WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Ceaseless

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◈ I Became the Gate Summoner Hunters Obsess Over ◈

Chapter 18: Overcame Fear. Found a Club(?).

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The unknown is frightening.

When people cannot understand its nature, they feel extreme anxiety.

And now.

Kang Yul was showing severe signs of anxiety as he stared at the incomprehensible notification window before him.

Ding!

[You have formed a deep bond with 'Kim Chaeryeong'.]

[Your mystic power prays for the prosperity of the being with whom you have formed a deep bond.]

[Your mystic power prays for the success of the being with whom you have formed a deep bond.]

"...?"

Confused, Kang Yul tried to assess the situation with every scrap of knowledge he had.

What was mystic power? What did it mean for it to pray for the Blacksmith's prosperity and success?

He pieced together what he knew from the Gallery and fragments of information he had picked up during his part-time work involving supernatural phenomena.

'Mystic power... I've heard that term while working at the antique shop.'

It was an old term for a numinous, inexplicable force or ability capable of accomplishing anything.

Foretelling the future, seeing through someone's heart, making it rain, creating desired wealth, and so on...

It was the name people gave such powers in ancient times, before even the concept of supernatural phenomena existed.

So, following that line of thought...

'...Could it be an old-fashioned version of a [Class Skill], from before supernatural phenomena appeared?'

Kang Yul defined mystic power as the old name for skills used in the era before [Gates] and [Status Windows] began appearing in earnest.

Scholars had spent decades studying the question, "What principle makes skills activate?" Yet, seeing how they still could not properly grasp the answer and only tore their hair out yelling, "No! Why the hell does this even work?!" skills and mystic power were probably things of a similar kind.

So.

'If mystic power is something like a skill, then prosperity and success must be words describing how that skill works. And besides...'

...Kang Yul recalled what the Blacksmith had said just before.

"Esteemed one, my name is Kim Chaeryeong. It is truly an honor to form a deep bond with you, esteemed one, who is both an Earth Dragon and a dokkaebi."

The Blacksmith had called Kang Yul an esteemed one who was both an Earth Dragon and a dokkaebi.

Kang Yul thought that might have something to do with why he had gained mystic power.

Earth Dragon was a word meaning earthworm, and an earthworm's English name was Worm.

And, by coincidence, Kang Yul had learned how to eat mountains from a Worm like that.

'And considering how useful earthworms are for enriching soil...'

...The Blacksmith's reason for calling Kang Yul an Earth Dragon made sense.

It was also somewhat understandable that he had gained mystic power connected to prosperity.

And if he continued reasoning along those lines...

'The Dokkaebi Club - Jet that the Worm made bound itself to me.'

During that process, he had also become able to use a dokkaebi's ability.

Perhaps that was connected to the part about gaining mystic power related to success.

Weren't dokkaebi famous for making gold and silver appear with a pop! from their clubs?

Thinking of it that way, perhaps he had gained an ability that let things succeed easily, or even inevitably.

'That part is a little unclear. I'll have to ask later.'

The Blacksmith had introduced herself as a dokkaebi's disciple.

There was a high chance she knew something about Kang Yul's mystic power as well.

Anyway.

'Phew... All right. I've mostly sorted it out.'

Kang Yul let out a relieved breath, having escaped the fear of the unknown.

At first, he had worried that gaining such a strange power meant he might no longer be truly human.

But now, it seemed he had merely become a Hunter with slightly special abilities. The fact that Kang Yul was human had not changed.

'I got scared for nothing.'

But that thought lasted only a moment.

"Are you all right, esteemed one?"

Blacksmith Kim Chaeryeong asked while looking at Kang Yul with concern.

'What? Why is she making that face... Oh, right. We were still in the middle of talking, weren't we?'

Kang Yul immediately understood why the Blacksmith was looking at him that way.

From her perspective, it must have looked like this...

1. Kang Yul suddenly stiffened, then broke out in a cold sweat.

2. Not long after, Kang Yul frowned, clutched his head, and fell into thought.

3. He remained lost in thought long enough for his head to feel hot.

4. Then, as though he had reached a conclusion, he slumped back in his chair by himself.

'It wouldn't be strange if she thought I was insane.'

And considering what he had heard earlier about the Blacksmith's extremely high standing in the Hunter industry...

"...I'm sorry for being rude!"

Kang Yul decided to bow first.

Regardless of whether he liked the Blacksmith, he had been rude.

Come to think of it, wasn't she a senior in the Hunter industry and possibly an influential big shot?

'If she's a powerful senior with money and generous spending habits, I absolutely need to get close to her.'

She did have the major drawback of not hesitating to touch him and giving him dark looks as though she wanted to devour him.

Even taking that into account, Kang Yul concluded that the Blacksmith might be on Team Leader Myo's level, or perhaps even above her.

'A Blacksmith veteran Hunters obsess over. I can't let this chance slip away.'

Besides, though he had never intended it, they were already tied together by a deep bond through mystic power.

So Kang Yul decided to gather his courage, hold on to this golden lifeline, and make a small change to make their relationship less uncomfortable.

"Rude? I could never consider anything you do rude to me, esteemed one."

"That's a relief, but, um... Blacksmith, I have one shameless request..."

"As I just said, I could never consider anything you do rude to me. So please, speak freely!"

"...Then, Blacksmith, I'll be honest. You look older than me, and you must be a highly placed senior in the Hunter industry. If it's all right with you, could you speak a little more casually to me? Honestly, I'm so uncomfortable I could die!"

After blurting out what was in his heart like a rapid-fire volley, he barely managed to calm his pounding heart while thinking, 'I've done it...!'

".........."

Shiver!

There it was again. Under the Blacksmith's gaze, with that uniquely sinister look in her eyes, Kang Yul trembled like prey facing an irresistible predator.

But.

"Would that... not be all right... Senior Chaeryeong...?"

Kang Yul stepped even farther into that predator's territory.

His current relationship with her was simply too uncomfortable to back away now.

Then.

"God, you're fucking adorable. I could just..."

"Excuse me?"

"No, it's nothing."

Muttering something beneath that sinister gaze, the Blacksmith rubbed a hand over her face as though washing it dry.

Then she quickly returned to her usual expression and spoke.

"You want to receive ordinary treatment from me, like other Hunters do. Is that what you mean, esteemed one?"

"That's right. I grew up in an orphanage, so treatment like this makes me very uncomfortable."

"Ah, so that's your thing?"

"Pardon?"

"Never mind. Anyway, I understand what you mean. You want us to be close, like an older sister and younger brother, right?"

"?"

Kang Yul was flustered.

He had meant a senior-junior relationship in the Hunter industry, and the conversation had been going well in that direction.

Why had she reached the conclusion that they should be like an older sister and younger brother?

So Kang Yul tried to correct her.

"Um... No. More like the strict superior-subordinate relationship I have with Team Leader Myo..."

"You want us to be close, like an older sister and younger brother, right?"

"...Come to think of it, a family-like relationship does sound better. Since I don't have a family, I've always wanted an older brother or sister!"

And he caved in out of fear.

He had no choice.

That chill he felt just now was not like stepping into a predator's territory. It was more like having his head halfway inside a predator's jaws.

'I don't know if I'm doing the right thing.'

But Kang Yul had come too far to regret it and turn back now.

"Fine. If that's what you want, then this big sister should grant it. I'll call you Yul from now on, so you can comfortably call me Big Sis Chaeryeong too, all right?"

"How could I possibly..."

"Yul. That isn't the answer your big sister wants."

Hic!

"...Yes, Big Sis Chaeryeong."

"That's right. Good boy, our Yul."

He had gone far too far to turn back now.

"Then... shall we look for the 'club' our Yul lost?"

"Pardon?"

"Don't worry, Yul. Leave it to your big sister, and I'll find that 'club' hidden somewhere on your body."

"W-wait! Big Sis! Big Sis Chaeryeong! I don't think this is a good idea after all... Urghhh?!"

In the end, that day Kang Yul had every nook and cranny of his body touched by the Blacksmith.

And she found the dokkaebi club that had been hidden in a secret place, the roof of his mouth.

Though.

"Oh my... Our Yul carries around such a big club...? I don't have experience with things like this, so I don't really know, but..."

Gulp!

"...Yeah, this is definitely impressive. I think it's impressive, Yul."

While looking for the "club," they ended up finding another kind of "club," which made things a little awkward.

Still, they decided to keep it a secret between themselves and pretend not to know.

Footnotes:

“Club” preserves the Korean wordplay on bangmangi, which can mean both a club and a penis.

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