I’ll check it out