WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 120: Episode 23 — An Abandoned World (5)

The crystal held exactly five grooves. Both Junghyeok and I knew very well what had to be inserted there.

Junghyeok glanced at me beside him.

“So you are here.”

“Yeah. Regrettably.”

“You can still sit this one out.”

His words were unexpected. I turned to look at him, but he kept his eyes forward.

“It looks like you’ve got a woman you care about.”

“…What?”

“It’ll only make things harder.”

In an instant the puzzle pieces clicked. He hadn’t excluded me to edge me out, he’d done it out of concern? Impossible. This was Yu Junghyeok, after all.

“It might be your last scenario.”

And I understood. This Yu Junghyeok was the one who had lost Lee Seolhwa in the previous round—the Regressor. If anyone was an expert on losing loved ones, it was him.

“We’re not like that. Who has room for romance in this mess?”

He stared at my face for a beat, then said,

“Then you won’t mind dying.”

“Watch your mouth. It hurts, you know.”

“Don’t forget, I still owe you the beating I took.”

“…Right, thanks for the reminder, jerk.”

Sometimes I couldn’t tell whether he wanted me alive or dead. I opened the group chat and spoke to the party.

― Here are the safety notes. Listen up.

Using the chat meant keeping things secret; everyone played it casual while focusing on my words.

― Warp Crystals send us through in pairs, so we’ll move two-by-two just as we planned.

― Yuseong and me will be group 1. Huiwon and Hyeonseong will be group 2. Sangah and Grandma 406 will be group 3. Gilyeong has no partner, so Jihye from Junghyeok’s side will go with him. As for that bastard Junghyeok… he’ll manage.

― You may feel dizzy after the transfer, but don’t panic. The scenario screen should pop up right away. When it does—

I was rattling off instructions when a dokkaebi suddenly appeared above the Warp Crystal and cut me off.

[Just a moment, everyone. I’m terribly sorry, but we have an emergency notice.]

Emergency notice?

[I completely forgot, the initial quota entering from the Seoul Dome isn’t ten people, it’s eight.]

“What the hell are you talking about now?”

To announce this after we’d chosen the roster… I recognized the little imp—it was Yeonggi, the one who’d asked me about the scenario refresh in the Underworld.

[During the fifth scenario part of the dimension twisted, and a few people slipped into the sixth scenario early.]

“…Someone already went in?”

[Yes. Two participants from the Seoul Dome are already active in the scenario.]

Right, Gong Pildu and Han Suyeong had entered ahead of us. I’d seen it on the Underworld screen and forgotten. Twisting the dimension that much, the mid-grade dokkaebi had really meddled to kill me.

[Because they entered by error, we must subtract two from the current quota to keep things fair.]

“What! That’s ridiculous!”

The people who weren’t even going yelled the loudest. My party looked at me in distress, even Junghyeok turned, silently telling me to decide. Damn it…

Surprisingly, Yu Sangah raised her hand first.

“I’ll step out.”

I was grateful for her quick kindness, but I still needed the grandma.

Next, Huiwon spoke up.

“I’ll step out too. There’s a second quota anyway, right?”

“Are you sure?”

“You seem a bit scatterbrained today, Dokja-ssi, but you’ll manage. And that scary man’s on our side now.”

True, Huiwon and Sangah were safe to leave behind. Even if we had another contest in the second allotment, they could fight their way upward. So the two women stepped back, and Hyeonseong took charge of Grandma 406, who looked oddly pleased.

Just before leaving, I whispered to Sangah.

“Almost forgot, tell the King of Wanderers to watch Jeon Ildo. She probably knows, but remind her.”

She nodded, then hesitated and murmured,

“Don’t die.”

I nodded. Huiwon immediately heckled,

“How about you go already? You both are driving me crazy over here!”

Sangah backed away with an awkward smile, and my group approached the Warp Crystal. From my coat I produced the amulets taken from the Catastrophes:

‘Imyuntar's Talisman’

‘Parasite's Talisman’

‘Invargo's Talisman’

Junghyeok and Grandma 406 each produced one more, their spoils from defeating the Catastrophes of Ice and Water.

[Insert the five talismans.]

At the message we slotted each amulet into a groove of the crystal.

Five amulets—proof that this world had been defended from its Catastrophes. Only those who had triumphed could earn passage to ‘another world.’

[You have proven your worth.]

[The Warp Crystal has been activated.]

Light scattered from the crystal, a blue dimensional gate blooming like fireworks. We entered two-by-two. I held Yuseong’s hand and leapt through.

[The Main Scenario has been updated.]

When I opened my eyes again, Yuseong and I lay sprawled in a green-tinted forest. The raw dirt grated under my palms as I staggered up. Dizzy, though I’d warned the others not to panic, I was reeling myself.

Beside me Yuseong was already retching.

“You okay?”

“Uuugh…”

I patted her back and scanned the surroundings. Confused or not, I couldn’t stay that way. Front, back, left, right—nothing but forest. It looked too much like Earth to be another realm.

[Main Scenario – Abandoned World has begun.]

At that very instant the bushes around us rustled.

“Yuseong.”

She steadied her breathing. Leaves shook on every side. One of the designated warp-in points… Worst case, foreign incarnations were hiding in there.

I readied a [Bookmark]. Anyone warped here would be elite among elites, drop your guard and your head would roll.

But what emerged was not what we expected.

[The tier-7 Monster species Steel Wolves have appeared!]

Yuseong and I shared the same expression—relief. Probably only we would feel that.

“They look smaller than usual, Ahjussi.”

Higher-grade monsters were usually the size of a house, yet these Steel Wolves were ordinary wolf-sized. About a dozen of them—no big deal.

[The incarnation Shin Yuseong activates Advanced Interspecies Communication Lv.3.]

Using Communication, she pacified many of them. The rest I cut down with ‘Blade of Faith.’ Weak, unbelievably so for tier-7. Smaller bodies, smaller strength.

“…Huh? They don’t drop coins.”

“That event’s over.”

“No items either. No cores.”

“Our stat gap is too wide.”

“Are they really tier-7? They feel like tier-9…”

Her tension leaked away.

And the forest itself felt odd, the trees only a little taller than me. The scenario page still read mostly question marks, only the title ‘Abandoned World’ was clear.

[You have not yet fulfilled the prerequisite to activate the scenario.]

I hopped and looked around. Because the trees were short, one easy jump let me see the terrain.

“It’s not all forest. Let’s head that way.”

I already knew what lay beyond. We dashed down a game trail. Soon the woods ended at an open plain. And on that plain—

“…Ahjussi?”

We confronted a massed army.

“There they are! Just like the scenario predicted!”

Someone shouted in what should have been an alien tongue but sounded like natural Korean. Yuseong shrank toward me. Hundreds of troops filled the field. Dozens of cavalry, hundreds of archers, hundreds of infantry—enough for a war, waiting for us to appear.

“Ready your skills!”

“Prepare to advance!”

Spears and lances bristled as murderous intent surged. We’d done nothing, yet were already the enemy.

“Charge—!”

Ordinarily the sight would have overwhelmed us—if not for their size.

“Waaaaa!”

Across the plain thundered soldiers each no taller than my fist—tiny folk. Yuseong cried out,

“They’re so tiny!”

“Probably the natives.”

“We’re not really going to fight them… right?”

She kept backing up from the charging little people.

“…They’re too small to hurt.”

[You have encountered inhabitants of another world. Check the scenario details.]

Then a scream rose from farther off.

“There’s another Catastrophe over there!”

“Run for your lives! Full retreat!”

The diminutive army broke and fled. Pop—pop—tiny bodies burst like splinters. Far away, someone was stomping them to death.

“This scenario’s a joke.”

I could barely hear, but the words were in a translated foreign language. Three men stood there: one with flamboyantly dyed hair, a bald man wielding an axe, and a small man with a katana.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Watching the slaughter, the katana-man yelled,

“Maruyama-san! Stop! Izumi told us not to hurt them!”

“We lost contact with them ages ago, stop yapping about Izumi!”

“Michio, you got the scenario notice too. Forget your petty morals and remember what we’ve become.”

The bald one laughed, slamming his axe into the ground, severing tiny soldiers like insects. Beside me Yuseong’s voice quivered.

“…Mister? What is this scenario? What are we supposed to do?”

Now I understood why Yu Junghyeok hadn’t wanted her along. Maybe he was more human than I was.

“Star Stream doesn’t run scenarios only on Earth.”

I pointed to the little people fleeing across the plain.

“And this scenario is one we share with them.”

[Many constellations hunger for blood and violence.]

[Many constellations urge you to make a bold choice.]

[The Main Scenario is activating.]

+

<Main Scenario #6 – Abandoned World>

Category: Main

Difficulty: S

Clear conditions: Exterminate the ruling species of the planet ‘Peace Land’ in Star System 9781.

Time limit: 40 days

Rewards: 200 000 coins, ???

Penalty for failure: ―

+

In the sixth scenario we are no longer the ones blocking Catastrophes.

[You have become a Catastrophe of the planet Peace Land.]

Here, we must be the ones who destroy this world.

Footnotes:

[1]

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