WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Ceaseless

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became the Gate Summoner Hunters Obsess Over ◈

Chapter 7: Won Affection. Saw the Voice of the Heart.

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Crunch crunch crunch...

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[Title: When do you think a person dies...?]

[Anonymous]

When a bullet is lodged deep in their heart?

Nope! Technology is so advanced these days that they can somehow save you from that much!

And if they can’t, you can just slather yourself in potions!

Then when you get an incurable disease?

Nope! Technology is so advanced these days that they can somehow save you from that much!

If it’s an incurable disease even they can’t cure, then may they rest in peace!

Then when you drink soup made from poisonous mushrooms?

Nope... No, are you an idiot? Why would you eat that?

If your pet reindeer gave it to you, you should’ve immediately realized your time had come, mixed in some soybean paste, and prepared a nourishing meal. Tsk, tsk.

:hunter_bro_ahem_anyway:

So, the moment a person truly dies is...!

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(Supernatural horror image)

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When they encounter a supernatural phenomenon wearing human skin...!

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[Comments]

[You fucking gore-poster.]

ㄴ[Mod!!!! Mooood!!!!!!!!]

ㄴ[Bastard, I just threw up the chicken I ate because of you.]

ㄴ[Thanks to you, my eyesight got worse and I had to get new glasses. I’d like to repay you. Where do you live???]

ㄴ[:hunter_bro_ill_find_you_and_kill_you:]

[What? Wasn’t it when people forget them?]

ㄴ[Are you taking a shot at me, whose contact list has nobody but my mom and dad?]

ㄴ[Are you taking a shot at me, an orphan with no one in my contacts?]

ㄴ[Ah. Ah...]

ㄴ[:hunter_bro_thats_a_bit_much:]

ㄴ[:hunter_bro_sobbing:]

ㄴ[:hunter_bro_backs_away_and_runs:]

‘...I can’t not upvote this.’

Kang Yul quietly upvoted the supernatural shock-image troll post and left the forum.

Normally, he would have cursed up a storm and hit the downvote button. But right now, Kang Yul thoroughly understood what the post was trying to say, so it did not affect him much.

After all...

Crunch crunch crunch...

Kang Yul looked down at the worm... no, the Worm chewing on amber, then shifted his gaze to the informational post he had left open at the edge of his vision.

<Hunter Gallery, Information Archive>

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【Supernatural Life-form: Worm】

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【Hazard Rating: B to ?】

A giant annelid-like supernatural life-form found in multiple Gates.

It is characterized by a long body reminiscent of an earthworm and thousands of teeth filling its mouth. No visual organs have been identified, and it is presumed to perceive its surroundings through ground vibrations or unidentified sensory organs.

▪ A Worm’s appearance and ecology vary greatly depending on the environment of the Gate it inhabits.

Analysis of Worm tissue suggests that its body changes to adapt to its surroundings under the influence of its food and the density of magical power.

▪ The specimens observed so far range from approximately 45 meters long, equivalent to a fifteen-story building, to a maximum of approximately 300 meters, estimated to be the size of a one-hundred-story building.

However, the largest specimen was not observed in its entirety, so the possibility that its true length is greater cannot be ruled out.

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.

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‘...This is driving me crazy.’

Kang Yul was not someone who swore much, but curses came naturally to him now.

A supernatural life-form whose Hazard Rating began at B. He was in such desperate circumstances that he should have been grateful simply to still be alive and breathing.

‘A Hazard Rating of B means instant death the moment you encounter it...’

Everything related to supernatural phenomena had a Hazard Rating.

They began with F, a rating that posed no problem even for ordinary people and was instead helpful.

From there, higher ratings were assigned based on casualties, survival rates, difficulty of containment, and other factors.

Among them, Hazard Rating B was practically a rating of instant death upon encounter. The odds of survival were so low that anyone who returned alive was said to have used up a lifetime’s worth of luck.

Yet Worms were a little unusual even among B-rated entities.

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.

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▪ A Worm leaves behind enormous tunnels wherever it travels.

It has been confirmed to consume rock, minerals, soil, and most organic matter. For this reason, it is also called a “Gate Scavenger” or “Gate Devourer.”

If ground collapse or large-scale vibrations occur, leave the area immediately.

However, no method that can guarantee survival after exposure to a Worm’s path has been identified so far.

▪ No successful capture of a living Worm has been reported to date.

There are also no records of one being subjugated. A few corpses discovered by chance have been recovered, but they were not intact, so research progress remains minimal.

※ Tunnels created by Worms are at an extremely high risk of collapse.

Even if they are traces of a specimen that has already moved on, entry is prohibited until their safety has been confirmed.

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That was right.

An Irregular whose Hazard Rating had been estimated at B as a minimum because its exact level of danger could not be determined.

That was the true nature of the supernatural life-form known as the Worm.

And that was why Kang Yul was careful even about breathing.

Crunch crunch crunch...!

‘Ah... that expensive amber...’

Kang Yul wanted to pull the Worm off the amber, which was so valuable that its worth could not be estimated. But his desire to survive and extend his life outweighed his greed for money, so he did not dare.

At first, he wondered if he could do something about it since the Worm was only as large as a finger.

But that thought lasted only a moment.

He recalled the record of a palm-sized supernatural life-form, a Fairy, erasing an entire country before vanishing, and decided to stay quiet.

Crunch crunch crunch...

Unable to do anything, Kang Yul had no choice but to watch the Worm feast on amber.

After about thirty minutes, the Worm stopped eating as though it was satisfied, having consumed the amber without leaving behind even a tiny fragment.

Then, at that moment.

Squirm squirm!

Whether it was full or simply running out of food, Kang Yul did not know.

The Worm began to wriggle around as though exploring its surroundings.

Jolt!

Before long, it stopped as if it had found something. It raised its body, then began moving its mouth-bearing head as if looking somewhere.

And naturally, that something was...

“...”

Kang Yul.

Thinking that the inevitable had finally arrived, Kang Yul did his utmost to remain still and avoid provoking the Worm.

Squirm...?

But the Worm merely swayed from side to side, forming a question mark with its body as though it found Kang Yul curious.

The two life-forms regarded each other as unknown creatures, studying one another with curiosity and curiosity, or fear, for only a short while.

Squirm!

The moment the Worm stretched itself straight as if forming an exclamation point, a new notification window appeared before Kang Yul.

Ding!

['Mountain-Eating Worm - Bakkai' takes a liking to you.]

['Mountain-Eating Worm - Bakkai' follows you.]

“...”

He had gained the favor of a supernatural life-form.

What was more, it now followed him because of that favor... He was not sure whether he should be happy about it.

There was no way to know whether the goodwill of a supernatural life-form would also be goodwill toward Kang Yul, a human.

The same was true even if he compared it to a pet.

What would he do if a cat he raised at home brought him a mouse or insect as a gift?

“Our Nabi, thank you~!”

Even while thinking, What did you bring this for?, he would pretend to accept it, then get rid of it in the end.

But what if that mouse or bug was alive?

“Our Nabi, thank...”

“Ah, pleased to meet you. I’m a cockroach. From now on, I plan to roam around this household.”

“D-Dieeeeeee! Die, roach!!!”

“Ha ha, too slow. That was only my afterimage, you know?”

A raid would begin at once, accompanied by screams.

The same was true of supernatural life-forms.

A gift offered by a supernatural life-form with goodwill was not necessarily guaranteed to benefit a human.

So, it was generally best to avoid receiving gifts from supernatural life-forms, or even gaining their favor in the first place...

‘...But if it already likes me, there’s no other way.’

It was a supernatural life-form with a Hazard Rating of B.

If he rejected its goodwill, something more terrible than receiving a gift could happen, so rejecting it was not an option.

‘Do I need to feed it separately...?’

Kang Yul told himself that he would have to treat this tiny Worm with the utmost care from now on.

But he had only briefly worried whether he would have to feed it minerals at every meal.

Ding!

[You have met the conditions and acquired the class skill ‘Gate Compendium.’]

‘A new skill?’

A notification window suddenly appeared, saying he had met the conditions and acquired a new class skill.

Could the condition have been making a Gate life-form follow him and deciding to raise it?

If so, this skill might help in his current situation. Kang Yul immediately checked its information.

Ding!

[Skill]: Gate Compendium

You can view basic information on Gates you have observed.

As a Gate’s Exploration Rate rises, you can view more detailed information.

※ If your class is ‘Gate Summoner,’ you can view the ﹝Special Characteristics﹞ of life-forms encountered in a Gate.

‘Is it an exploration-type skill?’

Skills of this type were said to truly shine when exploring a Gate with no available information.

Like the Gate Gallery skill, this one too was the sort of skill that would make the Association or corporations go mad if they found out about it.

‘No, that’s not what’s important right now.’

Kang Yul pinched his thigh to pull himself together and focused on the contents of the skill window again.

The part about viewing Gate information was useless in his present situation, so he skipped over it.

He also passed over the part about receiving more information as exploration progressed, stopping at the term ﹝Special Characteristics﹞ written at the bottom.

※ If your class is ‘Gate Summoner,’ you can view the ﹝Special Characteristics﹞ of life-forms encountered in a Gate.

The ability to view Special Characteristics... He remembered it.

Also, when summoning a Gate, you can check the quantity of resources obtainable from that Gate and its Special Characteristics.

It was one of the Gate Summoner class’s innate abilities, a kind of passive skill that allowed Kang Yul to learn the Special Characteristics of the Gates he summoned.

But now he could use it on life-forms encountered inside a Gate as well?

He did not know what principle or method made it work. But if that was possible, it was exactly the skill Kang Yul needed right now.

‘Do I just need to look at it?’

To confirm the skill’s effect immediately, Kang Yul stared intently at the Worm wriggling on the floor.

Then, at that moment.

Squirm, squirm.

﹝Special Characteristics﹞

: It likes its surroundings.

: It feels favor toward the being that awakened it.

: It wants to eat soft soil.

“!”

Kang Yul began seeing the voice of the Worm’s heart.

Footnotes:

The opening forum post parodies a famous line from One Piece about when people truly die.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried

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