WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: smol_anon

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 22: Episode 5 - Warden of the Dark (3)

“Hyung! That’s a…”

Just as Gilyeong was about to speak after spotting the treasure chest, I covered his small mouth.

“Shh, wait.”

The world of TWSA was merciless. The constellations enjoyed watching the characters struggle, and the obstacles in scenarios were perfectly designed to screw humans over. Something like this—an easy-to-spot treasure—was usually a trap, and even system messages couldn’t be trusted.

“Just because it’s a treasure trove doesn’t mean it’s full of treasure.”

[The constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon is disappointed.]

The Abyssal Black Flame Dragon… It had been waiting for me to die for a while now.

Anyway, I kept watching. Soon, shadows began to appear near the treasure chest.

Growl... squeak!

The Ground Rats had arrived. They were dragging something through the tunnel and exchanging odd noises that seemed to convey information.

Fwoosh.

As more Ground Rats gathered, more flickers of light appeared. These flames, fueled by black ether, were called Darkfire. The fact that there was enough black ether to burn here meant that this place was the core of the Dark Root. Then, I heard voices.

“It’s all Sangah’s fault!”

Even without looking, I could immediately tell who was talking. I squeezed Gilyeong’s shoulder to stop him from reacting. It wasn’t time yet.

“What do you mean it’s my fault? What are you talking about?”

I could see two people bound by the roots sprouting from the ground, tightly secured. One of them was Sangah.

“If… if you hadn’t gotten on the subway, none of this would’ve happened!”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Sangah, with all her patience, was still responding to Myeongoh’s nonsense. Honestly, she might as well be Buddha—or her patron constellation might be.

“I… I offered you a ride in my car, but no, you had to ride your stupid bike!”

Myeongoh’s voice faltered, and Sangah’s tone turned icy.

“Wait, did you steal my bike?”

“W-what does it matter? I was just being nice, offering to drive you home! You should’ve just taken the ride when I offered!”

“Answer me. Did you steal my bike?”

Suddenly, it all made sense. That’s why someone like Myeongoh, who usually drove a Benz S-Class, was on the subway.

Honestly, it wasn’t that surprising. Sangah had always attracted attention, not only at work but also around Geumho Station.

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire despises the incarnation Han Myeongoh.]

Even under the Darkfire, Myeongoh’s face was beet red. He looked like he was about to snap.

“Yeah! I took it! So what?!”

“Why are you yelling? Stealing someone’s property is theft.”

“Theft? You should’ve just accepted my offer from the start!”

[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband dislikes pointless arguments.]

I hadn’t planned to intervene this soon, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I quietly pulled out my thorn.

“Listen, Sangah! I wasn’t hitting on you! I wasn’t asking you to date me! I was just trying to be nice by giving you a ride, but you kept rejecting me, so I—”

I hurled the thorn with all my strength. With a sound like tearing air, it grazed Myeongoh’s mouth and embedded itself deep into the darkness.

“Waaah! What the hell?!”

[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is pleased.]

[You have received 100 coins.]

“Dokja-ssi!”

Sangah called out to me, but I wasn’t looking at her.

Whoooom...

On the other side of the Ground Rats, the darkness split where my thorn had landed. Of course, it appeared. There was no way this thing wouldn’t show up in the heart of the Dark Root.

[The Warden of the Dark has appeared!]

[The sub-scenario has been updated!]

[The sub-scenario Eliminate the Warden has begun!]

The Ground Rats, terrified like slaves before their king, fell prostrate on the ground. Emerging from the dim light was a monstrous figure, its body as black as night, with tentacles writhing from its back. It looked like the Grim Reaper itself.

Gilyeong’s face turned pale.

“Ugh, hyung, I…”

“It’s okay, you can let it out.”

Gilyeong fell to the ground and began retching. It wasn’t surprising. Just looking at this thing from afar was enough to make you feel its oppressive aura. The cockroaches crawling around had already flipped over, dead. Gilyeong must’ve suffered mental damage from his connection with them through [Inter-Species Communication].

“Gilyeong, how many more times can you use [Inter-Species Communication]?”

“I… I think I can do it once or twice more.”

“Good. Rest here for now.”

I propped him up gently and approached Sangah and Myeongoh. Han Myeongoh, panicking, was struggling desperately.

“What the hell is that?!”

I pulled out my pocket knife and began cutting the roots that had them bound. As soon as the blade touched the roots, they started to wither and disintegrate. That was the power of the demonic species.

“Stand back.”

I picked up the Ground Rat spear Myeongoh had dropped.

Tier-7 Demonic Species: Warden of the Dark.

Among all the monstrous species that had emerged after the apocalypse began, the demonic species were particularly special. In fact, the ‘treasure’ the Ground Rats guarded was more of an offering to the demonic species. Even among monsters of the same grade, the demonic species were on a different level.

[The Warden of the Dark receives the blessing of its Demon King.]

“Kamun. Der. Itur.”

Demonic species had their own language and worshiped various Demon Kings. Through the Dark Root, they inherited some of their Demon King's power.

[The Warden of the Dark exudes Fear.]

[The exclusive skill Fourth Wall neutralizes most of the effects of Fear.]

Killing one of these demons meant making an enemy of a Demon King.

“Itur!”

I didn’t understand what it was saying, but things were going south fast. I hadn’t wanted to fight this thing if I could avoid it.

“...Mom?”

The voice was from Sangah. Why was she still here?

“I told you to get back.”

“No, it’s just… That thing just said ‘mom’...”

Wait, what?

“Umm, Kard, Emiren? No, was it Akedu?”

For a moment, I thought I’d misheard. But I hadn’t.

“Karlidu!”

Unbelievably, the Warden nodded in response to Sangah.

[The character Yu Sangah has activated the skill Translation Lv.3.]

...What? She wasn’t just good at Spanish?

“What is it saying?”

“It’s… It’s been saying, ‘Become a mom’...”

...‘Become a ‘mom’?

The Warden pointed at Sangah and shouted again.

“Karlidu!”

Sangah looked like she was about to cry.

“Mom? I’m not even married yet!”

The Warden then pointed at Myeongoh.

“Karlidu!”

Myeongoh, who had been wiping blood from his torn lips, turned pale.

“Why would I be a mom? I’d be a dad!”

A tentacle shot out from the Warden’s back.

Squelch!

“Mmmph!”

The tentacle latched onto Myeongoh’s mouth, and his face began to darken. With a sickening sound, something slid down his throat.

Oh. So that’s what it meant by ‘mom.’

I had just remembered that demonic species reproduced by implanting their offspring inside other creatures.

“Sangah-ssi, I take it you’re not planning for kids anytime soon?”

“Of course not!”

Sangah quickly understood and moved back as fast as she could. I swung the Ground Rat spear, severing the tentacle connecting Myeongoh to the Warden. It roared in fury.

“Karliduu!”

Crack! Squelch!

The Warden’s tentacles started to tear through the Ground Rat spear, deforming it. Even the Stone Hog's thorn that had scratched the stomach of the Ichthyosaur had disintegrated when it touched the Warden’s body. This result was inevitable.

Sangah, who had managed to drag Myeongoh further away, looked back at me.

「Do we stand a chance?」

Her eyes seemed to ask that.

But to tell the truth, we didn’t stand a chance.

Squelch! Squelch! Crack!

With just a few hits, the Ground Rat spear was almost completely destroyed. My hand throbbed from gripping the now-useless weapon. The Warden of the Dark wasn’t meant to be hunted. It was a boss monster, just like the Ichthyosaur on Dongho Bridge.

The original plan had been to wait for it to leave and then loot the treasure chest.

But plans were made to account for when things went wrong.

“Dokkaebi, I know you’re watching.”

[W-what? How did you know?]

A flash of electricity illuminated the dark as the dokkaebi appeared. I didn’t know its name, but it looked like it could be Bihyeong’s cousin or something.

“You’ve got mail for me, right? It should’ve arrived by now.”

[Heh! That’s not m-my job! That’s B-Bihyeong’s job!]

“But you’re handling Bihyeong’s work now, aren’t you? You don’t see the constellations getting impatient?”

[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband scolds the dokkaebi Biryu to hurry.]

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire threatens the dokkaebi Biryu.]

Biryu gulped audibly.

[F-fine. But just this once! I’m only doing this because it looks interesting!]

The dokkaebi muttered something into the air, and a few moments later, the delivery arrived.

[Your item from the Trading Post has arrived.]

[You have received the item Broken Faith.]

[Your contract exempts you from the transaction fee.]

Broken Faith. It was the item I had put up for trade at the Trading Post earlier in exchange for the Sea Dragon’s core. It had finally arrived.

“Kek.”

The Warden of the Dark sneered at the item I’d summoned. It had every reason to. After all, what I’d received was only a D-grade item—a sword that was broken in half, no less.

[This item is too worn out to be used effectively. Its durability is too low to function at its full potential.]

Even the dokkaebi was giggling in the air.

[H-how are you going to fight with something that trashed? Besides, i-it has a special skill that requires certain conditions to work…]

I knew that. I wouldn’t have bought it if I didn’t.

“Hoooo…”

I took a deep breath and focused.

Whiiiiing.

The sword’s hilt trembled, and Biryu gasped.

[W-what? How did you…?]

You shouldn’t be surprised so easily. After all, I spent 10,000 coins to buy this skill from your friend.

A blue-white ether began to swirl around the surface of the broken blade.

[White Flash Qi]

After killing the Sea Dragon, I had immediately bought this skill from Bihyeong. It wasn’t as strong as some of the other top-tier martial arts skills, but among the High Cultivation Qi techniques, it was the best I could get for now.

[Broken Faith reacts to your mana!]

[The skill Blade of Faith has activated!]

A glowing white blade emerged from the broken sword’s hilt.

Broken Faith. This sword’s true potential was only revealed when imbued with Cultivation Qi.

Squelch! Squelch!

The Warden’s tentacles filled the air, launching an attack I couldn’t survive at my current Stamina level. I was scared. But now, I stood a chance. The Blade of Faith had the perfect counter-effect against demonic species.

Crackle!

The tentacles that touched the blade disintegrated instantly. The Warden let out a horrifying scream and recoiled. I could feel my mana draining fast, but I wasn’t in a rush.

Shiiing!

I swung the blade calmly. Without the [Swordsmanship] skill, I missed several tentacles. Without [Combat Sense], my movements were sloppy. It made sense—I wasn’t a swordsman. I was a reader.

And readers fought in their own way.

[Due to your attribute, your memory of previously-read pages has improved.]

Scenes from Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse flashed through my mind. I carefully recalled the moments I had read and simulated thousands of times in my head.

「...The Warden of the Dark’s attack patterns can be guided. If you target its left ankle, the right upper tentacle will always react first...」

「...After two consecutive attacks, there’s always a brief interval before the next move...」

「...Its tentacles regenerate, but the process takes several minutes, giving you a window of opportunity...」

All I had to do was follow what I’d read.

“Kraaaaahhh!”

The severed tentacles flailed as the Warden screamed.

Beyond the thrashing tentacles, I saw Gilyeong, staring at me with awe. Unfortunately, his admiration was misplaced. In this world, I wasn’t a god or the protagonist. But I was confident about one thing.

“Karl. Mien. Dero.”

The Warden staggered, mumbling something in its monstrous language. Before I could ask, Sangah, her voice trembling, translated from behind me.

“How… How could you know all my moves…?”

That’s what it meant. I responded casually, as if it was no big deal.

“Because I read books.”

I knew this world better than anyone else.

Footnotes:

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