WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 229: Hatred (2)
──────
[Please select a skill card.]
But I had to stop my arm.
The moment I reached out to snatch a card, fingers much smaller than mine entwined with mine and caught them.
"You shouldn't do that, Mr. Gong-Ja.”
“Yes?”
“That wouldn't be fun.”
Jaa Soo-Jeong exhaled her breath.
“After provoking me to this extent, you wouldn’t show an uncool side in the end, would you?”
I felt a tingling in my back for a moment.
Her fingers, entwined with mine, felt like breath taking form - warm, cool, and mist-like, eroding my hand.
“What are you talking about?"
“Hehe."
Conversely, Jaa Soo-Jeong’s breath seemed to resemble fingers. Still holding my hand, she drew close, and whenever she whispered into my ear, her finger-like breath softly scratched and nibbled at its edge.
“Mr. Gong-Ja, you brandished the first card you obtained and demanded compensation from me... But look? It’s clearly written on that card.”
Tap. Tap.
Jaa Soo-Jeong tapped the card in my hand with her slender nails. The golden card trembled as if infected by static electricity from the Tower Master's touch.
+
[I Want to Become Just Like You]
Rank: S+
Effect: Automatically activated when killed by an enemy. You copy one of the skills of the enemy that killed you and make it yours. You may not copy from an opponent you’ve already copied from. The copied skill is selected randomly.
*However, you will die!
+
“Look, Mr. Gong-Ja.”
Breath turned into fingers touched my eardrum.
“It’s clearly written here... no, not there. Here. The very last part. Clearly, [The copied skill is selected randomly].”
Jaa Soo-Jeong giggled.
She seemed like a girl playing a naughty prank.
“Mr. Gong-Ja, you said to give up a skill according to [the rule set by the Tower].”
Perhaps, that was the highest purity Jaa Soo-Jeong, as a human, could show.
“Will you follow the rules too?”
Snap.
The sound of flicking fingers resonated.
Instantly, the golden cards scattered wildly, like fireflies blending into fireworks startled by the sound.
“.......”
“Randomly.”
Jaa Soo-Jeong whispered against my arm.
“It’s fine to snatch a piece of my flesh, but please, according to the fair and just rules of the Tower, decide [randomly] which part to choose.”
Looking up, I saw the night sky. Nine golden fireflies whirled ceaselessly. As the constellation broke, each card turned into a shooting star, trailing long comet tails as they sliced through the night sky.
“You've had good times so far, haven't you? Meeting Mr. Sword Emperor. You chose whichever skill you wanted while he informed you from behind. Mr. Gong-Ja, you just casually pointed like picking ice cream.”
"......."
“But even every luck-based god-tier hit game must eventually come to an end.”
I saw her purple eyes.
The purple eyes saw me too.
Perhaps there is no mirror as clear as her eyes. I could only see the surface of her purple eyes; beyond that lay eyes reflected endlessly within. Mirrors reflecting mirrors, mirrors forming on mirrors, purple mirrors...
“Now, leave it to Mr. Gong-Ja's luck.”
Before I knew it, my gaze was fixed.
Once I properly looked into Jaa Soo-Jeong's eyes, turning my head elsewhere seemed impossible. It felt like I was caught in a cunning trap. My eyes reflected in the purple eyes, and those reflected eyes mirrored in mine...
‘Ah.’
I struggled to regain my senses.
‘Focus.’
If I remained passive, I feared I would become a statue staring at Jaa Soo-Jeong’s eyes, forgetting even how to speak, for hours, tens of hours, hundreds of hours.
I took a breath.
“I understand.”
And slowly nodded.
“I will choose what I want in that situation, as you said.”
“Ahaha.”
“But let's set a rule.”
“What is it?”
“[I will never look at the back of the card.] You can turn it over and show me, but otherwise, I will not look at the back of the card myself.”
“Yes, well. It's a commendable thing to say.”
“But."
I looked at Jaa Soo-Jeong.
Strengthening my eyes with aura, I focused solely on her.
“Don't treat it as if I’ve chosen the card the moment I grab it.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Allow me time to look, touch, and handle the cards. Ah. I'll never see the back with my own eyes anyway. If I ever turn a card over and see the description, you can just cancel the skill.”
“Hmm..."
Jaa Soo-Jeong smiled coquettishly.
“I'm curious. What are you planning to do? Alright, Mr. Gong-Ja. I can wait as long as it takes for your choice. If you want, I can even use [Glacier Dragon’s Breath] to freeze time in this world.”
“That kind of consideration isn't necessary.”
“Alright. Go ahead and try!”
I first collected the nine golden cards. Like the golden ball in a famous fantasy novel, the cards whirled around, but, hey, kids. To me, who has honed aura, you are just fireflies.
“Whew.”
I took a deep breath.
My hand carefully, very carefully, picked one card after another from the stack.
And then.
"......."
I looked at Jaa Soo-Jeong sitting opposite me.
We exchanged glances up close, with only a stack of cards between us.
"......?"
No, this isn’t the skill I want.
I immediately decided and put down the first card.
“Huh?”
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong laughed.
“Are you trying to guess the cards by looking at my face?”
There was a mix of mockery and ridicule in her voice.
“Are you playing poker, Mr. Gong-Ja? I'm not someone whose expression can be read. All you can gain from reading my face is admiration for perfect beauty, astonishment at noble dignity, and infinite ecstasy for my existence.”
I looked at Jaa Soo-Jeong.
“Viscount.”
“Yes."
“Hasn't anyone ever told you to stop spouting bullshit?”
“Mostly my vassals. Really, isn't it too much? No lord takes care of and loves their vassals like I do.”
While Jaa Soo-Jeong blathered on, I continued to carefully, calmly discard one card after another.
"......."
This card isn't it either. Next.
Nor this one. Next.
Next, next, next...
"......?"
Jaa Soo-Jeong sensed something odd when the nine cards were reduced to three.
“Mr. Gong-Ja...”
Perhaps she suspected that I wasn't just reading her expressions to guess the cards, but that I had a clear method to meticulously differentiate them. Such doubts belatedly arose in the Tower Master's mind.
“What are you doing? How are you figuring out the cards?”
“Who knows?”
I looked at Jaa Soo-Jeong.
“Maybe it’s some skill luck again.”
“Mr. Gong-Ja, you don’t have a clairvoyance skill. Even if you did, it would be impossible to see through skill cards. They’re magic manifested through a truly unusual material. How in the world...”
As Jaa Soo-Jeong narrowed her brows, I discarded another card.
Only two cards remained.
I looked at Jaa Soo-Jeong.
"......."
“An interesting card remains.”
I was still only looking at the front of the cards. The fronts were colored in gold, with an indiscernible pattern engraved, a topic of heated debates among Hunters. What exactly does it depict?
The pattern is as follows: A dice-like polyhedron floats in the center, with two serpentine snakes winding around it. Finally, leaves and flowers of an unknown plant exquisitely decorate the edges.
Hunters endlessly debated:
「Why is such a pattern engraved on skill cards?」
「The polyhedron represents the Holy Grail. The two snakes symbolize Satan. Thus, the Tower is telling us that demons surround the Holy Grail!」
「What about these leaves and flowers?」
「Does it mean the demons are interested in environmental activism?」
「Bullshit goes in, horseshit comes out. Good trade.」
Yet, no Hunter had a definitive answer.
It was generally speculated that perhaps there would be a hint on the 100th floor, even after 11 years.
"Huh."
A chuckle escaped me.
Jaa Soo-Jeong tilted her head in confusion.
“What’s funny?”
“Oh, nothing. Just reminded of our Tower folks doing pointless stuff. This pattern here on the card. Hunters made up absurd theories about it.”
But…
“This is just your family crest, Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong.”
Jaa Soo-Jeong blinked.
“Yes. And?”
“Pffft.”
Here’s the thing.
In the kingdom, [magic] and [mages] are symbolized by [snakes], because they believe snakes have inherited dragon blood, and magic was developed by dragons. Since it's a miracle originating from dragons, symbolizing it with [snakes] is logical.
Therefore, if a family's founder was a mage, or if the founder killed a mage, the family crest will definitely include snakes.
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong's distant ancestor famously killed an archmage, whose corpse ended up in the noble family's crest.
The mage lived in a vast forest called Crystal Forest, hence the leaves and flowers around the snake. [The mage died in this forest].
Viscount Jaa Soo-Jeong's ancestor completely absorbed the territory ruled by the archmage, leading to the family name being derived from the forest’s name, Crystal. The mysterious polyhedron in the center of the crest is the crystal itself.
In essence.
[The family's ancestor killed a mage living in the forest, earning the noble title of Crystal for their valor].
That’s the meaning of the pattern engraved on the front of the card.
That's it. The end.
“Viscount, you're really crazy. Why put your family crest on the card front?”
“I don’t see why you're calling me crazy. Naturally, I made the Tower, and I’m a noble of the kingdom. Isn’t it normal to sign one’s own work?”
“The outside world went nuts over this, with hundreds of thousands of priests claiming it was the will of God, a prophecy...”
“Well, I am a god, so isn't my will the will of God?”
Everyone I meet seems to be crazy.
Anyway.
I looked at Jaa Soo-Jeong.
“Hmm, not this card either. Disqualified.”
"......."
I discarded one of the last two cards.
Jaa Soo-Jeong's brows narrowed.
“Do you know what that card was?”
“Yes. An incredibly powerful skill.”
“Tell me.”
Jaa Soo-Jeong demanded proof from me.
I willingly played along with her request.
“[The One Loved by the Dice].”
"......."
“The rank is an impressive SSS. Its effect is simple.”
The description of this skill is a single line. No, just one word.
+
[The One Loved by the Dice]
Rank: SSS
Effect: Heavenly luck.
+
Heavenly Luck.
“In short, a skill that [improves luck]. Golden Dragon's Gaze or whatever is meh, this is the real cheat skill. Improved luck? Game over. No matter how difficult the quest or how complex the stage, with good luck, what’s there to worry about?”
That’s why it was among the last two cards I kept.
“I pondered a lot.”
“...How?”
“I seriously agonized over whether to choose this card or the other one. Maybe Manager Jaa Soo-Jeong... Ah, forget it. Let’s drop that. If you hadn’t provoked me, I would unquestionably have gone all-in on [The One Loved by the Dice].”
There’s an old saying in the Tower:
Skill-based games are god-tier hits; luck-based games are dogshit flops.
The Hunter's status depends on what skill they possess. From that perspective, [The One Loved by the Dice] is the strongest skill.
“But I won’t choose this skill.”
I looked at Jaa Soo-Jeong.
“I'll pick something else.”
From the beginning to the end.
Throughout the process of sorting and choosing the cards, I only looked at Jaa Soo-Jeong.
"......."
More precisely.
I looked into her purple eyes.
“…Aha.”
Belatedly.
“Indeed, indeed.”
Jaa Soo-Jeong laughed, realizing my trick.
“Mr. Gong-Ja.”
“Yes."
“You’ve been looking into my eyes.”
That's right.
“Yes.”
It was a simple method.
I looked at Jaa Soo-Jeong.
“I only saw what was reflected in your purple eyes.”
Jaa Soo-Jeong closed her lips.
She smiled joyfully.
Silently smiling, she just looked at me, motionless.
“Can you still see it clearly?”
I nodded.
“Yes."
Your eyes are too transparent.
Despite purple being the least suitable color for reflection.
Jaa Soo-Jeong's eyes were like endlessly reflecting mirrors.
“Will you read it for me?”
“.......”
“Take a closer look.”
We were already close enough.
I picked up the last remaining card and looked into her eyes.
My sight, enhanced by Aura, was trapped in her eyes, like a mirror maze.
“Read it out,” Jaa Soo-Jeong whispered.
"......."
Bridging the gap between sight and hearing, steadying my breath against the disjointed sensations, I read out my chosen golden card.
“Earth Bone Dragon's Skull.”
“Yes.”
“Rank. SSS+.”
“Correct. I measured it myself.”
“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...."
“Go on,” Jaa Soo-Jeong's voice came closer.
Perhaps it was just an illusion.
With my sight unnaturally enhanced, all I could see were the purple letters, roundly reflected in the mirror.
“As long as the box remains intact, you can repeatedly produce bodies of individuals inheriting the same memories.”
“In short, as long as the original memory is kept in the box, the body carrying the memory can be recreated endlessly, hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of times. However, you cannot do it simultaneously. Only one body per memory. A new body can be created only after the destruction of the previous one.”
"......."
“What are you doing, Mr. Gong-Ja? Please continue.”
“…The bodies can roam the world, accumulating new experiences, which can then be 'updated' into the box. Of course, only if you permit it.”
“Think of that famous game with the Italian plumbers.”
Jaa Soo-Jeong chuckled.
Her laughter sounded closer than before.
“Even if you die in the game, you come back, right? You don’t truly die. Life is just a [coin]. The box containing the memories, the Earth Bone Dragon's Box, is like a [save point]. Even if you die and lose a life, you just return to the save point. Of course, the life lost isn’t saved... You need to return alive to save again at the save point.”
"......."
“Because of this.”
Jaa Soo-Jeong spoke.
“Many people died.”
The story contained within that skill.
“How many people wish for a save point in life? Probably as many as those who wish for regression. Earth Bone Dragon. Those who learned of her existence crossed deserts, swam across great rivers, and passed through monster-infested jungles, risking their lives to meet the Earth Bone Dragon.”
A story that can’t be just described as a [skill].
“Many died along the way.”
"......."
"178 made it to the Earth Bone Dragon’s nest.”
And these 178 people acquired their own [save points].
Without fearing death, without worrying about eternal end, they successfully turned their lives into [coins].
“A worst-case military group was formed.”
An army of 178 rampaged through the world.
“They carried flags on their backs to show where they had belonged while alive. Thus, they were called the Dusk Banner Soldiers.”
Soldiers fluttering a flag of a bygone era.
“The Rock Banner Shooter, hailed as the greatest archer a thousand years ago. The seventeenth master of Spiral Gate, who led the Sanwa tribe’s strongest assassination unit. The Great Thief who set the entire royal capital ablaze and escaped at leisure. The Great River Pirate who seized half the kingdom’s waterways and commanded dozens of warships six hundred years ago. A promising mage expected to become the kingdom’s greatest thirteen hundred years ago.”
Throughout the long history of the kingdom.
Each significant figure of their era.
Like my master who dominated the last era of the martial world.
“They formed an [Undying Army].”
One hundred and seventy-eight such warriors had gathered.
“Seeing an army approaching from beyond the desert, fluttering dozens of flags, struck terror into all humans, children cried, and soldiers lost morale and fled,” they say.
"......."
“Thus, the Banner Soldiers were a natural disaster made of humans.”
My vision still trapped in the mirror maze, I opened my mouth.
“What eventually happened to them?”
Jaa Soo-Jeong chuckled softly.
“They became my private soldiers.”
“Why the nobles of the kingdom, who see me as nothing but a mutt, don’t declare war on me is quite clear. They’d get crushed."
And then.
[Selection complete.]
The card in my hand dissolved brightly.
[Copying skill.]
Simultaneously, the maze of mirrors dissolved.
The purple mirror had lost its card to reflect.
The mirror became an eye again, and what I was looking at was Jaa Soo-Jeong’s eye. Realizing it, I was face-to-face with Jaa Soo-Jeong.
"King of Death."
Up close.
“What you’ve acquired is immensely powerful. It has encompassed countless deaths and left numerous scars. Mr. Gong-Ja, what do you plan to do with that card?”
A breath’s distance away.
The perfect distance for a viper to strike a human's neck.
“I’m curious. Very curious. No matter how incredible it is, it is still the skill of the Dragon Emperor and her army, whom I already defeated and reduced to spoils of war. How do you intend to defeat me with it?”
I too smiled.
“Better get ready to wail and whine, Tower Master.”
There’s no doubt.
I’ve drawn the mightiest card.
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