WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 56: Secret Friend
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I slowly swept my eyes across the silent hall and weighed my options.
‘Hmm... No suitable target.’
Everyone I looked at flinched like they had something to hide, but...
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a third target.
There were three conditions that had to be met for me to snipe someone.
First, they had to be someone who had shared information at the Symposium. Pointing out someone who hadn't said anything would be extremely suspicious.
Second, their Customer Window needed to have clear information I could use to shake them up and identify them. There needed to be something connected to the information they shared so I could build a plausible scenario.
Third, they needed to be someone who had appeared in articles about Anomalous Gates. Since Celestia was beside me, I couldn't suddenly know someone's personal details out of nowhere. The more famous they were and the more publicly known their history was, the better I could flesh out the scenario.
Anyway, all three basic conditions had to be met, so I couldn't find a suitable target...
And the Symposium's time limit ran out.
00 : 00 : 00
When the timer in the center reached zero, the host broke the tense silence.
“Um... Well... The 10th Symposium ends here... I'll show you the settlement results, so please speak up if you have any objections.”
Once the host finished speaking, a system window appeared.
[ Please enter a name. ]
[ Black ]
After I registered my name, the settlement rankings appeared in order from first place.
......
......
[ Brave Little Pleb ] : 1250 coins
[ Black ] : 1200 coins
[ Boob Monster ] : 750 coins
[ Hoping for a Jelly Cat Release ] 400 coins
My name was somewhere around the middle, slightly above it.
‘That was better than I expected.’
I hadn't revealed my full identity, and the information wasn't particularly useful at the moment, so I hadn't received many coins. Still, it wasn't a bad result.
‘Now I can find out what happens when I gain causality...!’
What would happen? Would I have more Spiritual Energy orbs waiting when I returned? Or some other kind of energy?
Maybe more functions of my ability would unlock.
While I was thinking that, people began slipping away one or two at a time as if fleeing. Beside me, Celestia spoke with shining eyes.
“Black... Your deduction skills are incredible. Did you really figure it out from the information they gave?”
I gave a vague answer.
“I got lucky... I thought they seemed like people I'd seen in Anomalous Gate articles, so I made a rough guess. It happened to be right.”
It was a flimsy lie, but Celestia nodded. She didn't seem to consider the possibility that I could ignore the restrictions of this mental space and view other people's information.
“Ah, I see? Well, Black encountered an Anomalous Gate in Japan, too. You must have looked into it out of interest, and it happened to match. But what did you mean about the organ the second man had?”
Ah, that had appeared in his Customer Window. I couldn't tell her that, so I made something up again.
“His breathing and presence felt unusual for a human, I suppose? Even though he was an Avatar, there was a sense of something alien that he couldn't hide. Anyway, he seemed suspicious, so I took a shot. It looks like I was right.”
I had seen an article saying he was the sole survivor of the first expedition into the Anomalous Gate in the North Sea off Britain.
Of course, I had only heard about Merfolk Transformation here for the first time. But there was something unusual in his Customer Window, so I could infer what had happened in the North Sea Anomalous Gate.
[ Species 》 Being of the Deep ]
‘...He wasn't even human to begin with.’
What exactly was that species? Weren't there only Order-aligned subordinates here? Wasn't having his humanity damaged something Chaos-aligned, like Amon?
Anyway, both people I sniped were people whose names had appeared in articles.
Even if I couldn't explain my deduction process to Celestia, I tried to make it seem like I had inferred it from the carelessly revealed information and their known history in the news.
As a result...
“I see... So that is something you can know as a Magic Beast Alchemist. I want you even more now. Did you know? There's a high chance that the first man recently joined our church.”
“...Really?”
Had I just team-killed someone? Well, the Gate Church wasn't my team...
That was awkward.
But Celestia shook her head.
“It’s fine. He belongs to Erne... No, another faction. As Black said, his mental state isn't sound, and he causes problems, so he isn't an important asset anyway.”
He really was a serious drug addict. His weak mind had literally made him smash in an ally's skull.
Still, it was funny to hear the Gate Church talking about someone's mental state...
‘More importantly, it sounds like the Gate Church has several factions internally.’
After chatting for a while, we returned to the plaza.
Once we reached somewhere out of sight, Celestia spoke first.
“So, what did you think of seeing the hidden side of the world? You understand how important it is to belong to a faction now, right?”
Even the benefits offered by this mental space, whose functions I hadn't fully used yet, were already this impressive.
The benefits of belonging to a faction would be impossible to measure in money.
“I admit it.”
When I nodded, her face brightened.
“Then... Please join our faction...!”
I shook my head.
“But I don't want to belong to a faction. Being affiliated with anywhere doesn't suit me in the first place. And... I still don't know what kind of place the Gate Church is. From what I've seen, the Transcendents are invaders. Even so, is the Gate Church on humanity's side?”
Celestia remained silent for a while before quietly speaking.
“...We're on humanity's side. ...Soon, the world will be ruled by Transcendents who are no different from gods. Wouldn't it be better to support a force that is at least somewhat friendly toward humanity?”
Honestly... If the God of Jelly Dogs hadn't come to me, I probably would've joined the force of a Transcendent friendly to humanity, like Celestia had.
Even in Amon's case, the invasion had been overwhelming and irresistible enough that it took someone with the power of Cheon Rin, the Continental Sword Princess, to barely contain it.
An ordinary Awakened would have no other choice. They might even welcome an opportunity like this.
But I had options.
My EX-rank trait worked even in a space created by the Transcendents.
That ability gave me confidence that I could reach them too.
That was why I refused to join the Gate Church's faction.
“You're right, but the world is changing too quickly. I think joining somewhere before understanding everything would be jumping the gun. Once you join a faction, it won't be easy to leave again, right?”
“Hmm... You are cautious. But I don't want to let you go either. Then how about this?”
She offered me a suggestion.
“...You want us to be secret friends?”
“Yes, secret friends! Not as part of a faction. Let's become very close personally, like real friends!”
...Was it just my imagination, or did Yeon Harim and Baek Seola come to mind?
More than that, I'd expected a fanatical believer from a Saintess. This sounded more like a proposal from someone pursuing personal gain rather than the church's interests.
‘Is she more worldly than I thought?’
I looked through her Customer Window again.
[ Name 》 Celestia Alstein ]
[ Species 》 Human ]
[ Awakened Rank 》 S-rank ]
[ Position 》 Support Mage ]
[ Combat Inclination 》 Prefers to maintain wide-area support spells from the center of allies. Prefers large-scale group battles. ]
[ Areas for Improvement 》 Lacks the combat techniques needed to make use of her high abilities, making her solo combat ability very low. Securing at least minimal mobility is the top priority. ]
‘Hmm, a pure buffer...’
Put less kindly, she was a legendary boosted e-girl support.
Korean buffers dealt damage too, tanked when necessary, and were close to all-rounders. Many of them were even good at cooking. That was because Korean supporters were expected to do more than simply cast support magic.
But things were a little different overseas.
Overseas, there was more of a feeling that you only needed to do your own role well.
Of course, Korea was the unusual one, not overseas.
Anyway... Being kkanbu with an S-rank Awakened and Gate Church executive wasn't such a bad option.
We would definitely both have something to gain.
“Sure. Why not? Let's be kkanbu.”
“R-really...? Hyun, we're friends now, so I'll speak casually, okay?”
“...”
And so, I became secret friends with Celestia, the Saintess of the Gate Church.
As she operated her device, she said, “Then shall we head out soon? You can use the device to leave too. By the way, logging out takes about ten seconds, so don't move too much during that time. It'll interrupt the channeling.”
“Logging out is a channeling skill...?”
It wasn't even some game's Recall skill. This was ridiculous.
“It would be a problem if you accidentally logged out because of a mistake. Ah, and don't worry too much. If the censer outside stops working or your real body is disturbed, you'll be forcibly logged out.”
Was that so...? Anyway, I should only enter this space somewhere safe.
“See you outside!”
With that, she left first...
I was about to log out too when another option on the device caught my eye.
‘Hmm...? There's an internet forum here too?’
Despite this mental space's anonymity, it unexpectedly had content that didn't require meeting anyone face-to-face.
【 Masquerade Free Board 】
- [ Fuck, something legendary happened at the Symposium lolololol. Two guys got sniped lolololol ]
- [ What do you mean sniped? How do you snipe someone here? ]
- [ Not sure, but it looked like two guys revealed information and got their identities exposed lol ]
- [ From their reactions, they were genuinely panicking. When Black was about to say their names, they started sweating like crazy ]
- [ Ah, I should've gone to this Symposium. Missed an insanely fun moment lol what a shame ]
- [ If you were there, you wouldn't have even been able to breathe. The atmosphere was seriously no joke ]
- [ This makes no sense. They didn't reveal that much information, so how did Black know? ]
- [ Maybe Black planted a spy in that faction...? They were people who could be identified, though. Listening to Black's reasoning made me think, oh, maybe? More than that, it felt like Black already knew their identities and was working backward, so the psychological pressure on those being sniped must have been insane ]
- [ Really? I think almost half of it was just bluffing. Honestly, if they had kept denying it to the end, Black wouldn't have known ]
- [ Could you do that? If someone exposed your entire internet history and was about to say your name at the end, could you refuse to admit it? I'd be crying and giving them my bank account and password too ]
- [ I got so scared our eyes would meet that I pissed myself a little, fuck. What the fuck is that guy? ]
I had definitely become a legendary troublemaker.
For a while, everyone would be careful about revealing information at the Symposium. They would constantly wonder how closely it was connected to their real identities.
After checking the Free Board, I pressed the logout button.
10... 9... 8...
Then a man appeared from somewhere.
“Found you, you bastard...!! Did you think you could do something like that and leave?!”
It was my second target, the man who had shared information about the North Sea merfolk at the Symposium.
“Trying to log out? Not a chance!!!”
He fired an invisible force at me.
Tingle...
The back of my head tingled.
“How is it? Regretting it now? Feel a fragment of my power that transcends humanity...!!!”
It was definitely on a different level from the force Celestia had fired.
Celestia's force had been so faint that I needed to make an effort to receive it with all my strength. This man's full power, on the other hand? It made the back of my head tingle.
‘Ah... That feels nice...’
6... 5...
But my logout channeling wasn't interrupted.
I spoke to the idiot wasting his effort.
“Stop. No matter how much you...”
“It’s too late to beg for forgiveness!!! I can't let someone who has noticed my identity live!! I'll completely destroy your mind...!!! Aaaahhhhh!!!!!”
No matter what I said, he only kept talking. He pushed his mental power to its limit.
As the man drew out more power, the space around us began to ripple as though it was being affected by his mind.
“You're holding out well!! But how long can an ordinary human mind endure...?!”
He approached me. It looked like he intended to interrupt my channeling even if he had to shove me.
I looked at him with a calm gaze.
“...I was just going to leave.”
By chance, Celestia and I had come to an empty place, and no one was around.
I looked at the man continuously pouring killing intent at me and briefly turned off the “Air Haengbok” switch.
My suppressed mind instantly began to swell in size...
Rumble...!
The space warped.
Between the momentary distortions of the world, my essence flashed into view.
The man approaching me froze.
His pupils contracted as though he had seen something.
“...Huh? W-wait...!!”
Pshh!
“Guh...!”
2... 1...
As the man collapsed, spraying blood from behind his mask, my mind returned to reality.
* * *
[ Breaking News ] ‘North Sea Anomalous Gate’ survivor found in the heart of London in a ‘Merfolk’ state... Shock and horror
[ Special Report ] The tragedy of a safe return... ‘North Sea survivor’ found transformed into a bizarre merfolk form in their room
[ Society ] Merfolk appears in city center, loses reason and thought... “Only repeats incomprehensible cries instead of speaking”
[ Exclusive ] “We offer living people to the merfolk”... Traces of a strange human sacrifice ritual discovered at an abandoned factory in the city?
Author's Note
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