WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 44: Priest Amon
──────
It was a strange feeling.
[ Open your body... accept... Their breath.... ]
[ Open... Open... Open... Open.... ]
As it chanted an incomprehensible spell, I really did feel as though my body were opening.
It was indescribable.
A strange feeling, as if something that should never be revealed was about to be exposed.
[ The sub-trait ‘Evolution Lord’s Mental Defense System’ has been activated. ]
Still, something about the situation soon felt off.
That thing hadn’t touched me at all.
If our positions had been reversed, I would’ve subdued it before bothering with any spells.
I would’ve tied it down, opened its head, and touched its brain.
That would’ve been more efficient.
Yet it hadn’t laid a finger on me.
It had only tried to break my mind with an organ recital.
So before its spell could open my body, I opened it myself.
Physically.
Craaack-
The arm I raised split open, but it didn’t stop there.
Craaaack-
My arm continued to tear apart, opening past my shoulder and across my chest. Blood began pouring out in great streams, in time with my heartbeat.
Gush- Gush-
The spilling blood took shape as though it were alive, writhing before assuming the form of a snake.
[ Model Name 》 Ouroboros Core ]
[ Mana Core Rank 》 A+ ]
[ Lifespan 》 ?? years ]
[ Traits 》 Essence Devourer (S+), Ring of Circulation (A+), Fusion Parasite (A+), Molting (A+), Free Transformation (A), Dormancy (B+), Hunger (B) ]
The creature that emerged after splitting open half my body hissed, apparently uncomfortable with being exposed to the outside world.
I pressed my dangling left half down with my right arm to keep my balance.
[ ....... ]
My grotesque appearance seemed to startle it into silence.
Even the fog approaching me had stopped.
I told it the truth about this place.
“This isn’t reality, is it? It’s some kind of mental space.”
[ ...Remarkable... You realized it... Then that form... is using... this space’s... nature.... ]
“No? I can open myself up like this in reality too...?”
[ ....... ]
There were several reasons I knew this space wasn’t real, but the biggest was that the pouch holding Haengbok was empty.
A reality without panting couldn’t possibly be real.
I’d only realized it recently, but if I didn’t squeeze Haengbok, I was overcome by the fear that my traits might devour my sense of self.
It was enough to make me wonder whether the God of Jelly Dogs had left some sort of restraint on me.
Ever since I implanted the Ouroboros Core model into my body through my blood vessels, my obsession with monster essence had gotten worse too.
“You separated me from Haengbok, my limiter....”
Since this was a virtual space anyway, I guess I wouldn’t have to hold back anymore...
Crack- Crack-
My body, now fully aware that this was a virtual space, gradually began to transform under the influence of my mind.
Bubble, bubble-
Faces of all kinds of monsters struggled to burst through the flesh of my swelling body, only to be swallowed by the multiplying mass and mixed together.
Screeeech-!!
Kyaaaah-!!!
My body grew as though it might swallow the entire space. Reptilian scales and avian feathers sprouted from it, turning it into a chaotic mixture of every living creature in existence.
[ ......This is.... ]
The intelligent monster that had been performing its organ recital staggered back...
Yoo Hyun had become a beast of chaos with only a human upper body attached to its head. Covering his face with both hands, he looked down through the gaps between his fingers at the monster that had brought him into this space.
“Ah... Aah...!! I can’t hold it back anymore...!!”
At last, even his upper body was buried beneath flesh, and a cry that no longer came from human vocal cords filled the space.
[ Give me your essence...!!! ]
Whooooom-!!!
A massive pair of arms, formed from twisted, interwoven bones and flesh, surged toward it.
The creature hurriedly pressed its palms together and spoke a word of command.
[ ...Return. ]
A Gate of bone and flesh, the same one Yoo Hyun had seen before, appeared behind him. Black fog stretched out from within like tentacles, wrapping around his body and dragging him toward the doorway.
Bam-! Bam-!!!
But scythe-like arms resembling a mantis’s burst from Yoo Hyun’s body and dug into the ground, anchoring him in place. All sorts of tissues sprang from the flesh and grasped everything around them as he desperately fought against being sucked through the door.
[ Gwaaaah!!! Give it to me...!! Your essence!!!!! ]
The intelligent monster formed a hand seal and spoke another word of command toward the roaring Yoo Hyun.
[ Flicker ]
Boom-!!!
Yoo Hyun’s vision flickered for an instant, and a massive hole opened in his body. The impact tore him from the ground and sucked him through the doorway.
[ Stitch ]
The monster then joined flesh to the Gate, completely sealing the passage.
It turned away from the sealed door and muttered.
[ ...A mind powerful enough... to shake... the space of consciousness.... ]
Just as it was about to leave the mental space...
Bam-!!
[ ......! ]
Bam-!! Baaam-!!!
Booooom-!!!
The seal of bone and flesh exploded. Dozens of mutated arms stretched from the darkness beyond the Gate and gripped the frame tightly.
At the center of the darkness, a lump of flesh blossomed like a flower bud. More flesh bloomed and grew until it reached right before the intelligent monster’s nose.
Craaack-
The flesh opened, and Yoo Hyun’s skinless face emerged to whisper quietly into its ear.
[ I’ll take you apart and claim your essence, so wait for me. ]
Yoo Hyun gave the monster one last wide grin before the black fog seized him and dragged him completely into the Gate.
Thud-
The monster collapsed where it stood, as though it had greatly exhausted its psychic strength.
[ Hah... Hah.... ]
* * *
Lick, lick-
The sensation tickling my cheek slowly brought me back to my senses.
The first thing I heard was Haengbok, the spotted Jellykko, panting.
“Pant, pant....”
“Let me... squeeze you....”
Maybe the mental space had left me exhausted, but I couldn’t open my eyes.
Perhaps because I’d caused such a mess even in a mental space, the sensations in my body felt dull too.
The only thought in my head was that I needed to squeeze Haengbok immediately and recover mentally.
I somehow stretched out my arm, and something guided it toward something soft and springy.
Without a second thought, I squeezed it.
Squish- Squish-
“Pant, pant....”
“Mmph....”
The soft sensation calmed my mind.
But as my consciousness gradually cleared, I began to wonder whether what I was squeezing was really Haengbok.
It felt completely different from the Jelly Dog I squeezed every day.
No, more importantly... it was way too big. Had Haengbok bulked up while I was unconscious...?
“...This is Haengbok, right?”
“Pant, pant....”
“Pant... pant....”
Why were there two sets of panting...?
A chill ran down my spine. I shifted around, trying to wake up as much as possible. The moment my body, which felt as though it were sleep-paralyzed, regained control, I quickly pulled back my arm.
Then I snapped my eyes open and sat upright.
Baek Seola stood in front of me with her back turned, fixing her clothes.
“Hunter Baek Seola, what was that just now...?”
“Ah, i-it was nothing...!!”
What was that...? What happened?
* * *
Yeon Harim, who had gone out to scout, returned.
“What’s wrong with you two? Did something happen?”
Baek Seola’s face turned red as she quickly shook her head.
“......I-It was nothing at all, I assure you...!”
“...Did you always talk like that?”
* * *
The two of them told me what had happened while I was unconscious.
Apparently, I lost consciousness the moment we crossed through the Gate, so they found a place that looked safe and laid me down.
Baek Seola guarded me while Yeon Harim scouted the area for efficiency’s sake.
‘Good thing no monsters attacked while I was out.’
After getting a handle on the situation, I explained what I had experienced.
Yeon Harim’s expression turned grave after hearing me out.
“Kidnapped into a mental space... That thing must be behind this incident.”
I nodded.
“I think so too. It seemed to be trying to corrupt me through some method... The Japanese Hunters may be in a similar situation.”
It seemed that creature had been trying to turn me into something like itself. Thinking back on what it said, it even felt as though it had been scouting for talent.
If that was the case, the S-rank Hunters would also be valuable prizes in its eyes.
“About that, while looking around, I found a suspicious-looking building. It looked like a temple made of bone and flesh, and it seemed like the blood-red fog was flowing out from there. Don’t you think the Japanese Hunters might be held there?”
That was good news.
They had already found the core of the barrier?
“And this is a stone tablet I found near it. It was glowing like it was advertising something.”
[ The Ninety-Ninth Priest Amon of the Rotting Fog descends and stitches together bone and flesh...... ]
A long message glowed in purple letters, but only one word caught my attention.
“So that thing’s name is Amon?”
“Pant, pant....”
Baek Seola tilted her head as she examined the tablet.
“By the way, what is this tablet?”
If a tablet like this had meaning, then it was probably...
“Maybe it’s another Prophecy or something similar.”
It seemed those things had to perform some kind of ritual to exert their power in this world.
I remembered how the God of Jelly Dogs had mentioned causality when it gave me an EX-rank ability.
Maybe transcendent beings faced all sorts of restrictions when intervening in this world.
It was only a guess.
I got to my feet.
“Our goal ultimately comes down to one thing. We search the building that serves as the barrier’s central axis. If the Japanese Hunters are being held there, we rescue them and destroy the building.”
“Pant, pant....”
There was one problem, though.
Hunter Yeon Harim spoke with a troubled expression.
“There’s a problem... Monsters have suddenly begun gathering around the temple, our target. They were spread out evenly before, but now it feels as though they’re guarding something. And the monsters here... They’re on a completely different level from the ones outside. I don’t think Hunter Baek Seola and I can break through them alone.”
...Did I scare Amon too badly?
Just as I briefly regretted it...
A familiar engine sound came from outside.
Vroooom-!
Vroooom-!!
Then came the sounds of battle.
Baaang-!!
Boooom-!!!!
Yeon Harim, Baek Seola, and I looked at one another, then headed toward the explosions.
There, ten Riders in all kinds of transformed forms were fighting the monsters.
Flames, lightning, gales, and other elements raged across the battlefield.
Every one of them possessed combat power comparable to an S-rank Hunter, and their overwhelming firepower tore a massive opening through the horde of monsters.
Standing atop a monster corpse, one Rider pointed a finger at the sky and spoke.
“Dr. Yoo Hyun once said... The sun is great because it makes even dust shine.”
Yeon Harim looked at me and asked.
“Did you say that?”
I shook my head hard.
What the hell was that supposed to mean...?
Either way, thanks to them, an opening had appeared.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading as always.
It’s getting a liiittle longer, but we’ll soon return to Jellykko squish-squish magical beast crafting!
+ Soon...! I’ll finish it soon...!! Please understand!!!
++ I really will finish it soon...!!!! I can’t wrap it up abruptly because I’ve already set so much up...!! I’m really sorry!!!!!! This author will finish it as quickly as possible... preferably within two chapters!!!!!!!!!
+++ I had no choice with the Riders at the end because I foreshadowed them entering the Gate in the previous chapter... Please understand the circumstances of this lowly and pitiful author... I’ll only pay off the things I’ve already set up T_T I apologize for the dragged-out pacing lately...
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
