WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 45: Settlement Time

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“Hmm.”

Blue windows flickered before my eyes.

I’d only done one practical exercise, yet I had no idea how many quests I’d cleared.

‘Well... I did take on two Calamities at once.’

The first Calamity, Lacquer Night.

It was originally supposed to be the main event of this practical exercise.

An unknown barrier would spread, and countless mutated monsters would pour out.

Ding!

[You have cleared the Main Quest!]

-Title: Lacquer Night

-Details: Defeat the boss monster, ‘the Red Knight.’

[You have stopped one of the Seven Calamities!]

-A special reward has been granted. Please check your inventory.

Then, amid that chaos, the Red Knight descended.

The player was meant to join forces with the isolated students and fight it.

That was how the original story had the first Calamity end.

‘Of course.’

I cleared it in a completely different way.

I brought another Calamity down upon it, then arranged things so the two would collide.

Ding!

[You have cleared the Emergency Quest!]

-Title: Welcome to Wonderland.

-Details: Stop ‘Alice’s’ Nightmare Transformation from going berserk.

[Incredibly, you have completed the quest without killing the core entity!]

-A special reward has been granted. Please check your inventory.

The third Calamity, Wonderland.

As soon as Lacquer Night began, I pretended to die and slipped away.

Part of it was to handle things around us, but my real goal was to make the situation more dramatic.

Only Ranne and Alice remained.

Ranne was injured, practically out of commission.

Alice realized there was nowhere left to run and gave up.

Her helplessness gave the nightmare an opening. Wonderland manifested throughout the entire forest.

‘The Red Knight got caught up in it and died...’

Even Calamities had ranks.

Alice’s <Wonderland> was one of the highest-ranking Calamities.

Its destructive power could stand beside even the sixth and seventh Calamities.

There was a reason it was called the end of the world.

‘Two birds with one stone, I suppose.’

I used Lacquer Night to summon Wonderland, then used Wonderland to end Lacquer Night.

‘Well... Wonderland is especially compatible with me.’

I could wipe out Wonderland with a few bug exploits.

The Red Knight, on the other hand, was the sort of enemy I had to beat by steadily piling on damage.

No bugs worked on it either, which made it a troublesome opponent for me in many ways.

That was why I came up with the idea of summoning <Wonderland> and making the two Calamities clash.

The plan had worked perfectly.

‘Not bad.’

I moved my fingers.

First, I checked the rewards for the two quests that had appeared earlier.

After rummaging through my inventory a few times, I found the newly added items.

Ding!

[You have completed the Main Quest ‘Lacquer Night.’]

[You have obtained the item ‘Fragment of Calamity (S).’]

Ding!

[You have completed the Emergency Quest ‘Welcome to Wonderland.’]

[You have obtained the item ‘Broken Crown (A-).’]

Two items floated in the air before me.

The fragment caught my attention first.

It took the form of a heavy book and gave off an ominous aura.

Ding!

[Fragment of Calamity]

-Category: ???

-Rank: S

-Status: Incomplete (1/6)

-Description: This is part of an unknown Calamity. If you find and combine the other fragments, something terrible may happen.

A Fragment of Calamity.

It was an item I absolutely had to collect for the story.

I could obtain one whenever I cleared a Calamity.

If I failed to complete all six fragments, seeing the happy ending would become impossible.

The world would inevitably be destroyed during the seventh Calamity.

‘Better keep it safe.’

After putting the fragment away, I looked at the next item.

It looked exactly like its name suggested, a broken crown.

A black crown, cracked and shattered in several places, floated over my fingertips.

Ding!

[Broken Crown]

-Category: Accessory

-Rank: A-

-Status: Destroyed

-Description: This is the crown worn by the ruler of nightmares, the ‘Black Queen.’ It has now been destroyed, leaving only her remnants behind. It can be worn for up to five minutes per day. When worn, you can use the skill ‘Nightmare Transformation.’

[Skill Name: Nightmare Transformation]

-The user’s body assimilates with nightmares.

-While the skill is active, the user is considered ‘invincible.’

-The user can fly without restriction and becomes free from all physical forces.

“Oh.”

Was this what an A-rank item was like?

This was a pretty good one.

An accessory that granted invincibility and flight for five whole minutes.

It wasn’t even single-use. I could use it once a day.

‘I wasn’t expecting much from this one...’

Strictly speaking, <Wonderland> hadn’t been resolved yet.

All I did this time was stop its rampage, just as the Emergency Quest required.

I hadn’t killed the [Black Queen], the core entity behind it.

So even if it had dropped a lackluster item, that would’ve made sense...

‘But I got something way too good.’

The corners of my mouth twitched on their own.

Those two quests had brought in a satisfying haul.

Holding back a hum, I checked the remaining quests as well.

Ding!

[You have completed a Hidden Quest.]

-Title: Queen Slayer

-Details: Defeat the boss monsters ruling Wonderland, the ‘Queen of Hearts,’ ‘Red Queen,’ and ‘White Queen.’

[With your amazing performance, you have slaughtered all the queens!]

-A special reward has been granted. Please check your Status Window.

Ding!

[You have cleared the Sub Quest!]

-Title: If You’re Going to Do It, Do It Right!

-Details: Place third or higher in the practical exercise.

[With your amazing performance, you have taken first place in the practical exercise!]

-In addition to the existing reward, an extra reward has been granted.

One Hidden Quest and one Sub Quest.

These were quests I cleared without them being part of my plan.

I completed my plan, and they cleared themselves along the way.

Ding!

[You have completed the Hidden Quest ‘Queen Slayer.’]

[You have obtained the title ‘Executioner.’]

[Executioner]

-Category: Title

-Rank: A

-Description: You slaughtered the nightmare queens indiscriminately. You are granted courage in the face of the unknown. When this title is equipped, damage dealt to Ghost-type enemies increases by 500%, and critical hit chance increases by 500%.

‘This one’s pretty nice too...?’

As the story progressed, I would face the Cult, the vampire New Kingdom, and the remaining six Calamities.

Ghost-types made up a full twenty percent of them.

‘Especially once I get to the Cult arc, Ghost-type creatures will show up in droves.’

In other words, I’d have an unconditional advantage against a fifth of the enemies I would face from here on out.

I could switch to this title whenever I needed it.

The next reward followed right away.

Ding!

[You have completed the Sub Quest ‘If You’re Going to Do It, Do It Right!’]

[You have obtained the item ‘Very Stealthy Necktie (B).’]

[Very Stealthy Necktie]

-Category: Accessory

-Rank: B

-Status: Clean

-Description: A tie said to have been treasured like a jewel by a legendary petty thief long ago. It can be worn at all times, and while worn, you may use the skill ‘Secretly, Greatly.’ This skill has a 72-hour cooldown.

[Skill Name: Secretly, Greatly]

-While the skill is active, the user’s presence disappears.

-The effect lasts for one hour, and no one can detect the concealed presence.

-All sounds originating from the user, including their pulse, footsteps, and breathing, are muted.

An item that looked perfect for moving around in secret appeared.

The cooldown was a little long, but it should be useful if I managed it well.

‘This is the upgraded reward.’

A reward for finishing the practical exercise in first place.

Originally, it had been a far worse item.

I compared it with the reward that had originally been on the list.

[Reward: Consumable item ‘Very Stealthy Necktie (B-).’]

It was originally consumable.

Something I would use once and throw away.

But the upgraded reward had become reusable.

‘Good, good.’

I immediately put the tie on.

Once I finished checking the final reward, I opened my full Status Window to get myself in order.

――――

[Status Window]

Name: Viktor

Title: The One Who Collects Misunderstandings

Equipped Items: Mask of the Evil God, Robe of the Evil God, Very Stealthy Necktie

Active Set Effect: The World ■■■ Sees.

.

.

Owned Titles: The One Who Collects Misunderstandings, Saint, Executioner

――――

“Man, I’m stuffed.”

Just looking at the screen made me feel full.

I’d been hungry since yesterday, yet I felt like I was about to burst.

“Niiice.”

That had been a very productive settlement time.

* * *

The next day.

My teammates and I received a request for help from the faculty.

They wanted us to explain in detail what had happened during the practical exercise two days ago.

‘Makes sense.’

From the academy’s perspective, it was a major incident.

No one had been seriously injured, but they had practically allowed an outside intrusion.

Maybe they were worried about the damage to their image, because we received exceptional treatment while staying in the infirmary.

Alice’s mental strength had bottomed out, and Ranne was seriously injured, so that was understandable. But they even forced me, someone without a single scratch, to rest in the infirmary.

‘The people caring for us were running themselves ragged too...’

So, in consideration of their efforts, I decided to cooperate.

The investigator assigned to me was, as expected, Javert.

Inside the spacious hospital room, the red-haired woman stood flipping through documents.

I sat on the bed opposite her, blankly watching her green eyes.

“The student hunting grounds are currently closed. Faculty members have been stationed in each area, and they are investigating based on the traces left at the scene...”

“Mm-hm, I see.”

Javert was delivering various details as if she were making a report.

As someone involved in the incident, I supposedly had a right to know what was going on.

There was no harm in hearing it, so I listened quietly.

Before long, Javert asked me a few questions.

“According to the information collected beforehand, an Apostle of the Evil God appeared inside the barrier. I heard it rampaged for nearly thirty minutes, then suddenly disappeared without a trace. Is that correct?”

“It was a giant in bright red armor. It looked at least ten meters tall.”

“That matches the testimony of the two students before you. Understood.”

Alice and I had coordinated our story about the Red Knight.

Ranne had been unconscious at the time, so we only needed to make sure our stories lined up.

We told them it had relentlessly driven us back, then abruptly vanished for an unknown reason...

“That is strange. It disappeared all of a sudden?”

“We got lucky. Otherwise, all of us would have been killed there.”

“Yes... It certainly was fortunate. We will investigate that matter further.”

Javert nodded.

It was suspicious testimony, but there was nothing they could press me on.

The woman turned a page in her documents, then leaned forward as she moved on to the next subject.

“Student Viktor.”

“Yes.”

“You are completely unharmed. This differs from Student Ranne’s testimony.”

“Hmm?”

“According to Student Ranne, you were crushed beneath the Apostle’s enormous foot. She also added that she saw your corpse with her own eyes. Yet when she woke up in the infirmary, she found you greeting her as though nothing had happened.”

“You’re right. That is strange.”

Ranne’s testimony.

I deliberately hadn’t coordinated our story on that point.

No, I had told her to testify exactly as it happened.

The only things I wanted to hide were Alice and the nightmare.

There was no need to hide the things that might make people suspicious of me.

‘If anything, I should let those bits slip out here and there.’

I responded calmly.

“Do you have some idea what happened?”

“Well.”

“You don’t?”

“Perhaps Miss Ranne saw a hallucination. I was alive and well beside her the entire time. They say exposure to dense demonic energy can cause hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, don’t they? I think it might have been one of those phenomena.”

“A hallucination...”

Javert narrowed her eyes.

I smiled as if nothing were wrong.

‘Javert Droit.’

The person who suspected me of being the culprit behind the unauthorized raid on the seventieth floor of Purgatory.

Every little thing I did probably bothered her.

Javert fell silent for a moment, then brought up another topic.

Her impassive eyes blinked.

“The faculty currently suspects there is an insider. An unusual substance was discovered in Area A of the student hunting grounds, where the incident was centered. It was buried beneath the thick forest floor. Based on the nature of the demonic energy detected, it has been determined to be the power source for the barrier that had formed over all of Area A.”

“Oh?”

“That area had been closed for several days. Since the practical exercise was scheduled, entry itself had been prohibited. This means someone broke through those controls and made preparations there. Anyone capable of handling that process so easily is likely an insider.”

“I see.”

I asked brightly.

“So?”

“...”

Javert couldn’t bring herself to say that I was the insider they suspected.

She only stared at me expressionlessly.

“...I only wanted to inform you.”

But from her position, she couldn’t push me any harder.

I was clearly a victim.

It wouldn’t look good to interrogate a victim.

If I got angry, the academy would be the one in trouble.

‘Of course.’

Javert wasn’t the sort of person who cared about things like that.

She was backing off now simply because she put regulations first.

She was following the manual and trying not to provoke a victim.

That was the kind of person she was.

Regulations.

A person who lived only beneath them.

A person who couldn’t live any other way.

“I believe we can conclude things here. Thank you for your cooperation today.”

“It was nothing. I only offered a little help.”

Javert dipped her head once and left the hospital room.

I watched her back disappear beyond the door.

Then I leaned against the backrest.

I quietly turned over the things Javert had told me.

“An insider, huh...”

A traitor within Grandia Academy.

Someone was colluding with the Cult.

I tapped my mask, then curled my lips into a cold smile.

“Guess it’s about time I got started.”

I’m sorry, professors.

There’s no point in trying to find the traitor.

Ding!

[Sub Quest]

-Title: Make Sure to Finish It Properly!

-Details: Apprehend the hidden traitor within Grandia Academy.

-Penalty for Failure: None

-Reward: A clue about ■■■

[Time Limit: 23 hours 59 minutes 56 seconds]

“Because I’m catching that asshole first.”

Footnotes:

“Secretly, Greatly” is the English title of a Korean film and webtoon referenced by the skill name.

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