WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: smol_anon

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 20: Episode 5 - Warden of the Dark (1)

[W-well then, good luck, everyone! Eheheheh!]

The dokkaebi left with those words and disappeared.

A food penalty followed by a survival penalty.

I already knew about the former. But the latter, though very much like something from TWSA, hadn’t happened in the original. I could only guess it was because my contract with Bihyeong had affected the story's progression.

Huiwon checked her pocket, where her biscuit crumbs had vanished, and asked in a dazed voice.

“Dokja-ssi, I have to ask... Did you expect this?”

“I had an idea. I thought about what the dokkaebis would do first to make things harder for humans.”

“...You should set up a fortune-telling mat or something.”

I called Hyeonseong and the others. The situation had been set, and now it was time to move.

“Give us back our food!”

“How... how could this happen?”

The people from the minor group were wailing. Even Inho and the main group seemed stunned by the sudden food crisis. When our eyes met, Inho bit his lip.

「No way... did he know? No, that can't be.」

If I could read his mind, I’m sure he’d be thinking something along those lines.

[You have correctly read the inner thoughts of the character Cheon Inho.]

[Your understanding of the character Cheon Inho has increased.]

...Really? Understanding increases from something like this? Out of curiosity, I tried reading other people’s expressions, but the same message didn’t appear. Meanwhile, Cheon Inho quickly pulled himself together and gathered his people.

“Everyone, please gather. I have an emergency announcement.”

The message was simple. The situation had worsened, so they were going to draft more people from the minor group into the recon team. He was clearly desperate. With no food left underground, there was no other choice.

“From now on, we won’t distribute food to anyone who doesn’t join the reconnaissance team.”

Despite the severity of his words, no one protested. It was the natural outcome of such a situation.

One by one, people began volunteering for the reconnaissance team, and despite the loss of food, Inho still had hope in his eyes. The more urgent the situation became, the more control the main group would gain. Watching this, Hyeonseong finally spoke up.

“Dokja-ssi, what should we do now?”

“Of course, we’re going to get food.”

At my words, everyone’s faces tensed up. To find food meant only one thing.

“Should we join the reconnaissance team too? There’s still food left on the surface.”

“No, we’re not going to the surface. Going up there means certain death.”

I glanced at the worn-out gas masks scattered on the ground. Those flimsy masks wouldn’t protect against the poisonous fog.

“But we have to go above ground to get food...”

“Hyeonseong-ssi. The world has changed. So, our food needs to change too.”

I stared down the tunnel leading toward Yaksu Station.

“Wait, Dokja-ssi... You’re not serious, are you?”

“I am.”

In this world, humans were no longer at the top of the food chain.

But just because we weren’t predators didn’t mean we had to be prey.

“We’re going to hunt monsters.”

A little later, a few members of the minor group and I stood at the entrance of the tunnel to Yaksu Station.

“So, you’re heading down the tracks?”

I expected Inho to try and stop us since we refused to join the reconnaissance team, but instead, he seemed relieved that I wasn’t staying in his territory. Maybe he thought I was a threat to his authority.

“Well, in the long run, we do need a team to clear the scenario. Go on, then.”

What an arrogant bastard. He was acting like he was the leader or something. Not for much longer, though.

[Your understanding of the character Cheon Inho has increased.]

[Your understanding of the character Cheon Inho has reached a certain level.]

So, that’s how it worked... I finally understood. There were two conditions that needed to be met to increase my understanding of a character.

One was gaining the character’s trust or favor.

The other was accurately guessing their inner thoughts.

This time, it was the latter.

[The character Cheon Inho is suspicious of your true intentions.]

It seemed that once my understanding of a character reached a certain level, I could even read their vague thoughts and feelings.

“By the way, could you take one of our group members with you? We’d like to gather some information on how to clear the scenario.”

As expected, Inho wasn’t going to let us leave that easily. I glanced at the man who stepped forward hesitantly. Of course, it had to be him. Just my luck.

“Do... do I really have to go?”

“Oh, come on, hyung. You’ve been saying you wanted to make up with Dokja-ssi since last night.”

“I... well...”

The one joining us was none other than Manager Han Myeongoh.

“Well, Dokja-ssi. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to come along...”

“Sure, let’s go.”

My immediate answer clearly surprised him. He must have expected me to refuse. Hyeonseong looked concerned, but I had my reasons.

And so, the group was formed: myself, Hyeonseong, Gilyeong, Sangah, and Myeongoh—our party of survivors from car 3807 had reassembled.

“Can I come too?”

“…Are you sure you’re up for it? You haven’t fully recovered yet.”

“This is nothing.”

With one more person—Jeong Huiwon—we became a party of six. It was a decent number, though whether we had too many or too few wouldn’t matter in the face of what was coming.

Rumble, rumble...

Soon, it would no longer matter how many people we had.

[A new sub-scenario has arrived.]

+

<Sub Scenario – Acquire Food>

Category: Main

Difficulty: E

Clear conditions: Hunt a monster that can be used as food and prepare it.

Time limit: None

Rewards: 500 coins

Penalty for failure: ???

+

As soon as we stepped into the tunnel, the sub-scenario notification appeared. Acquire Food—it was the sub-scenario we had to complete before entering the second main scenario.

[A few constellations are anticipating your performance.]

We hadn’t even taken ten steps before the darkness in the tunnel became absolute. Despite our flashlights, we couldn’t see the outlines of anything around us. There was a curtain blocking the light. The real danger lay beyond that curtain.

“Dokja-ssi, hold on. It’s really dangerous from here on out.”

Huiwon, walking beside me, was the first to stop.

“We’re not just going in like this, are we? That would be suicide. Gilyeong is with us too.”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking the same. It’s not too late to leave Gilyeong behind. Maybe the women should stay too...”

“Hyeonseong-ssi, I might not be as strong as you, but I can fight. I’ve even practiced kendo.”

“But still...”

Before the pointless argument could escalate, I cut in.

“Hyeonseong-ssi. As I mentioned earlier, the world has changed. The idea that women are physically weaker is just prejudice. Anyone can raise their overall stats and become stronger. But, Huiwon-ssi, you’re mistaken as well.”

“...What do you mean?”

“Just as there’s no rule that says women are weaker, there’s no rule that says children are weak either. Gilyeong, show them.”

Lee Gilyeong stepped forward. After scanning the area, he crouched down and extended his hand toward the ground. Huiwon’s eyes widened.

“What the...? What is that?”

“S-shit! Is that a cockroach?!”

Myeongoh shrieked. A cockroach, tethered to Gilyeong’s fingertip by a faint thread, scuttled about. It responded to his unspoken command like a well-trained dog, then darted off into the darkness.

“My attribute is [Bug Collector].”

Bug Collector. Through his skill [Inter-Species Communication], Gilyeong had the rare ability to communicate with insects.

“There’s nothing ahead. It’s safe for about a hundred steps.”

The group was stunned by Gilyeong’s impressive reconnaissance abilities. With a mischievous grin, he added,

“I appreciate the concern, but I’m not here to leech off you guys.”

“Ah, okay.”

Huiwon nodded, still looking dazed. I patted Gilyeong’s head as he returned to my side.

Gilyeong’s attribute wasn’t something that had appeared in the original TWSA. Saving him early on had been the right decision. We crossed the barrier and stepped into the deeper darkness.

[You have entered a danger zone.]

“Y-Yu Sangah-ssi, grab my hand if you’re scared.”

“…I think you’re more scared than I am, Manager Han.”

“N-no way!”

The air inside the barrier was thick with humidity.

“Dim the lights.”

Sangah immediately covered the flashlight with her hand. The model didn’t have an adjustable light setting, so we had to control the brightness manually.

“Ugh. Don’t shine the light down there.”

Huiwon gagged when she saw the ground. The bodies of those who had tried to escape toward Yaksu lay scattered, half-eaten and rotting. Sangah squeezed her eyes shut, Myeongoh trembled, and even the stoic Hyeonseong swallowed hard.

Surprisingly, the only one unfazed was Gilyeong. His face showed not a hint of fear. It was slightly unnerving. Did he think all of this was just a game?

“There are non-human corpses too.”

Gilyeong was right. The bodies weren’t just human. Scattered among them were creatures the size of fully grown wolves, with large forepaws like moles.

Tier-9 Underground Species: Ground Rats.

Their name might resemble an Earth insect, but the similarity ended there. These creatures were like piranhas of the underground, tunneling in packs to relentlessly hunt their prey. Yet, here they lay, as if bombed to death. Huiwon sighed.

“…Who could have done this?”

There was only one person in the area who could have reduced the Ground Rats to this state.

Yu Junghyeok.

He had cleared this path and moved on to the next station.

But something didn’t feel right. Junghyeok from the third regression shouldn’t have moved to the next station until later tonight or tomorrow. Why was he in such a hurry? What had gotten him so riled up?

“Dokja-ssi, shouldn’t we be able to clear the scenario with these?”

“The scenario said we have to hunt the food ourselves, so these probably don’t count.”

“…I guess it wouldn’t feel right either. How are we going to cook them? Should we just roast them over a fire?”

We could roast them, yes. The issue was that we needed a special kind of fire.

“By the way, Huiwon-ssi, didn’t you say you were good at kendo?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m good at it… But what are you doing?”

I stabbed one of the Ground Rat corpses with a thorn and began cutting it open with a knife. When I read about this in the novel, it hadn’t seemed this difficult. Still, I managed to peel back the tough skin and successfully carve out the spine. There were plenty of nicks and cuts, but it was good enough.

“What’s that for?”

“You need a sword if you’re going to practice kendo.”

It wasn’t as good as the Stone Hog’s thorn, but the Ground Rat’s spine could make for a decent weapon. Especially if the joints were fitted together properly, it could serve as a useful early-game tool. After slicing through the remaining cartilage to shape it, the bone took on a crude sword-like form. I handed it to Huiwon.

“Thanks. Feels like I’ve gone back to the Stone Age.”

“You’ll have to sharpen it a bit. Find some stones nearby and smooth out the edges.”

“Hehe, got it, Chief.”

Huiwon laughed as she immediately started sharpening the blade. Hyeonseong, who had been watching her, seemed envious and glanced my way.

“Should I make you one too?”

“Oh, would you?”

“I suggest everyone come closer and learn how to make one. It’s a good skill to have. Let’s make these together.”

It was my first time doing this too. If Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse hadn’t gone into such detail about butchering monsters, I wouldn’t have dared attempt it.

Why wasn’t TWSA popular? Simple. The author was obsessed with detailed settings.

“…Dokja-ssi, you seem like a novice, but you’re strangely good at this.”

We squatted down together and made weapons. Instead of swords, we crafted spears, since none of the others had swordsmanship skills, and spears offered better range.

I gave the largest spine to Hyeonseong, and smaller ones to Sangah and Myeongoh. Finally, I fashioned a club with a Ground Rat’s skull for Gilyeong.

[You have successfully acquired weapons on your own.]

[A few constellations are intrigued by humanity’s primitive nature.]

[You have been gifted 100 coins by the constellations.]

This time, everyone received the message.

“So you get coins for this too, huh?”

“The universe won’t let you die that easily. Does everyone still have their coins?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Try to save enough for the survival fee, but spend the rest on Strength, Stamina, or Agility. You won’t survive otherwise.”

“Understood.”

Once we were ready, we started moving again. The 100 steps Gilyeong mentioned were just ahead.

[The Sub-Scenario - Acquire Food begins now!]

Ground Rats emerged from the shadows, scurrying across the floor. I quickly counted. One, two, three… thirteen. More than I expected.

Rumble, rumble...

The Ground Rats drew an invisible line and began to threaten us. The moment we crossed that line, the battle would begin.

“There’s no real plan. This is our first time, and honestly, it may sound cruel, but I don’t expect everyone to survive.”

“W-what?”

“Still, please survive. I’m counting on you.”

The only one panicking was Myeongoh. The others, though tense, wore determined expressions. Especially Huiwon, whose eyes gleamed with resolve.

“Alright, let’s do this. Let’s make it out alive!”

Just as Junghyeok had tested me, I had expectations for them. No matter how great an adviser you have, you won’t survive this world without strong resolve.

In the end, the only one who can save you is yourself. This was their chance to realize that.

“Let’s go.”

And I, too, would see who was worth taking with me.

As I stepped forward, the Ground Rats began to move.

The battle had begun.

Footnotes:

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