WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 288: 50th Floor (2)

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3.

A rainy morning.

I covered my face with a raincoat and stepped out into the square.

From the hologram billboard installed in the square, suddenly, a strange voice flowed out.

-I ask everyone to please vote carefully.

It was none other than my own voice.

A video recorded two months ago was playing.

'Eek.'

My face suddenly felt hot.

'Why does my voice always sound like that? Damn. It gives me the creeps…'

I quickly fled the scene.

As I left the square, I glanced at the hologram. My face was reflected in it, seriously staring straight ahead, speaking each word clearly.

-Everyone. This vote is not just about whether you trust us, the 5 great guilds.

-Will we ascend to the 50th floor? Or will we give up on further exploration and stay here? In other words, it’s a vote that will determine the direction of our entire Tower.

-A completely different world awaits us from the 50th floor onwards.

Next, the scene of Babylon Square was shown in the hologram.

The square in the hologram was bustling with a huge crowd. Residents of the Tower who had just finished voting were ecstatic.

-King of Death! King of Death! King of Death…

-Yes. You have just seen the video from two months ago.

An announcer appeared in the video.

-As you can see, the vote conducted two months ago passed with an overwhelming majority. It was essentially a decisive vote on whether to trust the 5 great guilds and maintain the current system. Professor, the approval votes overwhelmingly outnumbered the opposition, didn’t they?

-Yes. It seems the King of Death, er, our second-ranked hunter, has a positive image, doesn’t he? The couple is also popular.

-Very popular!

-Yes. So, it was kind of a popularity vote...

-A popularity vote?

-It couldn't have been otherwise. Yes. The way the King of Death presented himself during the vote, and the way Duke Ivansia rebutted each point so methodically. Sigh, such things must have moved people's hearts…

-But, Professor. From the 50th floor onwards, hunters from other worlds will join us, right? Other worlds. Different worlds? What about that...

As I moved further away from the square, the sound of the news gradually faded, and my embarrassment slowly subsided.

I sighed and adjusted the hood of my raincoat.

'...Has it already been two months?'

It was the 60th day since the vote was held.

'Time sure flies.'

In the meantime, I devoted myself to organizing the inside of the Tower.

Dealing with the Society for Cleansing the Tower, the fanatics embedded in the Pantheon and the Black Dragon, was also part of putting our internal affairs in order.

'No more worrying about being stabbed in the back.'

Everything was ready.

There was little chance that our Tower would be divided from within.

I stepped on puddles filled with the smell of clouds and left the city outskirts.

“Welcome, King of Death.”

[The Princess Who Strolls Through Mirages] sat in the middle of a desolate slum.

“It’s been a while.”

“Two months is nothing.”

“Have you been waiting for me here?”

The street was now uninhabited. Long-neglected roofs failed to stop the rain. Water flowed through the holes in the punctured pipes. [The Princess] crouched down, pressing her index finger against a downspout where water gushed out.

“Yeah. You were going to look for me anyway, right? I anticipated the path the King of Death would take and came out to meet you. It’s raining too. There’s no need to waste time.”

“Indeed.”

I approached behind the blonde [Pillar].

She didn't turn to look at me, still playing with the water in the downspout. As [The Princess] moved her finger, the flowing water split into two following the trail of her finger.

“You're looking for me to ask to open the 50th floor, right?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. I can grant any request. But are you sure? You’re alone now, King of Death. Wouldn’t it be better to be transferred with your reliable companions, especially since you’ve made so many?”

I shook my head.

“If the 50th floor opens, other worlds will be accessible. In reverse, it means other worlds can invade us.”

“Hmmm.”

“All hunters except me will stay here to prepare for the invasion. The Earth Spirit Tribe... the Asuras are fully prepared. If some force underestimates us and invades, well, they’re in for a surprise.”

“You’re cautious as always.”

[The Princess] stood up with a grunt.

“All the others are on defense, and you alone will be the scout diving into the 50th floor. It doesn't matter if things go wrong, you won't die anyway.”

“Yeah, that is exactly what we’ll do.”

“Alright.”

She reached out and grabbed my wrist.

“From this moment, you have graduated from your days as [beginners].”

*Novice is now changed to beginner, because it fits better with the new context.

The moment the dampness of her palm transferred to me, the sky above ripped open.

Krrrrrr...

Violet lightning struck. Once, twice, thunder growled within the rain clouds. Even the dark clouds, wearing water vapor as armor, could not contain it. Kwarrrrr! Krrrrr...! The clouds tore into ten branches, then a hundred, and purple thunder spread across the sky like capillaries.

[Beginner's protection is now disabled.]

Thunder poured down over me.

[Beginner's privileges are permanently revoked.]

[The Lion World formally joins the common route.]

[From this moment, the Lion World may freely travel to and from the 50th floor.]

[From this moment, the other worlds may freely travel to and from the Lion World.]

It’s disappearing.

The intangible walls that have protected us are crumbling.

'A world Yoo Soo-Ha has never breached once.'

I swallowed the rainwater seeping into my lips.

'A world where hunters like the Constellation Killer roam... a world conquered by the Sword Emperor.'

Thunder struck down.

Krarrrrrrr!

It was louder than any other thunderbolt. From the heavens to the horizon, the sky literally split in two. Not just the storm clouds, but even the continuous rain was divided. Krrrrr...! The gap that had opened only grew wider.

Like an eggshell.

[Announcing to everyone.]

The sky was shedding its skin.

[Today, the 50th floor has been opened.]

[Announcing once again to everyone.]

[Today, the 50th floor has been opened.]

Finally, on the other side of the completely split sky, a scene unfolded that we had never known.

The Tower.

A single tower stood like a world tree.

“From now on, whenever you look up, you’ll see that tower!”

[The Princess] stood with me in the rain, looking up at the sky.

“In the mansion where the dolls sleep. In the Aegim Empire. In the martial world of the snow-buried wilderness, beyond the library windows, and in Guru, where the Earth Spirit Tribe was born... In any world you have chosen to share, at any time and in any place.”

"......."

“Bye-bye, King of Death. Make sure to survive."

[The Princess] smiled, drenched in the rain.

“I'll wait for you on the 100th floor!”

I smiled back.

And just as I opened my mouth to say "Yes,"

[You are entering the 50th floor.]

A blinding white light enveloped my vision.

4.

I had visited the 50th floor once before.

Using a kind of trick, an unofficial cheat, maybe loophole is a better word.

But I remember the moment I entered the stage, it was quiet around me.

[‘Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ detects your presence!]

This time it was different.

[‘The Eye Dwelling in the Labyrinth’ senses the presence of the Constellation Killer on you.]

[‘The Lonely Seeker’ welcomes the resident of the new world.]

[‘The Lotus Reflected on Water’ is observing the sword you possess.]

Before I could even open my eyes, while my mind was still clouded in whiteness, alarms aggressively intruded.

Aliases I had heard before. Some I hadn't, sending messages, responding to my official entrance to the stage.

‘That’s quite the grand welcome!’

Then, Guardian Spirit, who had been silent since the dog dream this morning, blandly commented.

-Obviously, it has to be grand. You, Kim Zombie, must be on the watchlist of almost all the Constellations.

‘Huh? Why? I did cause a commotion here, but that was undone by regression. From their perspective, this should be their first time seeing me.’

-It's technically their first time seeing you directly. Kid, think about what you’ve done so far.

The white blur in my vision slowly faded.

‘What have I done to deserve this?’

-First, you killed Mahos's Apostle. And you even caught the Constellation Killer. Do you have any idea how famous the Constellation Killer is among the Constellations? That lunatic was considered the craziest of the crazy, and you were the one who caught him.

‘Eh. The fact that I captured Kim Yul is already known among the Constellations?’

As my sight returned, the scene before me became clearer.

‘That makes no sense. The one I took in was Kim Yul. The Constellation Killer's [puppets] should still be moving around just fine...’

-Right. They might not know everything. But there must be sharp ones. At least one or two would have been watching the Constellation Killer and discovered that the Constellation Killer had been swallowed up by you. Do you get it? Be careful, man.

Thud.

The first sense to return before sight was touch.

I had been transported, and my feet touched the ground.

-You defeated the [Demon King of the Autumn Rain]. Is that all? You gathered the [Goddess of Protection] in her entirety and brought her under your rule. The [Head Librarian of the Great Library of Myriad Thoughts] became an ordinary child because of you. That's what you’ve done. A newbie who couldn’t even climb the 50th floor!

Guardian Spirit chuckled softly.

-Normally, Constellations would kindly guide you and you would scrape through quests for rewards, but you just smashed those quests! And, nobody knows this, but you even met the Tower Master. Huh? Even I find it strange.

Finally, I could see the surrounding landscape.

-It's a strange situation, isn’t it? Now, Zombie. No matter if it’s their first time seeing such a crazy newbie, wouldn’t they be interested? Wouldn't they?

Hmm.

‘Seems like it.’

-Of course, they’d be overflowing with interest.

‘So what? I like getting attention. Don’t worry. Be happy. Okay?’

-Sorry, but that attention is not that kind of attention, kid.

And then.

-Constellations are like game masters, GMs. They create quests. When you get attention from those guys, you’ll see what happens.

I had been transported to the middle of a wasteland.

Where strange monsters should roam, the place was, strangely enough, crowded with dozens of people.

I wanted to believe these were hunters who had happened to come out to hunt monsters, that I had happened to be transported here, and that our encounter was therefore nothing more than coincidence piled upon coincidence. One glance told me otherwise.

"---He’s here! That guy!"

Because as soon as those guys saw me, they pointed fingers at me.

“He finally showed up!”

“Everyone, get ready for battle!”

Moreover, because each of them was holding a hideous sword in their hands.

Despite the pointing fingers and blades, it's quite hard to chalk everything up to coincidence.

For me, too.

“What's this now…?”

Without even having a chance to savor the feeling of finally reaching the 50th floor, I quickly drew my Holy Sword. Already surrounded. Over twenty people had encircled me.

[‘Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ issues a quest to its followers.]

[You are designated as the target of the quest!]

[The quest is now public.]

And then, an absurd text appeared in the air.

+

[Order to Subjugate the King of Death]

Difficulty: Unknown

Objective: The King of Death is a human from the newly registered Lion World. Even before entering the common route, he dared to oppose the ‘Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’. He slaughtered the Apostle of Mahos.

Warriors!

The ‘Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ commands you, brave disciples. Subjugate the King of Death! Take advantage of his arrival on the 50th floor and ambush him!

Be careful.

The King of Death is fearsome and cunning. A heretic who spares no means. He is also a wicked cult leader with hundreds of fanatics under his command. But do not fear, warriors. If you attack when he is still unfamiliar with the common route, you will have a chance of victory!

The warrior who kills or captures the King of Death will receive the Apostle's blessing from Mahos.

*However, you cannot participate in this quest.

*You are the [target of the quest].

+

"......."

I felt dizzy as common sense flew out the window.

‘What? Fearsome and cunning?’

A heretic who spares no means?

‘Who is that!?’

I don’t know such a person.

Is this some kind of error or misunderstanding?

-It’s no misunderstanding. You’re a member of the Demonic Cult, zombie. To those who don’t know you, you’re exactly like a heretic.

But am I supposed to be a wicked cult leader with hundreds of fanatics under me?

-That is a reasonable claim too, Vice-lord. Like that Viper fellow said, you're effectively the Heavenly Demon of this generation. Heavenly Demon. In English, wouldn't that be 'Devil of Heaven'? Damn, the name alone makes you sound exactly like a villain.

No.

What kind of nonsense is that!

“Don't let your guard down!”

A hunter, a resident of a different world who accepted this ridiculous quest, shouted.

“Mahos even delivered a prophecy warning us to be extremely careful of this man! Do not be fooled because he looks like an ordinary human! He is a devil among devils. If we underestimate him for being a beginner, we will be the ones defeated! Draw your swords!”

“Draw your swords!”

“Attack!”

The hunters forming the encirclement charged at me, all yelling in unison.

I raised my Aura to prepare for battle, but I couldn’t help but scream out.

“Wait! I’m not a bad guy! If anything, I’m more of a good guy! Everyone, this quest is a lie! How can a quest lie like this without even a shred of professional ethics? Hey, everyone. Everyone? I’m not the bad guy the quest is talking about!”

-Useless.

Guardian Spirit giggled.

-Quests are at the GM’s whim. Remember the quest the [Demon King of Autumn Rain] gave you? It’s no wonder that the Constellation Killer went around killing Constellations.

‘Then what do I do here?’

-Fight.

Guardian Spirit smirked.

-Welcome to the world of the 50th floor, where manipulation and distortion run rampant, Gong-Ja!

Damn it.

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