WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 128: 128

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-Splat!

A blue streak blew apart the Ogre's head.

-Thuuud!

The headless green monster collapsed limply to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

-Graaaah?

-Grrrrrr...!

The remaining Ogre, Troll, and Cyclops all turned toward us at once.

A strange light flickered in the Cyclops's single eye.

Was that the ability called Slow?

Still.

“Who the hell are you glaring at with that eye wide open? Damn it. Die.”

I didn't feel anything, so I killed it quickly.

-KABOOOM!

The Cyclops's huge eye and head exploded.

I turned my staff and aimed at the remaining Ogre and Troll one after another.

-Boom!

-Boom!

Splat, crunch.

The Troll's head burst apart, and the headless Ogre toppled to the ground with two heavy thuds.

Come to think of it, Trolls were supposed to have super regeneration.

I wondered if it could recover even after losing its head, but...

-...

Apparently not.

Even a monster from the Highest Floors couldn't withstand my Railgun.

After wiping out the monsters in an instant...

“Iing Iing. Descend.”

-Iing!

Poroong.

We slowly descended toward where the monsters had fallen.

Kim Taeseok came into view as we drew closer.

Honestly, he didn't look very impressive.

Every piece of equipment he wore was on the verge of falling apart. Monster fluids, blood, and sweat caked his entire body. His untrimmed beard was a mess, and his empty right sleeve looked painfully lonely.

He had been isolated in the Tower for a long time. He must have gone through hell.

But...

‘His eyes are alive.’

As I got closer, I could see his eyes clearly.

For someone who had been trapped in the Tower for nearly two months, his gaze was remarkably sharp.

They were the eyes of someone who hadn't given up until the end.

Just like the hero who had refused to give up on the Republic of Korea even when it stood on the brink of ruin, he hadn't fallen into despair despite being isolated. He had endured until the end.

Thanks to that...

“Mister! I came to save you!”

“...Choi Yejin? And behind you is...?”

...he could be rescued like this.

Tap!

Choi Yejin landed and ran over. The rest of us followed behind her.

Choi Yejin rushed up to Kim Taeseok and shouted.

“Mister! Your arm...!”

“Ah, this? I gave it to the new era.”

“No, you lunatic! Your arm! What happened to your arm?! Don't tell me you lost it protecting me...”

“It's fine. It's only an arm. I'm just glad you're safe.”

“Mister...”

Choi Yejin's voice trembled as she fought back tears.

Kim Taeseok patted her on the head.

Was that guy just making a Shanks reference?

He'd lost an arm, yet he was this composed. He really wasn't an ordinary guy.

As I blankly watched their touching reunion from a distance, Kim Taeseok turned his gaze toward me.

He said quietly, “Thank you for saving me. I've never seen you before... Are you a Hunter from another country? You saved my life.”

Step, step.

Kim Taeseok walked toward me, his empty right sleeve flapping wildly.

When he reached me, he held out his left hand.

He wanted a handshake.

“My name is Kim Taeseok. Ah, forgive me for offering my left hand. A handshake should be done with the right, but... my hand is like this now.”

“...”

“So, could you tell me your name? I want to know the name of the person who saved my life.”

I reached out with my left hand and clasped his.

Then I said quietly, “It was me.”

Hunter Kim Taeseok.

Rescue successful!

* * *

Afterward, we heard Kim Taeseok's bloody survival story.

“What happened to me...? Well, nothing much. I was unlucky and got hurt a lot. Then I got lost and wandered around. Honestly, I never thought I'd survive like this.”

To sum it up, he'd been reenacting Cast Away inside the Tower.

After getting separated from Choi Yejin and losing his way, Kim Taeseok had done everything he could to survive and escape.

During the day, he moved while avoiding Large Monsters like Trolls and Ogres.

At night, he climbed trees or dug holes, hiding silently while he rested.

“The first few days were truly dangerous. I felt like I would die if I closed my eyes.”

He solved the food problem by hunting Wyverns, monsters whose meat wasn't poisonous.

He minimized combat, used the sun to find his bearings, and headed south.

For more than seven weeks, he had lived a precarious and dangerous life as a castaway.

Then, of all days, he ran into a monster pack today.

“My body was already at its limit. Honestly, I thought this time was truly the end...”

He was too exhausted to move properly, and the monsters had surrounded him.

At the very edge of death...

“That was when I showed up, right?”

The Extreme Lunatic Hell Savior had appeared and saved him!

It was worth rushing over without caring about the monsters. I had nearly failed to save him by a hair.

“Thank you again. You saved my life.”

Kim Taeseok bowed deeply to me.

A man over fifty shouldn't be making a perfect right-angle bow like that. It wasn't good for his back.

“Don't bow. And you don't need to thank me. I've gained a lot thanks to you too.”

“You've gained a lot...?”

“Your Hunter Gallery strategy guides.”

The middle-aged Hunter before me was called a hero of the Republic of Korea. He was also a great man who had earned Points for the people until the very end.

Still, I had benefited from him personally as well.

Kim Taeseok wasn't just a hero of the Republic of Korea.

He was Hunter Gallery's strategy guide legend!

Thanks to the strategy guides he wrote, I had overcome countless hardships and trials, survived all manner of deadly situations, and finally become a Hunter of the Highest Floors...!

I, Baek Jiho, was a peak master of the orthodox faction who pursued martial prowess and chivalry!

I was a man who knew loyalty!

And any martial artist worth their salt had to repay favors twofold and grudges tenfold.

Since I had benefited from him, saving him was nothing.

“...Strategy guides. Did you read my posts?”

“I read a lot of them. I've been climbing the Tower while reading your strategy guides since I was a newbie.”

“Is that so? I wrote them without much thought, but I'm glad they helped.”

Kim Taeseok chuckled.

His smile carried a strange sense of pride.

Then he suddenly asked.

“But you said your name was Baek Jiho, right? I don't think I've heard of you before... Did you become a naturalized Hunter from another country? I know most High Floor Hunters.”

Kim Taeseok looked puzzled as he said that.

It made sense that he wouldn't know me.

Seven weeks ago, I had been a convenience store clerk.

I nodded.

“You couldn't possibly know me. I've only been a Hunter for a little over a month. I became a Tower climber while you were trapped here.”

“You became a Tower climber while I was trapped? Then it's been around a month and a half... How did you get to Floor 41?”

“Well... I cleared all the lower floors and came up?”

“?”

“If you clear one floor a day, you get here pretty fast.”

“?”

Kim Taeseok tilted his head.

He blinked a few times, then stroked his messy beard.

He turned to Choi Yejin.

“Yejin. I think I've gone insane. I thought I was holding up well, but I suppose being stranded was harder on me than I realized. I'm hearing things.”

“Mister, you heard right. He's really only been a Hunter for a little over a month. He cleared one floor a day and got all the way here.”

“...?”

Kim Taeseok stared at Choi Yejin as if asking why she was also spouting nonsense.

“Mister, that lunatic is called Blue Dot outside. What he's been doing is...”

Choi Yejin began explaining who I was.

One by one, stories of what I had done came out.

How I first appeared on Hunter Gallery and stirred up trouble.

How I had set the shortest record by clearing a floor every day.

How I had carried out the Extreme Lunatic Hell Power Plan and saved the country's industry and economy.

How I had earned enormous amounts of Points every day and gradually eased the Republic of Korea's shortage of Points.

And how I had gone to China recently and fought a war against the Chinks by myself.

“...”

The longer Choi Yejin explained, the more dazed Kim Taeseok looked.

He hadn't lost the determination in his eyes even when surrounded by monsters, yet a simple explanation had left him stunned.

Once Choi Yejin finished, Kim Taeseok opened his mouth.

“So... In just a month and a half, you climbed to the Highest Floors, beat up foreign Hunters, invaded China, and solved the country's economic problems and Points shortage?”

“Mister, you just nailed it.”

“And the person in front of me is a National Power-Level Hunter that America is courting, China fears, and Japan watches carefully?”

“Hehe.”

“Have I truly lost my mind?”

“Why do you keep questioning your mental health? You heard everything perfectly.”

He pressed his fingers against his temples.

I understood.

The world had changed completely during the seven weeks he was isolated. Of course his head would be spinning.

“Hmm... I don't fully understand, but...”

Kim Taeseok lowered his hand from his temple and stared at me for a moment.

Then he smiled.

“So while I was crawling around and eating Wyverns, you were saving the country.”

“It was me.”

I puffed out my chest and answered proudly.

I really had saved the country.

I earned Points, secured electricity, and saved industry, the economy, and lives.

With achievements like that, it was fine to stand tall and brag without pretending to be humble.

Too much humility just turned into humblebragging.

Then...

-Tap.

Kim Taeseok placed a hand on my shoulder.

His expression was completely serious.

“Thank you.”

“?”

“For protecting this country instead of abandoning it.”

Hmm...

Normally, hearing something like that would have made me excited enough to show off even more.

But getting thanks from Kim Taeseok of all people made my chest feel strangely ticklish.

“I don't think you're the one who should be saying that. You've protected King Korea for far longer.”

“Have I?”

“Mister, you've suffered enough. Take it easy and rest from now on. Leave King Korea's future to me!”

Kim Taeseok had suffered like a dog for seven years.

Now that the Extreme Lunatic Hell Patriotic Admiral Yi Hunter had appeared, he didn't need to be worked to the bone anymore.

So leave everything to me!

I'll save it all!

Kim Taeseok chuckled.

“You sound quite reliable.”

“Then let's head home. You should see your wife and daughter again after so long.”

“Right... Ah, Baek Jiho. Do you happen to have a girlfriend? My daughter is about your age, and-”

“Is she pretty?”

“Mister! What the hell are you doing?!”

-Iing!!!

Choi Yejin's expression twisted, and Iing Iing grabbed Kim Taeseok's hair.

Anyway, we rescued Hunter Kim Taeseok safely!

Now, let's go home.

* * *

Getting home was simple.

“Iing Iing! Return helicopter mode!”

-Iing!

Poroong.

All it took was one click of Iing Iing's Psychokinetic Flight.

Hyeji, Choi Yejin, Kim Taeseok, and I floated into the air, and Pilot Iing Iing settled atop my head.

All five of us floated into the sky at once.

“W-What?! My body!”

“Mister, accept it quietly. It's a fairy's Psychokinetic Flight.”

“A fairy...?”

“Jiho, I think we should go straight to the Escape Portal without killing more monsters. I'm worried about Hunter Kim Taeseok's health... We should move as quickly as possible.”

The mood was more boisterous than usual.

With two more people, it became much noisier.

It didn't feel bad.

Traveling with just Hyeji, Iing Iing, and me every day had felt a little lonely. Sometimes, this kind of chaos wasn't bad.

Anyway.

“Iing Iing, let's follow the canyon north. He said there's an Escape Portal there.”

-Iing!

We floated through the sky and continued north.

The scenery rushed past us.

The air brushed against my skin.

“...”

Kim Taeseok blankly looked down.

Without saying a word, he stared at the canyon he had crawled through for seven weeks.

“Ha ha. This feels strange.”

He slowly spoke as he looked at the ground.

“I crawled around down there for seven weeks. Now we're just flying past it in a few minutes... Yejin.”

“Yes, Mister.”

“I feel a little cheated. Why was I down there covered in mud and hiding among rocks?”

“I was too, Mister.”

The two started grumbling about how unfair it was, how communism was the answer, how the Tower was tilted, and all sorts of nonsense.

They were both Hard-rank Hunters who stood out among ordinary people, yet they were saying things like that.

They had no conscience!

As we flew along, I glanced at Mister's empty right sleeve.

-Flap, flap.

The sleeve flapped wildly in the wind.

It had been bothering me since earlier.

“Mister. What were you doing when you lost your arm?”

“Hey! Baek Jiho!”

“Ah... This?”

Kim Taeseok casually waved his sleeve.

“An Ogre ripped the whole arm off on the first day.”

“You couldn't heal it with a potion?”

“No potion can reattach a completely severed arm. And even if one could, that bastard Ogre ate my arm. How would I reattach it? That Ogre must have found my arm delicious, because it devoured the whole thing. Bastard.”

“Ah.”

It seemed his right arm was stored inside an Ogre's stomach.

That was unfortunate.

Kim Taeseok shrugged.

More accurately, he shrugged just one shoulder.

“What can I do? I survived thanks to you all, so I'll live with it. Honestly, once you get used to it, life isn't too bad with one arm.”

“...”

“So don't feel too sorry, Yejin. Hunters can lose an arm or a leg, can't they? It's no big deal, so don't worry about it too much. It's a miracle that I came back alive.”

I saw Choi Yejin clench her teeth beside me.

Talking about his arm seemed to make her feel guilty again.

I said quietly, “Please hold on a little longer. Someday, I'll find a complete recovery potion or something and get your arm back.”

“What?”

Kim Taeseok blinked.

“Do you know what kind of item that is?”

“I know roughly. I saw the news that America's number one Hunter recovered after losing an arm and a leg by drinking one.”

“Right. It's that kind of item. There might only be a few in the entire world, and if one appears, nations bid for it at auction. Only powerful countries like America can get their hands on one.”

“So?”

“...What do you mean, so?”

He gave a hollow laugh.

My words must have sounded absurd to him.

Still, I sincerely believed I could get a Full Recovery Potion.

‘Most monsters on the Highest Floors seem to die to one Railgun shot anyway. And Iing Iing is great at finding loot... Can't we get one or two Full Recovery Potions?’

I had found a Magic Stone Reactor in the Middle Floors, then all kinds of artifacts and potions in the High Floors.

The Highest Floors probably wouldn't be any different.

So yeah.

I'd find one!

“Anyway, don't worry, Mister. This Extreme Lunatic Hell Patriotic Admiral Yi Hunter will take responsibility for reattaching a patriot's arm!”

“...”

“So later, please film an ad for our company. I'm thinking of releasing an aphrodisiac next-”

“You bastard.”

Choi Yejin's expression twisted again.

What was wrong with asking him to film an ad?

Did they have any idea how much a national hero's modeling fee cost?

I pictured it.

Hunter Kim Taeseok, a national hero, appearing on TV and singing an aphrodisiac jingle.

“Give me vigor like an Orc, a Troll, an Ogre!”

Khh!

Just imagining it made my chest swell...!

The Extreme Lunatic Hell Group would become the kind of company that even used a national hero as a commercial model.

What overwhelming majesty!

“...I don't know what it is, but I'll decline. I have a bad feeling about it.”

“That's a shame.”

Kim Taeseok seemed determined to decline my advertising offer.

Too bad.

Should I look for another model?

As I was lost in thought...

“Excuse me, Jiho.”

Hyeji quietly tugged on my collar.

She had looked like she was thinking about something, but why was she suddenly doing this?

She spoke softly.

“Um... Since we're talking about potions...”

“Yes?”

“That Reverse-Aging Potion, exactly when are you going to-”

“I can see the Escape Portal!”

Ignoring Hyeji's complaint, I looked into the distance.

At the end of the northern canyon was a bright cluster of light.

The Escape Portal.

It scattered brilliant light as it guided us forward.

“Alright. Let's go.”

We threw ourselves into the Escape Portal.

The hero who had been isolated for over fifty days was finally returning home.

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 41)]

[You have completed Tower Floor 41.]

[You have defeated 3 Wyverns (3,000).]

[You have defeated 1 Troll (5,000).]

[You have defeated 2 Ogres (10,000).]

[You have defeated 1 Cyclops (10,000).]

[Points are being calculated.]

[Tower Floor 42 has been unlocked.]

[Returning.]

I hadn't earned many Points, but this raid had given me something far more valuable.

* * *

Flash!

The bright light faded.

I slowly looked around.

We were in the center of the Climber Management Department, right in front of the black Tower.

And surrounding us were countless people.

They were officials from the Climber Management Department.

Despite so many people being there...

“...”

The surroundings were strangely quiet.

It made sense.

Everyone present had their eyes fixed on the one man behind us.

His thick beard.

Equipment that wasn't just damaged, but completely wrecked.

His empty right sleeve.

Someone spoke in a trembling voice.

“...Hunter Kim Taeseok?”

“Yeah.”

Kim Taeseok smiled awkwardly.

“It's been a while.”

The moment he spoke...

Waaaaaaaaah!

Deafening cheers erupted.

“Hunter Kim Taeseok has returned!”

“H-Hunter! Your arm...!”

“Medical team! Get over here right now!”

“H-Hunter... We're so, so glad you returned safely...!”

The officials of the Climber Management Department rejoiced as one.

The soldiers and police guarding the facility did too.

Kim Taeseok was someone who received that much respect from the people of the Republic of Korea.

It made sense.

He had worn down his own body trying to earn even one more Point to save the people.

How could anyone not respect him?

He might not be on my level, but he was definitely someone who deserved proper treatment.

Anyway.

I had rescued Hunter Kim Taeseok.

I had also climbed Floor 41 safely...

I should let people know, right?

I took out my smartphone, connected to Hunter Gallery, and casually made a post.

[Post Title: Rescued Kim Taeseok, yeah]

[Author: Blue Dot]

Just went to Floor 41 and rescued him.

Ask away.

...

I pressed the post button and lowered my smartphone with satisfaction.

Then, exactly three seconds later...

-Bzzzzz! Bzzzzz! Bzzzzz!

My smartphone started vibrating like crazy.

Footnotes:

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