WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Gate Summoner Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 8: Made a Connection. Received a Gift.
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The unknown was frightening.
When people could not understand the nature of something, they felt extreme anxiety.
For example, when they heard an unidentified sound in the dark.
The human brain tended to interpret unknown dangers as greater than the actual danger.
Humans had evolved to fear some unseen unknown more than danger plainly visible before them.
And Kang Yul, born human, was no different.
Squirm, squirm.
Until just a moment ago, the Worm had been a supernatural life-form whose actions Kang Yul could not predict.
What it wanted, what it ate, what it thought, what it expected from him.
It had been an unknowable unknown.
But Kang Yul had changed after gaining the skill.
Squirm, squirm.
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It likes its surroundings.
: It feels fondness toward the being that awakened it.
: It wants to eat soft soil.
Kang Yul now knew that the Worm liked this environment.
He knew it felt fondness toward the person who had awakened it.
And he knew that it wanted to eat soft soil.
‘There isn't any soft soil here... Do I need to go out and buy some?’
The Worm was no longer frightening to Kang Yul.
Simply being able to communicate had weakened his fear of the unknown.
And once he knew what it was thinking, he had no reason to fear it anymore.
“I got this from a nearby flower shop... Will this work?”
Crunch, crunch, crunch...
Of course, that did not change the fact that the Worm was a Hazard Rating B supernatural life-form.
It was still a life-form full of unknowns, one that might suddenly turn on him and attack.
But still.
Crunch... Bleurgh!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It thinks the soil is soft, but tasteless.
: It wants to eat delicious soil.
“Tasteless? Ah, is it because this is ordinary soil without mana?”
Knowing its inner thoughts was even more useful than Kang Yul had expected.
Squirm!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It wants you to mix it with the soil around it.
: It wants to eat delicious soil.
“Wait a second. If I search for the best ratio... 40 to 50 percent weathered soil (decomposed granite), 40 percent potting soil, and 10 to 20 percent leaf mold or compost...? I wonder if flower shops sell that stuff too.”
Even a supernatural life-form was still a living creature.
In the end, it was likely that anything which attacked did so because it wanted something, and Kang Yul could find out what that goal was.
“I made this as a temporary measure. I don't know if you'll like it, but want to try some?”
Crunch... crunch... crunch...!
Crunch... crunch... crunch... crunch...!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It thinks the soil is delicious.
: It feels deep fondness toward you.
“Hey, you'll get indigestion. Eat slowly.”
Kang Yul was no longer afraid of the Worm.
It was a small exchange, but he had successfully built a relationship with the Worm and increased its fondness toward him.
Crunch... crunch...!
‘It might be a little cute...?’
Of course, if he said that in front of anyone else, they would point at him and ask if he was crazy, or lock him in a treatment facility because his mental contamination level was too high.
Still, Kang Yul thought it was only natural to feel proud while watching someone enjoy food he had carefully made, nutritious soil in this case.
And the Worm felt the same way.
Squirm...
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It thinks the soil is delicious.
: It feels deep fondness toward you.
: It wants to give you a gift.
“A gift?”
Squirm, squirm!
Perhaps it wanted to return Kang Yul's kindness in its own way. The Worm slowly approached, wriggling its little body.
It seemed to be coming over to give him a gift. Kang Yul watched it, thought for a moment, then cautiously asked the Worm.
“Um... Can I pick you up for a moment? I'll put you on my palm.”
At first, he had considered refusing.
But he soon realized that refusing a gift in such a heartwarming situation might greatly reduce the fondness he had built up so far.
‘That would be dangerous.’
He had no idea what an offended supernatural life-form might do, but one thing was certain.
It would not be good for Kang Yul.
So, if refusing was not an option, Kang Yul decided he should be proactive instead.
“Can I touch you?”
Squirm!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels deep fondness toward you.
“That means it's okay...?”
Squirm!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels deep fondness toward you!
Well... he wasn't entirely sure.
But it seemed to be giving permission, so after some hesitation, Kang Yul carefully picked up the Worm and placed it on his palm.
Squirm, squirm.
The Worm then began wriggling around Kang Yul's palm as though it were in a good mood.
Kang Yul felt a little afraid as he watched it, but at the same time, he thought, ‘It really might be a little cute...?’
But that thought lasted only a moment.
Squirm...?
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels deep fondness toward you!
: It wants to give you a gift.
: It is wondering whether it may bite you lightly.
The Worm, which had been freely roaming over his palm, raised itself and looked at Kang Yul.
Then it bent its body into a question mark, as though asking whether it could bite him.
“Bite me...?”
A chill ran through Kang Yul.
The thought of being bitten by a supernatural life-form was enough to make the fear that had faded away grow strong once more.
Squirm! Squirm! Squirm!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels deep fondness toward you!!!
But perhaps it noticed Kang Yul's feelings. The Worm swayed from side to side as though telling him not to worry.
After thinking for a long time, Kang Yul silently nodded and accepted the Worm's proposal.
As he had said before, upsetting the Worm was not an option for Kang Yul.
Then, immediately after.
Prick!
A pain like a tiny bug bite came from his palm.
Squirm!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels deep fondness toward you!
: It hopes you like the gift.
“...That's it?”
Squirm!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels deep fondness toward you!
: It hopes you like the gift!
...That was all.
Considering he had squeezed his eyes shut in terror, it was a rather anticlimactic ending.
Squirm...?
“Ahem. No, it's nothing.”
Anyway, as if to move past the awkward moment, Kang Yul gave a couple of dry coughs and examined the palm the Worm had bitten.
Since it had called it a gift, surely there had to be something there.
And there really was.
“A gemstone...?”
Kang Yul examined the tiny gem resting in his palm.
It was a transparent gemstone with a deep vermilion hue.
If the amber he had seen earlier were processed into a jewel, it would probably look exactly like this.
‘It definitely ate all of it then... Did it store some inside its body and share it with me?’
It was a reasonable suspicion.
If a Worm the size of his finger had eaten a chunk of amber as large as a watermelon, it was only natural to assume that it had some supernatural organ for storing it inside its body.
“Thank you, Worm.”
Squirm!
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels deep fondness toward you!
Whatever the case, Kang Yul thanked the Worm, thinking that good was good.
He had been disappointed about losing the amber, so he couldn't help feeling grateful that it had given some back to him.
It was amber that had lain dormant within [Primordial Land - Terra].
And considering that the Worm had personally processed it into a gemstone, its value would be difficult to put a price on.
‘If I sell this, I won't have to worry about money anymore.’
Kang Yul wanted to put it in a box immediately and ask for gold bars worth its value.
Since the sum would be too great to receive in cash, he thought it would be more reasonable to receive gold instead.
Unfortunately, he couldn't do that.
He had used up all of today's transaction allotment on questions about the Worm, so he couldn't trade anything right now.
‘I should keep it somewhere safe.’
Looking forward to tomorrow, Kang Yul decided to carefully store the processed amber.
He would move it carefully so it wouldn't receive even the smallest scratch, then trade it tomorrow in perfect condition.
But that thought lasted only a moment.
“?”
Just as Kang Yul tried to pick up the amber in his palm, he felt something strange.
When he tried to lift the amber, his hand rose with it.
It was as though the amber had fused with his palm.
It looked as though it were embedded in his hand.
“No, seriously?”
He thought he must be mistaken, but he wasn't.
No matter how hard Kang Yul shook his hand, the amber remained embedded in his palm without showing any sign of coming loose.
And by the time he realized this, a familiar sound had already rung out, and a notification window had appeared before him.
Ding!
['Mountain-Eating Worm - Bakkai' has taught you how to eat mountains.]
[You can now eat soil.]
“I can eat soil...?”
Kang Yul picked up some of the soil the Worm had left behind and put it in his mouth.
It tasted nutty and sweet, somewhat like biting into a chocolate cookie, but...
“Is this a good thing...?”
If this had happened when he was poor, he might have been happy that he could save on food costs just by eating dirt.
But now that he could buy food without worrying about money... honestly, he had no idea where he would use this.
“...You didn't give this to me so I could make soil that suits your taste, did you?”
S-Squirm...?
﹝Special Characteristics﹞
: It feels deep fondness toward you.
: It thinks it is full and wants to sleep.
: It wants you to cover it with soft soil.
Seeing how it suddenly said it was sleepy, that really might have been its intention.
“Fine, let's sleep. I'm tired too.”
So much had happened today that Kang Yul gave up on asking about it.
No, it was closer to giving up because he didn't think asking would change anything.
Anyway, after covering the Worm with soil, Kang Yul went to sleep early as well.
#####
The next morning, after a day that had felt like a complete nonsense dream.
A Worm had been born from amber.
He had gained a new skill and heard the Worm's inner voice.
Then, using that skill, he had won the Worm's fondness, received a gift, and even gained the ability to eat soil.
Chime!
“...?”
Kang Yul woke up to a familiar notification sound.
“What? Did I get something else...? Or did the Worm do something?”
With half-open eyes, he waved a hand through the air, searching for the notification window that should have appeared before him.
But after looking around for a while and finding nothing, Kang Yul felt that something was strange.
‘Ah... It was a text message sound...?’
Only after checking the smartphone beside his pillow did he realize that the notification sound had been slightly different from usual.
He normally kept it on silent, and almost never received text messages, so it had been a small misunderstanding.
Anyway.
‘Where did this come from?’
He had quit all his part-time jobs, so there was nowhere left that would contact him. But when he checked, it was not spam.
To his surprise, it was a message from the Hunter Management Bureau.
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[Web Message]
Hello, Hunter Kang Yul. This is the Field Management Team of the Hunter Management Bureau.
We request your cooperation in the Suraksan Gate management operation scheduled for next week.
▪ Date and Time: Next Monday, 9:00 AM
▪ Assembly Location: Hunter Management Bureau Nowon Branch
▪ Duties: Assisting a dedicated Hunter of the Hunter Management Bureau
This operation is a routine assignment for Gate stabilization and hazard inspections. Hunter Kang Yul's participation is required.
Further details and preparations will be provided later. Please reply with your availability.
Thank you.
───────────
‘Ah, has it already been over two weeks since I registered as a Hunter?’
He had been so busy mining in Gates that he had lost track of time, but it was about time someone contacted him.
‘Next Monday means... four days left.’
He had not even acquired any proper Hunter equipment yet. He wondered whether this would be all right.
Of course, since he would be participating as a dedicated Hunter's assistant, he was practically nothing more than extra manpower who only needed to show up.
Still, there were no absolutes in the world.
‘I'll prepare as much as I can.’
He had four days left.
During that time, he would prepare as much as possible to keep himself safe.
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