WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 695: Episode 24: Expert (5)

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We sat in the casino hotel's lobby, waiting for Anna Croft.

Christina nervously brought out refreshments. When her eyes met Kim Dokja's, she quickly bowed her head. It seemed she'd learned Korean-style greetings from her "Korean companion."

"Thank you for helping me earlier. You saved my life."

"Congratulations on surviving."

"I mean it."

"Congratulations on surviving. I mean it."

Christina nodded, as if Dokja's sincere tone struck her as somewhat strange.

"Thank you. Anna will be down soon."

"Tell her to hurry. I don't like waiting."

"Um, may I ask you a question?"

"No."

"Did you know the King of the North?"

"I met him for the first time today."

Even before coming to Las Vegas, I'd had a feeling Dokja would cause trouble.

I'd felt it from the moment we made our contract. This Demon King of Salvation liked incidents.

If there was a magician performing flashy tricks in front of him, and that magician happened to be an obstacle preventing him from meeting Anna Croft.

And if Dokja happened to have the power to get rid of that obstacle.

He wasn't the kind of person to let that chance pass him by.

[A few Constellations admire your stunt!]

[You have received 500 coins as a donation.]

Because this world gave coins even for that kind of circus act.

The problem was that the "obstacle" he'd removed had reacted unexpectedly.

―You... are you Korean?

―So what if I am?

―What's your name?

―Inho Cheon.

For some reason, Martinez's expression changed the moment he heard my name.

―I'll back off for now because of that friend. I'll come looking for you again in half a day.

That was the entirety of the "magician incident" from earlier.

Dokja broke through Martinez's magic and took his handgun. After hearing my name, the magician seemed to come to some conclusion on his own before disappearing.

'No matter how I think about it, there's an important link missing here.'

Had my reputation spread all the way to Las Vegas without me knowing?

No matter how much I thought about it, that couldn't be right.

―There's another Korean who's more famous than us.

'Ah.'

Yu Junghyeok had surely caused a scene the moment he arrived, so it was understandable if they were afraid of Koreans. Still, I didn't think Junghyeok would've told them not to touch other Koreans, yet Martinez had backed down far more easily than expected.

―I don't know that much either. What am I, a god?

You are a god.

―And it's more fun not knowing.

'Only when you're watching, I suppose.'

As Dokja and I quietly exchanged opinions, Christina and several burly men began carrying the earth dragon species parts. Passing Incarnations watched us with curious eyes.

Young men carrying sturdy earth dragon bones, and children hiding behind the reception desk to peek at us.

They were probably all part of Anna's Zarathustra.

Perhaps embarrassed by her companions' stares, Selena spoke to me.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Inho Cheon. Headquarters is still a little chaotic."

"No, it's fine."

I wasn't saying that to be polite. It really was fine.

The Demon King of Salvation usually liked attention.

[The Constellations of Las Vegas are paying attention to the appearance of the Incarnation Inho Cheon.]

Of course, that depended on the kind of attention.

Perhaps because it was Dokja's first time seeing Zarathustra at this point as well, he watched the people with considerable interest.

"It seems you haven't been settled here long."

Selena gave a slight nod, as if surprised by Dokja's observation.

"That's right. We moved to the Las Vegas Dome not long ago."

"It seems you were originally in the Washington Dome?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"How is Washington?"

Main Scenarios proceeded around each country's capital Dome.

Just as Korea had the Seoul Dome, the Scenario in America would have unfolded around the Washington Dome.

Yet...

"Washington has already..."

Selena's expression darkened.

What had happened in America all this time? And why had they left the Washington Dome for the Las Vegas Dome?

'Patron-nim.'

―Yes.

'Was the Las Vegas Dome originally supposed to open at this point?'

―The Dome itself isn't the problem.

According to the setting of TWSA, additional Domes were created or additional people were summoned in some countries as the Scenario progressed. Considering additional people had also been summoned in Korea beginning with the Seventh Scenario, it wasn't strange for a new Dome to open in America, which had a larger population than Korea.

The problem was this.

―The problem is that restrictions on travel between countries have been lifted.

Originally, Dome Area restrictions weren't lifted until the Tenth Scenario was cleared. There were global Scenarios like peace land where Incarnations from other countries could meet, but in those cases, the setting was more likely to be another planet than Earth.

Yet the target region of this Scenario was America.

[The Dome Area restrictions have been temporarily eased for this Scenario only.]

[You are participating in this Scenario as a mercenary.]

[A new Seventh Main Scenario will be assigned to you.]

A Scenario that required mercenaries.

It meant even the Administration Bureau acknowledged that this Main Scenario couldn't be cleared by America's Incarnations alone.

"Where is Yu Junghyeok?"

"He should be near the Scenario area. The Supreme King's companions headed there as soon as they arrived."

Since she said the Supreme King's "companions," Junghyeok apparently hadn't come alone.

Lee Hyeongseong, Jihye, Kim Namwoon, Lee Seolhwa... Maybe other readers, including Jieun Yoo, had come too.

What had happened to the others? Were Uncle Dansu and Gyeongsein safe?

Perhaps because Junghyeok had come up, Selena asked in a curious voice.

"Are you close to the Supreme King?"

"We were companions who lived and died separately."

Selena seemed to consider what that meant for a moment.

Dokja didn't seem to have said it expecting an answer. His gaze had been fixed on the earth dragon species parts being carried deeper into the hotel.

"Earth dragon species parts aren't easy to process."

"We can do it. Would you like to see?"

"Sure. Let's take a look while we wait for Anna."

We walked down the marble hallway inside the hotel.

It was surely a five-star hotel. Before the apocalypse, I wouldn't have even dared to enter a place like this. Life was strange.

When we opened the door at the end of the corridor, a massive hall appeared.

"Bring the head over here!"

"Start with bone number four!"

"Gather the hide in front of shelf eight!"

"The eyeballs! Where did the eyeballs go?"

Workers dismantled earth dragon species parts in real time while craftsmen processed the dismantled pieces.

At a glance, they were all elderly Incarnations.

Selena introduced them.

"They're the supporters Zarathustra is proud of."

Even in the Star Stream, where anyone could grow stronger through effort, innate stats clearly existed.

Elderly Incarnations inevitably had lower initial stats, making them more likely to fall behind in Scenarios or be eliminated by the competition. And not everyone wanted to fight, regardless of age.

"Not everyone can participate in combat Scenarios. Every Incarnation has their own specialty, and some are better suited to supporting others."

I was a little impressed. What Selena said was obvious, but some obvious things weren't as obvious as they seemed.

'Zarathustra's reputation isn't false.'

Even weak Incarnations were still a group's fighting force.

Choosing to train their support abilities while accepting that loss of strength in the present was not an easy decision. Even so, Anna had boldly bet on a future that hadn't arrived yet.

She must have been certain their usefulness would bring greater profit one day.

Yet it seemed Korea's swindler didn't particularly like the Las Vegas gambler's judgment.

Dokja stared at a pile of dirt occupying one side of the hall, his eyes unreadable. People were scattering something that looked like fertilizer over the mound, which had been shaped like a field.

"Are you growing crops?"

"Yes. We need to prepare future Food supplies too."

Selena continued as if reciting a prepared line.

"Once the Scenarios end, humanity will have to grow its own Food again. Anna is preparing for that time."

The plants growing in the field were species that didn't naturally exist on Earth.

Plants from another planet, like the Yanaspleta that had appeared on Earth during Chronos's erosion.

Dokja stared at a plant's stem, then bent down and lightly grabbed the gray soil. The dirt rotted away the moment it touched his hand.

―This isn't Earth's soil.

'Soil from another world.'

There was only one condition under which soil from another world could exist now: terraforming.

In other words, this soil had been created when the Fifth Scenario, the Disaster Scenario, occurred.

'This is strange. If the Fifth Scenario had been cleared normally, all this soil should have disappeared too.'

Why was this soil still left in America?

Dokja lightly shook off his hand and looked around the hall once more. By then, the earth dragon species parts that had undergone basic processing were being turned into blunt-looking weapons.

Looking at weapons that seemed questionable at best, Dokja spoke.

"You may already know this, but Grade-4 earth dragon parts aren't cost-effective materials. They're harder to process than parts of the same grade, and their sharpness after processing is somewhat worse. They're not something worth buying for 650,000 coins this early on."

Dokja suddenly confessed, without shame, that he'd swindled them.

"Normally, even if the grade is lower, it would make more sense to buy the bones of a Grade-5 fire dragon race, which are more efficient. Yet you bought a Grade-4 earth dragon, even though you were being overcharged."

But then...

"I know. Anna said the same thing."

If someone knowingly fell for a swindler's scam, it could no longer be called a scam.

Dokja, who had inadvertently been cleared of the swindler accusation, continued.

"If you bought it knowing that, there must be a reason it had to be Grade-4 earth dragon parts. I think."

As he spoke, Dokja picked up a handful of powder that had fallen from the earth dragon parts during processing.

"Probably because of this."

Then he scattered the powder over the contaminated soil.

[The Purification effect has taken effect.]

[The eroded soil has been purified.]

Everyone in the hall stopped moving.

The craftsmen carving bones and tanning hides all stopped their work to look at Dokja. Some Incarnations discreetly gripped the claw hammers hanging at their waists.

"Selena. I think you're a good person."

A cold light now flowed from Dokja's eyes.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions. I hope you're still a good person. If you are, nothing will happen here."

Several craftsmen abruptly rose from their seats. Selena raised a hand and stopped them.

Dokja asked, "Selena. Anna isn't at headquarters right now. Is that correct?"

"..."

"You brought me here to buy time because I couldn't be allowed to interfere with your plan."

Realizing she could no longer hide it, Selena lowered her head and spoke.

"That's right. I'm sorry."

"Did you really clear the Fifth Scenario normally?"

"That..."

"Where is Anna now?"

That was when a small roar came from the hotel's entrance.

[The Constellation Ender of Wars has entered the channel.]

[The Constellation Thunder of Thursday has entered the channel.]

[The Constellation Guardian of the Great Horned Bridge has entered the channel.]

I felt Constellations with familiar modifiers enter the channel.

Through the window, I saw a portal appear at the hotel's entrance.

A portal leading to another region.

One doll staggered through that portal.

We immediately headed down to the hotel entrance.

When we reached the first floor, brilliant blond hair fluttered outside the lobby.

Beyond that blond hair were detached red eyes.

The prophet Anna Croft stood there.

Perhaps she'd been injured during the Scenario. Blood flowed endlessly from her left arm.

Anna spoke to Selena, who hurriedly prepared a tourniquet.

"What about the earth dragon species parts?"

"We brought them. We can deploy a small amount immediately. Even now..."

Anna shook her head.

"It's too late."

Selena's face went pale.

"Don't tell me..."

"The operation failed. I don't know why, but I can't see anything with [future vision]. I think we'll have to give up on the Washington Dome."

Several pieces of information quickly came together in my mind.

A Grade-4 earth dragon and the [Purification] Attribute.

The Washington Dome.

The Disaster Scenario.

And... the companions.

My heart began pounding hard.

Surely not. It couldn't be.

「"I smell a demon king. I couldn't smell it at all at first, but after I woke up from fainting, I could smell it clearly."」

Why had Anna returned through that portal alone?

As Christina's voice flashed through my mind, a terrible premonition came over me.

I wasn't the only one who felt it.

"Anna Croft."

The moment she heard that voice, Anna's expression froze.

She slowly turned toward us, her neck stiff.

"How... are you here?"

"Where is Yu Junghyeok right now?"

Until now, the Demon King of Salvation I'd known had felt less like a Constellation and more like an unemployed older brother from the neighborhood.

An older brother who hated being bored, wasn't particularly serious about anything, and was always busy teasing someone whenever he had the chance.

That older brother was now...

"I'm asking you. What happened to Yu Junghyeok?"

He was genuinely angry.

Footnotes:

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