WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 42: Kim Jina

──────

Hey guys, quick announcement before the chapter! We're hosting an original webnovel contest with a $1000 prize pool, a chance to publish your novel on WeTried, and lifetime free reading access for the top two winners!

There's also a participation prize of 500 coins for everyone participating.

If you've got a story sitting in a folder somewhere, or have been wanting to try writing one, we'd love to read it. You only need your first 10 chapters, and you have until 1st January 2027 to submit. New writers are welcome too!

Full details, rules, and how to enter here! https://wetriedtls.com/announcements/webnovel-contest

Feel free to send this to anyone you know who writes. Enjoy the chapter!

If you have any questions, please join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried

──────

I said I was free even right away, but apparently Kim Jina wasn't.

She suggested a new time, asking, "Would around then work for you?" Since I had nothing else to do, I accepted.

The meeting place was a cafeteria a short distance from the Festival's central plaza.

She said there was no special reason. She just wanted to see me alone and talk for a bit.

But she could talk to me through friend chat whenever she wanted. Why did she specifically want to talk face-to-face?

And why did she want to meet separately in the first place? What was there for the two of us to talk about alone?

Could this be a green light? Was this why Kim Minhyeong had been giving me such an attitude?

Nah, probably not.

How long had it even been since we'd met? It wasn't like I was celebrity-level handsome or anything.

I took a dirty mirror shard out of my inventory and looked at my reflection.

Every guy looked in a bathroom mirror and thought, I'm not that bad-looking, am I? I wasn't much different.

Still, the face in the mirror I'd pulled out without thinking looked far from fine. It looked utterly unfamiliar.

"What?"

Since when had my eyes looked like this?

* * *

There were still a few matches left in the tournament Preliminaries, but my thoughts had suddenly become a mess, so I returned to the inn.

Then I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, touching my hair and changing my expression.

No matter how many times I repeated it, the reflection still felt strange.

Was this really my face? Since when had I looked like this?

I didn't look especially haggard or sick. Something just felt off.

It wasn't like I hadn't looked in a mirror since entering the world of the Tower of Trials, but today, I looked unfamiliar to myself.

"Am I just excited?"

Maybe I'd started worrying about my appearance because I had plans with a woman, even though I was pretending not to care.

Not knowing what I was thinking sounded nonsensical at first, but it wasn't always like that.

It had taken me a long time just to admit how pathetic I was and call myself a loser.

My avoidant nature and defense mechanisms could deceive even me. I had a duty to keep exposing and examining my true self.

Was I just excited about meeting a woman, so I was suddenly worried about my appearance?

Or was there something else on my mind?

"I don't know."

They said wise people could tell what someone was thinking just by looking into their eyes.

No matter how hard I stared into my own eyes in the mirror, I couldn't figure out a thing.

-Rushhh.

Since I was already in the bathroom, I turned on the water to wash away the lingering smell of blood.

* * *

I spent my time screwing around by myself and ended up a little late for the meeting. About five minutes.

Kim Jina had sent me a chat saying it was fine to take my time, but I didn't feel comfortable making her wait, so I hurried over.

When I arrived at the cafeteria, I saw Kim Jina sitting alone among the empty tables, sipping from a teacup.

"Jinhyeok."

Dressed in ordinary clothes instead of Mage equipment, Kim Jina gently waved me over.

Her voice and face were the same as before, but maybe because of her clothes, she felt like a completely different person.

"Why did you rush over like that? I said it was fine to take your time."

"If I actually took my time after hearing that, wouldn't I usually get chewed out?"

"Come on, how much have I benefited from you? Would I really scold you over something like that?"

I smiled a little and sat where Kim Jina indicated. A cup of dark tea sat in front of me.

"I ordered one for you without asking. I'm paying, so you can't complain even if it isn't to your taste, okay?"

Kim Jina smiled playfully and offered me the tea. I told her I could eat or drink anything, then picked up the cup.

-Sip.

When I took a casual sip, a light sweetness and gentle fragrance filled my mouth. It was an unfamiliar flavor.

It wasn't bad, though, so I took another sip and put the cup down.

"How is it?"

"It's good."

Kim Jina smiled with slight awkwardness and said that was a relief. Honestly, whatever she gave me, I probably would've drunk it and said the same thing.

I hadn't been lying when I said I could eat anything. Just a few days ago, I'd been breathing in blood mist like it was normal.

If I'd been alone, I probably would've stirred this tea with a poison arrow before drinking it.

"Oh, these cookies are good too. Here, try one."

This time, Kim Jina handed me a cookie topped with jam. I grabbed one and ate it without much thought.

This one wasn't great.

I'd once made and eaten mud cookies to raise my affinity with an earth spirit, so I usually ate just about anything.

But this was ridiculously sweet. Giving a sweet cookie to someone who lived off White Rolls?

I frowned without realizing it, then quickly drank some tea when I saw Kim Jina's expression darken.

"This one's good too."

"You don't have to force yourself."

"It's just too sweet. It's still good."

Kim Jina's troubled expression quickly disappeared, and she giggled.

* * *

After that, we made small talk for a while. Well, I called it small talk, but I didn't say a word.

Kim Jina did all the talking while I listened, occasionally responding to keep the conversation going.

It was only natural. Someone who had spent a long time shut away like me didn't have much to talk about.

"I'm sorry. I've been talking too much, haven't I?"

Kim Jina had been chatting happily, but when she noticed my empty teacup, she lowered her head.

"I didn't call you here just to do this... I'm late getting to the point, but can we move on to it?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"It's about what happened earlier today. You know the person you beat up is a Ranker, right?"

I nodded. Choi Gilhyeon was a Spear Knight and Low-floor Ranker whose spear skills were embarrassingly bad for his class.

While watching the tournament match, I'd gotten curious and searched his name in the Open Community. There hadn't been much.

"You probably don't know, Jinhyeok. He's not just an ordinary Ranker."

"He was pretty weak for a Ranker."

"That's not what I mean. He's not an ordinary Ranker because... he's a notorious thug on Server 1554."

Kim Jina began listing rumors about Choi Gilhyeon that circulated on Server 1554.

They said he assaulted other Challengers for ridiculous reasons and sexually harassed and molested female Challengers almost every day.

They said Challengers who stood up to him were often found crippled in back alleys.

They said there were already rumors that he'd killed someone inside the Tower of Trials at least once, for whatever reason.

None of it had any clear proof, but Kim Jina spoke about it calmly as if it were all true.

"That makes him a real piece of trash. Maybe I should've hit him harder."

Naturally, I snorted and dismissed it. Kim Jina, though, shook her head with a serious expression.

"Everyone who knows him knows. There isn't any proof, but almost all the rumors are true."

That was strange.

I'd dismissed the story because I was sure most of the rumors were false.

The Tower of Trials wasn't some lawless jungle where only the strong survived.

You couldn't say it operated under civilized laws, but most servers were kept safe by large guilds.

If someone committed a crime, the guilds would punish them. If not, people could expose them and make an issue of it through the Open Community.

Some low-floor Hunter couldn't possibly commit all that and keep living openly.

"His father is on the board of the Hunter Association."

Kim Jina easily refuted my opinion.

"It was a huge deal. He's basically a Hunter born into privilege. Even high-floor Rankers want to leave the Tower and become high-ranking Hunters someday..."

"So they can't afford to get on his bad side?"

"Yes. Everyone turns a blind eye to sexual harassment and molestation, and even serious crimes get buried if there isn't evidence."

There was nothing more laughable than evidence in the Tower of Trials. In a world full of magic and skills, what could possibly count as evidence?

"I'm sorry. I should've recognized that man's younger brother... I should've stopped you."

Kim Jina lowered her head deeply as she spoke.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

I'd wondered why she was taking this so seriously, but this was all it was?

I was alone in the Tower of Trials on Server 2661 anyway. What did it matter if I'd messed with someone like that?

She was even crying as she apologized because she hadn't stopped me sooner. Was Kim Jina just kind, or was she naive?

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I should've stopped you then, I should've..."

I had seriously poor communication skills. It took me quite a while to choose words that might comfort Kim Jina.

But before I could say the words I'd struggled to find, Kim Jina added something.

"I'm from Server 1554 too...!"

-Bang!

The cafeteria door shattered as two short, stocky men walked in.

One wore heavy armor and carried an axe. The other wore light armor and held a spear.

The Choi brothers, whom I'd beaten up, had arrived with confident strides.

Ah. Kim Jina wasn't the naive one. I was.

"What did you put in this?"

I pointed at my empty teacup.

"Th-that..."

With trembling hands, Kim Jina placed an empty potion bottle on the table.

"They said it was a powerful, delayed-action Paralysis Poison. It should be taking effect by now..."

Ah. I see.

So she put Paralysis Poison in it.

Well.

What was I supposed to say?

"I told you I wouldn't let you get away with it. You motherless beggar bastard, fight me again, fucker."

What rotten luck.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried