WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 321: It Just Can't Kill You

──────

I turned away from the regressor and concentrated.

Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire. The four directions in which humans could extend qi.

Geon was the sky. In other words, all things. It placed me at the center and influenced everything in the world. I used the Heaven Qi Art to extend my qi and grip the handle. My hand and the handle became connected as though they were one.

Gon was the earth. It placed the world at the center and set me firmly within it. The essence of the Earth Qi Art was recognizing just how small I was before the vast world and planting my feet firmly on the ground. Through my qi sense, I felt the flow beneath my feet.

Gam was the body. From this point on, neither the world nor anything else mattered. The body was a small universe isolated by a single thin layer of skin. I infused my muscles, bones, and flesh with qi, surpassing the limits of the human body...

"Urgh. I'm already running out of qi."

...This was where I was weak. Since the Water Qi Art affected the entire body, it consumed several times more qi. It was fine if a weapon broke, but the same couldn't be said for my body.

After fixing my posture as firmly as possible, I gathered the bare minimum of qi at the point connecting my waist and arms, then held on. Even that tiny amount of qi helped. If I could just keep this up...

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Was it because she sensed I was in danger? Azzy stuck her head toward me and barked fiercely. She even twitched as though she might leap out at any moment.

Yes, humanity's most precious friend. You might only be barking, but thank you. Dogs really were comforting.

"Azzy. You're all I have. But don't worry. I will definitely..."

"Wooooof! I can't hold back!"

With that one declaration, Azzy suddenly jumped down.

Azzy's form flashed past behind me. After leaping over me and landing far ahead, she ran after me with hurried footsteps.

Wait, no way. Was that pounding excitement I felt from Azzy really enjoyment?

"Woof woof! Tail-chasing!"

"Was this your hunting instinct? Aaaaaah!"

"Chomp! Woof, got it! I'll let go!"

"Then don't catch it in the first place! You're making me shake!"

Whenever Azzy appeared at the edge of my vision, the sled shook violently. Thankfully, she did not seem intent on pouncing on me and knocking me over, but she kept nudging it and throwing off my balance.

This was bad. If a human had been messing with the sled, I could have read their thoughts and prepared beforehand, but it was Azzy. I had to rely purely on my own skill! I wasn't confident in that!

"This is really dangerous! Hilde! Emergency! Emergeeency! Help me!"

When I screamed for help, Hilde smiled innocently and asked,

"Would you like some help?"

"Yes! Hurry!"

Hilde sprang to her feet. With a serious expression, she put both hands on her hips, stretched each limb in turn, and shouted,

"Fighting, fighting! Father, you can do it! You've got 'me'!"

"Don't just cheer for me! Give me some actual help!"

"If I may offer some advice, bend your knees a little more! Father somehow seems weak in the lower body!"

"How is advice actual help?!"

And there was nothing I could do about my weak lower body! The King of Humanity didn't have much going for him in the legs!

Damn it. They were happily watching me suffer over there. I had been through plenty of humiliating situations, but I was still the King of Humanity.

Filled with spite, I shouted,

"Just wait! Once I get stronger, I'll make everyone there take a hit first!"

"Yes, please do."

Especially you! Regressor, just you wait!

* * *

"Woof. All used up."

Azzy saved me when I was about to collapse from exhaustion.

Well, could I really call it saving me? She had simply bitten the back of my neck and leaped up at once when it looked like I couldn't hold on any longer.

My arms ached. My waist throbbed. My grip trembled, and my calves had swollen badly. I had no strength left in my body, and even my qi wouldn't move as I wanted.

"That was fun! Woof! Let's play again later!"

"You're such a dog. Every time you open your mouth..."

We were both Beast Kings, yet one of us had to spend qi just holding on to a sled while the other could run at a similar speed with energy to spare. This was clearly unfair.

I was lying face-down on the Cataphract's floor with nothing but spite left in me when the regressor spoke.

"You're already out of qi? I can't believe it! Considering you've even learned the Earth Qi Art, that's far too pathetic!"

"...It's not as though I wanted to be born this way. If I could have chosen a body before I was born, I would've chosen yours, Mr. Shei."

"Do you think I got my strength for free?"

I didn't know about her strength, but she definitely got regression for free. If regression was how she had acquired qi arts, mana, and artifacts, then she got those for free too.

The regressor scratched her chin as she looked down at me.

"Anyway, your balance looks better than I expected. There's no problem with how you release or control qi. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"...You have a disastrously small amount of qi. Only a little more than an ordinary person who has learned nothing."

Thanks. I already knew that, but thank you for confirming it.

"But that's fine! It makes things simpler. If you don't have enough qi, you just need to increase it!"

"Easy for you to say. How?"

"There's a simple way. It's expensive, though."

The regressor drew a circle in the air with her finger. A round hole appeared in empty space along the path of her fingertip. She reached into it and rummaged through something.

Hilde saw it and covered her mouth.

"Wow. Shei. Could that be...?"

"It's my pouch."

"Rene's pouch? You had something like that too?"

"Just one."

"There are only four in the world! What do you mean, 'just one'? Are you some king's son?"

"I wish."

'This... Hmm, alchemical coins. These are for emergencies. Not this either. Ah. Found it.'

Brushing aside the troublesome question, the regressor waved her hand around a few times and pulled something out. It was a small wooden box locked with a black padlock. She casually opened it and held it out to me.

"Here. It's an elixir."

A white pellet appeared within its medicinal wrapping. A slightly fishy yet fresh scent spread through the air. I only lifted my head slightly to look at it.

"An elixir?"

"Yeah. How much you absorb depends on your skill, but..."

An elixir. That was vague.

Still, there was no reason to refuse something I was being given. It was my first time taking a genuine elixir. Who knew? Maybe I would regain my strength after eating this.

And this elixir was...

"Wow, an Ivory Pellet! That's a precious elixir made only from the essence of elephants!"

After sniffing at it, Hilde recognized the elixir and exclaimed in admiration. Hilde was genuinely impressed, but was also trying to draw out a conversation by giving the reaction the other person wanted.

It was an ordinary social tactic, but the regressor was as far from ordinary as anyone could be. She answered listlessly.

"That's right."

"How did you get it? I heard elephants hold even their dead kin dear, so it's hard to get hold of even a freshly dead elephant's body!"

"I found it somewhere."

"Wow. That is such a half-hearted answer, and it practically screams that you don't want to tell me! You said you found the Demon God, and you said you found an elixir too. What in the world are you all trusting when you travel with someone like this?"

Tyr responded to Hilde's grumbling.

"I would answer, affection. If that is not enough, I would add affection born of irritation. We have not known one another long, but we have gotten along remarkably well."

'Af-affection born of irritation...?'

You were shocked by the strangest part. Of course it was affection born of irritation. Did you think it was fond affection?

"By the way, Shei. I have heard that an elixir must be taken in the most comfortable and stable condition possible."

"That's right."

"Yet no matter how I think of it, a carriage shaking this roughly does not seem like a 'stable condition.' Should you not first move Hyu somewhere that will not shake before he takes the elixir?"

"That would be best."

"For example, somewhere as comfortable and still as my coffin would be more than enough..."

'My coffin is practically an extension of my body. I can make sure there isn't even the slightest vibration. Hehe, I had wanted to place Hyu alone inside my coffin just once. What a good opportunity.'

"Ah, that won't work. It's better to digest qi on bare ground."

"...Why?"

"Qi doesn't settle well while you're moving. In particular, it causes a slight problem when using the Earth Qi Art with that qi. It would be better to stop first, then absorb it slowly."

"Even in my coffin?"

"A coffin is still moving, isn't it?"

A little disappointed, Tyr replied curtly.

"Then since we will not stop, Hyu will have no occasion to take the elixir."

"No. It's getting dark, and we're entering the Lesser States' sphere of influence. Let's rest for a while before moving on. The golem has reached the limit of its communication range too, hasn't it?"

The golem did not respond and only held the steering wheel. Since there was not even any static, it seemed the limit had been reached long ago.

"Did you not say we were in a hurry? Is there any reason to rest?"

"Mm. It's best to travel through the Lesser States during the day if possible. You'll understand as soon as you see it, but..."

That was true.

The Lesser States was a land where everything changed. Even the terrain was no exception. A day no different from yesterday did not promise an unchanging tomorrow. This was a land of distrust, where nothing could be trusted because everything changed.

"Look. It seems someone has made a camp over there, so let's stop by."

The regressor muttered as she looked at the distant campfire and the faint silhouettes of people around it.

Footnotes:

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