Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Empty Skillbook
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This dungeon has two bosses.
The first is the Black Dragon.
The second is the hidden dungeon [Myth's Tomb], which houses the hidden boss 'Statues'.
What I'm after is the second one.
The story of Awakening to SSS Hunter Academy begins in the hidden dungeon [Myth's Tomb] within this dungeon.
I have to get my hands on the [Myth of Ashte] there.
'Honestly, if you've got regression on your side, wouldn't it be fine to let me have something like that?'
This dungeon is made up of endless branching paths like a maze.
If you take even a single wrong turn, you'd be lucky to survive with two lives.
First path.
Third path.
Second path.
Fifth path.
I advanced while mapping out the setting collection in my head.
Even after walking for quite a while, I hadn't encountered any monsters.
I gripped the dagger I'd grabbed from Kim Si-woo's room.
'I brought the dagger just in case, but I didn't expect things to go this smoothly.'
This dungeon is the author's convenient device to grant Lee Seong-hyeon his abilities.
According to the lore, as long as you don't get lost, you won't run into any monsters.
"Thanks to that, it works out perfectly for me."
It was complicated, but for someone like me who'd pored over the setting collection in the novel's limited edition multiple times, the path was familiar.
About 20 minutes in, no more forks appeared.
Instead, there was only a solid cave wall blocking the way.
"What the hell?"
There should have been a passage leading to the hidden dungeon here.
'Did I get lost somehow?'
No way.
I'd moved exactly as described in Awakening to SSS Hunter Academy.
I swallowed hard and approached the cave wall.
Only then did I notice a long, narrow passage at my feet.
"This is..."
It was so small it was no wonder I hadn't spotted it.
Was this even a passage?
It looked more like a tiny burrow.
I crouched down to squeeze my body into the damp, moss-covered tunnel.
That's when I spotted some small writing.
"Didn't know there was something like this here."
These were the occasional inscriptions found in dungeons.
They contained all sorts of backstory, but since the author never gave any hints, it was hard to guess their meaning.
Awakening to SSS Hunter Academy was full of devices like this, meant for readers to piece together themselves.
But since they weren't useful for clearing dungeons, hardly any readers paid them much attention.
[Myth's Tomb, where the records of souls flow.]
[A tomb burying forgotten mysteries.]
[The seeds of the three gods guard what humans must not covet.]
[The whisper of the god hides there.]
"I had a hell of a time figuring this one out."
No one else cared, but I'd cross-referenced it bit by bit with the setting collection to uncover it.
It wasn't anything major.
It was about a hidden clear method for the [Myth's Tomb].
'It felt pretty damn good when I emailed the author and got their confirmation.'
...
As I reached the end of the tunnel, a faint light began to appear.
I straightened my back, which had been hunched for so long.
"Finally here."
A door so massive it could be mistaken for a wall.
Sculptures embossed on it like ancient Roman carvings.
Blue lanterns illuminated the door, overwhelming the atmosphere.
No doubt about it—the hidden dungeon [Myth's Tomb] lay beyond this door.
"Never thought I'd see this with my own eyes."
Being possessed in this world was definitely the worst.
But as a lore nerd, I couldn't help but feel my heart race.
The rewards here were two skillbooks: [Myth of Ashte] and [Empty Skillbook].
The [Empty Skillbook] was exactly what it sounded like—an empty skillbook.
Its special trait was that it recorded the acquirer's life story and granted powerful abilities.
Of course, for an ordinary person, even a lifetime of experiences wouldn't yield a decent ability.
But a regressor returns no matter how many times they die.
The amount of life story etched into their soul is incomparably vast.
That's why it's an item made just for the regressor, Lee Seong-hyeon.
"Still better than nothing, I guess."
I'll get both soon enough anyway.
I forced down my rising smirk and approached the door.
?
Something's off.
The temple door, which should have been firmly shut, was slightly ajar.
'Has Lee Seong-hyeon already gotten here?'
No way.
There shouldn't be any other passage to this place.
"Must be my imagination."
The passage here was ridiculously small too.
Probably just omitted from the description in Awakening to SSS Hunter Academy.
I ignored the creaking in my mental map and stepped inside the temple.
Beyond the door stretched a short but grand hallway.
It led to a massive, majestic domed temple-like dungeon.
At both ends knelt two knight statues, leaning on enormous swords.
The temple's oppressive presence made it hard to notice, but there was also a statue of a praying woman in the moss-covered corner.
Everything matched the novel's description.
Even Lee Seong-hyeon standing in the center.
Impossible.
The gate had appeared right in front of me.
There was no way he could have arrived first.
I'd rushed into the gate without waiting for a safe moment, driven by anxiety.
"How..."
My plan had gone completely off the rails.
Lee Seong-hyeon had already claimed the completed skillbook [Myth of Ashte] and awakened.
From the moment Lee Seong-hyeon obtained the skillbook, the two massive statues in the temple would start moving.
Dungeon rewards scale with the gate's size.
The bosses here were those statues.
Lee Seong-hyeon knew that too, but up to his fifth regression, he focused on learning their patterns rather than defeating them.
The statues pursue intruders relentlessly.
In other words, pre-fifth regression Lee Seong-hyeon couldn't take them down and found them annoying.
If this were the sixth regression or later in Awakening to SSS Hunter Academy, he'd smash the statues for the rewards.
But if this world is pre-sixth regression?
If Lee Seong-hyeon spots me...
'I'm dead.'
Lee Seong-hyeon casually dodged the moving statues and headed for the exit.
A regression where he'd mastered their patterns but didn't fight back.
'It's the fifth regression!'
The realization hit, and I kicked off to escape.
The statues were already stirring.
If I didn't get out before Lee Seong-hyeon noticed, I was done for.
That instant, a piercing pain shot through my left thigh, and my face slammed into the ground.
"Ugh..."
As I winced in pain, Lee Seong-hyeon approached, grabbed my collar, and hoisted me up.
'Fuck, his senses are sharp as hell.'
"What the hell is this? Never happened before."
This was the first incident inside the dungeon during his trips up to the fifth regression.
He must be flustered.
"How did you get here?"
"Haa... haa... I was running from monsters and ended up here. Haha."
"Monsters? Did the fourth regression affect this one?"
Lee Seong-hyeon pondered suspiciously.
He wouldn't kill me directly anyway.
Once he realized I wasn't a threat, he'd use me as bait to shake off the annoying statues.
Lee Seong-hyeon's eyes flashed golden.
Piercing Gaze
The voyeuristic skill that lets him peek at others' skillbooks.
"Whatever, not worth worrying about. Perfect timing, actually."
Lee Seong-hyeon tossed me aside and left the dungeon alone.
"Sacrifice yourself instead."
After collapsing the entrance with his skill.
"You crazy bastard."
I figured he'd act like this.
If you're gonna use me as bait, at least leave my body intact...
Once Lee Seong-hyeon vanished, the two statues' gazes naturally turned to me.
The exit was sealed.
Even awakened Lee Seong-hyeon struggled with them.
Defeating them was impossible.
"So, what now?"
I had no dynamic vision or physical prowess, but I knew all the knight statues' patterns.
Nothing I couldn't dodge.
"Hoo."
The moment I entered their attack range, the two statues raised their massive swords.
The first strike: a downward slash, then an immediate leap for a second slash.
Simple, but one hit meant game over.
Clutching my bleeding thigh, I scrambled up and ran.
Boom-
Boom-
Boom-!
'Haa... haa... How the hell is that body keeping up?'
Once their attack ended, the statues raised their swords skyward, tips pointing up.
"Give me a break!"
That was the [Meteor Strike] pattern.
The temple ceiling turned into a night sky, and meteors began falling.
Soon, blue mist filled the interior, and a galaxy unfurled across the heavens.
Meteor Strike
"Should I make a wish or something?"
There was only one way to survive anyway.
The closer to the temple's edge, the fewer meteors would fall.
'The problem is getting there with this leg.'
I gritted my teeth and sprinted toward the temple's edge.
If I survive this pattern and the next, I can figure something out.
For now, just run!
...
"...Looks spectacular from here."
It was about time for it to end...
Lee Seong-hyeon probably thinks clearing this dungeon means smashing the statues.
That's only possible after getting [Myth of Ashte].
The [Myth's Tomb] has its own carefully crafted lore.
[Myth's Tomb, where the records of souls flow.]
[A tomb burying forgotten mysteries.]
[The seeds of the three gods guard what humans must not covet.]
[The whisper of the god hides there.]
It's not about brute-forcing the statues' necks off.
You have to solve the riddle.
[The statues guarding the myth obey the voice of the god.]
The meteor shower began to die down.
The two statues shifted to an overhead stance, then lowered into a shoulder-mounted position.
The temple air grew chillingly cold.
Blue glows emanated from the statues' eyes.
Flash Strike
10 seconds of stiffness, followed by a strike at invisible speed.
But that didn't matter to me.
What mattered was the 10 seconds before Flash Strike.
I gripped the dagger in my right hand.
"10 seconds!"
I charged toward the praying statue in the mossy corner.
The riddle of the Myth's Tomb.
The solution was simple.
If the voice of the god moves the statues, just make sure they can't hear it.
The priestess conveys the god's voice as its agent in the temple.
In other words, the woman quietly praying in the back.
"One second left! Please reach!"
I swung the dagger at the praying statue with all my might.
Poor Strike!!
The blade plunged straight into the statue's mouth.
The blue glow in the statues' eyes faded.
The massive sword, still hot, halted right before my nose.
"It stopped."
Really, one second.
One second late, and I'd have ended it all a day after possession.
With everything frozen, the altar crumbled like a sandcastle.
There lay an ancient tome.
The dungeon's reward.
The [Empty Skillbook] looked as shabby as I'd imagined.
"All this trouble for this...?"
Even if my worthless life story got recorded, it wouldn't grant anything useful.
Still, better than nothing to supplement Kim Si-woo's trash skillbook.
I sighed and reached for the book.
The pages flipped wildly in a frenzy.
"Wh-what?"
Was there a description like this in Awakening to SSS Hunter Academy?
[Your life story is being recorded in the Empty Skillbook.]
[Imprinting the Empty Skillbook onto your soul.]
[The volume of your story is immense. Unlocking new ability.]
[Growth-type Skillbook unlocked.]
And then an unimaginable pain hit me.
A sensation like rewriting my soul.
[Linking with existing skillbook.]
[Skillbook genre changed: Essay.]
Even through my fading consciousness, I knew.
Without a doubt.
The ability I gained was different from Lee Seong-hyeon's [Empty Skillbook].
Something no one in all of Awakening to SSS Hunter Academy had ever obtained.
In a world where skillbooks defined all value from birth, an unrealistic power where the skillbook itself grew.
[Skillbook page limit removed.]