WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 34: 034

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Morning.

After waking up, I muttered, "I think I heard something weird in my dream."

By the way, I could feel something strange against my cheek again today.

I reached out to touch it, and sure enough.

The crystal ball was sitting beside my cheek.

"Why is the crystal ball here again?"

Rustle.

I got up and looked over my desk.

The ramen-box crystal ball stand I had roughly fixed yesterday.

As expected, it was broken.

I made a renewed vow.

'I definitely need to go to Daiso today.'

It seemed ramen boxes, those all-purpose materials, couldn't support the crystal ball after all.

The stand had broken two days in a row.

I'd go to Daiso this afternoon and buy something suitable to use as a crystal ball stand.

Anyway.

An ordinary day began.

"Sluuuurp!"

"Hey! Don't eat so noisily. People will call you uncultured if you do that outside, you know?"

"Sis, your soybean paste soup is so good that I can't help wolfing it down."

"I can't tell if that's a compliment or not..."

I started the morning with a big bowl of warm, savory soybean paste soup.

"Aaah! Hyeji!!! Please!!!"

"What's wrong with Hyeji? Did something happen?"

"Ah, my sister, not that Hyeji. Our team's Hyeji support keeps trolling."

"...?"

"I was only a few wins away from reaching the glorious realm of Silver...!"

I even enjoyed some games for once.

Still, the game had been awful lately.

Maybe everyone had given up because there were less than three months until the Republic of Korea fell, but I kept running into insane bastards who threw games.

[Blue Dot: Ah, guys, please play properly. We're losing because of you. I'll save the Republic of Korea, so cheer up. Let's go, everyone! Fighting!]

[What the fuck are you talking about, you crazy bastard? You're the biggest problem.]

[Is a person with a 0/8/1 KDA even human???]

[Of all the times to get a fucking troll like this...]

[Yumi, don't stick to that ADC. Just abandon them.]

They were blaming this Extreme Lunatic Hell ADC?

This was all because of those ordinary top, mid, jungle, and support players.

This Extreme Lunatic Hell ADC was carrying them, yet those bastards ruined the game!

Those evil creatures...!

"Is this... is this really reality? Four trolls out of five people! Trolls shouldn't be allowed to play games! Trolls shouldn't be allowed to play! If people keep playing games like this, everyone will go insane!"

"Jiho, watching you makes me think games really are a disease."

"Heavens!!!"

After losing three games in a row, I finally shut it off.

I was in danger of getting demoted from Bronze to Iron.

It was just unfair.

With skills like mine, I should've been battling pros in the glorious Challenger ranks.

Instead, I had to play with Bronze vermin because I had no luck with teammates...!

'That damn Chinese game. I'll never play it again. Anything the Chinese get their hands on has problems.'

The Chinese were the problem, anyway.

And the Russians were a problem too.

If China and Russia didn't exist, I could proudly reveal that I was the world's only Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter and live a happy hero Hunter life, basking in everyone's respect, praise, love, and awe.

Instead, I was hiding at home because I feared being kidnapped, imprisoned, drained for Points, and experimented on by China and Russia...

My grudge against those two Red Team nations deepened further.

It was the butterfly effect of a losing streak.

That afternoon, I went shopping with my sister.

"Sis, I think we bought everything. Let's head back soon."

"Wait. These clothes are on sale. I should take this chance to buy a lot while they're cheap!"

"Are we really in a position where we need to care about sales now...? These outfits don't even cost 100,000 won each. Why are you so concerned with discounts?"

"But it feels good to buy things cheaply."

"That's true. Anyway, hurry up and buy what you need so we can go to Daiso too. I need to buy a crystal ball stand."

"A crystal ball stand?"

"Ramen boxes aren't enough."

"?"

"Ramen boxes weren't all-purpose after all."

We bought a ton of clothes at the department store, then went to Daiso to buy a crystal ball stand.

Still, Daiso really was amazing.

Who would've thought they actually had a crystal ball stand...

It wasn't actually sold as a crystal ball stand. It was a wooden multipurpose stand.

But it was the perfect size and shape for placing a crystal ball on.

Daiso really was legendary.

There was nothing they didn't have.

After returning home, I decorated the crystal ball.

"Sis, what's that thing you use when you wash your car? The one that makes the surface shiny."

"Wax?"

"Yeah, that. Give me some."

"Why do you need car wax?"

"To make my crystal ball sparkle."

"?"

I took the wax from my sister and sprayed it onto the crystal ball.

Pssht, pssht.

I sprayed it on, then rubbed it with a soft cloth.

The crystal ball's surface took on an even deeper sheen and became more radiant.

It naturally filled me with satisfaction.

'It's even more beautiful now that it sparkles.'

I carefully placed the gleaming crystal ball on the wooden stand.

It definitely looked more luxurious on a proper stand than it had on that crude ramen-box stand.

They said presentation was important for food, after all.

An elegant object needed a fitting backdrop.

Just as I, Baek Jiho, a premium-class human, shone even more brilliantly because I carried the title of Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter!

I also studied the crystal ball a little.

[Occult Gallery]

[You must cover crystal balls with a towel. They can cause fires through the lens effect.]

"Oh. I see. I almost caused a fire."

While looking up how to care for crystal balls, I learned an unexpected fact and covered it with a towel.

Fire was scary.

Our house didn't even have fire insurance.

Anyway...

That was how I spent my time.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.

'Ah... Why does this feel so boring?'

My day-to-day life today.

You could say it had been quite satisfying.

I'd eaten delicious food.

I'd enjoyed games to the fullest.

I'd gone department store shopping and spent money freely.

I'd occasionally watched Shorts until my brain turned to mush.

The old me would've thought it was a perfectly enjoyable day.

But why was that?

It felt like something was lacking.

Something hotter, fiercer, more intense, more overwhelming...

That sort of thing was missing.

Ah.

I got it.

'I want to go to the Tower.'

My fingers twitched restlessly.

I wanted to grab my staff and unleash magic right now.

Fireball, Wind Cutter, Water Jet, Air Bullet, Earth Manipulation...

I wanted to pour them out indiscriminately and grind up hundreds, thousands of Goblins or Orcs.

I wanted to see explosions and thunderous roars ring out chaotically, blood spill everywhere, and clouds of bloody mist burst forth.

I wanted to unleash all the power I possessed without restraint.

At some point, I had become addicted.

To the feeling of sweeping away enemies with the overwhelming power called magic.

To that terrifying sense of omnipotence and exhilaration.

I chuckled.

"Now I know why I'd been bored all day. I've been doing such stimulating things in the Tower every day, so of course ordinary life feels boring."

Games and Shorts couldn't help feeling boring.

What was the point of poking at enemies with skills as an ADC in a game?

When I could enter the Tower in reality and grind up real enemies with actual magic.

How much dopamine could I get from Shorts?

Instead of moving my finger to watch another video, I could move my staff and grind up enemies for incredible exhilaration.

So.

You could call it a kind of Tower addiction.

My dopamine threshold had become too high.

The exhilaration I felt inside the Tower had been so intense.

Compared to that, the quieter pleasures of everyday life felt trivial.

I suddenly wondered.

'Have other Hunters felt something similar?'

Or was I the only one like this?

Since it had come to mind, I made a post on Hunter Gallery.

[Post Title: Guys, I think I'm addicted to the Tower. Has anyone had a similar experience?]

[Author: Blue Dot]

After becoming a Hunter, I've been climbing the Tower diligently.

But lately, everyday life feels empty and boring...

Nothing really feels exciting anymore.

After thinking about it carefully.

I think I've gotten too absorbed in fighting and killing in the Tower...

Even when I play games or watch Shorts, they somehow feel boring.

I just want to hurry into the Tower and have bloody battles.

If Tower entry wasn't limited to once a day, I feel like I'd go whenever I had a spare moment.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

I'm curious whether this only happens to me or whether other Hunters feel the same way.

If you've experienced it, please share.

...

I wrote the post and waited for a while.

Before long, comments started appearing one by one.

└This crazy attention-seeking bastard brought a new act today.

└This time, he's addicted to the Tower?

└Addicted, my ass. I'm a Floor 4 rice-farmer, and my balls shake every time I kill four Goblins, fuck.

└Everyone goes in to make money. Who the hell goes in because they like it?

└Maybe you're not addicted to the Tower, but addicted to attention?

└Lmao, Tower addiction? What a joke.

└If it weren't for the Hunter General Mobilization Order, I'd quit immediately... I don't want to go to the Tower. I'm scared.

...

As expected, the reactions weren't good.

They asked who would enjoy going into the Tower just to make money.

I smacked my lips.

"Am I really that unusual...?"

Then again.

As a great and noble Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter, I could overwhelmingly sweep everything away without any danger.

But for other Tower climbers, the Tower was simply a place full of danger.

Our circumstances were different, so naturally we'd feel differently too.

I was about to close Hunter Gallery with an uneasy feeling when I saw it.

└HunterNet: There are quite a lot of people addicted to the Tower.

A single comment.

The username looked familiar.

'HunterNet?'

HunterNet's official account had left a comment.

As I recalled, that account hadn't done much besides sending invitation messages.

Why was it commenting?

HunterNet continued.

└HunterNet: Rather than being addicted to the Tower itself... I think it's more accurate to say many people are addicted to the tension and exhilaration of battle. Tower climbing is more stimulating and intense than any extreme sport.

└HunterNet: Most Hunters on Floor 20 and above in the Middle Floors are like that. You can't reach those floors through a simple sense of duty alone. Only those who truly enjoy battle can surpass Floor 20.

└HunterNet: Psychiatrically speaking, the prevailing view is that it is a type of PTSD... Still, quite a few Hunters don't agree. They believe they were born with a natural disposition to enjoy battle.

└HunterNet: So don't worry too much. You can even think of it as having the qualities to become an outstanding Hunter.

"..."

Long comments appeared one after another.

I read them closely.

From the sound of it... I wasn't the only one addicted to the Tower.

Top Hunters in the latter part of the Middle Floors and beyond.

They too wandered through the Tower, addicted to the tension and exhilaration of battle.

HunterNet continued.

└HunterNet: We've been watching Blue Dot's activities for a while.

└HunterNet: We don't believe every post you've written is true... but it does seem certain that you genuinely enjoy climbing.

└HunterNet: Blue Dot, you seem like one of us.

└HunterNet: Once you pass Tower Floor 20, how about joining the Raid Team?

'Raid Team.'

It was a group I knew too.

A network exclusively for rigorously verified top Hunters who had reached Floor 21 or above in the Middle Floors among those registered with HunterNet.

A group of around several hundred carefully selected Hunters.

You could call it a gathering of truly elite Hunters.

└HunterNet: If you join the Raid Team, you'll be able to access information at a higher level than regular HunterNet. And if you wish, you may be able to find trustworthy party members too.

└HunterNet: We've sent the Raid Team invitation code by message. Once you reach Floor 21, you can join through HunterNet.

They were inviting me to the Raid Team.

What made them trust me?

Wasn't it only natural to see the high-profile user Blue Dot as a malicious attention seeker with a ridiculous act?

Then, suddenly.

One comment caught my eye.

└HunterNet: Blue Dot, you seem like one of us.

"One of them..."

I made a guess.

That HunterNet administrator.

Maybe they had sensed the signs of a battle maniac beneath my attention-seeking posts.

They might've thought most of my posts were lies and bluster.

But they had somehow seen through the fact that I genuinely enjoyed the Tower.

Battle maniacs probably understood each other somehow.

Heh.

I smiled faintly and muttered softly.

"You've opened your eyes halfway. Not bad for an ordinary person."

They hadn't realized that everything I wrote was true.

Still, they had seen through the fact that I sincerely enjoyed Tower climbing.

They hadn't fully opened their eyes, but I could give them credit for opening them halfway.

To think Hunter Gallery, which was full of blind people, had such talent.

Not every ordinary person was foolish.

I smiled in satisfaction and left a comment.

└└Blue Dot: Thanks for the advice. Once I pass Floor 20, I'll consider joining. You should consider it an honor.

└└HunterNet: Don't mention it. People like us should help each other.

└└Blue Dot: I'm pretty strange too, but you're strange as well. Why do you keep being polite after my rude comments? Don't you get offended?

└└HunterNet: I'm used to it. Top Hunters tend to be eccentric. Blue Dot, you're cute by comparison.

└└Blue Dot: Have you lost your mind?

└└HunterNet: ^^

"..."

The Raid Team. Was it really all right?

There seemed to be quite a few crazy bastards among the top Hunters.

No.

More accurately, perhaps people had to be that unhinged to climb very high.

Anyway, the Raid Team...

'Should I join once I pass Floor 20?'

I glanced over the comments.

Had HunterNet said everything it wanted to say?

There were no more comments from HunterNet.

Instead.

└The Raid Team? The Raid Team? The Raid Team? The Raid Team? The Raid Team? The Raid Team????

└Holy fuck, is this real?

└HunterNet is truly fucked!!!!!! They got baited by an attention-seeking troll and invited him to the Raid Team!!!!!

└Korea is doomed, and now HunterNet is doomed too!

└Seeing HunterNet's comments makes me realize our country really is doomed... I'm selling all my assets and preparing to immigrate immediately...

└The Republic of Korea's service has ended...!

There were only the frantic comments of blind people.

I closed Hunter Gallery.

'I want to go to the Tower already.'

And so I waited for my porter.

[Entering Tower Floor 14.]

The raid of Floor 14 began.

Footnotes:

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