WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Gate Summoner Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 16: Mined. Became the Owner.
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Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It thinks it can complete the strange dirt!
Having grasped the essence of the dokkaebi club, the Worm spoke.
It said it could complete the unfinished dokkaebi club.
Wiggle!!!
[Special Characteristics]
: It feels deep affection for you!!!
In other words, if Kang Yul wanted to complete it, he should trust the Worm completely and follow its lead.
"Sure, let's give it a try. So? What do I need to do to help, Worm?"
And so, somehow, the Dokkaebi Club Completion Project began.
Its first step was:
Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It thinks it needs to eat lots of delicious dirt!
Feeding the Worm lots of delicious dirt.
"Lots of delicious dirt... Will the dirt I bought yesterday not be enough?"
Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It thinks it needs to eat lots of delicious dirt!
: It thinks it needs to eat a whole, whole lot!
"That's way too vague... Then does it need to eat more dirt than it has eaten so far, or less?"
Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It thinks it needs to eat lots of delicious dirt!
"...More than it has eaten so far?"
Kang Yul couldn't help asking again with a dazed expression.
He had only asked to get a rough baseline, but the answer was that it needed even more than that.
He couldn't even begin to guess how much dirt he would need to feed it.
'...Buying dirt and feeding it to the Worm won't work.'
The Worm said it needed lots of delicious dirt.
So dirt that only qualified as delicious when mixed with other soil, like the weathered soil making up the mine walls, would not help much.
Making the ideal mixture by hand would take too much time and money to be efficient.
'But coal is easy to mine, and it counts as delicious dirt.'
For now, the most realistic choice was feeding it coal, which qualified as delicious dirt even without any preparation.
All mining coal required was a little money to install supports and Kang Yul's labor.
Of course, it wasn't a perfect plan.
'I'll spend less money by making up for it with labor, but it'll take that much longer.'
Even if he cut into his sleeping time and focused only on mining, it would take at least two weeks, perhaps over a month.
The more he overworked himself, the sooner his stamina would run out, so it could take even longer.
And if he also set aside coal to deliver to the workshop, the time required would grow further...
'...Wait a second. Is the dokkaebi club worth investing that much time into?'
Kang Yul didn't even know its detailed capabilities, let alone what kind of help it could offer.
Was spending at least a month on such an item really the right choice?
'I don't know anything about dokkaebi, so how would I know?'
So, much as he hated the idea, he decided to contact someone who would know and ask.
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[Perv Blacksmith]
───────────
▶ [Blacksmith, what is the dokkaebi club you gave me as a gift used for?]
▷ [Ah, esteemed one! Did you get home safely? I'm currently making a new item with your energy... (omitted)... Anyway, you were asking about the dokkaebi club?]
[It's a mystic artifact whose effects vary somewhat depending on the user, so it's difficult to explain.]
[However, it usually gains the ability its user needs most, so please make good use of it!]
───────────
"Ugh... Just looking at that drains me."
Unable to take any more, Kang Yul sent a final reply thanking the Blacksmith for the information and put away his phone.
His phone buzzed a few more times afterward with a Bzzzt, but he chose to ignore it.
In any case.
'It gains the ability its user needs most?'
Kang Yul considered it coolly.
If it took a month to gain the ability I needed most, would investing a month be a loss or a gain?
'A gain. An overwhelming gain.'
There was no need to think long about it.
Even if he spent a month trying to fix just one weakness that came to mind, success wasn't guaranteed. Yet he could obtain a mystic artifact with such an ability.
It was practically the difference between having and not having a five-star character's signature weapon in a game.
In that case, investing around a month wasn't a waste at all.
Wiggle?
[Special Characteristics]
: It feels deep affection for you?
"Ah, sorry, Worm. I thought for too long, didn't I? I'm done now, so let's go mining."
His thoughts were organized enough, and his motivation was certain.
Kang Yul decided it was time to get back to what he did best.
Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It thinks it needs to eat lots of delicious dirt!
: It thinks it needs to eat a whole, whole lot!
"Right, I'll feed you until you burst. I'll go into seclusion... no, closed-door mining, and mine like crazy for a month."
Wiggle!!!
[Special Characteristics]
: It feels deep affection for you!!!
#####
Two weeks had already passed since Kang Yul began his closed-door mining.
Rrrrrrrr!
Rrrrrrrr!
Rrrrrrrr!
At first, he had begun his closed-door mining with the sole determination to complete the dokkaebi club.
But after a few days, that thought had been pushed aside.
It wasn't as though he was being chased by anything, nor was his life on the line.
At some point, he began enjoying mining itself rather than doing it to reach his goal.
Thanks to that, he immersed himself in mining without noticing the passage of time.
Rrrrrrrr!
Rrrrrrrr!
Rrrrrrrr!
Of course, anyone watching Kang Yul would have one question.
"Doesn't mining all day while eating nothing but dirt get boring?"
And Kang Yul's answer would be, "Of course it does."
Rrrrrrrr!
Rrrrrrrr!
Rrrrrrrr!
It was an obvious answer. Kang Yul was human too.
When people repeat the same thing every day, they're bound to grow tired of it eventually.
In the end, they seek new stimulation and other forms of entertainment.
Rrrrrrrr!
Rrrrrrrr!
Rrrrrrrr!
But Kang Yul didn't give up. The reason was simple.
Despite mining nonstop for two weeks, he hadn't had time to get bored.
If anything, every day felt fresh and thrilling.
After all, this was the gate Kang Yul had summoned, [Primordial Land - Terra].
The status message, "Mineral Resources: Deposit Cannot Be Measured," was always enough to fill Kang Yul with anticipation.
Of course, after nothing appeared for two weeks, even Kang Yul had cried, "Please, just give me something already!"
Fortunately, just as his resolve was about to break,
a mineral he had never seen before appeared before him like a savior.
Rrrrrrrr!
Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It says it can smell delicious dirt from this direction.
"Please, anything at all... Huh? There's something there?"
Kang Yul picked up his geological hammer and carefully began digging in the direction the Worm indicated.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
Craaaack!
"A black stone...?"
In the second week of his closed-door mining, Kang Yul had finally succeeded in mining something other than coal.
"It doesn't seem to be coal... What is this?"
The black stone looked similar to coal, but it felt slightly different to the touch.
The instant he held it, he felt a faint warmth. Its color was deeper than coal, yet it had a soft-looking black sheen.
Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It says it can smell delicious dirt!
"Considering how Worm is reacting, it doesn't seem like ordinary coal..."
In the end, curious about the black stone's identity, Kang Yul paused his mining and began looking up information.
It didn't take long to find it.
Once he learned that gems could also be found in coal seams, the black stone's identity naturally became clear.
<Hunter Gallery - Information Archive>
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【Jet】
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An organic mineraloid, or gem, derived from fossilized plants, specifically wood, that have been compressed underground for millions of years. It is a type of coal, specifically lignite.
▪ It is also occasionally found inside supernatural phenomena known as [Gates], and its value varies greatly depending on the purity of the mana it contains.
Research has confirmed that the darker the jet's color, the greater the purity of the mana accumulated within it and the traits it possesses.
▪ Jet has long been regarded as a protective stone that wards off evil energy, and has been widely used in funeral jewelry and talismans.
▪ Perhaps due to these traditions, it has a certain suppressive effect against damage caused by supernatural phenomena and curse-type phenomena.
It is also soft and easy to process, so it is often used as a material for mystic artifacts engraved with spell patterns.
▪ However, it is weak and easily damaged by outside impacts. If its internal moisture evaporates in a dry environment, cracks will form and its spiritual efficacy will greatly decrease.
※ For long-term storage, avoiding impacts and dry environments is recommended.
─────────────
"So coal can turn into a gem after all? That's amazing."
Kang Yul knew there were many kinds of gems, but he had never imagined coal could produce something worthy of being called one.
Of course, it was still an unprocessed raw stone and only looked like a rough black rock, but its value was clear.
If it could ward off evil energy and suppress supernatural phenomena, it was practically worth whatever price people named.
"Ha! Mining is so fun! This is a real dopamine party!"
Knowing his efforts over the past two weeks hadn't been in vain filled Kang Yul with brain-melting satisfaction.
His body was already exhausted, but he desperately wanted to ride this momentum and mine other minerals as soon as possible.
That desire alone was enough to make him pick up the rock drill again despite his fatigue.
"All right, let's mine like crazy!"
But only for a moment.
Wiggle?
[Special Characteristics]
: It says it can smell delicious dirt?
The Worm suddenly approached Kang Yul and stared intently at the jet.
As though it wanted to eat that dirt, that jet.
"Huh? You want to eat this too...?"
Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It thinks it needs to eat lots of delicious dirt!
: It thinks it needs to eat a whole, whole lot!
: But it thinks this one dirt is enough!
"Really? If you eat this, I won't have to mine any more coal?"
Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It feels deep affection for you!
"Hmm..."
...Kang Yul hesitated over his choice for a moment.
It had been the same with the amber before. He couldn't help thinking it was too wasteful to hand over the first hard-earned result just like that.
Of course, he had learned how to eat dirt in exchange for handing over the amber then.
This time, handing over the jet would likely bring forward the completion of the dokkaebi club by around two weeks.
'So feeding the jet to Worm wouldn't be an outright loss, but...'
...To be honest, Kang Yul wanted to experience the fun of selling something too, not just the fun of mining it.
So,
'Sorry, Worm, but I'll keep this one separately.'
Kang Yul decided he would compromise by giving the Worm the next jet he found.
He would carefully store this piece of jet and sell it to Friendly Merchant or the Blacksmith.
Yes, that was definitely what he had thought, but...
Wiggle...
[Special Characteristics]
: It feels deep affection for you...
: It thinks it understands your choice...
Seeing the Worm's body droop limply made Kang Yul feel strangely uncomfortable.
How should he put it? It felt like being an unfilial son.
Kang Yul didn't know why he felt that way when he was an orphan who had never even had parents.
He simply felt that way.
'Sigh... I don't know if this is the right thing to do.'
And so, in the end.
It was a choice his head couldn't understand, but Kang Yul placed the jet he had carefully set aside before the Worm.
"Let's have Worm eat this."
Wiggle...?
[Special Characteristics]
: It feels deep affection for you...?
"It's okay. There must be minerals all over the place here, so more will come out later. Right?"
Wiggle...!
[Special Characteristics]
: It feels deep affection for you...!
: It thinks it understands your choice...!
"No, I'm really okay. So Worm, eat this."
When Kang Yul told it to eat, the Worm cautiously refused.
When the Worm refused, Kang Yul cautiously urged it to eat again.
After that complete disaster continued for around an hour,
Crunch...! Crunch...! Crunch...!
[Special Characteristics]
: It feels deep affection for you...!
In the end, as the saying went, no parent could win against their child(?). The Worm reluctantly began eating the jet.
Crunch...! Crunch...! Crunch...!
[Special Characteristics]
: It thinks it will do its best to complete the strange dirt!
After eating all the jet, it began eating the dokkaebi club as well.
Incidentally, Kang Yul had no idea why it was eating the club when it said it would complete it.
Its inner thoughts didn't explain such details. Kang Yul only vaguely understood that it could complete it through the act of eating.
In any case, shortly afterward,
...Crunch!
[Special Characteristics]
: It is working hard to complete the strange dirt.
After eating every bit of the jet and club, the Worm remained completely still for a while.
Then, as though it were about to vomit something up, its body began to heave.
Bleurgh!
Plop!
Before long, it spat out a black rod around the length of one finger joint and spoke.
Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It has completed the strange dirt!
"Uh... Is this the dokkaebi club...?"
Wiggle!
[Special Characteristics]
: It hopes you like the gift!
"Thanks. I'll take a look."
Though puzzled, Kang Yul didn't doubt the Worm's words.
Seeing it speak so confidently, he thought it must be an extraordinary item.
Kang Yul reached out to inspect the black rod before the Worm.
The instant his finger touched it,
"Ow, that stings!"
The needle-prick pain at his fingertip startled Kang Yul for only a moment before notification windows appeared in a flurry and filled his vision.
Ding!
[You have discovered 'Dokkaebi Club - Jet'.]
[It will bind to you once you fulfill its conditions.]
[You have already fulfilled its conditions.]
['Dokkaebi Club - Jet' binds to you.]
[You may now use a dokkaebi's ability.]
"...? What does that mean?"
Kang Yul didn't know what it meant, but he somehow became the owner of the dokkaebi club.
"No, what ability did I get?!"
The problem was that he had no idea what ability he had gained.
To find out, he would have to go meet the Blacksmith at [Kkaebi Workshop].
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