WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: WeTried

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◈ I Made a Tier List the Transcendents Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 20: My World Has Fallen Apart

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I received Death.

It sounded like an incredibly literary and abstract expression, but I was holding physical Death in my hand.

It was Nirvakh's own Death, given to me by Nirvakh.

[ Oz, I separated it successfully. Once you receive it, tell me if it works properly. ] - No Existence

Me>[ Casual speech? ]

[ But you told me I could speak casually... ] - No Existence

Me>[ Just kidding lol ]

[ ... ] - No Existence

"That bastard's sulking."

I smirked at the chat window, where no further messages came from Nirvakh.

Of course, if we met face to face, we could not trade this kind of banter.

There was a difference in rank between us.

Still, how was Nirvakh supposed to find me?

Maybe someday, if I transcended and went to the Great Heavenly World. But for now, there was no way for either of us to find the other.

To begin with, Nirvakh seemed to mistake me for a Transcendent of a higher rank.

Of course, I should not cross the line.

You never knew what might happen. If I got too cocky, I could be in for a nasty surprise.

"...Nice."

The Death Nirvakh gave me was an item made by processing one of Nirvakh's scales.

How such a thing was possible had to do with Nirvakh's ability.

In any case, the Death imbued through that unique ability possessed great power.

It was smooth. It even felt nice to the touch.

This smooth black disc, roughly the size of my palm, looked at a glance like a miniature LP record.

It was valuable insurance that would save my life at least one more time.

"Hmm."

After putting them away, I closed my eyes and activated the mana within my body.

"...It really is slow."

My realm was still 5-Star.

Calling it stagnant would be unfair, considering how absurdly fast my earlier progress had been. Still, the process of increasing my realm through simple training was a little frustrating.

Of course, I could reach 6-Star before a full year passed.

Even by the standards of the Great Heavenly World, it was not much different from the pace of those called geniuses or prodigies.

"There's no reason to rush."

Naturally, if I wanted to force my realm upward, I could just stuff myself with spiritual medicines and spiritual pills.

I had accumulated quite a few Points, so people who needed karma would probably be happy to trade.

But I knew something.

Raising one's realm through shortcuts was completely useless.

If I blindly raised only my level that way, I would face a huge obstacle later.

Besides, I was practically invincible in Hyeondeok City even at this level.

The very source of my magic was of a different grade. Even if there was some difference in realms, I could overcome it easily.

I had no intention of spending an entire year doing nothing but training.

I planned to strike a balance.

I completed a round of mana diffraction.

Some time passed after that.

Knock, knock, knock.

At the sound, I immediately pressed the button and opened the door.

"Oh, you're here?"

"Yep! Reporting for duty!"

"...What's this now?"

Wendy entered with some strange formal salute.

Saaalute!

I could only feel baffled at the sight of her saluting.

"Um, the assistant in the next office did it like this..."

"That's because the mage in Building B used to be in the military and makes their assistant do that. Why are you doing it to me?"

"Oh. Sorry!"

...She was not normal. Not normal at all.

Why were there only eccentrics around such a normal person as me?

It was truly lamentable.

"So, did you get the exact details?"

"Yes, here..."

Wendy handed me a sealed envelope.

When I shattered the mana sealing its surface, the letter inside flew out on its own.

Flutter.

"Hmm."

What was written inside was not all that different from what I had expected.

The only slight difference was that their intentions felt more blatant than I had thought.

"Oh, right. They said the deadline is three days."

"That's insane."

No, I take that back. This went beyond blatant.

Either someone was causing trouble because they disliked my joining the Inner Tower, or the higher-ups thought there was something suspicious about me.

"...Then we need to move immediately."

I had wanted to rest for a while, casually putting together Tier Lists.

Wendy was finally building up a decent foundation, too, and teaching her had started to become rewarding.

"Ugh."

But what could I do?

If you wanted to be technical about it, I really was an infiltrating rat with another agenda.

I had entered this place, which was even named the Winter Tree Mage Tower, to take the Winter Tree's Core.

Of course, these people did not have the ability to make use of it.

But that did not mean what I was about to do was not theft.

"Wendy."

"Yes?"

"We need to get moving for now. I'll have to do some outside work. An assistant doesn't necessarily have to come along, but it would be awkward for you to stay here alone, right?"

"Wherever the needle goes, the thread follows!"

After running so many errands, she could not help but have a rough idea of the current situation.

I lightly pushed away the girl clinging to me so cheerfully and packed some things.

"Oh, right. This."

"...What is it?"

Perhaps because I had pushed her forehead, Wendy was wearing a deeply sulky expression. I handed her an item.

"A gun?"

A blue pistol engraved with ornate patterns.

Wendy stared at it for a while, then puffed out her cheeks.

"Are you giving me this because I'm weak?"

"Yeah. Of course. This is probably stronger than your magic right now."

It might not look like much, but this one gun cost thirty million hwan. Each magic bullet cost one million hwan.

I lightly patted the head of the girl who was still pouting.

"You're destined to become strong anyway. Don't be impatient."

"..."

She likely knew better than anyone that she was not quick to learn.

All her efforts to please me probably came from a desire to prove her own usefulness.

"Just watch carefully this time."

But she had no need to prove herself useful to me.

In the near future, she would have to protect me.

* * *

The Winter Tree Mage Tower was not a group that continually discussed and researched magic like some academic society.

Like other sects or companies, it openly declared itself a profit-seeking organization.

In fact, that tendency was even stronger here than at other Mage Towers.

The Winter Tree Mage Tower had always been far removed from any real tradition.

It had no school of thought it could put forward as its mainstream, nor did it have a shared direction within the Tower.

It was simply a collective of mages above a certain level who wished to profit from the Winter Tree.

Naturally, those wishing to join were given a task.

"...This place is creepy."

Wendy, who had come along for that task, rubbed her arms as she looked out the car window.

Of course, Wendy was close to being a coward. She admitted that herself.

But this tension and fear could not be blamed solely on her temperament.

Alpha 8 Zone.

Once Hyeondeok City's largest industrial complex, it had become half-ruined after a safety accident at a nearby mine.

It was a dangerous area that even fairly capable Ability Users avoided entering.

Naturally, Wendy knew well that she did not even qualify as a fairly capable Ability User.

So she subtly leaned toward the dependable person on her right, only to be flicked away by an elbow.

Eek!

As the car turned the corner, her tilted body hit the door.

Still, nobody seemed to care about her crumpled state.

"It looks like we're almost there. Do we still need to go farther in?"

"Once we pass one more abandoned factory."

Wendy heard Jin and the driver's conversation.

Their calmness as they spoke was simply amazing to her.

When he talked to her, he seemed about her age.

Of course, he definitely felt more mature than she was, but he did not carry the same kind of air as the other mages.

Perhaps this was the side he put on. If the reverse were true, that might be a little scary...

Screech!

Wendy gasped.

The vehicle suddenly stopped.

The sudden stop made Wendy bite her tongue as she drew in a breath, and she trembled as pain flared through it.

Aaagh...

Jin looked toward the driver's seat and asked,

"What's wrong?"

"They've set up steel structures ahead. It seems they are trying to block vehicles from entering."

"...Ha."

After a dry laugh, he immediately opened the vehicle door and got out.

Wendy, whose eyes were still watering from the pain, tried to follow him out. Jin gestured for her to go back inside.

"Okay."

Without a single objection, Wendy crawled back into her seat.

If she could not be helpful, she should at least listen well.

Rumble...!

Then waves of mana, visible to the naked eye, began to rise around Jin.

His whole body glowed purple, and the robe he wore fluttered in the wind.

"...Wow, that's so cool," Wendy muttered to herself, staring blankly at him.

That was exactly what the mages she admired were supposed to look like.

Though reality was a cesspit.

Screeeech, screech.

A noise like steel plates scraping against one another came from the metal structures blocking the road.

Was he going to send them all flying somewhere?

She watched the scene before her with eager interest.

Flash!

There was a burst of light.

At the same time, the jagged steel structures changed shape.

It looked as if they had all merged into a single lump.

"What...?"

That strange sight was beyond even Wendy's expectations.

Of course, this was Jin. A 5-Star mage. Clearing away obstacles like these would be easy for him.

But what she was seeing was more mysterious than the result itself.

It was a new kind of magic she had never seen before.

It gave her the same shock she had felt when she first saw magic in her life.

"Let's go."

"...Thank you. We'll proceed."

Vroooom!

The vehicle passed through the pile of obstacles without trouble and headed farther inside.

Watching the entire process, Wendy swallowed with a gulp.

"I... I could too..."

She was about to ask whether she, too, could do something like that someday.

She expected the answer to be yes.

"Not you."

"Huh?"

But the answer she received was cold and merciless.

That day, Wendy's world fell apart.

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