WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://discord.com/yT4GsFAYRf

SSS-CLASS HUNTER WHO DIES TO LIVE

Chapter 32: Red Sword (2)

A storm of blood surged.

-Kiiieeeee!

A goblin screamed long and loud.

In my time, the scream was unending.

-That’s the first one down.

Blood sprayed through the air. Red. Blood and rain were the same color. While drops of blood still swam through the air and the raindrops had yet to fall, the world between blood and rain was red.

I readjusted my grip on the sword.

-Next, deal with the one on your left.

And I swung my sword.

-Kreeeeeeee!

The second one down.

Before the first goblin had fully perished, the second goblin was cut down. It all happened in an instant. Blood spurted from both sides.

The monsters couldn't even see my sword as they screamed in unison.

One perished, then another followed.

Another one died, and then another.

-Eeeeeee!

-Eee, eeeeeee!

-Kiiiiii!

As one monster’s scream was about to end, another freshly started.

Thus, around me, the screams never ceased.

A concert of the sword.

My sword was like a conductor's baton orchestrating a chorus of screams.

-One second has passed.

The Sword Emperor spoke.

-When you swing your sword, don’t cut off the motion. Gong-Ja, don’t separate each strike; connect them. Continue slicing.

I swung my sword.

-Slice from top to bottom. Just because your sword moved downwards, doesn’t mean your attack has ended. Think of it like music. If a note descends, it’s only to rise again.

A scream resounded.

-Connect them! If your sword goes down, continue the motion upwards. Then your sword will keep moving continuously.

Another second passed.

-A sword fight is a battle against time! An amateur can only dominate for a mere second. Swing once, and that's it. They’re blinded. They don't know how to connect their next strike. But a more skilled fighter can control for five seconds.

Blood flowed from the enemy.

My body exhaled breath.

-Do not lose your grip on time!

Before all the blood could spill.

Before my breath could fully escape.

-Do not waste it! Cutting down one enemy does not mean it is over. Nothing is over. Know in advance where your sword must go next! Ordinary people let time flow past them, but a swordsman cannot! Do not throw away a single second. Live that one second in its entirety.

Between the enemy’s blood and my breath, my blade flowed.

-A swordsman lives by the sword.

I swung my sword.

-Did you think living a second was easy? Are you really alive?

I swung my sword again.

-People aren't truly living when time just passes. They live when they dedicate time to something. Gong-Ja, you are a swordsman. So you must live by the sword.

I swung my sword once more.

-Burn brighter!

A goblin clawed at my arm, blood spurted. Ah. My head spun. My heart throbbed. Despite the excruciating pain, I kept swinging my sword, focusing straight ahead.

-Kieeee!

-Groooo, grr...

-Koooaoo!

Countless monsters.

Monsters poured out from beyond the red cloud of dust. Boundless hostility. Boundless malice. Monsters intent on chewing through my body and drinking my blood. Drenched in red rain, they charged at me.

-Ten seconds now.

This was ten seconds.

Just ten seconds.

-Burn more fiercely. Gong-Ja. Don’t just live; set your life ablaze.

I gripped the hilt of my sword as tightly as I could.

-Show them who you are.

And I roared.

Uooooooooh!

There, where the fallen gate had become nothing but a breach, in the heart of the battlefield and at the foremost line of the war, my roar rang out. The soldiers firing arrows from the wall flinched. The monsters charging from the dust cloud faltered.

-Yes. Damn it, that's right.

The Sword Emperor chuckled.

-You're finally shedding that zombie face. Kid!

I ran straight ahead.

-Guh...?

I targeted a momentarily stalled goblin first. Swish! Before it could react, I severed its head. The goblin’s head soared into the air, mouth agape.

I swung my sword again.

-Krur, rur.

Next I targeted an orc standing blankly beside me. Slash! Before it could even raise its club, I drove my blade into its head. A fountain of blood erupted.

I swung my sword again.

‘Just a little more.’

A skeleton.

‘A little more.’

Another goblin.

‘Just a bit more.’

Many orcs.

‘More! Just a bit more!’

Towards countless monsters.

‘Look!’

I swung my sword.

‘Look at me!’

I was alive.

I was alive when I swung my sword.

-Koooaoo!

An ogre.

From the red dust cloud, a giant ogre appeared, waving a massive club.

One swing. Two swings. Each swing generated a whirlwind. The dust cloud that had settled thickly over the ruined gate was blown away.

The ogre’s swings caught the smaller goblins. Thud! A goblin was flung straight into the wall, smashing to mush on impact.

That’s right. The creature had no camaraderie, not even among its own kind. No empathy, compassion, or mercy.

Therefore, it was a mere beast.

An ugly beast.

-Uooooo!

The beast roared savagely.

Baring its teeth, aiming solely at me.

‘Come.’

And here stood a lone hunter.

A hunter eyeing its prey.

‘I’ll show you.’

Thud!

The ogre stepped forward.

A corner of the wall, barely holding up, collapsed pathetically.

Thud!

The hideous beast had massive feet. Each step shook the ground. The walls protecting the empire fell. Shaking the ground and crumbling barriers, the ogre charged towards this spot.

-Plant your feet firmly on the ground.

But…

-Look straight ahead.

My mission remained unchanged.

-Slash the enemy with your sword.

I charged at the monster.

Thud!

The giant beast stomped down. That's when I seized the moment. As the ogre raised its club to smash me, I twisted my blade right in front of it.

White light.

The light of the Holy Sword penetrated the ogre's eyes.

-Grooo!

But it was too late for the ogre. Its swing had already begun, and changing its path was difficult.

'Why.'

In this elongated moment that felt infinite, I charged at the ogre, pondering a thought.

'Why did you give an EX-rank skill to a bastard like that?'

Thinking about Yoo Soo-Ha, the Flame Emperor, and this tower that had granted him the returner skill.

'It did not have to be some extraordinary saint. If you had only given the skill to someone a little more sensible, someone a little more decent, there would have been no problem. So why? Why did it have to be that psychopath?'

Whoooosh!

The ogre's club swished past, just missing me, blinded momentarily by the light of the Holy Sword.

This created a brief opportunity.

'Could it be... Is that the reason?'

I sprinted forward.

'Is it because no one but Yoo Soo-Ha can conquer the tower? To reign at the top, must one be like him?'

I soared into the air, the ogre’s widened eyes focused on me.

The monster tried to swing its club again.

But it was too late.

'Don’t make me laugh!'

I’ll show them.

'I’ll break through the 20th floor in place of the Flame Emperor.'

Not just the twentieth stage.

'The 30th too.'

The fortieth stage too.

'The fiftieth too.'

The sixtieth. The seventieth. The eightieth. The ninetieth.

Even the ninety-ninth stage.

'All the way to the hundredth floor!'

Until I finally stand at the summit.

'I’ll show them!'

Thus.

[Your existence becomes more defined.]

I swung my sword.

[Hunter Kim Gong-Ja's level increases.]

The blade precisely severed the ogre's neck.

A torrent of blood erupted.

The monster's hide was tough, but not sharper than my sword. Its thread of life was tenacious, but duller than my aura.

The ogre, even in its dying moment, swung its arm in a futile attempt. Refusing to perish gracefully? There was no need to be taken aback. I simply delivered another blow.

[Your skill slots have expanded.]

[You are now a D-Rank hunter.]

The ogre's head fell.

Thud!

A moment later, the monster's body collapsed.

[May fortune be with you.]

Gradually, the red dust settled.

-Kirrrr...

-Kii, ki! Kiii.

The monsters were visible. The horde pouring through the shattered gate. The seemingly endless wave of creatures that had appeared eternal, now hesitated. Seeing the fall of the giant beast, they were struck with fear.

Silence.

Nothing but the sound of rain could be heard. Soldiers on the walls stared at me, and the monsters kept stumbling. The quiet surrounded me. I stood alone amidst the looks and the retreat.

-Congratulations.

The Sword Emperor chuckled.

-Thirty seconds have passed.

Then, someone passed by me.

I knew who it was from his back alone. A black suit. White hair. The Sword Saint sprinted through the puddles. The strongest hunter in the Tower drew his sword and swept it in a wide horizontal arc.

Swish!

With that single stroke, dozens of goblins lost their heads and dozens of orcs were severed at the waist. Dozens of fountains of blood surged upward as one.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

It lasted only a moment, but in that moment I saw that the streams of blood surging toward the sky were thicker than the rain falling from it.

“......”

The Sword Saint slowly turned to me.

With the blood storm he created behind him.

The old man spoke.

“------.”

I couldn't quite hear him.

My sense of time was still slow.

“Hmm.”

Realizing my unusual state, the Sword Saint smiled slightly.

He then spoke with aura.

“---You did well.”

He raised his sword's hilt.

Rain fell.

Since the rain was red, the sword remained bloodied even after the water flowed.

“My name is Marcus Callenbury. Young man.”

I realized it was his way of showing respect.

“......”

I remained silent.

The second time.

This was the second time the rank-one hunter had personally told me his name.

The first time was when I was still wandering on the 1st floor.

In a secluded alley, the Flame Emperor had grabbed my head and whispered his name.

-My name is Yoo Soo-Ha.

-Farewell.

That day, I was killed.

Today, for the second time, I heard a different name from a different person.

I sensed that I, too, had changed.

And what I couldn't do in my first experience,

what I never did, I could do now.

“My name is Kim Gong-Ja, sir.”

Today.

I said my name.

Join our discord at https://discord.com/yT4GsFAYRf