WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 33: Double Gate
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I was a little taken aback when I checked Kurogane's Customer Window during his custom pet consultation.
[ Name 》 Kurogane Kaito ]
[ Species 》 Human ]
[ Awakened Rank 》 A Rank ]
[ Position 》 Main Tank (Unsuitable) ]
[ Combat Tendency 》 Prefers to protect allies. Prefers to look for openings and deliver powerful strikes. ]
[ Areas for Improvement 》 The party composition is severely unbalanced. He is forcing himself to take attacks with inadequate durability, resulting in an extremely high injury rate. The party composition and his position appear to need changing. ]
It was because I'd never seen an Unsuitable label before.
‘This is my first time seeing a Customer Window with “Unsuitable” on it... There was nothing like that in Korea.’
Considering Kurogane's combat tendencies, his best role was not as a frontline tank. He would be better off fighting between the front and second lines, stopping aggro from slipping past the tank while looking for openings to land decisive blows.
He was the sort of person who stood at the front of the allied formation, switching between dealing damage and tanking to keep the team balanced. Basically, he defended, but when an opportunity arose, he drove in a powerful strike to improve the team's stability and damage output.
Of course, combat tendencies were only personal preferences. They didn't guarantee one hundred percent optimal combat ability...
‘Strange. Really strange...’
The more the consultation continued, the more questions I had.
“It looks like you're forcing yourself to solo tank even though it isn't your proper position. What exactly happened?”
Kurogane sighed at my question and began explaining the problem facing Japan's Hunter world.
“Haah... Well... It might be more accurate to say this isn't just a problem in Japan's Hunter industry. It's something happening throughout Japanese society... Because of that, there aren't many tanks in Japan right now.”
Kurogane told me about the current position distribution among Japanese Hunters, and I couldn't hide my shock.
“What!? Fewer than ten percent of the Hunters registered with Japan's Hunter Management Agency are tanks!?”
“...More precisely, it's just over six percent.”
“What the...”
It was an unbelievable figure.
Not even one out of every ten Hunters was a tank.
There were differences between countries, but among combat-type Awakened, roughly fourteen to twenty percent awakened traits suited for tanking.
In other words, if you put together a party of ten, one or two people would normally be suited to tanking.
“Why has such an imbalance happened? Are there no people in Japan awakening tanking traits?”
“No... There are plenty of Awakened with traits that help with durability and stamina. But...”
What Kurogane said next was honestly shocking.
As far as I understood it, this was the gist.
Japan's Satori Generation, people in their twenties and thirties, had become apathetic after the long recession following the collapse of the bubble economy. They had grown frustrated by the reality that hard work didn't bring rewards, leaving them without hope or motivation.
They basically lacked desire and had no obsession with success.
Even when they played games, they tended to prefer assassins or ranged classes that could hide in the back and escape easily rather than tanks who had to stand at the front. Apparently, the exact same tendency had appeared in the Hunter industry.
That wasn't all.
Japan's particular aversion to inconveniencing others compounded it. People lacked the courage to be disliked, worrying, ‘What if I fail to manage aggro and the party gets wiped out?’...
As a result, Japan was currently suffering from a tank shortage.
“Then what are the people who awaken tanking traits doing now?”
“Most of them are carrying materials at construction sites.”
Did I hear that wrong?
Construction sites...? They were doing manual labor?
“What do you mean...?”
“They think it's better to carry H-beams at a relatively safe construction site than risk their lives fighting monsters in Gates. Their thinking is, ‘I'd rather be an S-rank site technician than live as a C-rank tank in a Gate.’”
That made sense...
With a tanking trait that gave you exceptional stamina and durability, you would be no different from a worker blessed by heaven at a construction site.
‘They must make a fortune, too...’
Wait.
Now that I thought about it, construction on this artificial island, Ars Magna, had been incredibly fast. Could that possibly be because...?
A chill ran down my spine.
I forced it down and continued the conversation.
“...But in the end, you're being forced to tank because of this tank shortage, Mr. Kurogane. Shouldn't the association step in and come up with a solution? Things are already a mess because of the Gate disaster. They need to secure combat power.”
Kurogane weakly shook his head.
“There is no helping it. In Japan, tanking is practically synonymous with being hated. You have to get cursed at and take hits for others, and if you make even a small mistake, your party members point fingers at you. It's too much to ask the Satori Generation after the bubble economy to make that kind of self-sacrifice.”
“Isn't there a Tankers' Association here?”
“What is that?”
Well, I roughly understood the situation.
This was only Kurogane Kaito's opinion, but hearing it still gave me a headache.
“What a mess.”
“Haha... Things have gotten a little ridiculous.”
Kurogane laughed bitterly at the state of Japan.
“Well, I think I understand the situation, so I'll make you a pet that will help with tanking. Still, it's best if you work in your proper position. To begin with, Mr. Kurogane, you don't seem to take care of yourself. Keep this up without tanking traits and you'll go down in no time.”
As though she agreed with me, Kamishiro, who stood beside Kurogane, nodded.
“Director Yoo Hyun is right. Team Leader Kurogane needs to be more careful with himself.”
“Ahaha...”
Kurogane looked embarrassed.
“Ms. Kamishiro? I'll do a pet consultation for you too.”
“What? Me too? Is that all right?”
“It's convenient for everyone. We can get data from it too, so it isn't bad for us.”
At my words, Kamishiro Aoi straightened up with a faintly expectant expression.
“Then I look forward to working with you.”
I nodded and checked her Customer Window.
[ Name 》 Kamishiro Aoi ]
[ Species 》 Human ]
[ Awakened Rank 》 A Rank ]
[ Position 》 Flanking Warrior (Unsuitable) ]
[ Combat Tendency 》 Prefers to move out of sight and target the opponent's openings. Prefers to leave the formation and act alone. ]
[ Areas for Improvement 》 Drawing unnecessary aggro. She is not making use of her ability to erase her presence or her high agility at all. Her durability is extremely low, so she appears to need a change in position. ]
What was up with this woman's Customer Window?
She had been scolding Kurogane, but she was hardly in a position to talk.
After continuing the consultation for a while, I laced my fingers together in front of my face and spoke solemnly.
“Ms. Kamishiro... You weren't originally a warrior, were you?”
She flinched.
Kamishiro looked startled by my words.
“Huh...? Did I tell you that? Don't tell me you deduced this too!? Mind reading!? Are you an esper!?”
Kamishiro Aoi made a huge fuss. Kurogane, who had quietly watched the consultation beside her, muttered, “As expected,” in quiet admiration.
‘...She looks like an assassin at a glance, yet she chose a warrior position to ease the tank's burden...’
Looking at her, I voiced my suspicion.
“...Um, do you perhaps have someone you like, but they're so oblivious that they don't realize it even when you show them how you feel, so you've been suffering alone?”
“Gasp...!! How did you know that!?”
“Yes... That was just a feeling.”
I wasn't especially perceptive, but when I saw a Customer Window like that, I couldn't help but have an absurdly reasonable suspicion.
Anyway, after that one comment, Kamishiro became as excited as a high school girl who had found an amazingly accurate fortune teller. Once the consultation ended, she said with satisfaction,
“Wow... You're incredible! Are you really a Magic Beast Alchemist!? I think you could switch careers and do this instead...!!”
“I like making magical beasts. Anyway, your custom pets will be ready in a week. Come pick them up then.”
“That quickly!?”
“Um... As far as I know, magical beasts take weeks to cultivate...?”
As the two stared in shock, Researcher A Asagiri explained.
“Kaito, I told you! He's the person who created the Buffering Array! High-speed Cultivation is nothing to him!”
“...Sorry, I'm not familiar with this, so I don't really know what that is...”
“Ah, right... Anyway, just know that it's something amazing! You'll be thanking me like crazy later, seriously!”
“Sure, sure. Got it.”
After finishing their custom pet consultations, the two said goodbye and left.
They said they were heading straight into a Gate now.
Asagiri and I watched their retreating backs and muttered,
“They really must be busy, given the situation.”
“I guess so...”
Oh, and the reason I had been able to consult with those Japanese people so fluently was because Awakened received adjustments related to language and writing.
You could call it one of the effects of the status window.
Being able to communicate with foreigners like this was actually more of a side effect. The prevailing theory in the industry was that its real purpose was to interpret traces of civilizations found inside Gates.
After all, Awakened in production and research fields were better at this ability than combat-type Awakened.
Once the two disappeared into the distance, Researcher A Asagiri hesitantly approached me.
“Um... Director, thank you...! I didn't expect you to give them such a proper consultation... And it's the first time I've ever seen Kaito that flustered!! Did you really read his mind?”
“It was nothing. More importantly, that guy is important to you, right?”
“Yes, he's practically my older brother!”
“Then that's enough.”
Asagiri hadn't been here long, but was one of the institute's people now. I had to look after them.
Thanks to this, I thought I could get some interesting data on what effect my custom pets might have on people forced into unsuitable positions.
* * *
The two traveled toward the S-rank Gate that had appeared in Saitama Prefecture.
An emergency summons had been issued to the Gate Response Team.
While riding in a taxi, Kurogane thought of Yoo Hyun.
His eyes seemed to see through a person's essence, and he had insight that looked straight through Kurogane's circumstances despite Kurogane never mentioning them during the consultation.
Kurogane had never met anyone like him.
“...It felt like I'd been bewitched by a fox.”
“Right... I feel like Director Yoo Hyun would be good at relationship counseling too.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Haah... It's nothing.”
Soon, the two arrived in front of the Gate in southern Saitama Prefecture.
Entry was restricted within a hundred-meter radius of the S-rank Gate, and an emergency response headquarters had been set up inside the perimeter.
When the two pulled aside the tent flap and entered the headquarters, dozens of Hunters had already filled the room.
“Everyone who needs to be here has arrived. We'll begin the briefing.”
A middle-aged man in a suit explained the S-rank Gate in Saitama Prefecture.
He went over the Gate's size, its measured mana levels, the monsters confirmed to have appeared so far, and more.
“And... this Gate has been confirmed as a Double Gate.”
The Hunters began murmuring at the man's words.
“...It's really a Double Gate? At a time like this?”
“Yes. It's the worst possible outcome.”
A Double Gate was a Gate that contained another Gate instead of a boss.
And the Gate within the Gate usually contained even stronger monsters.
That meant a Double Gate was more dangerous than an ordinary Gate of the same rank.
The middle-aged man conducting the briefing declared in a grave voice,
“From this moment on, the S-rank Gate in Saitama Prefecture will be raised to S+ rank.”
[ Breaking News ] S-rank Gate in southern Saitama, Japan, confirmed as a “Double Gate”... Threat level raised to “S+”
[ News ] Japan faces its worst crisis... Global S-rank Hunters urgently requested to contain “S+ Double Gate”
[ Issue ] “Tokyo Is in Danger”... If Saitama's S+ Gate breaks, half of the Japanese archipelago could be wiped out
[ Global Markets ] “Saitama S+ Shock”... Tokyo stock market crashes, Nikkei Index triggers sidecar
* * *
For several days, the A-rank Hunters of the Gate Response Team entered the S-rank Gate to hunt its ordinary monsters...
But there were far too few tanks to draw aggro.
“Kuwoooooo-!!!!”
Boooom-!!!!!!!
An S-rank monster specialized in breaking formations slammed its arm down with all its strength. The ground flipped over and shattered, while the powerful shockwave sent stealth ninjas flying in every direction.
“Kraaaagh-!!!”
“Aaaagh-!!”
The Gate Response Team, formed to contain an S-rank Gate with A-rank Hunters, was achieving no results at all.
Footnotes:
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