WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 164
──────
The next morning.
When I woke up, I frowned.
There was a strange sensation against my cheek.
“A crystal ball.”
The red crystal ball I had picked up yesterday was sitting right beside my pillow on the bed.
I muttered quietly.
“Is this that déjà vu thing?”
I felt like something similar had happened before...?
Anyway, I placed the crystal ball on my desk.
Later, I should fold up a ramen box and use it to hold it in place!
That was how the morning began.
“Sluuurp!”
“Jiho, I told you not to make noise while you eat...”
“Noona, another bowl!”
“Sure. Eat plenty.”
I mixed rice into the savory soybean paste soup and slurped it down.
Then, as usual, I had my time for current affairs and culture.
In other words, I skimmed the morning news.
The news was full of stories about me.
[Blue Dot earns a staggering 20 million Points in one day... Finally reaches Floor 50]
[Blue Dot stands shoulder to shoulder with world number one David... Will he attempt humanity’s first Floor 50 breakthrough today?]
[US White House: “We are closely watching Blue Dot’s Floor 50 attempt.” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “Not worth commenting on.”]
[London Convention regular meeting opens tomorrow. World leaders and Highest Floor Hunters gather in London.]
[Reports of monsters seen outside the Tower continue overseas... Governments: “Nothing has been confirmed.”]
[Yu Seunghee claims Blue Dot’s 20 million Points were “manipulated by the Korean government.” Government: “Not worth responding to.”]
There were practically nothing but stories about Blue Dot.
I nodded in satisfaction.
“All the people of the world are watching my every move!”
This was the life of an influencer.
People across the globe were closely watching my climb.
Would I truly clear Floor 50 and rise as the world’s number one Hunter?
Would the Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter truly pioneer a new realm of the Tower?
The entire world was watching with wide-open eyes!
It felt good!
As I sat there grinning while looking through the articles...
“Jiho, doesn’t that put pressure on you?”
“?”
Noona suddenly said something strange.
She continued.
“Not just our country. The whole world is watching you, Jiho. Don’t you feel any pressure? Like, aren’t you worried you might fail your climb or something...?”
“Pressure...? Worry...?”
“Yeah. If I were you, I think I’d be too worried to sleep at night.”
Ah. I wondered what she meant.
It seemed Noona was worried that all the intense attention would pressure me.
That I might not be able to perform as well as usual because of it.
Tsk, tsk.
Noona still didn’t know me at all.
An attention seeker became more motivated the more attention they received!
“Noona. To an attention seeker like me, people’s attention is sunlight.”
“...Sunlight? What are you talking about?”
“Just as plants receive sunlight and photosynthesize, attention seekers gain strength and motivation from people’s attention! The more attention, the better.”
The only thing better than attention was more attention!
The only thing better than baiting people was baiting them harder!
How did she still not understand such a simple principle?
It seemed my sister lacked the proper sensitivity of an attention seeker.
Noona snickered at my words.
“I don’t really get it, but I’m glad you seem to be in good condition. There are so many news articles, I thought you might feel pressured.”
“That’s me.”
“Sure, Jiho. Do your best today, and be careful. Your health matters more than people’s expectations. Safety first, safety second, safety third. You know that, right?”
“Safety first! Good, good, good!”
“...Isn’t that a construction-site slogan?”
Anyway.
For the day I was becoming world number one, it was an ordinary morning.
* * *
After breakfast, it was time to practice magic.
I sat cross-legged in the living room.
Then I gripped my staff and focused my mind.
“Ommmm.”
I vibrated my vocal cords deeply and heightened my spiritual awareness.
My mind extended outward.
My soul traveled through the spiritual realm beyond the material world.
My consciousness transcended my flesh and rose toward a higher plane.
My breathing grew endlessly deeper.
My heartbeat gradually slowed.
With every inhale, the energy of heaven and earth entered me.
With every exhale, worldly troubles left my body.
I was no longer Baek Jiho.
I was no longer the Extreme Lunatic Hell Heaven Prophet Angel Transformation Realm martial artist, heir to the Goblin sect, Longbow Apache, power plant manager, alchemist, wizard.
I was the wind, the clouds, and the flowing river.
I was one with all creation, an existence contemplating the principles of the universe.
The threshold of enlightenment shimmered before my eyes.
How long had I focused my mind like that?
“Argh! This is suffocating!”
Spring!
I shot to my feet.
I looked at the jar beside me and shouted.
“Daesik, you lying bastard!!! You said this would make me better at magic! You said if I sat down, went ‘Om,’ and concentrated, I’d get better at magic! Then why can’t I use spatial magic?! Were you lying to me, Sans Sans?!”
-...It has only been five minutes. You impatient fool.
“Five minutes? No way. It felt like five trillion five hundred million years had passed.”
-How someone this impatient ever reached the Seventh Tier... It is truly a mystery.
That was why I had been sitting on the living room floor making a fool of myself.
Since spatial magic would not come easily, I had been following the training method Daesik suggested.
But as you could see...
“I can’t even touch space, let alone manipulate it.”
It did not seem particularly useful.
I looked around.
Then I saw it.
Hummmmmm...
Tiny amounts of Blue Motes floated through the air.
It was mana naturally dissolved into the atmosphere.
But after recognizing and dismantling spatial magic on Floor 49...
Something had entered my field of vision.
It was none other than...
‘Space itself.’
If I focused all my strength into my eyes and stared, I could see it.
The structure of something beyond the Blue Motes in the air.
It was immensely dense, delicate, minute, and sturdy.
Yet at the same time, it was immensely flexible and soft.
Space.
In English, space.
In Japanese, kūkan.
I could see it!
Unfortunately...
Sliiide.
Even when I reached out to grasp it.
Even when I extended my spiritual awareness to manipulate it.
I could not touch it at all, as if it were a mirage.
I clicked my tongue.
“It feels like I’m back to being an ordinary mortal. This is irritating...!”
The sensation of reaching out but being unable to touch anything.
It was actually familiar to me.
Before becoming a wizard, I could only perceive Blue Motes without being able to do anything with them.
Anyway...
It was frustrating!
I flailed my hands through the air.
“I can’t touch it, though I want to. What a sad feeling~”
-Magic that controls space is a legendary realm to begin with. It is the supreme realm mastered only by great wizards of the Mythic Age, or dragons, the progenitors of magic. Of course someone like you cannot master it in a single day. The fact that you, in a human body, have even touched the spatial element is remarkable enough...
“I want to touch it too!”
-...You do not listen to a word I say.
Why could I not touch something I wanted to touch?
I needed to quickly learn some cool spatial magic and go around using spatial slashes and Spatial Leap as much as I wanted.
Blue Dot uses the Shrinking Ground Technique!
Just imagining it was overflowing with style!
A wizard should at least learn blink magic! Of course!
That was when it happened.
-Are you feeling impatient?
Out of nowhere, Daesik pointed that out.
What was this thing babbling about now?
I asked back.
“Impatient? Me?”
-Yes. I have watched you for over a week, but this is the first time I have seen you looking so impatient and chased by something.
“?”
What was that supposed to mean?
Noona too, and now Daesik beside me.
Everyone around me seemed particularly determined to point out things about me today.
Daesik continued.
-You have always done as you pleased. You used magic whenever you wished, however you wished. But today is different. You look as though something is chasing you.
“A chased look... Really?”
-Yes. Behind your frivolous expression, I see unease and anxiety. What in the world is chasing you so badly?
“...”
I tilted my head.
Impatience showed on my face?
Was that... true?
Thinking back, I had been a little different from usual.
Normally, I was a dopamine-type person.
I loved easy wins and enjoyed having fun. I hated frustration and boredom and rejected them completely.
I was not the type to stay planted in one spot, struggling through magic training.
But right now, I was suppressing my frustration and doing ridiculous things like meditation.
If it was just interest in spatial magic...
This really was not like me.
Had I, without realizing it...
Been concerned about people’s attention?
Had I been worried about failing to climb Floor 50 and looking uncool?
‘No. That can’t be it.’
I had long ago figured myself out with a wizard’s excellent intellect and self-reflection.
I was someone who loved attention.
I did not feel even a speck of pressure from people’s gazes.
Then why was I feeling so impatient?
I rested my chin on my hand and thought.
Then suddenly...
‘...’
A vision passed through my mind.
An endless black sky.
Countless stars.
They were so enormous, so distant, so far away.
They were looking down at me.
Blink.
I closed and opened my eyes.
Then I muttered quietly.
“What was that?”
It felt like something was about to come to mind, but maybe not.
It bothered me strangely.
Anyway!
“It’s about time. Shall I go claim the title of world number one?”
-Are you going to the Tower?
“Yeah. Daesik, tell me already! Say, ‘You’re Number One!’ Acknowledge me as the world number one, like Bizeter acknowledged Kicarrot!”
-I truly cannot understand a word you say.
This anime-illiterate Daesik bastard!
What had it been doing all this time without watching the cosmic masterpiece KingreGonbol?
That was what happened when it watched nothing but the news all day. It had no common sense.
When I returned from the Tower today, I would put on KingreGonbol through Nippleflix and force it to watch.
Anyway, I waited for my party members.
“Enter Tower.”
[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 50)]
[Na Hyeji (Republic of Korea: Floor 50)]
[Choi Yejin (Republic of Korea: Floor 50)]
[Please select the floor you wish to enter.]
“Before... going to Floor 50!”
Pop.
I stretched out my hand and canceled before entering.
The party members looked at me with puzzled expressions.
“? Mr. Jiho, why did you suddenly stop?”
“What? Did you forget something? Or do you need to take a dump? Want to use the bathroom first?”
-Iing?
They seemed confused that I had stopped right before entering.
I answered quietly with a solemn expression.
“Since it’s the day I become world number one, I want some encouragement before I go.”
“Encouragement? What are you talking about? Do you want us to cheer you on here or something?”
“That’s not it.”
I took out my smartphone.
Then I logged into Hunter Gallery.
What I saw was this.
[Blue Dot is going to Floor 50 today, whoa]
[Gwanghwamun current situation.jpg]
[Go, Shining Blue Dot! Blast through Floor 50 in no time too!!!]
[King Dot, let’s gooooooo for world number one!!!]
[I’ll buy everyone chicken if Blue Dot clears today. For real.]
[If he clears Floor 50, are we having a national celebration?]
[Bravo, Kim Blue Dot. Hurry up and become world number one already.]
[All Hunter Gallery users support Extreme Lunatic Hell patriotic Admiral Yi national-pride Hunter Blue Dot.]
[Woohoo~]
[I’ll hold my breath until Floor 50 is cleared. Inhale]
Countless posts cheering for me, who would soon become world number one!
I read one of them.
[Gwanghwamun current situation.jpg]
(A photo of countless people gathered in the square before the Tower of Trials at Gwanghwamun, waving Korean flags and holding banners.)
People are celebrating in front of Gwanghwamun Square.
There are fucking tons of people...
My house is near Gwanghwamun, so I came to take a look. The crowd is enormous.
└There are seriously so many people. Why are they packed together like an ant swarm?
└There are dozens of foreign press cameras too... Blue Dot really is world-class. This is insane.
└└They are all waiting to capture the exact moment the floor display on the Climber Management Department’s climbing status board changes from 50 to 51.
└└This is Korea, you bastards!!!
└It is the historic day our country becomes number one in climbing, hahaha. Of course we should participate in something like this.
└Go, Shining Blue Dot!!!
...
Apparently, a massive crowd had gathered at Gwanghwamun Square to cheer for my Floor 50 climb.
I smirked.
“You good little things... Seeing you praise great and noble me brings me so much joy!”
“...You’re browsing Hunter Gallery right before entering the Tower too?”
“That’s me.”
Countless people were cheering for me!
It would be a shame not to leave a post at a time like this.
I quickly wrote one on Hunter Gallery.
[Title: Shall I go claim it now?]
[Author: Blue Dot]
‘Number One.’
...
A simple one-line post.
Then countless comments came flooding in.
└King Dot!!!!!!!!!!!!
└Time to sort out the rankings of Hunters worldwide~
└This is not Korea’s first. It is humanity’s first, fuck. My tits are extremely majestic...
└└Stop becoming majestic, hahaha. Do you have gynecomastia?
└Bravo, Kim Blue Dot... Splendid, Kim Bluen Dot...! Amazing, Kim Blue Dot! So cool, King Blue Dot!!! Hurry up and become world number one already!!!
└Floor 51, here I come~
└You saved Korea, so now you have to take world number one too, right? Right.
└Go, Blue Dot. Come back alive.
└Let’s gooooooo!!!!
...
Within seconds, dozens, then hundreds of comments appeared.
Countless comments cheering for me.
After reading them, I quietly declared.
“Photosynthesis fully charged.”
“What is photosynthesis now...?”
“That attention-seeking bastard. I was nervous about Floor 50, but he sure knows how to drain the tension out of everyone.”
The party members grumbled.
But I felt better than ever.
Their encouragement had filled me with motivation!
Then, shall we begin?
“Enter Floor 50.”
[Entering Tower Floor 50.]
Flaaash!
The Floor 50 raid began.
* * *
The light faded.
I slowly looked around.
“Just as I thought, we started near the city again.”
A familiar place stood in the distance.
My city, the city I ruled.
Extreme Lunatic Hell Ark Last City of Humanity Big-City.
Wall-Iing Iing, which I had recently rebuilt, looked truly magnificent.
But when I looked around the area...
It was very different from usual.
“...Why has a volcanic region come all the way down near the city?”
Everything around us was colored black and red.
The black was burnt earth and cooled lava remnants. The red was lava.
Sulfur smoke billowed upward with the stench of rotten eggs.
The scorching air mercilessly heated the surroundings.
Until yesterday, the volcanic region had only been visible far to the north.
Now, it had pushed all the way to the city’s doorstep.
The party members looked around and began speaking one by one.
“This is crazy... What the hell happened in one day?”
“The area right in front of the wall has become a field of lava...”
Yejin and Hyeji spoke with stiff expressions.
I was speechless too.
This was not just the volcanic region expanding.
It was like the entire world was becoming a volcano.
I gritted my teeth.
“You environment-destroying bastard...!”
After I had put in so much damn effort to keep my city from being ruined.
Now it was forming an encirclement-and-annihilation formation with lava?
The Tower was supposed to be cultivated lush and green, and it had trashed the place like this!
Unforgivable!
“This time, I’m really teaching it a lesson. Boss or not, I won’t let an environment-destroying Chinese bastard like this get away with it!”
Just as I raised my staff and swore to teach it a lesson.
That was when it happened.
Kroooooooar!
The world trembled.
Footnotes:
Kicarrot, Bizeter, and KingreGonbol are intentionally mangled references to Kakarot, Vegeta, and Dragon Ball.
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