WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 166
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“A false world? A living one?”
I tilted my head.
A false world.
A living one.
Those words sounded impressive, but I had no idea what they actually meant.
The Dragon continued.
「I heard that a human had appeared in the south, sweeping away the monsters. A human called an angel, with a golden ring floating above their head.」
The Dragon’s gaze moved above my head.
And there, of course...
Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle, sparkle, sparkle, sparkle, sparkle!
A golden ring shone brightly, showing off its presence.
My Halo!
「...So it was true.」
The Dragon studied my Halo and muttered quietly.
「An angel in this false world. Can light dwell within a shadow? Is this a contradiction, or...」
“Well! I have been making quite a flashy scene. To think even a Dragon was watching me. That feels pretty good! My ego feels fulfilled!”
Apparently, this Dragon had been aware of me for some time.
Well, of course it had.
I went around completely kimchi’ing hundreds or thousands of monsters every day.
I even wore a Halo above my head, proof that I was an angel.
It couldn’t possibly have missed me!
While I was talking to the Dragon, Ms. Hyeji asked from beside me.
“Mr. Jiho. What are you talking about all by yourself? Why do you keep looking over there and talking to yourself...?”
“Huh? I’m talking to that Dragon. What do you mean, talking to myself?”
“But... to us, it just looks like you’re staring over there and talking by yourself...”
“Huh?”
I whipped my head around.
What I saw was...
The Dragon watching me with its golden eyes, proud and still.
And my party members looking back and forth between me and the Dragon in confusion.
Their faces were full of surprise and uncertainty, as if they really couldn’t hear its words.
I was shocked.
“Only I could hear the Dragon? Then could this be...! Sound Transmission!!!”
That was right.
The Dragon was using Sound Transmission!
To be precise, Secret Sound Transmission (傳音入密)!
It was the secret calling service that masters used in martial arts novels.
Of course, the details varied from novel to novel.
But it was usually a technique only martial artists at the Peak Realm or above could use.
To think the Dragon before me could use such an amazing technique.
It had to be a master with powerful martial arts!
I stared at the Dragon tensely and said,
“Ms. Hyeji, Ms. Yejin. And Iing Iing. Get back. That thing’s a master. If it can use Sound Transmission, it’s at least at the Peak Realm... Maybe even the Transformation Realm, like me. It’s dangerous, so get back.”
“But... Mr. Jiho. Anyone can see that Dragon looks incredibly strong.”
“This will be a tough fight...!”
I heightened my senses.
I sharpened my spiritual awareness and drew up a huge amount of Blue Motes from my heart.
I was preparing for the difficult battle ahead.
Rrrrrumble...!
A magic artillery array formed at the tip of my staff.
Railgun rounds floated in a line above my head.
Hundreds of Fireballs bloomed behind my back.
I even laid an Earth Manipulation array beneath my feet.
Then I raised my staff.
“Come at me! C’mere, c’mere!”
I was ready.
The instant it attacked, I could strike back with all the firepower I had.
My preparations were complete!
But for some reason...
“...Why isn’t that thing attacking?”
The Dragon didn’t attack me.
It simply remained where it was, watching me quietly.
Then it spoke in a low voice.
「Go back. I have no intention of harming the living.」
“...?”
「This is a land of echoes awaiting the day of the end. After sunsets as countless as the sands of the Ganges and boundless reenactments, this stage of shadows has reached the final act of eternal recurrence.」
“???”
「You who have crossed the veil between worlds are the only life unbound by the chains of reincarnation. One who carries the primordial pulse must not become caught in this cycle of illusions.」
“Eom.”
「Soon, the Primordial Furnace will open, and every breath of the mana veins will turn to ash. Such is the fate carved into this false world.」
“Jun.”
「So return, living one. I cannot bury the living in this tomb as well.」
“Sik. No, fuck. What the hell is that thing saying? Is it a wizard after all, since it’s a Dragon? It keeps using words only it understands. So annoying.”
Since Dragons were the origin of magic, did that mean they were just wizards in the end?
Like the Black Mages on the High Floors, this thing only said whatever it wanted.
The Dragon had a wizard ego too!
Honestly, this was why wizards were a problem.
Just look at the average wizard...!
I’d have to work hard to bring that average up myself.
Anyway.
The situation was rather strange.
I’d come expecting a boss fight, but the boss wouldn’t attack.
Meanwhile, the land’s mana veins were still being sucked in, even now.
They crept up the volcano, disappeared into the crater, and were absorbed into the Dragon’s body.
And its body was...
“...Huh?”
I frowned and studied the Dragon.
I hadn’t noticed at first.
I’d been too captivated by its overwhelming majesty and sheer coolness.
Seeing a fantasy Dragon had filled me with excitement and made my heart race like crazy.
But now that I looked...
“That thing’s dying.”
“What? Mr. Jiho. What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. It’s dying. From the look of it...”
Its sides, its back, its tail.
Holes covered its entire body, and blue light was pouring out of them.
The Blue Mote arrays engraved inside its body were breaking apart and scattering too.
It was as if the mana inside it had gone out of control and was leaking everywhere.
I sharpened my spiritual senses and examined its condition.
“Its heart... No, more precisely, it looks like its soul burst, and now it’s dying.”
That was right.
Its soul and mana were breaking down in real time.
It must have drained mana from the mana veins until it was fit to burst, then ruptured both its heart and soul.
I clicked my tongue.
“I can tell just by looking. You drained the mana veins to do something stupid, then burst from overloading yourself, huh? Your greed came back to bite you.”
This big lizard had kept sucking out mana veins for that precious mana.
Now its belly had burst, and it was dying.
Too much greed always brought disaster.
Why were environmental criminals always so greedy?
Well, it probably took that much greed to grab whatever they wanted, even if it meant ruining the world.
What a stupid, foolish, thickheaded bastard.
This was why people needed to know their limits.
As I clicked my tongue...
「Greed... Yes, it was greed. A being of a false world dreamed a dream it should never have dreamed.」
Its golden eyes slowly turned toward me.
「Human from the living world. Do you know that this world is nothing more than a shadow and an imitation of a world that has already perished?」
“Huh?”
What was it talking about?
The Dragon continued.
「From the moment I lifted the veil between worlds and learned the truth, I dreamed a single dream. To escape this false world and enter the living world. To be reborn as a true existence...」
“What are you talking about? Stop just saying whatever you want and explain it so I can understand.”
「But it was impossible. My soul was too vast. An ordinary intelligent being might have managed it, but the soul of an Ancient Dragon such as myself was far too immense.」
「And so, I had no choice...」
At that moment.
Rrrrrrip!
The Dragon’s wing tore away and fell.
SPLAAAAASH!
The torn wing plunged into the lava and sank amid the bubbles.
Where the wing had been just moments before, only bare wing bones remained.
The white bones stood out so clearly.
I couldn’t contain my admiration.
“Wow! Sans! Bone Dragon Sans!!!”
The Floor 50 boss was turning into Sans too!
And a fucking awesome Bone Dragon Sans at that!
For some reason, every floor’s boss seemed to end up as a skeleton.
Whether I cried out in admiration or not, the Dragon continued its lament.
「At least my child... I wished for that child, born in this false world, to live in the living world. To escape this endlessly repeating cycle of destruction.」
“A child? Aha. So you’re a married man? Or a married woman? I can’t tell whether you’re male or female...!”
「And so, I offered everything I could. Everything in this false world. Even my own soul... Thus, my child safely escaped this cage. With that, my life’s purpose was fulfilled. At least that child will escape these hellish chains and live in the real world...」
“Ahh, I see. I understand completely.”
Actually, I didn’t understand.
In that strange scene, with the Dragon pouring out its troubles and me chiming in, I slowly thought it over.
‘So, basically... it used all the mana veins in this world to do something that would let its kid escape?’
Suddenly, I remembered the egg I’d seen in the valley.
The huge Dragon Egg, thoroughly protected by spatial magic.
Had that really been this Dragon’s egg?
So...
The Dragon had realized that this world was fake, or a shadow, or whatever.
It had tried everything to send at least its child to the real world.
And as a result, the continent had become this total wreck...
Was that more or less what had happened?
Honestly, I wasn’t sure.
I gave a small laugh.
“What touching fatherly love. You sacrificed this entire world and even your own soul just to get an egg out of the Tower?”
「Yes.」
“But your stupid bullshit is about to fuck up my city. Aren’t you causing a little too much trouble for everyone else?”
「This world has already ended. It has ended many times, and it will end many more. What is wrong with burning a shadow to save something real?」
“You selfish fucking bastard.”
Selfish bastard. So it didn’t care if the world went to hell?
This big lizard had wrecked the world just to get its own child out.
Whether it was the traitors back in my country or a big lizard inside the Tower, there were far too many selfish bastards who only cared about themselves.
What a cold, heartless world.
As I was talking to it...
“Hey, Baek Jiho! What the hell is going on?! Why is that Dragon melting?!”
“Mr. Jiho. From the look of things, we don’t have to fight it, right? We’re not in danger, are we?”
-Iing Iing!
My party members began speaking up.
There was no sign of me and the Dragon fighting.
And its body was falling apart all on its own, turning it into Sans.
They seemed to be starting to relax.
But it was still too early for that.
「...Ah. It is nearly time. Flee at once, you who come from the living world.」
Splash! Splash! Splash!
The Dragon’s body began melting away, piece by piece.
Huge chunks of flesh broke off and fell into the lava.
Bare bones appeared beneath the fallen flesh.
Whoooosh!
Blue ghostly flames bloomed in both its eyes.
It was gradually transforming into a real Bone Dragon!
It spoke.
「My soul will soon vanish completely. Before long, my reason will fail, and I will destroy every living thing upon this land...」
Rrrrrumble...
The ground shook.
The Blue Motes in the air thrashed about in confusion.
「Hurry... leave...! While I still have my reason, I do not wish to harm you!」
“Don’t wanna.”
The Dragon’s Sound Transmission carried its emotion.
I slowly looked around.
First, I read the flow of the mana veins.
They were still being sucked into that Bone Dragon.
And each time another mana vein was drawn in, the blue ghostly flames of Sans-Dragon grew stronger.
The situation was obvious.
“You irresponsible Dragon-Sans bastard. Even if you die now, your body’s going to keep sucking up mana veins and wrecking this world.”
That Bone Dragon wouldn’t die. It would keep moving.
It would suck up the land’s mana veins and cover the whole world in volcanoes.
Then what about my city?
Naturally, it would be completely fucked.
It was obvious that volcanoes would start popping up inside the walls too.
In other words.
My Extreme Lunatic Hell Heaven Ark, Humanity’s Last City, Big-City...
Would be utterly fucking ruined!
I couldn’t let that happen!
I’d worked so hard on my idle city-building game!
“As the Extreme Lunatic Hell Heaven Angel-Mayor, I will protect my city!”
Because protecting the city was the mayor’s duty...!
I nodded.
As I strengthened my resolve...
「Such... recklessness...」
The Dragon’s voice reached me again.
It sounded much fainter and farther away than before.
「Hurry... flee...」
Its words stopped.
The golden light in its eyes slowly faded.
Only empty eye sockets remained.
And then...
Whoooooosh!
Blue ghostly flames blazed fiercely.
The melting flesh fell away in chunks.
Its body, now nothing but a bare skeleton, slowly rose above the crater.
Mana veins were drawn in from every direction, seeping between its bones.
I could no longer hear its voice.
Instead...
KROOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!!!
Sans-Dragon let out a terrible roar.
It had unleashed Dragon-Fear!
The air trembled.
A powerful spiritual wave rang out.
I adjusted my grip on my staff and muttered,
“Phase two?”
No.
Come to think of it, we hadn’t even had a proper fight yet.
Maybe this was phase one.
I drew up my Blue Motes.
Footnotes:
“Eom. Jun. Sik.” spells out Eom Jun-sik, a name used as a Korean internet nonsense meme. Jiho inserts its syllables between the Dragon’s cryptic statements.
Sans is a skeleton character from Undertale. Jiho jokingly applies the name to skeletal enemies.
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