WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 13: Answer

──────

When I opened my eyes, I was standing at the entrance to the Beast Dungeon’s boss room again.

The sword in my right hand, which I had definitely confirmed was broken, was completely intact.

"What?"

What had just happened?

Varhatan had definitely killed me.

Then, just as my consciousness faded, a girl I had never seen before appeared. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the moment before the battle began.

'Did I dream it?'

I turned my head and realized it wasn’t a dream.

"The door’s gone."

There had originally been two doors at the boss room entrance.

One led to the boss, while the other led back to the waiting room.

Yet for some reason, the door that should have led to the waiting room had vanished.

Before, I could have simply turned back without opening the boss room.

Now I only had two choices left.

Move forward and fight, or die.

The fact that I could no longer turn back made it painfully clear just how bad my situation was.

When I examined the Abyss Core closely, two blue gems glimmered atop it.

[Unique Ability - Rewind Action 1 / 3]

"Rewind Action? Does that mean rewinding a turn?"

In SRPGs, turn-based strategy simulation games, a single character action could decide the entire battle.

There were countless unpredictable variables caused by random chance, and one mistake in positioning or strategy could easily lead to an irreversible situation.

Sometimes, one mistake meant restarting the entire game from the beginning.

That was why some games included a turn rewind feature to prevent those disasters.

Turn rewind was exactly what it sounded like, a feature that nullified a mistaken action and let you choose again.

That feature had become my unique ability.

I didn’t know why. I’d even had it confirmed that Renee was a Standard-Issue Core.

Click.

When I opened the Abyss Core, the shard replacement function that had been disabled during battle was active again.

"Looks like I can adjust my shards."

In other words, based on the battle I had already experienced, I could strategically reselect my shards.

It wasn’t simply telling me to reconsider my actions. It was telling me to throw out my entire strategy and start over.

I probably had three chances in total.

The moment every gem on the core disappeared, all my chances would be gone. I instinctively knew that.

That meant I had to make the best possible use of my shards within three attempts and find the timeline where I defeated Varhatan.

I immediately went over my memories.

Fortunately, Varhatan’s only special pattern was its roar.

I recalled everything I could, from its movements to the presentation, but nothing else stood out as particularly threatening.

I checked three more times just in case, so I had to be right.

'The kick leads into the roar. I have to dodge the kick no matter what.'

As I followed my memories, information I desperately needed came back to me.

'Right. It had a Stagger state.'

When Varhatan’s health fell below half, it would stop moving for a certain period.

In games, that state was called Stagger.

I’d have to use that if I wanted to win.

I began preparing for battle.

First, I replaced all fourteen shards except the efficient Red Shard II and Black Cloud with Yellow Shards.

My attack power would drop somewhat, but I was going all in on defense instead.

The core of the strategy was to tank its attacks and drag out the turns, keeping it from using its finisher.

I didn’t know if I could endure its Whirlwind Strike, but this was the best strategy I could think of.

'Let’s go with it.'

This was a chance worth its weight in gold. I couldn’t waste it, but there was no reason to hesitate either.

With a faint hope that I might win this time, I stepped into the boss room.

That hope shattered far too easily.

"Urgh... Cough...!"

After a sluggish exchange, Varhatan’s Whirlwind Strike activated and tore my back to shreds.

'Defense 14 still can’t stop it?'

Confirmed.

Varhatan raised its foot again.

Booom!!

My body flew through the air, and darkness swallowed my vision.

"...I’m here again."

When I opened my eyes, I had returned to the front of the boss room.

The waiting room door was still gone.

There really was no escape.

[Unique Ability - Rewind Action 2 / 3]

Another gem atop the core had disappeared.

"...Ha."

Was it impossible to withstand Varhatan’s attacks through defense alone? This was far harder than I expected.

For now, Yellow Shards were the wrong answer.

I decisively ruled them out.

If defense wasn’t the answer, then attack power had to be.

'This time, I’ll open with Break.'

When Varhatan launched a probing attack, I’d start with Break and overwhelm it in an instant.

A swift, decisive fight.

I wouldn’t give it even a moment to use its finisher.

After changing my shards back to fifteen Red Shards and Black Cloud, I walked into the boss room.

The moment I faced it, I drove Carving Sword into it, then immediately activated Break on the next turn.

Crack!!

Kuuuuuhhh!!

With a chilling scream, a deep wound was carved into Varhatan’s chest.

The moment I saw that wound, I knew.

'This is the answer.'

Use Break to take more than half its health and force it into Stagger, then finish it with a second Break during the opening.

I believed two Breaks weren’t optional, but essential to defeating Varhatan.

'Did it enter Stagger?'

Booooom!!

It hadn’t.

Sadly, the damage was clearly insufficient.

Even with Attack Power 16, it was impossible to take half its health in one go with Break.

Confirmed.

'...Then what the hell am I supposed to do?'

Before I could finish thinking, the Whirlwind Strike that followed ground my body apart.

"Fuck."

I returned to the front of the boss room once more.

According to my calculations, one Break should have taken half its health.

But it had failed. Even after pushing my attack power to the limit, it was nowhere near enough.

[Unique Ability - Rewind Action 3 / 3]

'I’m screwed.'

I lay spread-eagled on the floor, staring at the gray ceiling.

The lingering phantom pain still felt strangely real, and my mind gradually went blank.

"Ha..."

Confirmed.

Varhatan was stronger than I thought.

Halibal Velder was weaker than I thought.

That was all there was to it.

"If I were the protagonist, I would’ve won."

As I lay there blankly, demonic energy began to seep out from the boss room.

It looked like this was meant to stop me from camping indefinitely.

If I got scared, I was supposed to die quietly.

'Is this really how it ends? That’s a little unfair.'

As I looked down at the core, which no longer had any gems on it, a meaningless hypothetical came to mind.

'If nothing else, it could’ve given me more chances so I could at least make more attempts. If I mindlessly kept charging in, there’d be at least one timeline where it worked...'

Then it hit me.

'At least one timeline where it works...?'

I shot to my feet.

"I only need to win once, don’t I?"

Rather than die like this, I might as well try and die.

I’d die if I didn’t try, and I’d die if I tried. Then trying was the only answer.

╔═════════╗

◈Abyss Core - Renee◈

╠═════════╣

▸ Equipped Shards: 16/16

◆ ◎ ◎ ◎

◎ ◎ ◎ ◎

◎ ◎ ◎ ◎

◎ ◎ ◎ ◎

╠═════════╣

◎ = Green Shard x15

◆ = [Black Cloud]

╠═════════╣

▸ Stat Bonuses

Critical Hits 15

Fluidity 8

╚═════════╝

It was a gamble build that pushed Critical Hit to the limit.

Until now, I had needed to follow Carving Sword with Ashen Light, so the final Break hadn’t triggered a critical hit.

But what if Break triggered a critical hit?

It would make up for the missing damage for certain. No, maybe that was the only possibility.

The problem was that if I didn’t land a critical hit, I would die on the spot.

It was a literal gamble, far more unstable than lacking attack power. To pull it off, I needed to raise my Critical Hit stat even higher.

I looked down at Black Cloud embedded in the core.

Black Cloud’s effect was Fluidity 8.

Once I secured the first turn, its job was done.

After that, Black Cloud was effectively a useless shard.

'What if I take out Black Cloud?'

Taking the first turn without Black Cloud meant surpassing Varhatan’s reaction speed through my trained body alone.

Could I do it?

No matter how I thought about it, it wouldn’t be easy.

Still, that one extra point of Critical Hit was desperately necessary if I wanted to raise the strategy’s odds of success.

That one point could decide whether I lived or died on my final attempt.

What if I lost the first turn?

Every plan would fall apart, and that would guarantee my death too.

My heart pounded.

In the silence, I closed my eyes and reflected on myself.

Six years since I had fallen into this world.

What kind of time had I spent here?

More than fifteen hours a day. Days of training until my breath nearly gave out.

Those steadily accumulated years had made me who I was.

So why couldn’t I trust myself? Why was I trying to put down what I held in my hands?

It had never been time that failed to meet my expectations. It had always been me, the one who betrayed those expectations.

"Hoo."

I removed Black Cloud and fitted a Green Shard in its place.

Critical Hits 16.

Six years in this world.

I had lived as Halibal Velder.

Halibal Velder was an extra.

Did that mean my six years had been the years of an extra?

'Bullshit.'

Was I really going to leave everything to the protagonist and quietly enjoy an easy life in the background?

If that were what I wanted, I would have given up long ago.

In the six years I had lived, I had never been anyone’s background.

Not for a single day had I failed to be the protagonist of my own life.

Every moment I lived and moved in this world had been a turn given to me.

And that turn wasn’t over yet.

Creak.

Grrrr...

The sword in my hand vibrated as I reaffirmed my resolve.

"Come, Varhatan."

Kuuuuoooooh!

It charged at me.

Now then, blue or red?

What was the answer to the choice I had made?

At that moment, my vision flashed.

Flash.

A blue gem appeared above my head.

The corner of my mouth curled up.

Why couldn’t I trust the time I had built up? Why had I assumed it would betray me and surrendered to fear first?

Time had never betrayed me.

I took the first turn without Black Cloud.

My turn.

A blue flash burst from Renee like an explosion.

Crackle!

With a ringing in my ears, as if space were being torn apart, the second and minute hands of a pocket watch began spinning madly.

[Abyss Core - Renee is evolving.]

[A new Art is unlocked through its evolution.]

'A new Art?'

Why was an Art that had shown no sign of appearing for three years emerging now, of all times?

'Should I use it?'

Arts usually consumed a turn.

That meant if this Art was useless, I could lose the first turn I had barely secured to Varhatan.

But what if this was the answer to my question?

There was no reason to hesitate.

"Chrono Dive."

The blue gem above my head split into two, and one disappeared.

[Chrono Dive]

[Does not consume a turn upon activation]

[Critical Hit chance fixed at 100% for 3 turns]

Turn-based combat was fundamentally strategic.

Some people launched an all-out assault from the beginning, while others focused on defense and waited for a chance to counterattack.

I was always the type to apply buffs first.

The type who attacked once every possible enhancement was in place and I was certain of victory.

Sometimes, I wondered if this world didn’t have a buff system.

But it did.

I had one too.

It wasn’t that it didn’t exist. I simply hadn’t reached it yet.

[Does not consume a turn]

This was time I had given to myself.

And buffs were Arts too.

The first condition for Break was fulfilled.

I kicked off the ground and charged straight at Varhatan.

"Carving Sword."

Clang!!

With the shockwave, Varhatan’s body was sent flying backward after taking Carving Sword head-on.

Normally, Carving Sword was an Art that marked an enemy’s weakness and secured a turn. It wasn’t an Art meant to deal fatal damage.

This time, though, Carving Sword itself had triggered a critical hit. The power of sixteen Green Shards struck Varhatan directly.

The second condition was fulfilled here as well.

"Ashen Light."

A torrent of ashen flashes split Varhatan’s upper body diagonally from its shoulder.

It flew backward and slammed into the wall before it even had time to scream.

At this very moment, the final condition for Break was fulfilled.

I raised my sword high into the air.

"Halibal Break."

Booooom!!

An ashen storm pouring from the blade swallowed Varhatan’s body.

Arms, legs, shoulders, chest... It tore through every part of its body, carving wounds without restraint.

At last, Varhatan’s massive body sank to the ground for the first time.

It had finally entered the Stagger state I had waited so long for.

But my turn wasn’t over yet.

Break led into another Art.

"Carving Sword."

Clang!!

This time, Carving Sword drove into Varhatan’s heart.

An X-shaped wound was carved around its heart.

"Ashen Light."

Blood and demonic energy erupted from Varhatan’s body around the wound.

Then, for the last time, I raised my sword high.

"Halibal Break."

A streak of silence fell like lightning toward Varhatan’s heart.

Booooooooom!!

The dungeon screamed.

Its massive body collapsed from the inside out, starting from its heart, as fountains of blood sprayed in every direction.

Amid the blood pouring down like a fountain, I looked at Varhatan’s ruined body.

The blue gem above my head had vanished, but no red gem appeared above its head any longer.

Something golden glimmered amid the blood.

[Adamant]

I quickly snatched it up.

[Special Shard: Adamant]

[Special Ability: Mitigation]

[Mitigation - If the user deflects an attack at the exact timing during an opponent’s turn, damage is reduced.]

"Fuck... It gives this to me after I clear the whole thing."

I looked down at the sword in my hand.

It had shattered into pieces.

Funeral Sword, Halibal Velder.

The first human to conquer the First Abyss.

Footnotes:

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