WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 11: 011

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First came Wind Cutter.

Ten razor-sharp blades of wind descended on the Goblin horde.

Slaaaaaash!

A long, drawn-out slicing sound.

The Goblins collapsed like dominoes. Dozens fell at once, their upper and lower bodies severed, while blood and guts spilled across the corridor floor, painting it red.

Wind Cutter was followed by Fireball.

Fwoooooosh!

Five large Fireballs tore through the air.

They struck behind the horde.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

Dozens of Goblins were blown to pieces and scattered everywhere.

Even those who narrowly avoided direct hits had their limbs torn apart by the blast pressure and were sent flying.

The deafening explosions and shockwaves shook the underground space.

“Kyaaaak...!”

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

The Goblins screamed.

Their cries were a chaotic mix of despair and terror.

The dying Goblins groaned weakly.

The few survivors desperately scrambled into the holes.

I stepped forward.

‘Most of them died, but a few survived.’

A handful had ducked in time to avoid Wind Cutter.

Others had used fellow Goblins as shields.

Of course, their lives ended there.

“I was a top marksman in the army, you know.”

I cast Air Bullet.

Bullets of compressed air floated above my staff.

I aimed my staff and fired at the heads of the Goblins that were still alive.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Their foreheads burst open as they died.

Each time I aimed my staff, another Goblin dropped its head and died.

Then, a moment later.

“...”

A deep silence settled over the corridor, which had been filled with noise just moments ago.

I had wiped out more than a hundred Goblins.

It had all happened in barely a minute.

Still, I couldn't quite smile.

“...I think around thirty got away. Damn, they're fast when it comes to running.”

There had been nearly a hundred and fifty Goblins.

About thirty had quickly crawled into the holes and escaped.

Regretfully, I fired magic into the holes.

Pop! Pop!

I fired several tiny Fireballs inside, but there was no reaction.

I couldn't sense any Goblins inside with my spiritual senses either.

They had probably fled far beyond the holes.

‘Damn it... My flawless clean-sweep plan failed!’

This wasn't what I had pictured.

My original plan had gone like this.

A horde of Goblins charging toward me.

Then I would stand there proudly and carve through them with Wind Cutter, like a Sword Master firing sword aura.

The charging Goblins would collapse in heaps.

That was the cool scene I had expected.

Reality was different.

The Goblins got scared and turned tail.

I was too busy desperately throwing out spells to care about looking cool.

No, how was I supposed to know Goblins would run away that fast?

Don't you idiots know that wounds on a swordsman's back are a badge of shame, you fucking cowards?

“First, let's collect the loot.”

Leaving my disappointment behind, I looked around.

Then I immediately frowned.

“What a damn mess.”

The area was a complete disaster.

Goblin corpses lay scattered around, cut in half.

Chunks of flesh were strewn everywhere.

The stench of blood and filth turned my stomach.

Blood and pieces of meat stuck to my combat boots with every step.

The entire corridor was covered in blood and guts.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Muttering curses, I collected the loot scattered across the floor.

Goblin daggers piled up one by one in my bag.

Every single one was coated in blood or scraps of flesh, making me not even want to touch them.

But there was no helping it if I wanted money.

This was all money. I couldn't leave it behind.

‘Ah... Does my sister know? That her little brother is working this hard to make money?’

All I had done was click a few spells.

Still, collecting the loot was disgusting and made me sick.

I made up my mind.

“Starting from Floor 5, I'm definitely getting a porter. A high-class worker like me shouldn't have to bend over and pick up loot one piece at a time.”

Up to Floor 4 of the Tower, solo play was mandatory.

From Floor 5 onward, though, parties of up to five people were allowed.

In other words, I could have a porter.

Of course, since I wasn't an ordinary Hunter, there were a lot of things I would need to consider when finding one.

I'd think about that later.

For now, I picked up the daggers on the floor and put them in my bag.

After collecting every piece of loot, I headed for the Escape Portal without a second thought.

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 3)]

[You have completed Tower Floor 3.]

[You have defeated 121 Goblins (1).]

[Points are being calculated.]

[Tower Floor 4 has been unlocked.]

[Returning.]

* * *

The moment I returned.

“Sis, I'm so sad.”

I said that as I poured the daggers into a ramen box.

My sister jumped in surprise.

“What do you mean you're sad? Did something happen in the Tower? Did you get hurt?!”

“Well...”

Phew.

I sighed and put on a wistful expression.

“I could've killed a hundred and fifty Goblins. But they ran away, so I only got a hundred and twenty.”

“?”

“I never thought they'd run away like cowards...”

My sister looked baffled.

Her face clearly said, Is that really a problem?

It was frustrating.

“No! An extreme lunatic hell wizard like me let Goblin trash mobs escape! Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?!”

“...At least I know you're fine. I'll make food, so go wash up. You reek of blood.”

“Okay. Before that, though...”

I couldn't resist browsing the gallery right after climbing.

Click!

I took a picture and quickly wrote a post.

[Title: Newbie Hunter cleared Floor 3 today...]

[Author: Blue Dot]

(A picture of a ramen box full of Goblin daggers)

Went to Floor 3 today

Waited and Goblins crawled out of the holes

Looked like there were around 150

Was grinning thinking I'd kill them all

But these bastards got scared of my Conqueror's Haki and ran away;;

In the end I only killed 121, and around 30 escaped through the holes

Sigh... I only made 3 million won...

Could've made another 750,000 won if I got them all...

Lost 750,000 won, so I guess I'll just have an ordinary home-cooked meal today...

└?

└This guy's lying gets worse every day. Monsters got scared and ran away? LOL What kind of nonsense is that?

└He killed 120 Goblins? On Floor 3, a breakthrough map?

└Isn't Floor 3 a place where you can't even collect loot? I heard you're supposed to run through it fast, so there's no time to pick anything up.

└└He's saying he didn't break through it like everyone else and just massacred them. In short, it's bullshit LOL.

└└He's a liar, ignore him.

└└He's been using random pictures he found online to do this weird bit for days now, yeah.

The Hunter Gallery users treated it as lies and bragging.

It was the result I expected, so it didn't bother me.

Still, it was a little sad.

‘They're all trapped by shallow prejudice, blindly denying everything. They have eyes, yet they can't see the truth right in front of them. They are no different from the blind!’

Was there truly no one in Hunter Gallery who could witness the truth without being swayed by prejudice?

How tragic!

As I made a fool of myself while checking the replies.

└But what if this guy's actually telling the truth?

One comment suddenly caught my eye.

My eyes widened.

└I searched the pictures he posted today and the ones he posted before. They haven't been uploaded anywhere else, so I don't think he stole them.

└└Then he probably made them with AI. With AI these days, faking stuff is easy.

└└No, they don't have that overly polished look AI images usually have. The picture quality looks like it came from an old smartphone, and even the curly hairs visible on the yellow flooring feel strangely real... I think it might actually be real...

└└LOL You believe such a pathetic fake post? You're exactly the kind of guy who'd get scammed.

“Whoa.”

There was someone who thought my post was real. A crazy person... no, someone with a pure soul.

It was surprising.

‘Honestly, I thought nobody would believe me.’

There was a reason I kept posting reviews on Hunter Gallery.

It was simply fun.

I could feel how extraordinary my strength was through people's reactions.

It was also entertaining to watch users who got baited become angry.

That was why I kept writing posts.

Still, I had no intention of convincing anyone else about my abilities.

If I truly wanted people to acknowledge them, I would have shown them using magic from the beginning.

Or I could have shown them the Points in my status window.

The reason I had deliberately posted only loot pictures was because I wanted to brag about my daily earnings while leading people to believe I was lying.

I basically wanted to play the secretly-overpowered guy.

But I never expected someone to actually believe me...

‘Well, if people start believing me, I won't be able to keep playing the secretly-overpowered guy.’

Maybe one or two people were starting to fall for it because I had kept up the bit for so long.

Should I change how I used the gallery?

I rested my chin on my hand and thought.

* * *

After a simple meal, I prepared to conquer the Tower.

In other words, I lay on my bed and rolled around.

“You said you were preparing to conquer it. Is lying there all limp really preparation?”

“I'm recovering my stamina. I bent over so much while picking up daggers earlier that my muscles are sore...”

“You're a Hunter with a strong body, yet you're whining. Open the window, I'm going to vacuum.”

“Okay.”

I lifted my staff.

Bang!

I fired low-density compressed air at the corner of the window, and it slid open with a rattle.

My sister stared at me with an incredulous expression.

“Wait. Did you use magic because you couldn't be bothered to get up for a second?”

“Ahem. This is part of my training too. I use it in daily life so I can freely control compressed air at both low and high density.”

“You use magic to turn off the light in your room too, don't you?”

“How did you know?”

“I knew it. Seriously... I'm worried you're getting lazier. You weren't like this before...”

My sister grumbled as she vacuumed.

The vacuum hummed, its head moving all over the room.

I rolled around on the bed and thought.

‘A porter... Where do I find one?’

What I said about preparing to conquer the Tower wasn't actually a lie.

I was lying in bed thinking about porters.

From the outside, I probably looked like a lazy bum.

But inside my head, I was conducting complex calculations worthy of a wizard.

Squirm.

I pulled the blanket over myself and thought.

‘From Floor 5 onward, a porter is absolutely necessary. There'll be too much loot to carry alone. Even if I handle all the fighting, I need someone to collect and transport the loot for me... The problem is that there's no one I can trust.’

Floor 5 of the Tower of Trials.

The floor where party activities became possible.

The floors grew larger, and the amount of loot noticeably increased.

Since I couldn't carry all that loot by myself, party members were practically mandatory.

But I couldn't easily accept party members because of my special ability.

‘If word gets out that I'm a wizard, China or Russia could kidnap me. Even if I bring in a porter, they have to be someone trustworthy who can keep their mouth shut.’

China and Russia.

Even before the Tower appeared, they were countries teetering on the edge of becoming complete disasters.

After the Tower appeared, they had easily crossed that line and gone completely off the rails.

They officially and systematically ran Hunter prisons and Points factories.

They were genuinely insane.

If people learned that I was a wizard, it was obvious what they would do.

‘The most likely outcome is that they'd kidnap me, force me to change nationality, and work me as a slave Hunter for their country. Or they might conduct experiments on me to learn the principles of magic...’

Changing Tower nationality was simple.

The moment you touched another country's Tower, your Tower nationality changed.

You might still be a Korean citizen administratively, but your status window would list you under another country.

So if they kidnapped me and forced me to touch the Tower in Beijing or Moscow, I would have no choice but to climb the Tower for China or Russia instead of the Republic of Korea.

There had already been many similar cases.

China had kidnapped Normal Hunters from Mongolia, India, and Southeast Asia, then used them as slave Hunters.

Russia had kidnapped Normal Hunters from Eastern Europe and Middle Eastern countries, then used them as slave Hunters.

They hadn't even done it secretly.

They had simply sent in their armies and kidnapped Normal Hunters.

With those insane gangster states sitting right above the Korean Peninsula, how could I dare reveal that I was a wizard?

I had decided long ago that I would only reveal I was a wizard once I had enough power to protect myself and those around me.

Anyway, given the situation, I had to be extremely careful about accepting party members.

I had no interest in a future where rumors spread, I got kidnapped, became a Chinese or Russian slave, was imprisoned, and forced to produce Points.

So I needed to find someone who could keep a secret, someone I had a strong relationship with, and someone I got along with personally...

But where would a person like that be in my life?

Frustrated, I scratched my head.

‘Ah, damn it. I'm such a loser that my social circle is tiny, and I don't have any Hunter connections... Where the hell am I supposed to find a porter?’

A porter.

I wanted to meet one because I couldn't meet one.

That was such a sad feeling.

Then it happened.

“Oh! Hyeji! I heard the news.”

The vacuum shut off, and I heard my sister's voice.

It sounded like she had gotten a call while cleaning.

Was it one of her friends?

‘Her name is Hyeji? Sounds like the sort of name that'd like playing Yuumi support.’

I stopped paying attention after that silly thought.

My mind was too occupied with finding a porter.

Then I heard the rest of the conversation.

“Is life at the dorm okay? Ah, that's a relief. You're alive... They said three thousand reserve Hunters who were taken this time died. I was so worried. I'm glad you're safe.”

“Sis! Is your friend a Hunter?!”

I couldn't help but jump into the conversation.

My sister answered in surprise.

“Huh? Oh? A Hunter? Uh... yeah, they are.”

“What kind of person is this Hyeji? Are you close with them?”

If one of my sister's friends was a Hunter, I might be able to find a porter I could trust.

Footnotes:

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