WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 5: 005

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The situation was even worse when I stepped outside.

"I can't put up with this anymore. I'm quitting. I won't be coming in from tomorrow."

"Seriously, Ms. Jiye? You won't regret this? You'll be dead in three months at this rate. I'm saying I'll take care of you, so why do you keep playing hard to get?"

"Let go of my hand."

The Hunter had a rough grip on my older sister's hand.

My older sister tried to shake him off, but she wasn't strong enough.

"Take your hand off my sister, you piece of shit."

I stepped beside my older sister with my staff in hand.

The middle-aged Hunter turned his gaze toward me.

"Oh, you're Ms. Jiye's little brother? The one who went through a Tutorial this time?"

"I'll say it again. Let go of her hand and get lost."

"Hmm..."

He gave me a quick once-over, then snickered.

My skinny appearance must have looked hilarious to him.

But I thought he was just as laughable.

‘Was he a Floor 8 Hunter? Even so, he came from Easy-rank, didn't he?’

I'd cleared Hard-rank or higher difficulty.

We had started from completely different lines.

A Normal-rank Floor 1 Climber had abilities equivalent to an Easy-rank Floor 5 Climber. A Hard-rank Floor 1 Climber was equivalent to an Easy-rank Floor 10 Climber.

Considering that, I, who had cleared Extreme difficulty, should have stats at least equal to someone in the Middle Floors.

On top of that, I had magic.

This Hunter wasn't worth worrying about.

The bastard twisted his mouth and started running it.

"Kid. Lower your eyes. You're Ms. Jiye's brother and all, but how dare you look at a senior Hunter like that..."

"I told you to let go three times."

I'd already given him plenty of chances.

I didn't need to hold back anymore.

Using my staff like a club, I swung it.

Did he think an attack from a rookie Hunter wasn't even worth dodging?

He still stood there with a relaxed expression.

Stupid bastard. He'd regret it.

-Thwack!

My staff smashed into his head.

"Ghk?!"

The middle-aged man grabbed his head and stumbled back.

Only then did his hand fall away from my older sister.

His eyes widened.

"What... how...?"

"What do you mean, what? You wouldn't listen, so I hit you. I told you to let go over and over, but you only listened after getting hit."

"I heard you only cleared a Tutorial today... What was that impact? Don't tell me, Normal-rank?! No, even if it was Normal-rank, it couldn't be this..."

Maybe the blow had given him a concussion.

He staggered around, rambling nonsense.

I swung my staff again.

-Crack!

My staff struck his disgusting hand.

A crunch echoed through the air.

His hand bones had shattered.

"Argh!"

"I'd like to kill you, but that'd make things complicated. I'll let you off here, so get lost."

"Ghhk...!"

Clutching his ruined right hand, he staggered away.

What a weak bastard.

He'd been such a pain for someone who went down after two hits from a staff.

I turned to my older sister.

"Sis, are you okay? That bastard didn't hurt you, did he?"

"What are you? Didn't you just clear a Tutorial today? Then how did you...?"

My older sister stared at me in a daze.

It seemed she couldn't believe that I, a guy who had just cleared a Tutorial, had beaten a Floor 8 Hunter one-sidedly.

I spread my shoulders and spoke proudly.

"I told you. I cleared Extreme Lunatic Hell difficulty."

"..."

"Still think I'm joking?"

My older sister didn't say anything.

* * *

After we returned to the semi-basement living room of the villa...

"I'll tell you about the Tutorial I went through."

I carefully explained everything that had happened in the Tutorial.

How Goblin Warrior and Goblin Shaman had appeared as trial opponents.

How I had happened to grab a staff and gained the ability to control Blue Motes.

And how I had ended up using magic...

"Goblin Warrior and Goblin Shaman... A Tutorial difficulty beyond Hard-rank? And magic? That's impossible..."

My older sister couldn't bring herself to believe me.

Fair enough. Even I, who had gone through it myself, found it unreal. It must have sounded even crazier to my older sister.

Of course, making her believe me was easy.

"Watch."

I only had to show her.

I drew up a little of the energy inside me and summoned Blue Motes.

Then I arranged them and activated the spell.

-Fwoosh!

A fireball formed above my staff and flickered fiercely.

"Wow!"

My older sister's eyes went wide in surprise.

Heh heh. Her reaction was so satisfying that I wanted to show her more.

I summoned more Blue Motes and created several fireballs.

-Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

Five fireballs in total formed and circled majestically above my staff.

Round and round.

My older sister's eyes darted busily after their paths.

She was getting quite the eye workout.

-Whoosh.

I canceled the spells I'd made and recovered the Blue Motes.

"What do you think? Cool, right?"

"W-Wait. That's real? That's real magic? Magic? Magic??? You're not scamming me with stage tricks, are you?!"

"Tsk. To belittle sacred magic as a mere parlor trick. Ignorant sister, open your eyes."

Was she shocked, flustered, excited, or all three?

My older sister kept muttering the word magic like a broken cassette player.

I even showed her my status window.

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 1)]

[110 Points]

"See the 110 Points? Goblin Shaman gave me 100 Points, and the Warrior gave me 10. That makes 110 Points."

"..."

"Do you believe me now? That your little brother cleared Extreme Lunatic Hell difficulty and became a wizard?"

My older sister stared at me blankly.

She couldn't seem to find the words.

I shrugged.

"Anyway, that's what happened. So how about becoming my manager, Sis?"

"Your manager? Me?"

"Yeah. It's going to be hard for you to keep working with that Hunter team anyway, isn't it?"

My older sister had graduated from a prestigious university and had worked for a famous major corporation, even if only briefly.

I'd heard she was quite capable as a manager, probably because of that experience.

If my older sister became my manager, I could focus completely on climbing the Tower.

"And we're family. You're the person I can trust more than anyone. I'd feel really secure if you became my manager."

Family.

The people who could trust and rely on each other more than anyone else.

In both ability and trustworthiness, my older sister was the best person to be my manager.

"Instead of stressing yourself out by cleaning up after other Hunters with awful personalities, wouldn't it be better to take care of an amazing, talented little brother like me? Be my manager. Please?"

"...Haha. Okay. I'll be your manager."

"Nice!"

"I don't know whether this is a dream or real life. Magic... What is even happening?"

My older sister muttered that, apparently overwhelmed by everything.

Still, I was happy.

I'd secured a manager I could put to work comfortably!

* * *

The next morning, I went through my plans one by one.

"Oh, Jiho. You became a Hunter? Uh... congratulations. The minimum wage I didn't pay you? Ah, geez! Of course I'll pay it! I'll round it up and send it over, so don't worry!"

"Could you send it right away, Manager? I need to register as a Hunter and buy equipment today."

"I'll send it right now!"

First, I called the convenience store manager and received the wages he'd withheld from me.

When I checked my account, exactly four million won had been deposited.

It was the money he'd cheated me out of over more than ten months of working at the convenience store, with a little extra added on.

Next, it was time to go to the Climber Management Branch.

Our transportation was my older sister's junker of a car.

It was a compact car that was nearly twenty years old.

"Hey, get in!"

"Sis, this thing won't explode while we're driving, right? I'm a little worried."

"It's old, but it still runs fine. Do you know how well I've maintained it? Just get in already!"

It looked so beat-up that it seemed ready to be sent to the scrapyard at any moment.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘This car's terrible. Once I make a lot of money, I should buy my older sister a car. She'd probably love a sleek sports car.’

My older sister was unusually interested in cars.

Even the MTube videos she watched sometimes were all about cars, and she had memorized the specs of all kinds of vehicles despite having no intention of buying them.

She was what people called a car nerd.

It hurt my heart to see someone who loved cars so much driving something that was practically ready for the scrapyard.

Once I made a lot of money, I'd definitely buy her a really nice car.

I withdrew that promise five minutes later.

-Honk honk! Vroooom!

"Sis! Drive carefully!"

"That asshole cut me off like a dickhead! Hey! Hold on tight!"

"Don't flash your high beams! And don't chase him! Ah, come on!"

Come to think of it, this woman changed completely whenever she grabbed a steering wheel.

She drove this wildly even in a junker like this. I didn't know what kind of disaster would happen if she got behind the wheel of a sports car.

Sports cars were dangerous. I'd just buy her a safe luxury car instead.

Anyway, we arrived at the Climber Management Branch.

"Mr. Baek Jiho. Please show me your status window."

"Okay."

I opened my status window.

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 1)]

[110 Points]

"Confirmed. Your Hunter ID has been issued, and you can exchange your Points at that counter over there. Take this form to the other counter to receive your supplies."

"Okay."

Hunter registration was easy.

I showed my status window and filled in my personal details, including my resident registration number, address, and contact information. It took less than five minutes.

As expected, the employee didn't fall over in shock when they saw my 110 Points.

There had been too many cases of Hunters from Easy-rank acquiring Points and pretending to be from Normal-rank or Hard-rank.

That was why people no longer judged a person's Tutorial origin by their number of Points.

It worked out well for me.

I had no idea what would happen if my identity was revealed now.

For the time being, I planned to keep the fact that I was a wizard completely hidden.

Anyway, Hunter registration was done.

Now it was time to exchange my Points for cash.

The process was simple.

"Place your hand on the crystal ball and transfer your Points."

A fist-sized crystal ball had been installed in one corner of the branch.

It was a kind of terminal connected to the Tower of the Republic of Korea.

When you deposited Points into it, the country paid you the corresponding amount.

I placed my hand over the crystal ball.

[Please specify the amount of Points to transfer to the ‘Republic of Korea’.]

"All of them."

[Transferring 110 Points to the ‘Republic of Korea’.]

"110 Points... confirmed. We'll deposit 1.1 million won into the account listed on your Hunter ID."

"How long will the deposit take?"

"It should already be in your account. Check it."

"Oh."

Next came the government-issued basic supplies.

"Here are the government-issued basic supplies, clothing, a sword, and a shield. If you'd like another weapon, you'll need to apply separately. This branch doesn't have any other weapons in stock. If you apply, you'll have to wait about a week."

"No, I'll just take these."

The government-issued basic supplies were garbage, just as expected.

Clothes made of rough fabric, a dull one-handed sword, and a crudely made shield.

They were low-quality products mass-produced from cheap materials that came out of the Tower.

‘It's infamous because people say someone must be skimming off the top.’

They said that garbage-quality equipment had a supply price of three million won.

True to a country known for military procurement corruption, they were pulling tricks with Hunter supplies too.

After receiving my equipment, I got back into my older sister's car.

"Sis, where do you buy Hunter equipment?"

"There are a lot of places dealing in Hunter goods around Gangbyeon Technomart. Let's look there first."

"Didn't that place go out of business?"

"That was a long time ago. Now there's a business district built around Hunters. The public safety has gone completely to hell as a result, though..."

"Oho."

We went to Gangbyeon and bought Hunter supplies.

"We've got lots of useful things for beginners. Take a look!"

"I'll give you a good price!"

"Three hundred thousand won off, today only! You'll never get another chance!"

We shopped while pushing through the crowds of touts.

I didn't buy much.

A simple leather cuirass.

A decent-looking one-handed sword and dagger.

Boots of acceptable quality.

A leather bag for carrying loot.

Even various small tools needed for climbing the Tower.

It came to around 4.8 million won in total.

Since the equipment was made from materials found on the Lower Floors, it was cheap.

‘At least I won't have to fight naked anymore.’

I felt reassured.

That damned Tutorial. Blood and chunks of meat had splattered all over my naked body, and it had been disgusting.

People needed clothes. There was a reason food, clothing, and shelter were the three essentials for survival.

Anyway.

After registering as a Hunter, buying equipment, and getting back in the car to head home...

"Heh heh heh."

My older sister, who was driving, suddenly started laughing.

Confused, I asked her why.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking about when you were little."

"When I was little?"

"You know. You did all kinds of strange things because you said you wanted to learn magic or martial arts. You climbed the mountain behind our house alone in the middle of the night, and the police even called us once... You did weird training in your room by yourself, too..."

"Why are you suddenly bringing up my embarrassing past?"

"Back then, I thought you just had a really bad case of eighth-grader syndrome. Seeing that you actually became a wizard, though, it's kind of amazing."

It was amazing.

Even I found it amazing that I was a wizard.

"Now that I think about it, I wonder if destiny really exists. Isn't it strange? You, who can see Blue Motes, happened to find a staff, and your Tutorial opponent happened to be a Goblin Shaman, so you could learn magic..."

"..."

"Doesn't it feel a little like there was some kind of destiny that made you become a wizard?"

Honestly, I'd had similar thoughts.

Setting aside my natural ability to see Blue Motes, there had been the staff and the Goblin Shaman from the Tutorial.

If even one of those had been missing, I wouldn't have become a wizard.

Weren't those lucky opportunities almost too convenient?

A vague thought had crossed my mind, that perhaps some transcendent will had guided me onto the path of magic.

But I quickly rejected it.

"What destiny? It's just a series of coincidences."

"Is it?"

"It's like winning the lottery several times in a row. It's easier to think of it that way."

I didn't believe in destiny.

This world was too messed up to believe in something like fate.

"The Tower has turned the whole world into a disaster, and hundreds of millions of people are being wiped out. What kind of destiny is that? Does that mean the billions of people who have died so far were all destined to die?"

My older sister looked awkward at my sharp reply.

‘Ah.’

I realized too late that I'd said it too cruelly.

She was going to be my manager and handle all the annoying things for me from now on. I shouldn't treat her badly.

Then my older sister changed the subject.

"More importantly... You've registered as a Hunter, bought equipment, and even found an excellent manager like me. When are you going into the Tower?"

She was asking about my climbing schedule.

I answered without a moment's thought.

"I'm going in tomorrow."

All the preparations were complete.

Now it was time to climb the Tower.

I turned my gaze toward the window.

Beyond Seoul's skyscrapers stood a massive Tower that rose to the end of the sky.

It was the Tower I would climb.

Footnotes:

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