WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 124: Episode 24 — Something that Can be Changed (4)

At my words, the faces of the Inhuman species changed.

“I don’t know how much you’ve already learned, but letting you walk away in peace will be difficult. Who are you?”

“I am….”

“…Wait. A guy in a long coat, using a sword, and talking like he owns the place. Right. I heard about you from the dokkaebis, you’re the boss of the Seoul Dome, aren’t you?”

…Huh?

“You look a bit different from the rumours. I guess gossip can’t be trusted.”

They were clearly mistaking me for someone else.

“Surround him! That’s the Supreme King of Korea!”

Apparently Junghyeok’s reputation had already travelled overseas. Still, being mistaken for him wasn’t the worst feeling. While Yuseong squirmed inside my coat, the night walkers closed in around me. Shoji, flustered, tried to explain.

“W-wait! You’ve got the wrong person. He’s not the Supreme King, he’s Kim Dogeza-san—”

“Be quiet.”

I stopped Shoji and gauged the enemy’s strength. Well over a dozen opponents, too many to handle alone. But I didn’t need to fight. The moment they struck first, the Penalty would fall on them.

“So you’re ready to attack me even though it’ll trigger Miniaturization?”

Yet their expressions were strange.

“We won’t be attacking you. You’ll be the one forced to attack us.”

“Me? Why?”

“Because if you don’t, your companions will die.”

…What?

I looked toward the voice and saw four little people bound together—in other words, people already turned into little people.

“Ugh, Dokja-ssi… I’m sorry.”

Hyeonseong, Gilyeong, Jihye, and even the grinning Prisoner No. 406. A half-oni pressed a katana to Hyeonseong’s throat.

“You understand the situation now, don’t you?”

Normally this development would have made my stomach churn, but instead I had to laugh. As expected, my teammates had already wiped out the local Catastrophes and let themselves shrink.

Yuseong spoke inside my head.

— Ahjussi, what do we do?

[Hunt the little people within sixteen minutes. Otherwise, <Star Stream> will deem you unwilling to act as a Catastrophe…]

The time left to hunt the ‘Serpent’ was tight. I had to choose: pursue the Serpent, or abandon the hunt.

While I steadied my breathing and shifted my grip on my sword, someone else moved first.

[The character Michio Shoji feels guilty toward you.]

[The character Michio Shoji makes a once-in-a-lifetime decision!]

[The character Michio Shoji is on the verge of a attribute evolution!]

…Huh?

“I’ll handle things here!”

With a thunderous shout, Michio Shoji drew his blade and stepped forward. An hour ago he’d been all nerves, but now his face was resolute.

“I, Michio Shoji, am not so shameless that I would turn away after being saved by my benefactor!”

Still trembling, he planted himself between me and the men.

“Hold on, Michio-ssi.”

“Kim Dokja-san, run! I’ll buy you time!”

Did that brat just pronounce my name correctly?

“Yiaaaaaah!”

[The incarnation Michio Shoji has voluntarily relinquished the rights of a Catastrophe.]

In short, Shoji’s courage helped. While he blubbered and shrank in real time, I signalled the party to proceed with the plan.

[Hunt the little people within fifteen minutes. Otherwise, <Star Stream> will deem you unwilling to act as a Catastrophe.]

We hadn’t even fought yet, but I could already feel my skeleton subtly contracting. If I kept accruing penalties, I’d end up like the others in no time. I strolled toward the inhuman species and asked deliberately,

“Why are you hostile toward us? Even if we’re from different countries, this scenario is little people versus Catastrophes, not Korea versus Japan.”

“Are you pretending not to know? You lot started the hostility. Your own entrants attacked us first.”

I looked back to Hyeonseong.

“Is that true?”

“It isn’t! We fought only to protect the little people, but…”

“He says it isn’t.”

“Drop the act. The ones who struck first were a man and a woman from your team.”

Something flashed across my mind… a man and a woman?

“What did they look like?”

“Enough talk. If you won’t charge in—!”

The distance was close enough now.

[The exclusive skill Bookmark has been activated!]

[Bookmark 4 has been activated.]

[The skill Way of the Wind Lv.8 has been activated.]

A gust exploded and carved a path before me. Blown away by the wind pressure, the Inhuman species screamed and toppled, and in that brief gap I rescued my party.

“Everyone, hold on tight!”

On cue, Hyeonseong and Jihye hung from my shoulders, and Gilyeong darted into the inner pocket of my coat where Yuseong hid.

“This is my spot!”

“Then pick another pocket!”

While the kids squabbled, I scooped up Granny 406 with my right hand and the sprawling Shoji with my left.

“K-Kim-san! You can leave me—”

“Quiet.”

“O-Okay, sir.”

I dashed along the forest path. There was no need to fight every Japanese here. Killing even one grunt would ruin my plan.

[Hostility toward a fellow Catastrophe has been detected.]

[You have received the level 1 scenario penalty.]

[Your body mass has decreased slightly.]

[Your overall stats have fallen.]

Even the faintest hostility had triggered the penalty. My body had shrunk a little, about five centimetres shorter, I guessed. Thankfully, the coat’s size shrank along with me. That’s the benefit of an SSS-grade coat that adapts to its wearer.

I wonder how small it can go.

“After him!”

Behind us, half-oni scrambled in pursuit.

[The constellations from other continents want the Korean and Japanese incarnations to brawl.]

[You have been gifted 2,000 coins.]

Damn busybodies, enjoying someone else’s fight. It was clear they were egging both sides on. I glanced at Jihye dangling from my shoulder.

“How did you get caught so fast?”

“…There wasn’t a river or sea anywhere nearby.”

Right, until she obtained the Twin Dragon Swords, her combat power halved without water. Hyeonseong had probably earned his penalty rescuing little people, and Gilyeong was chatting away with Yuseong.

“You have to be gentle with bugs. You can’t just crush them.”

“Little people aren’t bugs.”

“Everything tiny is a bug.”

Yeah, I understand perfectly why that happened. Sometimes I worry Gilyeong will grow into a psychopath.

“He’s heading toward the Leader!”

So their boss really was the Leader.

In the original third round, the Leader wasn’t the head of the Japanese group. Yet from the situation, it seemed the rightful king Izumi was missing, and the Leader had seized the main faction.

— We’re sorry, Dokja-ssi. We triggered the penalty too soon…

— No, well done, Hyeonseong-ssi. Saving even one more person is enough.

— Is that Leader the ‘Serpent’ you’ve been looking for?

— Highly likely.

In several early regressions of Junghyeok, the Leader had indeed been the Serpent’s incarnation. Unless something huge had changed, he should be the Serpent this time, too.

“Hyung! Faster!”

Between the penalty and the debuff from [Demon’s Formation], our pursuers were closing in despite Way of the Wind.

Once Miniaturization progressed, the gap between little people and Catastrophes would be impossible to bridge. These easy opponents now would become foes none of us could handle later.

The demure Granny 406 sitting in my palm asked,

“Lad, am I not heavy?”

“You’re heavy.”

Granny alone felt heavier, probably because her actual mass hadn’t changed.

She was the linchpin of this operation. Only with her could the Serpent Hunt end in success.

That was when a man stepped out of the bushes ahead.

“The forest howls… what’s the ruckus?”

An elderly gentleman, all yakuza swagger, sat on a neatly cut stump, a gold-thread armband glittering on his sleeve. A little person’s bone stuck out between his lips as though he’d just finished chewing it. On spotting us, he smacked his lips.

“…Koreans?”

A powerful aura of yokai energy radiated from his whole body. I knew who he was without asking—the very man I’d been searching for.

The Leader.

He carried a birdcage at his side, and inside it lay a pile of the little people’s bones and a single female little person. Between my fingers, Shoji poked his head out.

“Asuka-san! You’re alive!”

So the woman in the cage was the first-phase entrant Asuka Ren.

According to the original, she was the first person in Japan to refuse becoming a catastrophe.

“Shoji? How did you—”

Perfect timing. If I could rescue Asuka Ren and hunt the Serpent, it would be killing two birds with one stone. As the long shadow behind the Leader writhed like a snake, I used [Character Profile].

[The exclusive skill Character Profile has been activated.]

The next moment, I doubted my eyes.

+

<Character Information>

Name: Yamamoto Hajime

Age: 64

Patron constellation: A Millennia-old Hundred-legged Monster

Exclusive attributes: Heartless Tactician (Heroic), Corpse Devourer (Rare)

Exclusive skills: [Close Combat Lv. 7], [Advanced Weapon Mastery Lv. 4], [Japanese Swordsmanship Lv. 8], [Concentration Lv. 3], [Crowd Command Lv. 4]….

Stigma: [Demon’s Formation Lv. 7], [Battle Cry Lv. 5]

Overall stats: [Vitality Lv. 60(+10)], [Strength Lv. 60(+10)], [Agility Lv. 60(+10)], [Mana Lv. 60(+10)]

Overall evaluation: Yamamoto Hajime, leader of one of Japan’s great syndicates. He uses Demon’s Formation, a powerful debuff against humans. Unless you wish to make every yokai your enemy, you are advised not to fight him.

+

Damn it. This guy isn’t the Serpent’s incarnation.

What’s going on? Did something in this round go wrong?

“To withstand Demon’s Formation in a mere human body… you’re no ordinary man.”

The shadow behind him thickened, hundreds of legs flashing between its folds. Narrowing my eyes, I asked,

“Where’s the Serpent? You’re clearly a Centipede.”

At my words, Yamamoto Hajime’s face hardened.

His patron constellation was the Millennia-old Hundred-legged Monster.

It sounded impressive, but it literally meant an ancient centipede. Just as a turtle could live 1,800 years and become a constellation, a centipede that survived ten millennia could rise to the same rank, shedding its skin countless times until it transcended its species. A being like that could easily possess a high-end stigma such as Demon’s Formation.

Yet I still couldn’t understand. No matter how strong this centipede was, neither Izumi—the Hundred Demon King—nor his patron constellation should have fallen to such a creature. Above all, Izumi possessed the Absolute Throne.

…Exactly what is happening to Japan in this round?

Footnotes:

[1]

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