WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Ryuu

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DAMNED 13TH REGRESSION

Chapter 8: The Hidden Shop of Babel

"Yeon-si."

"Can you tell me why oppa has changed, almost as if you’re somebody else? Suddenly starting to smoke, knowing we would come to Babel today, and acting like you've experienced everything."

Yeon-si was asking Gong-hyeok clearly, her tone gentle yet direct.

She wanted to know about his altered identity.

"Yes, I guess I lacked in explanation. Where should I start?"

Gong-hyeok pondered momentarily, recalling the persuasion patterns he had used before.

Claiming an ability to see game guides through Observer? Being possessed by a hunter from the future? Given a coin with unique abilities?

He chose one among many patterns.

"Yeon-si, I saw a future where you die."

"What?"

"When we were hunting the Minotaur, Observer's final ability, Mind's Eye, was activated. Through Mind's Eye, I received glimpses of the future for the next 20 years. And in that future..."

"In that future, I died?"

"Yes. Three days ago, in the Minotaur Dungeon. You were fated to die."

It was, in fact, a lie.

Yeon-si had never died in the Minotaur Dungeon so far. Although she was assassinated by the Bronze Giant the next day.

"It's not continuous but just fragmentary information, so it's hard for me to organize it in my head. And I'm not sure of the exact reason, but one thing is certain..."

Gong-hyeok slightly delved into acting, softening his voice and looking straight into Yeon-si's eyes, drawing closer.

"Until we smash the Demon King of Babel, I will protect you, Yeon-si. And with the information with me, we'll clear Babel and save humanity."

Gong-hyeok took Yeon-si's hand and placed it over his heart.

"I swear on that. I might seem like a different person now, but just follow me silently for now."

"...Honestly, I can't fully accept all of this. It sounds absurd. But I don't have the face to complain to oppa who led me all the way to Babel."

Yeon-si shyly avoided Gong-hyeok's eyes and quickly removed her hand from his chest, hiding it at her waist.

"There's no need to protect me, specifically. I'll try my best not to be a burden to oppa."

'It worked. There won’t be any problems for a while.'

Thinking this, Gong-hyeok shifted his gaze from the hesitant Yeon-si. He checked the items he had acquired.

'Fatal Red Star's toxin.' (16/20)

'Rusted Maigarou Type 4 katana.'

'Red Star Hopgoblin's Slaughter Sword'

'Blue Sand Lizardman's Spear.'

'Kobold's Hand Axe.', 'Kobold's Iron Spike.'

'Sabre Lion's Tooth.'

'Giant Tiger Scimitar.'

'Azan Orc's Rugged Battle Hammer.'

He lined up seven weapons and evaluated them.

'The katana is to be discarded now. Two-handed swords, spears, throwing axes, traps with iron spikes, one-handed shabel, one-handed scimitar, battle hammer.'

Being the sole damage dealer, Gong-hyeok lacked both decisive blows and a dealer. However, the powerful paralyzing effect and damage from the goblin's toxin could compensate. If cut properly, the enemy would be incapacitated within seconds.

The Sewer Dungeon was also home to toxin-using Ratmen or insectoid monsters like the Sewer Grub Bigworm or Giant Flies, having some resistance to toxins but not completely immune.

Appropriately dungeon-like, Ratman Warriors and Giant Worms were much stronger and had higher stats than field monsters. The corrupted spirits of the sewer attacked with magical power, necessitating the use of accumulated violet coins to increase his stats.

Strength: 21 [F]

Endurance: 26 [F]

Agility: 25 [F]

Technique: 298 [D] (Limit reached)

Mind: 161[E] (Weakness -50)

Willpower: 300 [D] (Limit reached)

Mana: 18 [F]

Coins held - Violet 1,526, Blue 3.

With 1500, F-class abilities can be raised by 150 points.

Mind and Mana are excluded as there's no immediate need for skills. The important stats are Strength, Endurance, Agility.

Agility must break through to E-class. It's not only the most suitable for Gong-hyeok's hunting style but also every stat doubles or triples in power when crossing the 100-point threshold to the next-class. For example, if Strength F 100 can lift 150kg, E-class at 101, just one point higher, can lift 450kg.

It's more strategic to raise one stat to E-class rather than evenly distribute F 80 to all three.

Strength: 21 [F] → [F] 70(+49)

Endurance: 26[F] → [F] 51(+25)

Agility: 25[F] → [E] 101(+76)

Coins left - Violet 6, Blue 3.

Thinking of importance, Strength should be raised to E-class. However, too much disparity can be harmful as the body might not endure the strength and agility. One might get exhausted just moving for 5 seconds, or their grip strength could tear their own hands. Physical stats need some balance.

"I'm done too, Gong-hyeok oppa."

[Princess Bari Ha Yeon-si]

Strength: 25 [F] (+10) Endurance: 25 [F] (+5)

Agility: 35 [F] (+20) Technique: 101 [E] (+58)

Mind: 149 [E] Willpower: 71 [F]

Mana: 167 [E]

Stat effect strengths - Renowned Prodigy (A), Stat Growth Special (S+).

Yeon-si invested in Technique to better shoot the crossbow and in physical stats to support her movements.

Moreover, Mind and Mana had grown by about 10-15 without even using accumulated coins.

Impressive growth from the same experiences. It was a talent and advantage Gong-hyeok couldn't have.

Gong-hyeok glanced over Yeon-si's stats and stowed the weapons in the inventory.

"We'll go through Pipe 49 of the Sewer Dungeon to reach the fifth underground floor. Our goal is the hidden shop 'Cradle of Pezalon' on the fifth floor. Beware of insectoid monsters. They are immune to fear and their back attacks are swift. I’ll lead, so be careful if I slip."

[Title "Merciless Massacrer" has been removed. Instant kill probability against terrified enemies reverts to original.]

[Title "One Man Army" equipped. All stats increase by 10% when facing multiple enemies.]

Gong-hyeok spoke to himself, changing his equipped title. As mentioned before, insectoid and spirit monsters are less susceptible to fear. Plus, they swarm, making One Man Army more suitable than Massacrer.

"Yes. I'll try not to be a burden."

Yeon-si also answered calmly while restringing her crossbow.

"Good. Let's enter."

- Entering the first floor of the Sewer Dungeon.

- Estimated 1,326 hostile monsters, searching for the shortest route to the second floor.

- Route 7 is suitable. Expected to pass through contaminated Ratmen groups and Red Bigworm habitats.

'I wanted to achieve the first 100 kills on the first floor, but we've been delayed in the field. We'll sweep the achievements from the second floor.'

Now would be the time for brave hunters to try entering the dungeon to preempt achievements. While hunters are hesitating on the first floor to figure out the initial monsters, they must traverse quickly to the fifth floor without leaving any trace.

---

Whiiiing!

14 Giant Flies buzzed noisily, fluttering toward them.

Despite their distracting 360-degree rotations and unpredictable curved flights.

A gently curved scimitar (curved sword) dashed through them like a flash of lightning.

Chicken God Technique Unsheathing - Thousand Men Decimation

An SSS-class martial art, passed down to one of the Twelve Zodiac Animal Gods of the Beastmen, the Chicken God, was unleashed by Gong-hyeok.

CRITICAL HIT!

Swoosh...

The 14 Giant Flies deflated noisily and split horrendously. Their bodies were buried in the filthy sewage, flowing into the depths.

[Astounding movement! Agility increased by 1.]

[You precisely slaughtered 14 enemies with 14 attacks.]

[You have acquired the title 'Swordsman of 14 Consecutive Slaughters.' When you slaughter an enemy with a single strike, the attack power of the next strike increases by 15%. The effect accumulates up to 14 times.]

[Due to an excessively strenuous technique activation, Strength, Agility, and Endurance decrease by 5 points for 6 hours.]

[You have failed to acquire the special skill 'Chicken God Technique (Unique SSS)'.]

"It’s still too much for me. It didn't split cleanly."

Gong-hyeok observed the upper half of a Giant Fly lying at his feet.

Ideally, it should have been cleanly bisected, but the cuts on the Giant Flies were rough. Of course, it was a sufficiently sharp strike, considering it was intended to halve them, but it wasn't satisfying compared to his past memories.

Additionally, because of the flies’ low endurance and frail nature, he had exerted himself excessively. He would have abandoned the technique if they were even at the level of ordinary goblins or kobolds.

'If only my physical stats were at E or D-class, I could have tried a few of these.'

The martial art Gong-hyeok had mastered was an SSS-class secret technique, taught only to the twelve leaders of the Beastmen.

Although he had learned it during his eighth regression, hiding among the Beastmen, it wasn’t meant for humans but for Beastmen with base stats at C-class. Hence, the limitation on stats was severe.

"Oppa, that thing just now. Was it like the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū from Rurouni Kenshin? It was flashy and..."

"Something like that. But look ahead. That wall is clearly different from the sewer, isn’t it?"

Ignoring the reference to a 30-year-old manga, Gong-hyeok pointed ahead.

The path indicated by his finger wasn't the moss-covered sewer next to it.

Instead, it was a rectangular passage made of ochre bricks, seemingly built separately as a boundary, adorned with torches.

"It really is."

"Come on, there are no monsters from here."

Gong-hyeok strode confidently into the passage. Yeon-si, intrigued, looked around as she followed.

At the end of the passage stood a half-broken statue.

Faintly engraved on the statue's pedestal was 'Old Father.'

A clean passage and a mysterious statue in a sewer dungeon.

To anyone, it looked like a hidden piece straight out of a novel.

Without hesitation, Gong-hyeok took out three blue coins. He then fitted them into the letter holes of 'O', 'd', and 'a' engraved in 'Old Father.'

[Would you like to open the cradle by using three blue coins?]

“Yes.”

[‘Cradle of Pezalon 1F’ recognizes the first user. Following this, the cradle's opening will be frozen. It will not accept other users.]

Certainly, the dungeon's statue was suspicious. But not just anyone could open it.

Joo Gong-hyeok was a unique case, casually owning blue coins given only for first or special, transcendent achievements. Normally, even owning one was enough for a hunter to be quite recognized.

Holding three blue coins each, trying to fit them in the name, and even then, sacrificing those precious coins. Additionally, the condition that only the first discoverer could enter.

Even if one suspected a hidden piece, it was a structure difficult to unlock.

===

Chapter 8 Calculations:

[Hunter Joo Gong-hyeok's Acquired Score] = 5690 points

[Hunter Ha Yeon-si's Acquired Score] = 210 points

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