I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over - Chapter 55

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈

Chapter 55: Sniping

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...No matter where I looked, I could see the Customer Windows of Awakened people.

The man with the thick hair over there, the flamboyantly dressed woman, even the dignified-looking old man, whenever I focused on them to use my ability, their Customer Windows appeared without fail.

‘Could my trait really work even in a mental space created by Transcendents?’

Could it really be this flimsy...?

Just in case, I asked Celestia.

“I have a question. Is anonymity absolute here? There could be traits that let people spy on others.”

“Hehe, you don't need to worry about your identity being exposed. Anonymity is Masquerade's greatest advantage and foundation. Not only can the traits of us mortals not see through others here, even the Transcendents' apostles cannot discern someone's identity in this space.”

“...”

The God of Jelly Dogs, the being that had given me power, suddenly seemed even more incredible.

To casually hand over this much power after running into someone on a walk...

“Black, you should be getting used to this place by now. Shall we look around somewhere else?”

“Somewhere else? There are other places besides this plaza?”

“Of course. This mental space is far larger than you think. And didn't I say I'd show you the hidden side of this world? Take my hand. We'll move together.”

Celestia took out her smartphone and operated it. A door appeared.

I followed her through it, and another space opened before us...

Was it best described as an ancient stone structure with a massive dome?

A sizeable crowd sat in a circle along tiered seats facing the center. A holographic timer floated in the middle, steadily counting down.

The whole place felt like a massive debate hall.

I scanned the Customer Windows of the people around us and asked,

“What happens here?”

“This is the liveliest place for exchanging information. It only opens at this time once a week. Of course, there's an admission fee to participate.”

“An admission fee? What, do we make a bank transfer or something?”

She gave a small laugh.

“Puhuhu... What a joke. Causality is the only currency used here. Naturally, you have to pay causality for an admission ticket too.”

As she spoke, she operated her smartphone and summoned two silver coins.

“Take one. This is the admission fee. I'll pay for you this time.”

I nodded, accepted the coin, and sat down beside her.

“It'll start soon. When the system window appears, throw the coin into it.”

Just as she said, the timer in the center soon reached zero. At the same time, a system message appeared before me, demanding 100 coins.

I tossed the coin through the system window.

It vanished as if it had been sucked inside.

[ Payment confirmed. ]

A moment later, the lights gradually dimmed, like a movie theater beginning a screening, and the mood of the hall changed.

“Thank you for waiting, ladies and gentlemen...!! Welcome to the 10th Symposium...!!!”

Ooooh!!!

Waaaaah!!!

A masked man had appeared in the center and begun hosting the event, while cheers erupted around us.

The 10th Symposium? This had been going on more than I expected.

How long had it even been since Anomalous Gates began appearing...? Assuming it was held weekly, the Symposium had started nearly three months ago.

I asked Celestia, doubt in my voice.

“...Tia, didn't you say the Transcendents... the gods only began actively moving recently? But a place and system like this already exist...”

“They simply brought over a system that already existed. This place only started becoming active around the sixth session, so it's only been properly operating for about a month. Before that, there were too few subordinates like us.”

A month...

That was understandable.

The host continued explaining the Symposium's rules.

“Since some of you may be here for the first time today, let me explain the rules.”

In summary, this was what the host said.

1. Anyone who wished to provide information had to reserve a speaking slot in advance through the system window in their field of vision.

2. Lying here could result in penalties, and lies would always be exposed.

3. Once the Symposium ended, the coins paid as admission fees would be distributed in varying amounts according to the quality of the information provided.

4. Each person could provide up to three pieces of information.

And so on...

For a place that charged admission, it certainly had unusual rules.

“So it's a kind of information auction...”

“That's right. Information is more valuable when the people gathered here don't already know it. Of course, don't offer bizarre, useless facts just because nobody knows them. If too many people object, it won't be recognized as information. If you keep doing it, you'll be blacklisted.”

The host was discussing that exact point at the moment.

“But if you get blacklisted, can't you just change your appearance again?”

“Actually, you can't change avatars however you like. Normally, two forms are about the most you can have. This mental space remembers what you looked like when you entered.”

...I thought there were no restrictions at all, but apparently not.

In other words, the usual setup was one main avatar and one alt avatar.

‘It would definitely be troublesome to get blacklisted for stirring things up.’

It made sense that the space had restrictions. If people could change their appearances too freely, it would become chaotic.

Then the Symposium finally began.

The first person to gain speaking rights was a man in a sheep mask, and a spotlight shone on him.

The man in the sheep mask slowly stood and opened his mouth.

His voice was strangely amplified, so I had no trouble hearing him despite the distance.

“I will reveal how to clear Area 4 of the French Anomalous Gate, Golden Land. The Golden Colossus in Area 4 begins moving when human blood is sprinkled on it. A path to the next area then appears where it had been sitting.”

“Ooh...”

“So that was the mechanism.”

The crowd murmured in admiration.

“That is all.”

Seemingly satisfied with the reaction, the man in the sheep mask took his seat.

Then the people who received speaking rights after him began talking in turn.

“I have information regarding something being pushed forward in secret within American politics...”

“The Gate that appeared in the North Sea off Britain is a Double Gate. Hunters who entered it became merfolk for some unknown reason...”

I was inwardly surprised by the quality of information they were offering.

Not only were they sharing ways to clear Anomalous Gates, but information ordinary people could not know, such as matters of politics and business.

I spoke to Celestia in surprise.

“...It seems 100 coins are worth more than I thought. Seeing them offer such high-quality information...”

“Hehe... You can barely earn that much even by offering a fairly useful artifact to a god.”

Celestia had handed over my admission fee so readily that I had assumed 100 coins were not worth much.

‘No wonder everyone's willing to share information.’

There were dozens of people gathered here. If you shared useful information once, could you earn the equivalent of dozens of useful artifacts...?

Most of the information being shared here was the sort that gradually lost value over time. Rather than sitting on it, it was better to reveal it here and gain causality.

...When it came to information warfare, not joining a Transcendent faction would put you at a huge disadvantage.

“Tia, do you have to become a subordinate of a god to operate here?”

“Well, you can come to this space as long as you have a censer, even without becoming a subordinate. But you won't have any way to gain causality, so you won't be able to come to higher-level places like this.”

Right. Causality was generally obtained through offerings...

It would be difficult to obtain causality coins if you weren't a subordinate.

‘But can I even join another faction?’

I was already a human chosen by the God of Jelly Dogs.

Though the God of Jelly Dogs seemed completely uninterested in this world.

Either way, some kind of mark might remain on my body... More than anything, I had no desire to join another faction.

Did I really need to join one?

Did I have to join a faction to make offerings?

‘...Wait. Now that I think about it, the way causality is obtained feels strangely familiar. Isn't it similar to how I obtain Second Order energy?’

Just in case, I asked Celestia how to check my causality.

“How do I check how much causality I have?”

She raised her smartphone as she answered.

“Most functions here can be used through a device.”

As she said, I took out my own device and checked the screen. Several options had appeared.

【 Enter Channel 】

【 Enter Tier 2 】

...

【 Exit 】

[ Causality Held: 2127 ]

Just as I suspected, I had causality too.

It was exactly the same number as the Spiritual Energy I currently possessed.

The amount Haengbok had processed into poop... no, Spiritual Energy orbs.

Amon had told me that offering artifacts to a Transcendent could grant Second Order energy.

But I had ultimately gained energies such as Dharma Power and Spiritual Energy through Haengbok's processing ability. Put another way, that was no different from melting down the causality contained within artifacts and processing it.

Whatever the case, I now had one less reason to join another faction.

Still, one question arose from this.

...If I spent this causality, would that much Spiritual Energy disappear from the Spiritual Energy orbs in reality?

‘...Then what happens if I gain causality here?’

I was dying to know.

There were still a few minutes left in the Symposium.

That meant I could share information too if I reserved speaking rights now.

But what information could I reveal?

Korea's Double Gate? The Second Order? Analysis information about the S-rank magical beast in Russia?

No, those were things I absolutely could not expose.

It was important not to say anything that could lead back to me, even slightly.

Revealing information here was similar to revealing your identity. Someone close to the political world would know information about it, while a Hunter clearing a particular Anomalous Gate would know information about that place and reveal it.

In other words, giving away too much information could expose who you were.

Yet I ultimately could not resist my curiosity. I pressed the speaking button, and with little time remaining, a spotlight fell on me.

Naturally, Celestia blinked and looked at me.

“...Black?”

What could I do? I had already done it.

Even if I failed, I would only gain one strike for stirring things up. I wouldn't be blacklisted.

I slowly rose to my feet and began speaking.

“The information I will reveal... is about a person.”

The crowd was not particularly enthusiastic. Information about an individual was unlikely to be very useful.

“A person?”

“Is it secret information about some famous Hunter?”

“Hmm... Let's hear it first.”

I spoke with one hand in my pocket.

For reference, this was a mind-control method to minimize my nerves by imagining myself kneading Haengbok in my pocket.

“For example, the sheep mask who spoke first. You belong to Paladin, one of France's top guilds.”

Naturally, he shook his head.

“I do not belong to Paladin.”

But I did not stop.

He was more famous than I had expected, so I knew of him too... More importantly, the Customer Window was showing information likely to provoke a reaction from him.

“You're a frontline tank. You mainly use blunt weapons, and you prefer blocking attacks with a tower shield that covers your whole body.”

“...Regrettably, that is not correct.”

But unlike before, his voice had clearly sunk.

This was about momentum. If I lost the flow, he would regain his composure.

“You mentioned the method for clearing Area 4 of Golden Land earlier. How did you discover it? As far as I know, there are no monsters in Area 4 of Golden Land. There has not even been any information that monsters have appeared in Golden Land at all.”

“Th-that is...”

As far as I knew, Golden Land was the same type of Gate as Treasure Island.

A place that gathered human desire. The difference was that it was a labyrinth-type Gate with various mechanics.

“That's true...”

“It is strange... How did they know human blood was needed...?”

“I heard a rumor that a Hunter in France accidentally killed a teammate in a Gate recently... Could it be...?”

Everyone began eagerly piecing together the situation from my sudden sniping, while the man in the sheep mask started sweating as though he felt pressured.

This was nothing more than putting pieces together.

I paid close attention to news related to Anomalous Gates, so I had enough information. I was simply combining it with the Customer Window's information and making it sound plausible.

I didn't stop.

“Golden Land, the Anomalous Gate themed around wealth and immortality, drives humans mad. As everyone knows, touching objects there is a mechanic that gradually corrupts your mind. And Sheep Mask, you are someone with very weak mental strength. With the mental strength of someone who relies on drugs just to tank, you could not have endured the Gate's curse. In the end, you smashed the skull of the mage investigating the Golden Colossus, and their blood was sprinkled over it.”

“H-how do you know that...!!”

The man in the sheep mask was badly shaken, as though he had recalled that moment.

Certain now, I continued and drove in the final nail.

“A tank from Paladin. Your name is...”

“W-wait...!! I admit that I belong to Paladin. Please stop!!”

At his desperate cry, the spectators' eyes widened.

“...My god, he got sniped perfectly.”

“Now that I think about it, it was strange.”

“To infer his identity from that little information... Was it a coincidence? Or did he plant eyes and ears within the guild?”

“Either way, that is no ordinary intelligence network...”

I stared quietly at the man in the sheep mask before nodding.

“Understood. I won't reveal your name.”

It was certainly lucky that my guess had been right, but he was mentally weak. I had thought he would react like this if I shook him up a little.

Beside me, Celestia looked up at me with flustered eyes.

“...Did you really figure out his identity with just that much information...? Or did you perhaps plant a spy in Paladin?”

Ignoring Celestia, I continued speaking.

“The next information... is about the one who mentioned Merfolk Transformation in the North Sea off Britain.”

“...Me?”

The man pointed at himself, looking flustered.

“You said the existence of the North Sea Double Gate turned Hunters into merfolk, but in truth, in order to obtain a special artifact or something equivalent to one...”

At first, he denied it like the man in the sheep mask had. But as I continued, his breathing gradually grew heavier.

“As proof, if someone examines your body, they will find an organ that does not exist in a normal human body. Your name, British Hunter, is...”

“W-wait, I'll admit it, so stop!!! Please stop!!!!”

My sniping landed once more, and only groans escaped from the crowd.

“Good grief...”

“Insane...”

I looked at the remaining time and opened my mouth.

“...You can reveal information three times here, right?”

At those words, the air in the hall sank.

I scanned the crowd for my next prey, but...

Everyone avoided my gaze.

Author's Note