WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 88: Responsibility Without Pleasure
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Please read this chapter in dark mode for presentation purposes!
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I blankly scanned the list.
It went on so long that I had to scroll down several times.
-???-Rank Reward Selection Ticket-
[Please select one of the options below!]
1. Obtain Merit Points (10,000p)
2. Damaged Item Repair Ticket ×1
3. Broken Item Restoration Ticket ×1
4. Item Rank Downgrade Ticket ×1
5. Space Leap Ticket ×1
6. ■■■■ ■ (???)
7. ■ ■■ (???)
.
.
.
28. ■■■■■■ (???)
29. ■■■ ■■ (???)
30. ■■ (???)
“...”
I studied the status window for a long time.
A few items near the top caught my attention, and then...
‘...What are those mosaicked ones below?’
Could I even call them mosaics?
Starting from number 6, the text on the list was badly corrupted.
That made it impossible to tell what rewards were being offered on my screen.
‘That’s strange.’
Why would it give me a list to choose from, only to hide the contents?
No, had the system really hidden the text in the first place?
I’d always thought the system was intuitive and easy to understand...
The status window had acted strangely a few times before, so my suspicions naturally went in that direction.
‘Is something going on?’
I quietly mulled it over.
Up until now, I’d thought the system was favorable to me.
It had never withheld rewards, and whenever there was something I didn’t know, it kindly gave me an explanation.
‘Are these items I’m not allowed to have?’
Items I wasn’t supposed to obtain?
But if that was the case, couldn’t it have just left them off the reward list from the start?
Why set it up so I could select them normally, then obscure them as if telling me not to choose them?
‘Or maybe it’s just a simple error...’
A brief groan escaped me.
Perhaps I was overthinking it.
To find out for sure, I had no choice but to press one.
‘It won’t select it immediately just because I press it, right?’
My finger crossed the screen.
I clicked the nearest reward with garbled text.
Ding-!
[Would you like to select reward No. 29, ‘■■■ ■■ (???)’?]
[Yes/No]
The message appeared normally.
Other than the reward’s contents, nothing else showed any corruption.
That made it even harder to dismiss as a simple error.
Just as I was about to click the back button...
[Are you sure you want to select this reward?]
[Yes/No]
[Are you sure you want to select this reward?]
[Yes/No]
[Are you sure you want to select this reward?]
[Yes/No]
The messages suddenly writhed.
Then the screen turned pitch-black.
The letters tore apart grotesquely.
Crushed red fragments came together, forming several sentences.
The screen flickered.
“...”
It was the same pattern as the last few times.
Soon, the status window stopped its rampage and returned to normal.
The screen shamelessly returned to its usual blue, as if nothing had happened.
I silently stared down at it.
‘This...’
Something had been different.
Unlike the previous rampages, which had only spewed incomprehensible words, I could make out a few phrases amid the chaos.
The message the status window was trying to convey.
Never press it.
Find something out.
‘The thing it told me not to press must be the rewards erased by the mosaics.’
There definitely seemed to be something there.
It had also told me to find something out, but I didn’t have enough information to piece together what that meant.
I fell into thought.
Out of habit, my fingers tapped the edge of my mask.
‘■■■. It came up again this time.’
Was it a name after all?
Someone’s name, or a term referring to something.
I searched my thoughts for a long time, but nothing fitting came to mind.
‘Viktor? The name I used in my past life? I don’t think it’s either of those...’
Was it even referring to me in the first place?
The message still floated before my eyes.
[Are you sure you want to select this reward?]
[Yes/No]
After a brief moment of eye contact, I clicked the back button.
No matter how suspicious it was, I couldn’t ignore the status window’s warning.
‘For now, I’ll take it to heart.’
The system had helped me several times already.
Ever since the first day I’d suddenly possessed this body.
If the status window hadn’t helped me, I’d have been found as a corpse in some back alley long ago.
I’d benefited from the system so much, so I decided to heed its advice this time as well.
‘■■■.’
I would have to investigate that separately.
Fortunately, I knew a place where I might be able to find information related to it.
‘That works out nicely.’
There was an event coming up soon.
It wasn’t far from the field trip’s destination.
I could slip away during the trip and gather information.
‘Complicated. So complicated.’
Why was there so much to think about?
I quickly organized my thoughts.
I had a lead, so all that remained was to wait for the field trip to begin.
There was nothing more I could do right now.
‘Might as well finish choosing my reward...’
I looked over the screen again.
Even if it had briefly made me uneasy, refusing a reward I was being given would be a loss.
Excluding the mosaicked ones, I checked the rewards I could choose.
‘For now... I can see up to number 5.’
-Selection Ticket-
1. Obtain Merit Points (10,000p)
2. Damaged Item Repair Ticket ×1
3. Broken Item Restoration Ticket ×1
4. Item Rank Downgrade Ticket ×1
5. Space Leap Ticket ×1
Every entry was tempting.
They were items I’d never even seen in the original game.
‘It’s hard to believe the original had hidden items I didn’t know about. Does that mean they’re original items created by the status window...?’
I slowly read through their descriptions.
Ten thousand Merit Points.
That was the amount I could earn only by saving five hundred lives.
During [Lunar Eclipse] last time, I’d spent 6,300 points and raised my Agility stat by seven ranks at once.
‘Even if I did that again, I’d still have 2,700 points left.’
Enough to raise one E-rank stat to B-rank.
The difference in letters was definitely noticeable, but when I thought it over...
‘What a waste.’
Ten thousand points looked like a lot now, but would that still be the case later?
Game events naturally grew larger as the story progressed.
As the scale grew, so would the number of people who needed saving.
That meant there would be plenty of chances to rake in piles of points in the future.
‘Besides, the field trip is coming up soon...’
Wasn’t it practically a rule that something went wrong during a field trip in an academy story?
The original was no exception.
There was a major incident waiting during this very field trip.
With that in mind, choosing Merit Points now would be like throwing one precious selection ticket onto the ground.
‘I can steadily collect Merit Points, but I don’t know when I’ll get another chance at the other rewards.’
I also ruled out the Space Leap Ticket.
Wall Clipping was enough to cover that.
It was a one-time-use item, too, so it seemed less appealing than the others.
‘If I’m choosing one...’
It had to be this.
Ding-!
[Would you like to select reward No. 2, ‘Damaged Item Repair Ticket ×1’?]
[Yes/No]
Damaged Item Repair Ticket.
It was straightforward and immediately useful to me.
Without hesitation, I clicked [Yes].
At once, a clear mechanical chime rang out, and a thin ticket appeared in my palm.
Ding-!
[Damaged Item Repair Ticket ×1]
-Category: ???
-Rank: ???
-Attribute: ???
-Description: You may repair a damaged item. This ticket is not restricted by rank or attribute, and may be applied to any item that is not in perfect condition. The effect activates when the ticket is torn.
‘Good.’
I closed the reward list.
I would save the remaining selection ticket.
It wasn’t that I wouldn’t use it. I’d thought of a more efficient way to use it later.
I couldn’t carry it out right now, so I’d have to sit tight until the conditions were right.
‘And the last one...’
Ding-!
[You have cleared a sub-quest!]
-Title: I Will Stand on the Flag.
-Details: Achieve an overwhelming victory in the practical exam, ‘Capture the Flag.’
[You put on an incredible performance and led the match to victory!]
-A reward has been issued. Please check your inventory.
It was the reward that came with winning the practical exam.
I carefully read the description of the item I had received.
Ding-!
[Unbreakable Flagpole]
-Category: Accessory
-Rank: B+
-Status: Pristine
-Description: A flag that flutters boldly. When activated, it increases all stats of every ally within a 100m radius by 25%. This effect also applies to subordinate entities controlled by allies, such as summons, spirit beasts, and clones.
‘Oh.’
This was an item that boosted allies’ morale.
An item that raised every stat by 25%.
It even said the buff applied to subordinate entities controlled by allies...
‘It’d work well with Alice.’
Alice controlled the Nightmare Legion.
This could apply an overall buff to them.
Thinking about it that way, the item’s potential ceiling was limitless.
‘Alice will keep growing.’
Maybe the system rated my overwhelming victory against the top student highly.
It was showering me with great rewards.
A satisfied smile spread across my face.
‘Good.’
I had grown stronger once again.
I wouldn’t stop growing.
Is Ngme afraid of Viktor’s growth?
Are Ngme players afraid of Viktor’s progress?
“Hehe.”
I looked down at the ticket in my hand.
Damaged Item Repair Ticket ×1.
I decided to use it right away without hesitation.
Its purpose had been decided from the moment I picked it.
Ding-!
[Black Mist]
-Category: Exclusive Weapon
-Rank: A+
-Status: Unstable
-Description: A piece of armament forged from the scales of a corrupted dragon. It has undergone refinement and purification, but still retains a slight roughness.
Wriggler.
It was my exclusive weapon, currently wrapped around my hand in the shape of a glove.
I’d used it well so far, but the [Unstable] status had always bothered me.
I’d wondered whether I could make it grow further, but I had no idea how.
‘That was how it was in the original, too.’
Wriggler’s growth limit had been here.
Countless players had tried to turn that [Unstable] status into [Pristine], but no one had succeeded.
Then I noticed the description of the repair ticket.
‘It isn’t restricted by rank or attribute, and it can be applied to any item that isn’t in perfect condition...’
Wasn’t that description perfect for Wriggler?
Just in case, I held the ticket against it, and it displayed [Applicable Target].
Unable to hide my excitement, I transformed Wriggler back into its original scythe form.
“Activate. Scythe.”
Swoosh.
Wriggler became a pitch-black scythe and settled into my arms.
Without wasting any time, I tore the ticket in front of it.
Riiip-!
A blue screen appeared at the same time.
Along with the status window notification, an intense light leaked through the torn ticket.
Ding-!
[The ticket ‘Damaged Item Repair Ticket ×1’ has been used!]
[Repairing the designated exclusive weapon, ‘Black Mist (A+)’!]
[The item’s status will change to ‘Pristine’!]
Flaaash-!
A burst of light swept through the white hospital room.
The ticket’s effect filled my vision.
The light was so intense that I couldn’t see an inch ahead.
The other kids in the room seemed startled as well.
“W-What is that strange light all of a sudden...?!”
“Sir Viktor...?!”
Regardless, the messages before my eyes continued to update.
A flood of unfamiliar notifications poured out.
Ding-!
[The exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’ has been restored to perfect condition!]
[The exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’ has increased in rank!]
[The exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’ has gained a growth option!]
[You may now use unique skill No. 3 of the exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’!]
Ding-!
[The exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’ has gained an ego!]
[The exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’ recognizes you as its guardian!]
A brief commotion followed.
Only after several more chimes did the notifications finally stop.
At the same time, the light faded and the ticket crumbled into dust.
I slowly opened my eyes.
“Ugh...”
My eyes stung from being flashbanged.
I furrowed my brow, then suddenly froze.
“...?”
Squirm, squirm.
Something unfamiliar was moving in my arms.
My gaze naturally dropped to my chest.
Then I met a pair of black eyes.
She looked about ten years old.
She had an enigmatic air, like the night sky itself.
Instead of a scythe, a young girl was nestled in my arms.
She blinked a few times, then beamed and threw her arms around me.
“Daddy!”
“What?”
The sudden form of address caught me off guard.
Before I could even process it, the status window displayed the girl’s information.
Ding-!
[Black Mist]
-Category: Ego Weapon
-Rank: S-
-Status: Pristine
-Description: A piece of armament that possesses an ego. It regards its user as both master and parent, then serves and follows them. Please give it a new name.
I could only stand there in a daze.
Daddy?
Me?
Then who was the mother...?
Footnotes:
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