WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 215: Someone’s Master (2)
──────
"Ugh."
I clutched my forehead. Applying pressure with my fingers, I pressed against my temples. This eased the headache and my consciousness gradually sharpened.
‘That's right. I am currently within a [Trauma].’
This place is another world. No, rather, it’s a play reassembled to mimic some world.
The actors are unaware that they are actors, and the props do not know they are just props, but everyone here is essentially a part-time worker hired for this play.
‘This is the [Trauma of Jaa Soo-Jeong].’
I had been observing Jaa Soo-Jeong's life for some time.
How talented she was born. How she broke through political offensives in unbelievable ways. How she befriended someone, how she gained power, and even how she eventually snatched the authority of the dragons....
‘The tower was built by the power of dragons.’
Now, I can say this with certainty.
‘It was not constructed from a single power, either. A power governing [Essence], one governing [Memory], and one governing [Time]. Perhaps still more Dragon Emperors beyond them. It is a comprehensive system fashioned by layering the powers of countless Dragon Emperors.’
Thump.
A heart, not mine, beat in rhythm with me.
‘I am the first person to unravel the structure of the tower!’
Responding to my excitement, even within this Trauma, the tower’s voice gladly acknowledged my discovery.
[Congratulations. You are the first to discover the structure of the tower!]
[If you accurately describe the powers (skills) sustaining the tower's structure, an additional bonus will be awarded.]
[Can you specify the four fundamental skills that make up the tower?]
I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
‘Jaa Soo-Jeong captured three dragons.’
Recalling the scenes I witnessed, I murmured in my mind.
‘One of them is the Earth Bone Dragon. A Dragon Emperor with the power to [store memories]. When someone approaches the Earth Bone Dragon, their memory is stored in a box.’
I thought about the power of the Earth Bone Dragon.
‘And the [size] of this box is not fixed.’
+
[Earth Bone Dragon's Skull]
Rank: SSS+
Effect: Stores the memories of the living. Stored memories are kept in a 'box.' This box can only be destroyed by the owner of this skill.
As long as the box remains intact, you can repeatedly produce bodies of individuals inheriting the same memories. The bodies can roam the world, accumulating new experiences, which can then be 'updated' into the box. Of course, only if you permit it!
Even if the body of the individual is destroyed, the box remains unharmed. Bestow the privilege of immortality on those around you.
*However, memories of a destroyed body cannot be updated into the box.
+
I thought.
‘People living outside can enter the tower at any time.’
In contrast, those who enter the tower leave everything behind, entering with nothing but their physical bodies.
Like me. Like Marcus Callenbury. Like the Director.
Like all other people.
‘The only thing you can bring into the tower is [yourself].’
Meaning.
‘What if the tower is one giant box?’
I snapped my fingers.
‘And we are the contents inside it?’
At the moment of entering the tower, [my memories] are stored in [the giant box called the tower]. And, leaving their memories in the tower’s care, they wander around the world inside the tower.
‘This way, the tower completely seizes all the information of everyone who enters.’
The more I thought, the more certain I became.
‘This explains why I could regress 4000 days!’
Every time I go back a day, the tower I belong to is restored to a [data restoration point] of that day. Repeating this 4000 times, the tower regressed to a data restoration point 4000 days in the past.
However, during this process, due to the skill, only my data was ‘updated’ in the tower.
-Implement data restoration to a point 4000 days in the past.
-(Due to the skill) Maintain continuity for the character Kim Gong-Ja.
That’s why I was able to regress without losing my memories.
‘Okay. Then the tower is one giant memory box. Our memories are not in our brains, but in the tower. This place is a grand library that stores memories! No, a grand library of souls. This is one of my deductions about the tower's identity. How about that!’
The tower's voice promptly responded.
[Correct.]
[The tower acknowledges your breakthrough of the first gate.]
[The box of the Earth Bone Dragon forms the periphery of the tower.]
Okay.
‘Moving between worlds must follow a similar principle.’
I moved between the world of [Tales of Sormewin Academy] and [The Veritable Records of the Heavenly Demon].
That movement, strictly speaking, is closer to 'transmission'.
‘The challenging part is, how did [Tales of Sormewin Academy] and [The Veritable Records of the Heavenly Demon], like us, get incorporated into the tower?'
I furrowed my brow in deep thought.
Yet, I couldn't imagine it.
‘Really, how can a world be moved into the tower? Unless it's recreated.’
I frowned.
‘Recreated?’
My heart throbbed.
‘That’s right. Is there a need to physically shove the entire world into the tower? Isn't it enough to implement a world exactly like [The Veritable Records of the Heavenly Demon] within the tower? After all, my memories are also recorded in the tower. Same goes for the world; just record its time in the tower.’
That could be possible.
It was far easier to imagine than physically shoving a world into the tower.
‘But…'
There are still two unresolved issues.
First, the box of the Earth Bone Dragon [stores memories of the living]. That's how the skill is described. Whether a world is alive or dead is another matter, but it's a bit much to say a world itself is a [living being]. It’s unlikely that a world would decide on its own to enter the tower.
Second, there was the personality of the Tower Master herself.
"......."
The Tower Master turned her head to look at me, her eyes glowing with youthful mischief,
Violet pupils.
It was far too base a color to reflect anything. To meet her gaze, one had to pass beyond the color of her eyes, peel away a faint white film, and only then barely reach the jewel-like pupils beneath.
Her eyes felt like a snake opening its maw to swallow mine whole. Impossible. The distance between our seats and the throne was quite far. Yet, despite that, it felt as if Jaa Soo-Jeong was looking at me from just in front of my nose.
“There’s an interesting smell coming from over here.”
From a distance, Jaa Soo-Jeong pursed her lips. She opens them. Pronounces. But her words seem to approach right in front of my nose and mess with my ears.
‘Aura sound.’
I gulped down my saliva. How did she figure out that I set my consciousness time to 0.1x? Jaa Soo-Jeong precisely matched her aura to my speed. The original owner of this body must have been an archmage genius. But Jaa Soo-Jeong was a monster.
“What amusing thing are you planning to show me, my second adviser? My staff at my back? Adviser Gu Won-Ha is entertaining even when doing absolutely nothing, one of the few draughts of nectar that comfort my tedious life. Is something especially interesting happening?”
“……I was contemplating the structure of the tower, Viscount.”
[The target's ego is being counteracted.]
[Continuing the trauma re-enactment!]
I tried to speak in Gong-Ja's manner, but my lips moved on their own and my tongue twisted as it pleased. I became a courteous noble and folded both hands neatly before me.
“The structure of the tower?”
From a distance, still flaunting affection with Their Majesty, Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong tilted her head.
“Are you talking about the structure of the Platinum Tower? Ah, well. It's certainly an interesting structure. It was a building used by the dark lord even before the kingdom was founded, and because of that, it was designed to allow dragons to pass through easily, with its tall and wide structure....”
“It’s not this tower.”
“Hmm? Then what? The Tower of Petition? Ah, the Netherworld Tower that I recently conquered?”
“I was thinking about the structure of the [tower] you will establish, Viscount.”
"......."
At that moment, Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong stood up from below the throne.
“Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong?”
The monarch, seated on the throne, seemed slightly flustered as they looked up at Jaa Soo-Jeong.
“I apologize, Your Majesty. I have something to discuss with my faction ally…”
“Hmm. Understood. Take your time.”
“Your grace is immense. For every second I am not with Your Majesty, I will extend it to ten seconds in my heart, so when I return, my heart will already be intensely yearning for Your Majesty.”
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong turned around.
Step.
Her attire was slit on both sides, with a long skirt trailing behind her, leaving a trace of fabric wherever she passed. It was a dress worn with the sole purpose of symbolizing [the monarch’s concubine], not just a noble or a future duke. With the power and connections she had, she could demand such attire even in this sacred council chamber.
“Now, Advisor Gu Won-Ha.”
The noble with the strongest power in this council chamber filled with all the nobles.
She was my master, and I was her vassal.
While other nobles called me by the kingdom’s official title of [Baron], only Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong called me [Advisor], a position within the family.
“If my ears did not sprout skewers, I am sure I just absurdly heard the word [tower]. Ah. Marquis Baek Seol-To and Viscount Chun Heuk-Shin, could you please step aside for a moment?”
“Ah, yes. Viscount…”
“Understood, Party Leader.”
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong bent down and kissed Marquis Baek Seol-To on the forehead. Her face reddened with happiness as she laughed and quickly left the seat.
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong extended her left hand to Viscount Chun Heuk-Shin. She knelt down as if it was natural, kissing and licking her fingers, then left the seat with an indifferent expression of satisfaction.
"......."
“They are adorable, are they not?”
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong covered her mouth with her sleeve and chuckled softly.
“So, about the tower. Advisor. As far as I remember, I have never discussed the concept of the tower with you. I haven’t spoken to anyone about it. So, I am a little confused right now. Don’t tell me, do you have the ability to foresee?”
“……No, Viscount. I do not have the power of foresight.”
“Naturally. Only one person in the kingdom can see the future: Lord Divine-Eye Foresight, who is training in virginity in the desert. I do not know why that bastard is so determined to guard his virginity when he is a man. Last time, he told me with an utterly serious face, [If I stop being a virgin, this world will end]. Does that make any sense, Adviser? He was just bullshitting to drive me away, was he not?”
"......."
I listened attentively to the Viscount's words, my hands neatly aligned.
The Viscount naturally talks a lot, splitting a conversation into two, a hundred, a thousand branches once she starts. The best thing to do in such cases is just to wait for her to come back to the point herself... which the owner of this body knew.
“Ah. Anyway, about the tower.”
Just like now.
“If it’s not foresight, then mind reading? That would be harder than foresight. You know, Advisor, my mind is currently protected by at least four layers of barriers. The place where I am conceptualizing the tower is within the first layer, my innermost part. Even Jai would not know it.”
Jai is the real name of the Boundary Duke.
Only one person in the kingdom could casually call the Boundary Duke by that real name: Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong, standing before me. Jaa Soo-Jeong was also the only person whose head had not gone flying after speaking the name.
The Boundary Duke has the ability to read people's minds, so it was natural for her to suspect [how could you know the plans in my innermost heart, which even the Boundary Duke couldn’t read?].
“Viscount.”
“Yes, my adviser. My adviser whom I call mine, though you are always the second adviser, and who hopes to someday smack your senior in the back of the head and become my sole adviser.”
“What about reversing our thoughts completely?”
“Oh? The complete opposite?”
“I didn’t foresee the tower [in advance], Viscount. The tower is already completed, and according to the logic of that tower, we are [belatedly] experiencing this situation now.”
"......."
Her violet pupils widened significantly.
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong looked around left and right, then tapped her lips with her left index and middle finger.
“Wow.”
It took just that long for Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong to organize her thoughts.
“That is fucking incredible.”
"......."
“Let's verify, Advisor. Are you from the future? In other words, did you come from a future where I have already built the tower and am successfully managing it?”
“That’s correct.”
“But that is impossible. Even if the tower were built, the adviser would never know of the [tower's] existence. In this world, the only people who know the tower exists are the Golden Dragon, the Earth Bone Dragon, the Glacier Dragon, the Black Flame Dragon Duke, and finally the Mind's Eye Observation Viscount. No one else can possibly know. ...Hmm?”
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong stroked her chin.
“Indeed.”
And she smiled slightly.
“You are not Advisor Gu Won-Ha, are you?”
"......."
"You must be someone else possessing Advisor Gu Won-Ha’s body. Hehe. Hmm. Indeed, such things do happen. Interesting."
"……Yes. I am not this person. I am Kim Gong-Ja.”
“You are not from this world either, are you? I could pull out my intestines and cut out my gallbladder to wager on it.”
"Yes. Correct. I am… a hunter from a tower named City of Ascension.”
"Hunter? Ah, so they decided to go with that name. City of Ascension. Does the outside world have a name too?”
“Well, um. I have heard a Constellation call it the Spire World, but...”
"......."
At the words Spire World, her violet eyes narrowed strangely.
“It seems it’s not entirely a coincidence.”
“Huh?"
“It is nothing. Ah, when I say it is nothing, I do not mean it truly is nothing. I only said so because I wanted to turn your insides upside down. Now curiosity seizes both your right and left atria and makes your heart pound, does it not? A heart is healthy when it pounds. I have given you the gift of health, so you should duly thank me.”
"......."
I understood.
This person talks a lot.
Worse, she did not merely talk a lot. Every word scraped hard against my temper.
“So, how did a human from inside the tower come to such a past? It’s so fascinating, almost unbelievable for me.”
“I didn’t come from the future, Viscount.”
“Meow?”
New information. The tower owner sometimes mimics a cat's meow.
Such a useless piece of information.
“This isn’t the world of the Viscount. Nor is it my world.”
“Then what is it?”
“This place is just a reenacted dream. Recreated memories. Viscount. Right now, I am in your trauma.”
"......."
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong blinked.
“How?”
“I have a skill. Whenever someone kills me, I can glimpse into the trauma of the person who killed me. That's the kind of skill it is.”
“What is that? It sounds like a fucking fascinating skill. If someone had proposed making such a skill, I would immediately have welcomed the idea with both arms raised. But, Mr. Kim Gong-Ja, if this place is my trauma, that means [I killed Mr. Kim Gong-Ja], does it not?”
Slowly.
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong's head tilted to the left.
“That is nearly impossible. Unless Mr. Kim Gong-Ja is a world germ... an evil god among the evil gods of other worlds, I do not intend to kill people from other worlds. If anything, I would be the one killed by others.”
“The Spire World.”
I mentioned the world where the Director lived, where Kim Yul lived, where I lived, and where a middle schooler named Jaa Soo-Jeong lived.
“There, someone just like the Viscount existed.”
"......."
“I asked that person to kill me. Not for any other reason, Viscount. But to meet you.”
Silence.
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong stared fixedly up at me. Her face was completely expressionless. She gave a nasal “Hmm,” breathed a soft “Heeh,” and at last nodded, saying, “Indeed.”
“That’s interesting.”
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong reached out and gently touched my cheek.
“Quite. Very interesting.”
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong smiled brightly.
“How you managed to reach here, threading through a string of nearly impossible coincidences and errors, turning them into a possibility. No. Rather, how you summoned me to this place, you probably can’t quite grasp the reality of it. But, I commend you, Mr. Kim Gong-Ja. You have achieved a miracle.”
"......."
“Yes. So today is my [trauma]. Well, it’s plausible enough.”
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong's breath came closer to my face.
“So?”
"......."
“Hero who has broken through the miracle, what do you wish to do here?”
“I… want to know what kind of person you are.”
I swallowed.
“The person who built the Tower... I want to know what sort of person the one who came to build it is, and what kind of life you live. That is why I came all this way.”
“Haha.”
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong's eyes half-closed.
“How adorable.”
Then she slowly released my cheek.
“Alright. Feel free to observe what kind of person I am until you’re satisfied. The person you’re possessing is Baron Gu Won-Ha, my advisor. Since it’s the role of Advisor Gu Won-Ha to follow me anywhere and everywhere, there’ll be no suspicion for you to continue being with me.”
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong turned to look at me.
“Now, follow me, Mr. Kim Gong-Ja.”
And she extended her hand.
“I’ll introduce you to my world.”
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