WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 129: 129

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-Bzzzzzzz! Bzzzzzzz! Bzzzzzzz!

My smartphone vibrated like crazy.

I checked the comments.

└For real?

└Holy shit.

└Just... Big Dot!!! He saved the country, industry, economy, national defense, and now even Hunter Kim Taeseok!!!

└How is Hunter Kim Taeseok? Is he okay?

└He's finally coming back.

└Holy shit, Big Dot is insane. He really rescued him?

└Hello, Blue Dot. This is FFF Daily. We'd like to request an interview.

└So he's in the Tower of Trials right now?

└Tell us how Hunter Kim Taeseok is. Is he okay? Is he hurt anywhere?

└Sob, sob, sob. Taeseok-hyung was finally rescued. What a relief.

...

The comments kept pouring in.

I stood there and watched them flood the screen. I didn't bother replying.

Then...

└Why isn't this bastard showing up? Normally, he'd be so damn excited he'd be spamming replies. He made one post, then suddenly vanished.

└Blue Dot, you crazy bitch, tell us already. Is Hunter Kim Taeseok okay? What's his condition?

└This wasn't just bait, right? You didn't make this post for attention without actually rescuing Hunter Kim Taeseok, right?

└└Come on, no way. Even if it's King Korea Dot, I'd be pissed as hell if this turned out to be fake bait.

└You said you'd take questions, so why aren't you answering?

...

The mood in the comments gradually shifted from celebration to impatience.

I'd made the post but hadn't shared any follow-up news, so people were starting to get anxious.

Now was the time!

I left a casual reply.

└You said you'd take questions, so why aren't you answering?

└└Blue Dot: I said I'd take questions. I never said I'd answer them, though?

└└???

└└Is this bitch crazy?

└└You fucking bastard!!!

...

Comments immediately streamed in beneath my reply.

Chuckling, I put my phone away. Hyeji frowned at me.

“Jiho, what are you doing?”

“Making them sweat.”

“?”

“You have to leave them wanting more with stuff like this. You drop a little news, then disappear. That gets the Hunter Gallery users focused, and when I get home and properly write my post, I'll get more comments.”

“...You want to use Hunter Gallery that strategically? That's pathetic.”

Hyeji looked at me like I was pathetic.

No, but...

I wanted to share the news quickly and stir things up.

Still, sitting here at the Climber Management Department and typing on my phone all day while everyone watched would be a little embarrassing.

This was the best option!

If I threw out some rescue bait and warmed up the atmosphere first, I'd get even more attention once I went home and wrote the real post.

As if proving my theory...

-Bzzzzzzz! Bzzzzzzz!

Even now, the smartphone in my pants was vibrating like crazy.

It was a pleasant vibration.

I think I understood a little why Japanese actresses liked vibrations...!

Anyway, while Hyeji and I chatted...

“Hunter Kim Taeseok! Please come this way!”

“Can you walk?!”

“Bring the stretcher...!”

A crowd of people in white coats rushed over. They appeared to be medical staff summoned by the Climber Management Department.

They carefully supported Kim Taeseok.

“We'll begin a thorough examination immediately. Hunter Kim Taeseok, can you move? If it's difficult, we have a stretcher here...”

“What I'm missing isn't a leg, Doctor. All three of my legs are still attached and working fine.”

“Pardon? You normally only have two legs...”

The doctor looked confused by Kim Taeseok's dirty joke.

Even while missing an arm, he was casually cracking sex jokes.

Shouldn't he be starring in my company's aphrodisiac commercial...?

Were all high-ranking Hunters insane?

I was the only sane one.

I'd better keep my head straight!

As Kim Taeseok walked away supported by the medical staff, he suddenly turned toward me.

“Baek Jiho.”

“That's me.”

“Let's have a drink sometime. My family will be very grateful. I'd like to introduce you to my daughter too.”

“I don't drink. Just buy me a meal sometime. Something Extreme Lunatic Hell delicious.”

“Fine. Let's do that. Well then... see you later. Oh, and.”

Kim Taeseok smiled warmly and spoke in a solemn voice.

“Thank you. Truly.”

“...”

“It's reassuring to have you around. Thanks to you... I can retire without worry.”

“...”

“Take good care of the Republic of Korea, Extreme Lunatic Hell Patriotic Admiral Yi Hunter. I'll be going now. See you next time.”

Kim Taeseok turned and walked away.

Surrounded by the medical staff, his back gradually grew more distant. Every time he took a step, his empty right sleeve swayed.

There was something about it.

It felt like I was watching a hero's lonely retreat...

It left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“I wish my healing spell could regrow arms too.”

“You seem troubled by it.”

“Of course I am. He's someone who dedicated himself to King Korea all this time. It's sad to think he'll retire after losing an arm.”

Hunter Kim Taeseok.

Korea's first Hard-rank Hunter.

Someone who had devoted himself to the country until the very end.

He was also the Hunter Gallery's strategy guide legend, an old Hunter Gallery user who'd been active since its early days.

My first impression of him had been that he was a little crazy. He'd made a Shanks joke and a One-Eared joke while missing an arm.

Like the other high-ranking Hunters, he had a mindset somewhat different from normal people.

Still, I knew.

His mind might have been a little unusual, but his love for King Korea was real.

And now he'd lost an arm.

As the Patriotic Admiral Yi Hunter, I should show some concern.

I made up my mind again.

“Getting a Complete Recovery Potion should be easy enough, right?”

I decided to find him a Complete Recovery Potion.

The forties, the Highest Floors, were where all kinds of rare artifacts could be found. If I kept climbing, I'd eventually get my hands on a Complete Recovery Potion, right?

Anyway.

“Let's head home.”

I'd rescued Kim Taeseok and cleared Floor 41.

It was time to go home and rest.

I left the Climber Management Department.

* * *

Right after returning home, I turned on my smartphone and checked Hunter Gallery.

Countless posts had appeared.

[Why isn't that fucking Blue Dot coming back???]

[I feel like I'm losing my mind.]

[Breaking) Hunter Kim Taeseok rescue confirmed... Currently undergoing a thorough examination. Other than slight malnutrition, his life is not in danger.]

[Taeseok-hyung came back alive, sob sob sob sob.]

[Upvote if Glorious Dot is amazing.]

[He really survived this... Honestly, everyone had given up.]

[I felt awful after seeing his family's interview. I'm so glad he came back.]

[So does that mean Korea has three Hard-rank Hunters now?]

...

As expected, Hunter Gallery was in an uproar over the news of Kim Taeseok's rescue.

It was practically a festival.

A national hero had returned alive. How could people not be happy?

But...

‘It looks like they haven't announced that Hunter Kim Taeseok lost an arm yet.’

Maybe the government hadn't made it public yet.

The Hunter Gallery users were celebrating without knowing Kim Taeseok had lost his right arm.

I thought about it.

‘Should I make a post with my usual persona?’

Like I always did.

Should I write that I'd cleared Floor 41, rescued Hunter Kim Taeseok, and effortlessly killed Wyverns, Ogres, and whatever else got in my way?

Should I write about how I, the Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter, had rescued an isolated Hard-rank mediocrity?

Should I flex and brag about how amazing I was?

But...

I didn't want to.

Kim Taeseok's lonely back.

The empty right sleeve flapping in the air.

The bitterness in his eyes behind that cheerful expression.

They kept coming back to me.

I couldn't bring myself to write a post like usual.

I decided.

“Fine. Serious Blue Dot mode today. Sometimes even I get sentimental.”

Sure, I was an attention-seeking persona addict.

But even I felt reluctant to act like a baiting attention whore after seeing Kim Taeseok's severed arm...?

Today, I would enter serious mode for once.

I calmly wrote a post.

[Title: Hunter Kim Taeseok Rescue Report.]

[Author: Blue Dot]

First, he was rescued safely.

He went for a thorough examination, and his life isn't in danger.

But there's something I need to tell you.

Hunter Kim Taeseok lost his right arm...

Apparently, an Ogre tore it off on the first day he was trapped.

Potions can't reattach an arm that's been completely severed.

He fought on Floor 41 for seven weeks while unable to use one arm.

It's a miracle he survived this long.

For reference, he was still fighting when I arrived.

He was surrounded by Ogres, Trolls, and a Cyclops, holding them off with a single spear. It looked incredibly close...

Hunter Kim Taeseok.

I've read a lot of that man's strategy guides ever since I was a newbie.

They helped me a lot.

Honestly, who in Korea hasn't benefited from Hunter Kim Taeseok?

Thanks to him, our country was able to hold on this long.

I think everyone should be grateful.

He'll probably retire now that he's lost his right arm.

He's worked hard all this time.

I hope he can rest comfortably now.

That's all.

No flexing today.

...

I posted it.

After waiting a moment, comments began appearing one by one.

└Ah... He lost an arm.

└Is that why the government didn't release any photos?

└He survived seven weeks with one arm? How the hell did he manage that? Shudder.

└Taeseok-hyung, you've worked hard.

└Ah, sob sob, Hunter Kim Taeseok...

└It's strange that someone who climbed by reading his strategy guides went to rescue him himself...

└Sob sob sob sob.

The Hunter Gallery users seemed saddened by the news that Kim Taeseok had lost an arm.

Unlike before, the atmosphere was subdued.

I also watched the comments with a more somber mood than usual.

Then I saw several different kinds of comments.

└Hunter Kim Taeseok, thank you for everything. Please rest peacefully now.

└└Um... You wrote that like you're mourning someone who died, dude. People might get the wrong idea.

└└Ah.

└└RIP.

└└Taeseok-hyung isn't dead, you fucker.

Comments wishing the retiring Kim Taeseok well.

└It's a strange feeling seeing Blue Dot write a post like this...

└└When this guy makes a serious post, it just feels weird... Like everything suddenly gets solemn.

└└It does make you realize he's a person. Honestly, I thought he was an insane attention-seeking freak obsessed with his persona.

└└People who roleplay and live on message boards are often doing well in real life. They have lots of money and free time, so they waste it in places as unproductive as galleries. They just pretend to be unemployed losers and laugh while acting like idiots.

└└No, that's complete bullshit.

└└? What, are you saying there are actually total unemployed losers who spend time on internet galleries? Without working? Come on, don't lie. Who in the world lives like that? Hahahaha.

└└Why the fuck are you suddenly insulting me?

└└Are you insulting this body's Time Bill Gates?

└└Have you ever supported me while I was unemployed, you bastard? Why are you hurting the heart of someone who was quietly browsing the gallery?

└└If you take even message boards away from young people who are resting, what are we supposed to live for?!

Comments from people who found my unusual behavior strangely moving.

└Ah... Hunter Kim Taeseok lost an arm.

└That's sad...

└Blue Dot, you useless bastard! You bragged about being some Extreme Lunatic Hell Savior Hunter, so why couldn't you save Taeseok-hyung's arm?

└└For real. Is saving the country, people's lives, industry, and the economy enough? A real savior should've saved Taeseok-hyung's arm too.

└└Agreed;; If he were a true serial savior, he should've saved Taeseok-hyung's arm too... Turns out Blue Dot is just a mediocrity, huh? Hahaha.

└└Boo, Blue Dot. Save Taeseok-hyung's arm like you saved Korea.

And then...

There were even comments criticizing my shortcomings.

That got to me.

‘These bastards. They dare call me a mediocrity?!’

They were treating me like a mediocrity just because I couldn't save one arm?

Me, the Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter?

How dare they?

Unforgivable!

I immediately replied.

└└Blue Dot: Who said I can't save it?

└└Blue Dot: I'll get a Complete Recovery Potion soon and make Taeseok-hyung's arm grow back. Grow, grow, arm! Later.

└└As if that's something you can just get, Blue Dot.

└└Even America treats that as a strategic resource. How are you going to get it? Only Hunters around David's level can barely use that thing.

└└Big Dot, please! Just!

└└Blue Dot: Just wait.

└└Blue Dot: I'll get every last bit of Taeseok-hyung's arm back.

└└He's starting again. Hahahaha.

└└You said you weren't flexing today;

└└Serious Blue Dot couldn't even last five minutes.

└└People don't change that easily...

Comments kept pouring in.

Clicking my tongue, I closed Hunter Gallery.

Seriously, these people.

They have no sense of solemnity!

Just as I was about to get emotional, they had to ruin the mood!

Hunter Gallery was enough for now.

‘Should I check the Raid Team board? Choi Yejin probably wrote something.’

I closed Hunter Gallery and entered the Raid Team board.

There were several posts.

[(Survival Report) I came back alive.]

[Congratulations on Taeseok-hyung's safe return.]

[Boo hoo... I relaxed after seeing Taeseok-hyung return and pooped myself...]

[Can we ban that crazy bastard Park Gyu from the Raid Team?]

[Wow, Big Dot really rescued him.]

“Oh.”

Hunter Kim Taeseok had apparently made a post after leaving with the medical staff for an examination.

I immediately opened it and read.

[(Survival Report) I came back alive.]

[Author: Kim Taeseok (42)]

(A photo of Kim Taeseok in a hospital bed giving a thumbs-up with his left hand.)

Thanks for worrying about me, everyone.

I'm being examined at the hospital, and they say I'm in better shape than expected.

I offered my right arm to the new era.

Still, I'm glad I have one left!

I survived thanks to Hunter Baek Jiho.

Yejin worked hard too.

Thank you all so much.

Also, once I recover a bit, I'll update the map and upload the Floor 41 strategy guide again.

But seriously, typing with one hand is fucking hard.

This phone is unfairly designed for people with disabilities.

Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, help me!

└Choi Yejin (42): What the fuck do you mean, Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, help me?

└Lim Doyoon (32): Hyung! I'm glad you came back safely!

└Han Giyun (27): Sob sob sob. Congratulations on your safe return.

└Lee Junho (28): Hyung... Your arm...

└└Kim Taeseok (42): I gafe it to the new era.

└└Kim Taeseok (42): Ah, typo. Fuck. Gafe X gave. One-handed typing is too hrad.

└└Kim Taeseok (42): Hrad X hard.

└└Lee Junho (28): Hyung, log off the Raid Team board and rest...

...

The comments went on for a long time.

I smiled.

I could easily picture him struggling to type with one arm.

That man really was something.

The first thing he did after returning alive after seven weeks was browse message boards.

Then again, he was an old Hunter Gallery user.

He probably had message board addiction close to my level.

I closed the Raid Team board.

Well, he had lost an arm...

Still, I'd rescued a senior Patriotic Admiral Yi Hunter and successfully completed the Floor 41 clear.

I hadn't earned many Points, but it was a fairly satisfying clear.

I muttered quietly.

“Floor 42 tomorrow...”

Floor 42.

A floor no Korean Hunter had ever cleared.

There were no strategy guides and no information.

Until now, I had climbed by freely benefiting from information others had learned through bloodshed.

But not anymore.

I was no longer a latecomer walking the road others had laid down.

I had become a pioneer.

I murmured to myself.

“Following old man Kim Taeseok's lead, I'll have to write strategy guides now.”

Watch over me from your hospital bed, old man Kim Taeseok!

I'll become the second strategy guide legend!

That was the day King Korea's highest-floor record was updated.

* * *

United States of America.

White House West Wing.

Oval Office.

-Knock, knock.

An aide entered after knocking.

He held a red folder in his hand.

The words “TOP SECRET” were stamped prominently across it.

It was the seal of a highest-level classified document.

“Mr. President.”

The aide placed the folder on the desk.

With a grave expression, he spoke quietly.

“The projected date of the Great Cataclysm has moved forward.”

“...”

Heavy silence settled over the office.

After a long while, Torumph slowly opened the folder.

Then he muttered quietly.

“...Once again. A time of chaos.”

Footnotes:

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