WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

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◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 188

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Say You Want to Live - 4

Hardship never comes with a warning. That remains true even when it wears a human face.

Mind reading is a power specialized for not making enemies. You read the other person's thoughts, match their rhythm, and step in and out at just the right moments so your words never clash with their heart.

If I had to put it simply, it's like dancing.

But mind reading is far from omnipotent, not even all-purpose. It reads minds, not the future, so it can't predict sudden whims. It can't respond to accidents or disasters out of nowhere.

Most of all, even against a human, it can't stop clear hostility.

'There was an officer from the Military State investigating the back alleys. This matches the description.'

A dark killing intent came from beyond. Not an emotional impulse, but a conclusion reached through cold reason.

'Kill them and silence them.'

That cold murderous intent billowed up. The captain didn't even have time to check the situation through a golem. Ulfen already had us in his sights.

Beyond that pitch-black darkness, he was staring straight at us.

The moment I sensed it, I yanked the carriage door open and shouted.

"Sepi! Captain! Get inside the carriage! Sunbae, move now!"

"Huh? Where to?"

"Anywhere!"

I grabbed the captain and Sepi in one motion and dragged them back into the carriage. Sunbae, who had been harnessing the horses, jumped into the driver's seat and urged them on.

"Hyah!"

Hihihing.

With a sharp cry, the carriage lunged forward. Maybe because they were born exceptional horses, the lionhorses hit top speed in just a few strides.

Sepi and the captain still had no idea what was happening. The captain asked,

"What is going on?"

"It's a long explanation! Shadow is on us!"

'Shadow? This officer sees nothing but darkness...'

The captain synced with the nearest golem through her innate arcane. Her vision rippled, and in one corner she saw a carriage running at full speed. Each time we passed a dim streetlamp, the lionhorses' manes whipped as they pulled the carriage forward.

Then the streetlamps behind us began flickering one after another, as if darkness itself were sprinting down the road...

'Darkness?'

Realizing what was happening, the captain shouted urgently.

"Something is pursuing us! Considering the energy wrapping its entire body in darkness, Prime Shadow... presumed to be Ulfen!"

"Exactly, he's on us!"

The captain and I were practically screaming, but Sepi still looked calm, as if she felt no danger.

"Please don't worry. The horses pulling this carriage are not ordinary horses. No human can catch them. Also, this carriage has level-four protection. Ordinary attacks can never break through it."

"Please stop saying things like that! You're scaring me just hearing it!"

"I only said it so you could relax."

'Do you know how much money went into this carriage? I'd never have my own carriage made carelessly. From the frame to the fabric covering it, everything is level-four alchemic steel and alchemic cloth. What exactly are you worried about?'

Now she was jinxing us in her head too. Please stop.

Then a faint hostile thought brushed against my mind reading. I quickly grabbed Sepi and the captain and yanked them toward me. They stumbled and fell into my arms.

"Master?!"

"You?! What are you-"

There was no time to answer. Ulfen's intent to attack became reality at once.

The carriage jolted violently. A dagger he threw pierced the joint connecting the carriage body and wheel. At the same time, another dagger slanted through the window and buried itself in the front seatback. Dark energy wafted from it, and it was lodged so deep even the handle was barely visible.

The carriage lurched as it lost balance. Good thing I'd pulled them first. Otherwise, they would've been thrown to that side.

"Kyaaaah!"

Sepi screamed and clung to me. Right, I just saved your life. So be a little grateful and listen to me...

"Why?! Isn't this crystal glass supposed to deflect bullets easily?! Who built this thing?! I'll show them hell!"

"This is not the time for that, Sepi!"

I calmed Sepi down and focused. Through mind reading, I caught Ulfen's thoughts at the far edge of my range.

A razor-cold hostility like a frozen lake. At the end of that thought was our carriage, racing on the brink. The distance between us was closing.

'Sturdy. I meant to cut the wheel off entirely, but I only knocked the axle out of alignment.'

No matter how sturdy the carriage was, it couldn't use bullet-deflecting energy. And by nature, a wheeled carriage moved in a uselessly predictable path.

Which meant it couldn't evade daggers packed with energy.

'A couple more times should do it.'

Damn it. At this rate, the carriage would stop for sure. If we got pinned there, we'd never escape.

A way out of this...

Tch, this means I'm taking the whole burden alone.

"Sepi. You can ride, right?"

"Not with that knife-throwing bastard on our tail!"

'I'm Master's disciple, so of course I can ride. I'm just worried because I've never shaken off a pursuer before.'

She must've been too flustered, because her true thoughts kept spilling out. I gripped her shoulders and spoke firmly, like I was coaxing her.

"Sepi. Take the captain to headquarters. Captain Bbi is on a critical classified mission. Once that is done, she can help me."

Sepi fired back immediately.

"What about you, Master?"

Sharp, as always. I hesitated for a moment, and Sepi instantly glared and pressed me.

"Don't tell me you're planning to fight that thing. If you start spouting nonsense about buying time, I don't care if you're my master or not!"

'Stop talking nonsense! You don't even have a real plan and you're pulling this! If you die, I'm never giving you another coin!'

These days disciples scold their masters. Wow, the world's upside down.

Her words and thoughts were both blaming me. Getting stabbed from inside and out felt like torture.

I tightened my grip on her shoulders.

"Sepi. You don't trust me?"

"Of course not."

'Of course not.'

Where did all the polite lies go? Where did all those carefully saved Sepi points go?

Hah, hard to talk her down. Still holding her shoulders, I pointed at the captain.

"Look. The captain is right here. A captain from the Military State can bring support before I go down. That's the only way we live."

"You think some rushed plan like that will work?!"

"It's not rushed. Actually, from the beginning, I planned to borrow the Military State's power to clean up Shadow."

To be honest, saying this now that the plan had gone off track felt awkward, but I'd tried to pull the Military State in a step earlier too.

This was my plan.

Market, Shelter, Family. Draw out the organization targeting them one day early. At the same time, feed secret information to pull in the Military State too.

Then the riled-up Shadow joins the fight, runs into the Military State military police, and gets wiped out... a perfect plan.

Operation Name: You Think You're the Only One Who Uses the System? I Use It Too.

But the Military State didn't move. I threw out bait this good, yet for some reason they were deploying slower than usual. It was almost like every unit in Amitengrad had been sent somewhere else.

I should never have trusted this damned country. That's my mistake, plain and simple.

But still.

"Rotten or not, it's still the Military State. They must have staged forces in advance to deal with this chain of chaos. If I hold out and those forces run into Ulfen, I win. That's why Sepi and Captain Bbi have to hurry, if I want to live."

Crash. The carriage shook violently again. The wheel's instability was now transmitting directly into the frame.

I barely kept my balance and looked at the captain with full conviction.

You get it, right, Captain? This is the most rational choice.

"You understand, Captain?"

"Too dangerous! I cannot accept this!"

"Ah, now what."

The captain's face was no longer stiff. Her big eyes were full of worry as she rebutted me point by point.

"The opponent is an escapee from Tantalus. Even if you are the Magician, your power cannot subdue him! You are... weaker than expected!"

"My pride takes a hit hearing that to my face. I know! Still, I can buy time!"

"You told this officer to survive! Then why must the one saying that be the one put in danger!"

"I really, really don't want this either! Sacrifice isn't my style! But this is the best option!"

This wasn't holy sacrifice. It was the only method, carefully calculated for survival.

At best, I was a petty criminal dragged in as a laborer. Prime Shadow Ulfen was a genuine threat who had even been through the Abyss.

Sure, he was nowhere near Tyr, Azi, or the regressor, but that in-between level of strength was even deadlier to me. Pebbles are always more sensitive when measuring themselves against other pebbles.

"Then this officer will be the bait instead-"

"Hahahahaha!"

I burst out laughing. All eyes snapped to me. I cut it short, turned cold, and answered.

"Don't be ridiculous. Bait only has value if it can reel something in. Captain, you're not even pond snacks. You'll just add one more heroic tale to Ulfen's name with a single slash."

"Then you are saying you can stop him?"

"If you bring reinforcements on time!"

Sadly, this was the only way. What was truly maddening was that this really was the best option.

The enemy was Shadow of the Kingdom, a man who specialized in stealth, ambush, and psychological warfare.

I was a petty criminal with nothing to show but mind reading.

Even with a huge skill gap, I was still the most favorable matchup by compatibility. This had already gone beyond what any other method could solve.

"Master. That's absurd! If he was imprisoned in Tantalus, that means he's the kind of criminal written into history. Even for you, against someone like that-"

No more time to persuade. I lowered my voice and spoke to Sepi.

No sentiment. No points. Just cold resolve.

"Sephier Bakia. As your master, this is both a request and a lesson. Don't turn away from what you have to do."

"But-"

"If you keep being stubborn, this will be my last request as your master. Whether I survive or die."

At my cold rebuke, Sepi swallowed hard. A tight, bitter hic escaped her, like a student scolded harshly.

Only for a moment. Then Sephier spread her suit and wrapped the captain in it. She draped the jacket, with bulletproof, bladeproof, and anti-magic effects, over the captain's shoulders.

Covered in the suit, the captain asked with trembling eyes,

'Will you truly face him alone? But you...!'

"If you want me alive, survive. Go to headquarters and call reinforcements! That's the only way I live!"

I snapped it out, then immediately shouted toward the driver's seat.

"Sunbae! Get ready to bail! We're abandoning the carriage!"

"Got it!"

Then came another impact.

The staggering carriage had somehow kept moving, but that one finished it.

Screeeech. The tilted carriage screamed as it scraped the ground. Through the half-cut window, I saw one of the carriage wheels roll past the carriage itself.

"Alright. See you soon!"

I opened the opposite door and climbed onto the slanted carriage side.

Beyond it was pitch-black darkness. Concealed by Black Shadow Energy, Ulfen stared this way, and I could hear his thoughts clearly.

'A man? An escort? Doesn't matter. I'll kill them all.'

Who says you get to decide who lives and dies? Who says anyone here will die for your convenience?

Might as well greet him. Smiling as if I had all the time in the world, I pulled out Diamond 3 from my pocket. Folding it in one hand, I aimed at Ulfen.

Alchemic conversion. The card instantly transformed into a large bow. I'd already fired once, so no arrow was nocked, but arrows are meant to be drawn and fired. I carefully aimed into the darkness, precisely at Ulfen beyond it.

"Fahrenheit!"

Whoosh. Fire flared at the arrowhead. Then, twang, the string snapped forward. One arrow split through the darkness in a straight line.

It flew exactly at Ulfen. His eyes twitched.

'The arrow itself is nothing. But he can see through Black Shadow Energy?'

Why is the arrow nothing? I fired that with everything I had. At least feel a little threatened.

'Bullet-deflecting energy.'

Tch. Of course.

Energy swelled. The flames were swallowed by darkness, and the arrow I fired with full force bounced away uselessly.

Still, I achieved what I needed.

After finishing the greeting, I jumped down from the carriage. I almost lost my balance and fell, but with the wheel gone, the carriage had slowed enough for me to land.

Behind me, the carriage slowed more and more. Sepi and the captain somehow moved past the driver's seat and mounted the horses.

With my back to them, I stood firm and faced Ulfen.

"...Stalling for time."

The voice came from my right side. But his thoughts came from my left.

Not in front of me. Not with psychological warfare.

I smirked, put away the bow, and drew my next card.

Diamond 4, Short Spear. I leveled the harpoon-like spearhead toward his side, and Ulfen stopped walking.

Silence fell for a moment. In the distance, the captain, Sepi, and Sunbae mounted the horses and ran side by side. Freed from the carriage, the lionhorses were fast, and with that much distance already opened, even Ulfen couldn't catch them now.

In that bleak street, it was now perfectly one-on-one.

Whether that happened or not, Ulfen showed no attachment to those he let go. He simply stared at me.

"So it wasn't chance. In the dark, you looked directly at the Prime...."

"Maybe meeting like this wasn't chance either."

I took off my hat and bowed deeply.

It was a perfect chance for a surprise attack, yet Ulfen didn't strike me. Was he wary of me, or simply tolerant of this kind of formality?

'Skill, unknown. Identity, unknown. Is his energy sense exceptionally sharp? Or is it some other unknown power?'

Both.

Like me, Ulfen was the type who made full use of psychological warfare.

Good. Now it was a battle of time.

If I stalled, I won. If I died first, it was over. A very simple fight.

"Hello, Ulfen Fenstein. I've heard many stories. A shadow that has existed in this world since the kingdom era, the symbol of this country's darkness."

"Who are you?"

I pulled my Magician hat low again, lifted the brim slightly, and smiled.

"Pleasure to meet you. I am the top-ranked student in my middle school, a rising star of the host world, a custom private tutor and arranger of meetings, a legend among pickpockets and a gambler who never loses. The children's idol, a kind caretaker, and the brilliant one-time convict, Magician Hughes."

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