WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 8: 008

──────

The next morning.

I headed to the Climber Management Branch with my older sister.

"Now that the Hunter General Mobilization Order has been issued, you'll need to go to the Climber Branch every day and turn in points."

"Every day?"

"Yeah. Every day. It's basically an attendance check. You have to go once a day and pay points. It'll be a big problem if you don't."

The Hunter General Mobilization Order had been issued.

Every Hunter, without exception, had to enter the Tower and earn points.

There could be Hunters who avoided entering the Tower and only pretended to stay active. That was why the government forcibly collected points every day as a kind of attendance check.

The Climber Management Agency branch was packed despite the early hour.

Hunters had flooded in because of the mobilization order.

I took a number and waited.

"Hunter number 21!"

"Yes."

I got up and headed to the point exchange counter.

Then I placed my hand on the familiar crystal ball.

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

"All of them."

[Transferring 34 Points to the ‘Republic of Korea’.]

I transferred the points.

The civil servant beside me looked at the crystal ball.

"Hunter Baek Jiho, we've confirmed 34 points. We'll deposit 340,000 won into your designated account."

"Okay. But do I have to come here every day? Can't I save them up and turn them in all at once?"

"Because of the Hunter General Mobilization Order, we need to confirm that Hunters are entering the Tower every day. So you must visit the branch and turn in points every day, or at least once every two days."

"What happens if I don't show up?"

"If you refuse the summons for more than three days, you'll be forcibly detained. Then, like the other reserve Hunters, you'll carry out climbing activities while confined."

"..."

That was pretty damn brutal.

If I went off the grid, I'd get abducted, locked up, and have my points squeezed out of me.

At this rate, I had no choice but to clock in every day.

"Ah, that doesn't mean you'll be confined somewhere like a prison. We house Hunters in accommodations such as university dormitories or training centers and encourage them to climb. We make reasonable arrangements for your comfort as well. So if coming to the branch every day is difficult, you could stay in the accommodations we provide..."

"No, no, I'm fine, really. I prefer my home."

"Please let us know anytime if you need it."

I hurried away from the counter as if fleeing that chilling offer.

Were they insane? Why would I leave my comfortable home for a prison?

Even if it was a semi-basement apartment, home was still the best.

"Sis, let's go home now."

"Don't you need anything?"

"Let's buy some pork belly at the market on the way home. I feel like having pork belly for dinner."

We left the Climber Branch and returned home.

Then, out of habit, I opened Hunter Gallery.

'I'm getting addicted to Hunter Gallery these days.'

The country was in turmoil, and all sorts of posts kept appearing, so I found myself checking the gallery over and over.

Was this what community addiction felt like?

I quickly looked through the newest posts.

[The soldiers are fucking terrifying]

[Are the accommodations any good?]

[Starting today, inactive Hunters are getting forcibly deployed, right?]

[Please earn some points, I don't want to die]

[What stocks should I buy during the Hunter General Mobilization Order?]

Unlike yesterday, when it had been completely on fire, the gallery had calmed down somewhat.

I read a few posts that caught my eye.

[Post Title: The Soldiers Are Fucking Terrifying]

Are these bastards insane?

They're driving armored vehicles around and walking through the university with guns.

The atmosphere is fucking terrifying. It feels like a war broke out...

Why is the military even here?

Is there some military event near the university?

└Didn't you see the news? They said they're requisitioning university dorms to use as accommodations for Hunters.

└Of course the atmosphere is scary. They aren't shooting anyone, but it's basically wartime. Lol.

└What are you even doing at a university this late? Every university should be closed by now.

└└(Author) I'm a graduate student, so I was still at school.

└└A graduate student slave... Hang in there. Guess you didn't even have time to watch the news.

[Post Title: Are the Accommodations Any Good?]

(A simple room interior.)

The soldiers dragged me off, so I thought they were locking me in some military prison.

But they took me to a university dorm.

They told me to live here, climb the Tower every day, and turn in points.

Ah... I'm scared of the Tower.

└Then don't go.

└└(Author) I can't not go. They locked me up, and soldiers are pointing guns at me. How am I supposed to refuse?

└└So they aren't threatening you with knives, they're threatening you with guns? Lol.

└They didn't take your phone? What do you do for food?

└└(Author) They didn't take my phone. They deliver boxed meals three times a day. If I ask for clothes or toiletries, they get them for me too. I just can't leave the dorm building. Soldiers with guns are guarding it.

└└At least they're treating people like humans, I guess. Lol. I thought they'd lock you in prison and work you like China would.

└└(Author) What the fuck do you mean, treating me like a human? I can't go outside, and they're forcing me into the Tower. This fucking sucks...

└It reminds me of the COVID days. Back then, they housed confirmed cases in university dorms and training centers too.

└└The difference is that doctors watched patients during COVID, but now soldiers are watching Hunters...

└└Most universities are indefinitely closed and the dorms are empty anyway, so they'll have plenty of room.

└└Game over. Lock up every last one of those inactive bastard Hunters.

"So they didn't drag them off to prison, like that civil servant said."

The inactive Hunters who had been taken away under the Hunter General Mobilization Order were being housed together in places like university dormitories and climbing the Tower every day.

Surprisingly, it was fairly humane treatment.

If this had been China or Russia, they would have locked them in prison, then tortured or executed anyone who failed to meet a quota.

All they had to do was enter the Tower and earn even a few points.

What a soft measure.

'No. Maybe China and Russia are the insane ones.'

It felt like ordinary ethics had collapsed after the Tower era began.

Confinement and forced labor.

Wouldn't there have been an uproar if this were Korea before the Tower?

But this was the morality of the post-Tower age.

Too many lives were at stake to consider things like human rights.

Anyway.

Should I get going?

"Enter the Tower."

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 2)]

[Please select the floor you wish to enter.]

"Floor 2."

[Entering Floor 2 of the Tower.]

Flash!

A bright halo of light enveloped me.

* * *

The light faded.

I slowly looked around.

A dark, narrow underground space.

The ceiling, walls, and floor were made of stone bricks, while torches hanging here and there scattered faint light through the darkness.

Behind me stood a portal leading back to reality.

Ahead lay a dark, narrow passageway.

I murmured quietly.

"They said the second floor was an underground maze."

Floor 2 of the Tower of Trials was a maze-type space.

You had to make your way through the complicated maze and find the escape portal at the end to clear it.

But it wasn't a simple maze.

'There are traps all over the place, and goblins patrol each area in pairs.'

The maze on Floor 2 was a place where many kinds of threats existed together.

First, there was the maze itself.

Its structure was complicated, making it easy to get lost.

You had to draw maps regularly to keep from losing your way.

The maze was so large that it took days to complete a map and find the proper route.

There was no food or water to be found inside the maze, either.

That meant going back and forth between reality and the Tower through the Return Portal every day.

Next were the traps.

Many traps were cleverly hidden throughout the maze.

There were traps that shot out spikes when stepped on.

Traps that sent blades swinging down from the ceiling, traps that sprayed acid, and Poison Arrow Traps coated in deadly venom...

They were hidden so cunningly, and the area was so dark, that they were difficult to spot. That made them extremely dangerous.

Last were the goblins.

Unlike on the first floor, the goblins on the second floor patrolled in pairs.

That meant you were always forced into a two-on-one fight.

Hunters from Easy difficulty weren't used to fighting multiple enemies at once, so many struggled here.

As a result, clearing the second floor usually took five days at the fastest, or about a week if you were slow.

Completing a map took a long time.

Since food and water were unavailable, you had to return to reality regularly through the Return Portal to resupply.

And when you came back, the monsters you had killed in the meantime had respawned.

This was a floor where you had to keep repeating the cycle of returning, coming back, fighting, and drawing maps.

All while watching out for traps.

It couldn't help but feel incredibly difficult.

But.

For me, it was absurdly easy.

Because I was a wizard.

I closed my eyes and concentrated.

'I can feel the space itself.'

It was like drawing a 3D map.

The entire space took shape inside my mind.

And I could grasp many things.

A Spike Trap in the floor ten steps ahead.

A blade trap on the ceiling fifteen steps ahead.

The left path at the fork twenty meters ahead was a dead end.

A pair of goblins patrolling thirty meters away.

A hollow laugh escaped me.

'Isn't this ridiculously overpowered?'

I could see everything within dozens of meters as plainly as the palm of my hand. The maze couldn't have looked more pathetic.

Floor 2 would be a breeze too.

I started forward with light steps.

'First, disarm the trap.'

I looked at the floor.

A faint line showed between the stone bricks that made up the floor.

It was a trap where the tile would sink when stepped on, causing spikes to shoot out and pierce through the top of your foot.

The way to disarm it was simple.

'Fireball.'

Flash.

A tiny fireball flew forward.

Boom!

The Spike Trap cleverly hidden in the ground shattered along with its mechanism.

I picked up the exposed springs, spikes, gears, and other parts, then put them in my bag.

'They're still metal, so I can sell them. I heard they pay around 10,000 won per hundred grams.'

After the 50 percent tax, that was 5,000 won per hundred grams.

About the same price as pork belly these days.

I was picking up pork belly right now.

I should clear this quickly, go home, and ask my older sister to grill me some pork belly.

Still, prices really had gone insane lately.

How could pork belly cost 30,000 won per geun...

The ordinary person's economy had been falling apart more and more with every passing day since the Tower appeared.

Anyway.

I strode through the maze without hesitation.

'First, go twenty meters down the right path, then turn left. Go another ten meters and turn left again. Then take the right at the next fork.'

I advanced while drawing a map of the maze in my head.

Boom! Crunch!

Boom! Crunch!

I fired tiny fireballs into every trap I encountered, broke them, and collected the parts.

Most were mechanical traps, like Spike Traps or ceiling blades.

They were terrifying traps that could threaten someone's life at any moment.

To me, they were nothing but loot.

Krrrk!

Kiaaak!

I occasionally encountered goblin patrols too.

Of course, they posed no real threat.

Boom! Boom!

One tiny fireball planted in each of their heads was enough to finish them off.

The goblins' heads burst apart as they collapsed limply.

I picked up their daggers and put them in my bag.

After taking down countless traps and goblins, my bag was packed full.

"Is this about thirty kilograms? No, maybe closer to forty?"

Everything was made of metal, so it was quite heavy.

Still, it didn't interfere with my activities.

My physical abilities had improved after becoming a Hunter.

Even forty kilograms felt as light as a feather.

It was a strangely moving realization.

'It feels like just yesterday that I was struggling under a full pack during my military service...'

Now I could carry that much weight without feeling anything.

I mostly used magic and didn't do much physical activity, so I hadn't had many chances to notice it.

Still, it seemed my body really had been strengthened.

I rapidly made my way through the maze.

"There's the Escape Portal."

Near the end of the maze, I found the Escape Portal.

Once again, I had cleared the Tower safely without so much as a scratch.

But I didn't run straight toward the Escape Portal.

"Wow, look at how vicious this trap placement is. There's another trap right in front of the Escape Portal? That is just dripping with malice."

Right next to the Escape Portal, I had found a trap cleverly hidden in the wall.

If I had gotten excited at the thought of escaping and rushed over, an arrow would have gone straight into my side.

'And it's a Poison Arrow Trap too.'

Poison Arrow Traps were infamous as the most vicious traps on Floor 2.

They were hidden far more cleverly than any other trap, and the deadly poison coating their arrows made them lethal.

I hadn't seen a single Poison Arrow Trap so far, so I thought I might make it through without seeing one.

Who would have thought it was hidden in the very last spot?

"Let's deal with it and get out."

Whoosh!

I formed a fireball and was about to fire it.

Once I dealt with that last trap, I could clear the second floor and leave immediately.

There was no reason to hesitate.

But.

'...That trap.'

I stopped.

The fireball I had been about to fire froze in place.

"Why are Blue Motes gathered there?"

The Poison Arrow Trap that had secretly targeted my side.

I could see an arrangement of Blue Motes there.

Could it be? Did it contain some kind of magic?

I slowly approached and cautiously held out my one-handed sword.

Then.

Pshh!

A poison arrow fired from a tiny hole in the wall.

Clang!

The arrow struck my one-handed sword and bounced off weakly.

At that moment, I saw it.

Inside the Poison Arrow Trap, the arrangement of Blue Motes lit up all at once and activated a spell.

'A pattern of overlapping circles in sequence.'

I read the pattern.

Then I grasped its structure.

"Is this... a spell that fires compressed air?"

The Poison Arrow Trap worked by using magic to compress air and fire a loaded arrow.

In other words, the Blue Mote pattern I could see was an arrangement that compressed and launched air.

My heart began to race.

'A new spell. I can learn it!'

If I drew that pattern, I would be able to use the same spell too.

But what I had in mind wasn't some simple spell that fired compressed air.

"Wind Cutter, just you wait!"

If I compressed air into the shape of a blade and fired it, wouldn't that be Wind Cutter?

I hurriedly began tracing the pattern before me.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried