WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 655: Episode 19: Person from Long Ago (7)

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"Mister. Run. Quickly."

A hand urgently tugged at my sleeve. Shin Yuseong's eyes intermittently flickered gold.

"Quickly!"

Uncle Dansu was dangerous right now.

"I won't kill you. I won't kill you."

[The fable Persistent Martial Arts Master warns you.]

Pitch-black darkness coiled where Uncle Dansu's eyes had been, writhing ominously.

My martial artist's instincts warned me. If I faced Uncle Dansu now, I would die.

"Uncle Dansu! Get ahold of yourself!"

Uncle Dansu didn't react to my cry at all. He merely took one heavy step after another toward us.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

[Someone has activated the Trap Switch.]

[The time until Dungeon Relocation has been readjusted.]

[Dungeon Rearrangement will begin in 10 minutes.]

As if things weren't bad enough, the Rearrangement time had been moved up.

Perhaps it was the work of those Seven Kings of Seoul bastards who had run away earlier.

[The entire dungeon will soon be engulfed in flames.]

[Search for a safe zone.]

The dungeon floor trembled faintly, and I felt faint heat around my ankles. In five more minutes, the area would be covered by blazing flames.

My mind went blank.

Suppose Yuseong and I managed to escape somehow. What would happen to Uncle Dansu then?

[Participants possessing a Star Gem are immune to the flames caused by Rearrangement.]

A sigh of relief escaped me.

Uncle Dansu had absorbed as many as five Star Gems. At least this Rearrangement wouldn't decide whether Uncle Dansu lived or died.

"Find a person."

I had to make a decision.

"Uncle Dansu. I'll be back soon."

The situation had changed.

Uncle Dansu was immune to the flames, but Yuseong and I weren't. Still unable to hear me, Uncle Dansu moved his lips.

"Find a person. No Jiyoon."

"Yes. You said we'd find Jiyoon."

At the name Jiyoon, Uncle Dansu's steps slowed for a moment.

I clenched my fist and continued.

"I told you I'd definitely find her for you. You remember, right?"

Uncle Dansu's head, which had paused, moved very slowly. I couldn't tell whether that meant he understood me or if it was merely a coincidence.

Suppressing the emotions surging within me, I grabbed Yuseong's hand.

"I'll definitely come back."

Then I began running.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire mourns the tragedy of the Incarnation Lee Dansu.]

[The Constellation Naval Warfare God deplores the Scenario's evil deed.]

[The Constellation Bald Army General wipes his head in high spirits.]

I wouldn't let Uncle Dansu become a Sacrifice for the Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband supports your fight.]

Uncle Dansu didn't follow us.

[Rearrangement will begin in 8 minutes.]

We immediately began searching for a safe zone. To save Uncle Dansu, Yuseong and I had to survive first.

Yuseong, who had been checking the passages on either side with me, spoke up.

"Mister."

"Yes?"

"That person earlier, is he someone close to you?"

Before I could think, my mouth answered first.

"Yes."

Weak sparks ran through Yuseong's entire body.

"I see..."

I saw her eyes briefly flicker gold.

What were those golden eyes?

Had Yuseong always had an ability like that?

I couldn't remember clearly. As far as I knew, golden eyes were a feature of Junghyeok, who possessed [Sage's Eye].

Come to think of it, where was Junghyeok now? By now, he should have saved Yu Mia and returned toward Gwanghwamun, but there was still no news.

[Rearrangement will begin in 7 minutes.]

Damn it, this wasn't the time to think about Junghyeok.

We had to find a safe zone first. At this rate, I would be on my way to the underworld before I saw Junghyeok again.

TWSA said that in situations like this, an Incarnation with the [Guide] Attribute or the [Maze Finding] Skill should accompany me, but neither Yuseong nor I had an Attribute or Skill like that.

Then.

[Rearrangement will begin in 6 minutes.]

I checked the amount of stardust we had acquired so far.

[Stardust acquired so far: 314]

The owner of a Star Gem could endure the hellfire of Rearrangement.

In other words, if I gathered more stardust and made a Star Gem, I might at least be able to save Yuseong.

The problem was that there was only one way to acquire stardust quickly.

「I had to kill other Incarnations.」

[Rearrangement will begin in 5 minutes.]

That was when I heard Yuseong's voice.

"Mister. Over there."

A faint light flowed from the right passage about a dozen steps ahead.

We immediately ran toward it.

[You have discovered a safe zone.]

Fortunately, there was still a safe zone left.

However, others had occupied it before us.

"Well, we meet again."

It was a voice that sounded troubled.

It was Gu Taeseong, one of the Seven Kings of Seoul we had encountered earlier.

"Sorry, but there's not enough room here. Find somewhere else."

Taeseong had taken the safe zone with two subordinates.

A green circle one pyeong in size, reminding me of the Green Zone.

The number of people who could currently enter was displayed above it.

[Entry capacity: 3/4]

There was one spot left.

There were five people present, including us.

That meant one person had to die.

That was when Taeseong's expression changed.

"Hm? Wait a second."

Taeseong was looking at Yuseong. I reflexively hid her behind my back, and Taeseong asked with a delighted expression.

"What's that kid's name?"

So Taeseong had recognized her after all. I feigned ignorance.

"I'm under no obligation to tell you."

Taeseong smiled.

"You don't seem to be in a position to act so cocky."

[Rearrangement will begin in 4 minutes.]

Four minutes remained.

As though a decision had been made, Taeseong spoke first.

"I'll take the kid in."

I frowned.

I had heard that line somewhere before.

Taeseong snickered as Taeseong looked back at the subordinates.

"Didn't I sound like Yu Junghyeok just now?"

"Yu Junghyeok? You mean the Supreme King?"

"No. What would you guys know?"

Taeseong frowned lightly before turning back to me. Those eyes were completely different from before.

"Kill him. Bring only the kid."

As if they had been waiting, the subordinates gripped their swords and spears.

I watched them approach threateningly, then asked, "Did you make Uncle Dansu like that?"

The subordinates looked at each other.

"Who's that?"

"Isn't he talking about that uncle who kept going on about his daughter?"

"Ah, you mean the Sacrifice."

Sacrifice.

"Well, we did feed him Star Gems. Honestly, it isn't our fault. That uncle wanted Star Gems, so we gave them to him. Right?"

"People get into trouble when they're too greedy."

A mocking voice laden with derision. Something inside me snapped.

[The Blade of Faith has activated!]

The radiance of faith lit up the darkness.

Taeseong's eyes widened when the item was recognized.

"No way..."

I swung my sword without hesitation. The startled subordinates thrust their weapons toward me.

[The fable Persistent Martial Arts Master stammers through its story.]

However, the trajectories they drew were as easy to avoid as children's toy swords for someone who possessed the fable of the Ark.

A vivid blue-white sword cut through the air. With the sound of something being cleanly severed, the two men collapsed without even letting out dying screams.

The subordinates had bought Taeseong a brief moment, and Taeseong completed preparations for battle before activating a Skill at just the right time.

[The Incarnation Gu Taeseong has activated Weapon Refinement Lv. 4.]

Taeseong's Patron was the Hannan Kingdom Founding Duke.

In other words, Taeseong was the Incarnation of Gyeon Hwon, the king of Later Baekje.

[The Incarnation Gu Taeseong has activated Advanced Swordsmanship Lv. 3!]

[The Incarnation Gu Taeseong has activated an Attribute effect!]

[The effect of Kingly Aura has activated!]

Even with all those Skill activation messages pouring in, I remained calm.

I didn't feel like I could lose at all.

"You... How do you have Broken Faith?"

"I picked it up."

"What?"

Instead of answering, I pressed Taeseong back. The fable of the Ark unfolded through Broken Faith, and Mana flowing from my Circulatory Body fed [White Pure Star Energy], sharpening its blade.

Taeseong staggered backward again and again before letting out a cry of shock.

"Who are you? How can you..."

Of course Taeseong was surprised.

There couldn't have been anyone like me among the characters Taeseong knew.

[The Incarnation Gu Taeseong has activated Tenacious Grit Lv. 3!]

Still, a King was a King.

The longer the fight continued, the more Taeseong began keeping up with my movements.

It was because of the Skill, [Tenacious Grit].

The more I dragged out this fight, the worse it would be for me. It was time to take a gamble.

"You were imitating Yu Junghyeok earlier."

"What?"

[The subskill Sentence Enhancement has activated!]

[You can enter an action.]

[The action you enter will be enhanced.]

[Current enhancement level: Level 1.]

Without hesitation, I entered a sentence.

「Inho Cheon used Incitement.」

[The Exclusive Skill Incitement has been enhanced!]

[Incitement has temporarily entered an awakened state.]

[You can incite yourself to imitate a person of your choice.]

I thought of the third-round Junghyeok whom Kim Dokja had met.

The strong, ruthless Supreme King of the third round.

I knew it too.

The current me couldn't imitate even a speck of Junghyeok.

However, Junghyeok's story was incredibly long. Somewhere within it, there had to be a Junghyeok I could cite.

「At last, the prince in the Sleeping Forest awakened from his deep sleep.」

As if sensing something was wrong, Taeseong shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Over here! Everyone, come this way! Kill this bastard!"

At those words, more than ten Incarnations appeared from farther down the passage. They were all Taeseong's subordinates.

It looked like Taeseong had called them through Group Chat earlier.

Believing the advantage was theirs, a smile spread across Taeseong's lips.

Looking at Taeseong, I spoke.

"I am."

Taeseong's sword fell toward my head.

"The third-round Yu Junghyeok who cut down the Apostle."

The moment Taeseong's eyes widened, dull sparks ran through my body. Goosebumps rose along my spine as my sense of space and time slowed.

「The uncomfortable feeling of wearing clothes that didn't fit. A subtly different eye level from usual, and unfamiliar five senses.」

Crrrack...!

My muscles contracted. Strength beyond my body's limits surged within me.

[Incitement has activated!]

Only the third round.

Even then, it was Junghyeok from the early part of that round, whose total stats were lower than mine now.

Yet imitating him was this difficult.

「"Don't stop moving."」

The Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's voice echoed in my head.

「"Are you collapsing after only that much when you seek to obtain the Sword of Sky-Splitting?"」

Perhaps this was a memory of Junghyeok's.

「"If ten years isn't enough, then fifty. If fifty years isn't enough, then work with the resolve to cut for a hundred years. Accumulate time. Engrave memories into your body and mind so that no star can ever humiliate you."」

Even if it was only the third round, Junghyeok had lived through an overwhelming amount of time that couldn't compare to mine.

He was a peak Incarnation who had reached the Seat of a Transcendent in his second round.

A being who had repeated his training for a hundred years in the Time Fault.

Pshhhh!

Blood spurted from my nose. My head felt as though it would burst, unable to withstand the pressure, like I had crammed an entire book's worth of letters onto a blank sheet of paper.

However, I endured.

I knew it was impossible to truly become that Junghyeok.

Even so.

「At that moment, 'I' realized who I was.」

At least, for one moment.

「My hand gripped the hilt as though it had performed this action millions of times. The feeling of my fingers around the grip was unfamiliar.」

If it was the Junghyeok of that one moment, the one who had cut down the Apostles in Chungmuro.

「"I am Yu Junghyeok."」

Killing intent and rage boiled in my head. Resentment toward his Patron and hatred for the Constellations.

The lingering thoughts of his dead Companions grabbed at my ankles.

The world Junghyeok had abandoned and failed to save bound my whole body like chains.

This was the regressor's curse.

Junghyeok had always lived while enduring these things.

I could feel Yuseong's gaze behind me.

Without turning around, I spoke.

"Get down, Shin Yuseong."

Yuseong bent at the waist reflexively, at the same moment my sword moved.

[The Constellation Hannan Kingdom Founding Duke shouts for you to move!]

There was no way to avoid it.

Because this sword strike was.

「A draw of the sword so natural that it was even beautiful.」

The most perfect sword strike Kim Dokja knew.

Footnotes:

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