WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 348: Ruin (9)

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On the plane to America. Normally I would've flown there alone, but Choi Ji-won had asked to come along, so we sat together in first class.

"So what I'm saying is, there are plenty of options. Dok Su-hee could resurface right before the monsters show up, or we could get some kind of additional information, or..."

She was still, remarkably, trying to talk me out of it, and while I listened, part of my mind wandered elsewhere. (Honestly, the fact that Ji-won had chosen a plane instead of just teleporting herself felt like she was buying time to convince me.)

Will the Book cooperate.

Would the Book actually cooperate? I was still working through the problem from the ground up.

What would happen if I used the ring on the Book? Probably... that existence would vanish from the face of the Earth. If the trait disappeared, it stood to reason the Book would disappear too.

But an ordinary living thing wouldn't cooperate with its own annihilation, would it? That part still nagged at me a little.

The Book isn't ordinary.

Up to now, the Book's attitude had felt less like that of a mortal and more like that of a transcendent being. In most fiction, don't transcendent beings tend to view even their own lives as something distant, almost belonging to someone else? I figured the possibility was there.

"...Are you listening?"

"Yeah, I'm listening."

Giving up before even trying wasn't an option. Not for my idea, and not for Ji-won's. Well... I say that, but honestly, I couldn't help leaning toward my own opinion. It was the one I'd come up with, after all.

"Jun-ho, I think you're rushing this too much right now. Let's think it through calmly. Okay?"

I took Ji-won's hand as she kept trying to persuade me, held it tight, and met her eyes.

"Like I keep saying, I'm only going to ask the Book."

"That's what I mean..."

"I'm just going to hear this side out, then hear that side out... and decide after I've heard everything. I know your idea has real potential too. I'll try that as well. I just want to try the ring first."

"O... okay..."

"I think I was a little too rushed, too. Sorry. I'll be calm."

The stress had been so severe lately that I'd apparently been rushing through things without realizing it. Even now, I could feel every whisper the flight attendants exchanged over there, every glance. Let it go. Those are all animals. Animals wearing clothes. If animals stare at something novel, that's just what animals do. No reason to stress over what they think of me.

"I'm only going to ask. Just ask."

Whether she'd read my resolve or not, Ji-won stayed quiet the rest of the way to America.

I closed my eyes, feeling the animals' stares on me.

* * *

Underground at the research facility. Ronald, the high schooler who knew nothing about any of this, was somewhere nearby enjoying a good meal at a restaurant, while the President sat in a plush chair waiting for me.

"Good to see you!"

"Ah, yeah. Sure."

The President shook my hand warmly and even went in for a hug, but I stood there stiffly, unmoved. Right, in this cycle I hadn't told him I was angry yet. This sensation, like my memories and my emotions existed on a completely different plane from everyone else's, wasn't a pleasant one.

"So, you'd like to use the Book? Good. That much I can arrange as a simple favor."

After rambling through some small talk, the President left the room still smiling. The researchers who would normally be standing by all withdrew one by one, and in the end, the only ones left in this space were me, Choi Ji-won, and the Book. Ah, and the gold bars prepared as the sacrifice.

"...Feels hollow."

Watching the man I'd once unleashed my fury at act like this, I wondered what my emotions were even worth. If he wasn't someone I'd shared a joint regression with, then even the exchange of emotion was impossible between us. Positive or negative, it didn't matter.

Enough. Focus. I picked up one of the gold bars sitting on the floor, cleared my throat, and spoke to the Book.

"I have a ring given to me by the Archangel Raphael. This ring's effect is to erase one trait from a player. If I use this ring on Ronald, the Book's owner, will your existence disappear? And also, will everything that happened because of you become undone?"

Even as I said it, I felt a little absurd. It was on the level of asking, 'I'm about to stab you with a knife right now, so what happens to you when I do?'

□You vanish. And the past changes.□

Making my tension look almost pointless, the gold bar in my hand disappeared, and the Book flipped open with a rustle. Just as I expected, the Book showed no resistance whatsoever to being erased by the "ring." If it claimed to know everything, then surely it had anticipated I'd ask something like this.

"See? Told you it'd work."

"...Guess so."

I let out a tense breath and grinned at Ji-won. Normally I would've nudged her with my elbow, but better safe than sorry with the strength control.

□I can know all things, but I do not know everything.□

But the Book's words weren't finished yet, because even though I hadn't asked another question, the page turned on its own.

□I understand the situation.□

Able to know all things but not knowing everything? So... it had the ability to know, but hadn't bothered to actually look. And now it had just grasped the whole situation.

"...So what exactly did you figure out?"

"Doesn't that mean it knows everything? From the fact that we fought... to what triggered this whole situation right now."

"Is that it?"

While Ji-won and I talked, the Book didn't budge an inch. For something that claimed to already understand the situation, was it mulling something over? Even as we spoke, I kept glancing sideways at the Book.

Well, either way, I'd accomplished what I came here for. If I used the ring on Ronald, the past really would change. That alone was a huge gain.

Like on Floor 23, or was it 24, when defeating the ghost made it vanish forever. Everything Michael Zetter and the President had done would become undone. World leaders would forget I existed, and I could get my old life back.

Back to the days before all these massive worries. Back to when the only thing I had to think about was climbing the Tower. Back to when I didn't have to overhear strangers talking about me as they passed by. Back to when nobody knew who I was. I could return to my small circle of relationships.

The price was... a precious, precious ring. Perhaps the only tool that could stop a catastrophe waiting to happen. It wasn't that I didn't feel the loss of it. It was that I'd been cornered into a place where I had to spend it.

"I'll keep waiting, but..."

My heart leaned toward using the ring. Maybe another item that "erases a trait" would show up in the Tower later. Maybe I'd catch an archangel's eye again someday, too. Of course, just as I'd promised Ji-won, I'd keep regressing and search for every possible method I could. None of what I'd said was empty talk.

Still, there was no denying my heart was tilted toward the ring. It wasn't about covering up the problem. It was about going back to a time before the problem ever existed.

"Hey, Jun-ho?"

By the time I'd more or less settled my thoughts, Ji-won tapped my shoulder. The Book was finally moving.

-Shhk.

A page turned. The pace was slow enough that it felt like someone choosing their words carefully before speaking.

What would it say? What was the Book trying to tell me, that it needed to deliberate this much?

□Offer up the source of the Elixir you carry.□

"...What?"

Given how long it had deliberated, the sentence that appeared was absurd. The thing had suddenly proposed I hand over my Elixir. Had the Book lost its mind? No. That didn't seem to be it.

□This is a favor.□

"Wait, wait. That's not enough explanation. Source? Favor? What are you talking about."

But the Book gave no further answer, closing shut once more. It carried itself like it wouldn't open its mouth again until I handed over the Elixir.

-Squeeze.

Feeling the warmth of Choi Ji-won's hand gripping mine tightly, I settled the excitement threatening to rise in me.

Stay calm. Just look at the information. Just lay out the information and look at it plainly.

This Book had said it could answer "any question." At least by its own claim, so at minimum, it had to be considered all-knowing.

It obviously knew the past, it knew the present, and according to the Americans' experiments, it had the future figured out too. Of everyone in this world, this Book saw the situation more accurately and objectively than anyone. (Assuming the Book's values resembled a human's.)

And that Book, a Book with transcendent power, had told me it would show me a favor. And in exchange, demanded I hand over the Elixir.

"..."

This was an opportunity. Whatever it turned out to be, the Book meant to do something that would work in my favor. It meant to show me a favor.

Even if I didn't yet know which direction that favor pointed.

"Fine."

Right now, seizing the opportunity was the right move.

□Understood.□

The Book opened, satisfied. The sensation of the Elixir vanishing from inside my coat.

□This is.□

The open page was absolutely packed with dense writing, and something about it kept flickering, half like a painting, half like a video, half like some living creature moving on its own. Staring at it for too long gave the feeling of being pulled in, and my consciousness slowly began to blur.

□This is the future you would have chosen.□

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