WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
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◈ I Became the Gate Summoner Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 33: [Midsummer Water Park]
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❗This chapter contains an illustration that may be scary.❗
Someone once said that debt was an ability too.
Having a lot of debt meant having that much in assets.
Lenders looked at those assets before deciding to lend the money.
Which was why.
"Let's see. Divide ten billion won over twelve months, and you only have to pay 833.33 million won a month. Not that hard, right, Yul?"
Kang Yul, who had suddenly taken on ten billion won in debt, was also someone with assets, or ability, worth that much.
Kim Chaeryeong was saying, "Yul can definitely pay it back!"
...But still.
If anyone asked whether this situation was actually good, Kang Yul could firmly say no.
"Yul, if paying it back with money is difficult, there is another way."
"...What is it?"
"It's nothing much. You just have to stay with me at the workshop until you work off what you owe."
"Because of that thing you said about my energy?"
"That's right. Thanks to the Deep Bond we formed last time, I've been getting a little energy every day, but it isn't quite enough. So..."
Kim Chaeryeong came right up to Kang Yul and spoke as though whispering in his ear.
"...I'll count the energy you give off while you're living with me as payment. You can pay off your debt that way. What do you think? It's nothing, right?"
Then, wearing a harmless smile that said, You only have to live with me, she held out her hand to Kang Yul.
As if telling him to seize this chance quickly. As if there would be no more chances if he did not take it now.
And Kang Yul actually did reach out halfway to take her hand...
But then.
Shiver!
A chill he could not explain ran through him, and Kang Yul took a closer look at Kim Chaeryeong before him.
Then he sensed the sticky gaze full of Kim Chaeryeong's distinctive, gloomy desire, hidden behind the gentleness that had seemed concerned for Kang Yul until now.
It was like the gaze of an owner debating whether to cut open the belly of a goose that laid golden eggs.
Only then did Kang Yul realize it.
If he took Kim Chaeryeong's hand like this, he would form an even deeper bond with her than before.
And once formed, that bond would become familial ties, something not easily severed.
So Kang Yul...
"Noona! Mom told me to buy tofu, so I should get going first!"
Scamper!
"Yul, you! How long are you going to keep using that tofu excuse?!"
He made the best choice possible, running away, and fled the workshop.
Watching Kang Yul's retreating back, Kim Chaeryeong muttered to herself.
"Tch... He caught on. He looks so clueless sometimes, but when it counts, he's sharp...?"
She had let him get away this time because she let her guard down at the end.
But next time, she vowed that she would tuck Kang Yul into the folds of her skirt no matter what.
And for that purpose.
Creeeak...!
Bang!!!
Click!
Kim Chaeryeong locked the workshop door.
Then she gathered all the energy she had carefully saved, along with the energy Kang Yul had left behind, and began making a family doll.
With the single-minded determination to catch Kang Yul next time.
To make the finest trap, one that would leave him no choice but to come even knowing he would be caught.
───────────
[Pervx Noona]
───────────
▷ [Yul]
[I think it'll take about a month to finish the doll.]
[I'll contact you again when it's done.]
[Let's meet again then?]
───────────
#####
It had already been two weeks since Kang Yul visited Kkaebi Workshop.
His daily routine during that time had been very simple.
But in another sense, it had also been extremely grueling.
"All right, time to start today's mining!"
The first thing Kang Yul did after waking up in the morning was start mining.
He had learned that mining while he was in the best condition, right after waking up when he had the most stamina, made the rest of the day easier.
He mined in order of the materials that consumed the most stamina: iron, coal, then dirt.
Crack!
Thud!
Crack!
Tap!
Crack!
Tap!
"Morning routine... done..."
Once his morning mining was over, half of his work for the day could be considered finished.
After that, he would lie on the cave floor for a while to calm his trembling legs before taking care of whatever else he needed to do that day.
Or he would go running, something he had started to build stamina.
For the record, he still was not going to the gym.
The reason was simple.
"I need to... go to the gym... but it's too far..."
While sprawled out in the cave resting, Kang Yul browsed the Gallery through his skill whenever he had spare time.
That was how he happened to learn that there was a Hunter-only gym near Nowon Station.
He had considered going right away, but...
'...Go back and forth to a gym thirty minutes away by subway on shaking legs? Just kill me instead.'
For Kang Yul, a pedestrian without a car, this was not easy.
When people were tired, they even found it bothersome to go to the convenience store right in front of their homes and ordered delivery instead.
But somewhere thirty minutes away? That was a distance that required a long time thinking and a major decision before you went.
So.
Kang Yul chose to build his stamina slowly without going to the gym.
Then he came across a post from someone with the same concern.
───
[Title: Newbie Hunter Bro needs to build stamina, what should I start with?]
[Anonymous]
(Hunter Bro has realized it! The key to Hunter Awakening! image)
I'm a Hunter Bro who Awakened a week ago.
My class is Warrior.
I've been browsing the Gallery and saw posts saying that building stamina is the most important thing for frontliners.
But people say I should go to a Hunter gym? The monthly membership is too expensive, so I can't.
(Ten million won a month? This newbie Bro doesn't have that kind of money ㅠㅠ)
So please recommend bodyweight exercises for a broke newbie Bro.
───
[Comments]
[You're a newbie Bro. Then I recommend running.]
ㄴ[Running is a highly efficient full-body exercise that simultaneously improves cardiopulmonary function, stimulates muscles and bones throughout the body, and burns a great deal of calories.]
ㄴ[You can start anytime without special equipment, so it is the best way to quickly improve your basic stamina.]
ㄴ[Also, there are many situations in Gates where you have to run for your life, so it is practically essential.]
ㄴ[(Thank you, Speed Hunter Bro~! sticker)]
"Yeah... I should just run too..."
Since he happened to have his own personal running track in the cave, Kang Yul started running that day.
After running nonstop for a week, he began to gain at least a little stamina.
And after two weeks, he had grown somewhat accustomed to running and developed a routine to follow.
Wriggle!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels a deep fondness for you!
"The Worm's awake? Here, let's eat breakfast."
Before going running, Kang Yul shared freshly mined, fresh(?) soil blocks with the Worm in the morning.
Wriggle~! Wriggle~!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels a deep fondness for you~!
Just as Kang Yul had expected, the Worm liked soil blocks very much.
At first, he had thought, 'Hmm, is it really that good?'
But after actually trying one, it was incredible, incomparable in both flavor and texture to any dirt he had eaten before.
How should he describe it?
Maybe it was like eating a soft brownie made with the most expensive chocolate in the world?
He had never eaten food that expensive, so it was difficult to describe the taste accurately, but somehow that was what it felt like.
Which was why.
Crunch...! Crunch...! Crunch...!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels a deep fondness for you...!
"It tastes even better with milk."
Sometimes, he shared these soil blocks with the Worm in the morning.
By now, it had become part of his routine.
For the record, the Worm did not like the other blocks very much.
Wriggle...!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It thinks they taste good, but it likes soft dirt better...!
The other blocks tasted good too.
But the Worm's reaction was basically, Why bother when there is tasty, soft dirt?
"Phew... I'm full..."
Wriggle...
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels a deep fondness for you...
After their dirt-block mukbang was over, Kang Yul usually lay on the floor and rested with the Worm.
Perhaps because they were compressed soil blocks full of nutrients, he felt completely stuffed after eating them.
Since running right away would be the perfect way to get indigestion, he waited until his stomach settled before going for a run.
And so.
'Let's see... Is there anything to look at today...?'
He made a habit of using his time efficiently while his stomach settled.
He would lie on the floor and browse Hunter Gallery to see what was happening in the world.
Then he spotted a post that was somewhat different from usual, one that strangely caught his attention.
[Title: EveRyone, c0me t0 the Water Park¡]
"?"
As though possessed, Kang Yul tapped it and checked the post's contents.
And at that moment.
───
[Title: EveRyone, c0me t0 the Water Park¡]
[〇〇]
It's s0 fuuun¡
Let's pl4y t0gether
N0 n3ed to le4ve
C0me t0 the Water Park¡
☺
───
[Comments]
As Kang Yul blankly stared at the picture, thinking, Water parks sound fun!, then.
Ding!
With a cheerful notification sound, new notification windows appeared one after another before Kang Yul.
[Midsummer Water Park has been discovered.]
[Exploration Rate increases.]
[Some information about the Gate has been revealed.]
──────────────────
[Gate Compendium] - [Midsummer Water Park]
──────────────────
■ Classification
ㆍErosion-type Gate
ㆍRule-type Gate
■ Overview
A supernatural phenomenon that occurs at water parks that have ceased operations in midsummer.
It occurs at water parks that have been left abandoned for extended periods after closing due to bankruptcy, deterioration, financial difficulties, or similar reasons.
※ It newly opened after numerous rounds of trial and error with the existing supernatural phenomenon, [Midsummer Pool].
──────────────────
A moment later.
Kang Yul, who had been blankly reading through the notification windows, suddenly came to his senses.
Sensing that something strange was happening, he hurried out of the Gate.
"Worm! I'm heading out for a bit!"
Wriggle...
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It thinks you should be careful not to get hurt...
When he came outside through the Gate.
KkaeTalk! KkaeTalk!
The smartphone on his desk was desperately calling for its owner.
Kang Yul immediately checked it.
───────────
[Team Leader Myo]
───────────
▷ [Hunter Kang Yul.]
[The occurrence of an unobserved supernatural phenomenon has been confirmed in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province.]
[The phenomenon is presumed to be similar to Midsummer Pool.]
[The Management Bureau currently requires personnel support for an investigation.]
[Please reply if you are willing to provide on-site support.]
───────────
It was a KkaeTalk message from Team Leader Myo.
In short, a new supernatural phenomenon had been observed.
If he was willing to help, she wanted him to contact her.
Ordinarily, Kang Yul would have realized the seriousness of the incident and first asked, [What is the compensation?]
But Kang Yul did not have time to worry about that now.
After all.
[Comments]
[FUUUUUUUCK!!!]
ㄴ[This was posted by a monster spy!!!!]
ㄴ[Heeeead moooood!!! Fucking head mod!!!!!!!]
ㄴ[(Can't! Take! It! Anymore! Moderator Summoning Spell! sticker)]
ㄴ[(Can't! Take! It! Anymore! Moderator Summoning Spell! sticker)]
ㄴ[(Can't! Take! It! Anymore! Moderator Summoning Spell! sticker)]
ㄴ[(Can't! Take! It! Anymore! Moderator Summoning Spell! sticker)]
[What is this? The friend I was looking at this with suddenly disappeared?]
ㄴ[My little brother was snickering beside me, and he disappeared too.]
ㄴ[Excuse me, what is this? My friends suddenly disappeared?]
ㄴ[Fuck, is this an abduction-type Gate?]
ㄴ[You can get abducted just by looking at the Gallery?]
ㄴ[We're screwed;;; If it's that bad, it is definitely high-risk;;;]
[What is the head mod doing? Aren't they deleting this post?]
ㄴ[The head mod is busy right now. A fuckton of posts like this are going up on the Gallery.]
ㄴ[It's not just the Gallery. Ads like this are showing up on TV and NewTube too.]
ㄴ[People using their phones on the subway are disappearing in real time. This is fucking terrifying.]
ㄴ[What the hell is the Management Bureau doing?]
ㄴ[It happened suddenly, so they seem to be in an emergency too.]
ㄴ[Ah, I got a supernatural disaster alert. It says not to use phones, TVs, or anything like that.]
ㄴ[Ugh, I thought this year would pass quietly.]
ㄴ[It's an annual event, lol.]
ㄴ[Then let's all see each other alive!]
No matter how much Kang Yul valued profit, he was not an emotionless psychopath who would talk about compensation even in an emergency where people were dying.
So.
'I need to get blood anyway, so I'll help for now.'
He also knew that Team Leader Myo was not someone who would withhold his compensation.
As long as he secured the blood, Kang Yul would not lose much.
Having made his decision, Kang Yul sent Team Leader Myo a message saying he would participate.
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[Team Leader Myo]
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▶ [I will provide on-site support.]
▷ [Understood.]
[I will send a Management Bureau employee to your home.]
[We will conduct a detailed briefing after you join us.]
───────────
A little while later, Kang Yul got into the car of the Management Bureau employee who came to his studio apartment and headed for Gapyeong County, where the supernatural phenomenon had taken root.
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