SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 300

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 300: Grand Campaign (2)

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“The Magic Tower has begun hunting us in earnest.”

Thud.

A bundle of papers was placed on the old table. It was a document brought over by the [Assistant Writer]. She wiped her forehead and looked at me, exhaling deeply.

“An extermination order has now been formally proclaimed throughout the city. There is an enormous reward for whoever captures the follower of Hamusutra who escaped from prison. Whoever captures or informs on the ‘unidentified rogue’ who aided the escape will receive twenty-eight times that reward... It seems they found the mark you said you left at the secret passage entrance.”

"That's good news."

I quickly skimmed through the documents.

The papers were filled with information about the Magic Tower, especially about the leader of the Magic Tower, the so-called Elder.

"I was anxious about when they would discover it. It seems that they are quite slow in their actions."

"......What exactly did you write there?"

“Sword Emperor Returns (劍帝歸還).”

I smiled.

“Just those four characters. Nothing much.”

"......."

The Assistant Writer was agape with shock.

"You're really crazy, you know."

"What is common sense, Ms. Writer? It's probably the average of living in this world, the norm of life. And this world is, on average, a complete mess. Being called crazy, being abnormal, in other words, is the opposite of this mess. It can be considered normal."

"Right. You lunatic."

It's strange.

Why does no one take my serious words seriously?

Massaging her forehead, the Assistant Writer sighed deeply. Her sigh would’ve bore a hole in the floor of the cave if it could.

"......I admit that you're extraordinary. You've earned the trust of the Head Librarian and persuaded numerous Constellations. You might be the first in history to have [Simultaneous Membership] with double-digit Constellations."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"But you shouldn't provoke the Magic Tower recklessly."

The Assistant Writer said.

“The name the Magic Tower hates most in the entire universe is ‘Sword Emperor.’ The Magic Tower's Elder considers herself his complete antithesis. In story terms, they are archenemies. Sworn enemies.”

"I know."

I snapped my fingers.

Swish.

Letters appeared before my eyes. A quest window. A window I had received dozens of times before, but the hologram I was seeing now was different.

The characters looked as if they were written by hand, shimmering and adorably sparkling.

[Grand Strategy! Shake the Elder's Heart★]

Constellation: The Incarnation of Love and Lust

Difficulty: SSS

Objective: Oh my! Someone claiming to be the Sword Emperor returned has appeared. His alias is the King of Death! This warrior has only just arrived on the 50th floor, and already he is causing an uproar!

Is he really the heir to the Sword Emperor? Or could he actually be the Sword Emperor himself...!? (Thump)

If the King of Death really has a connection with the Sword Emperor, my goodness, The Elder of the Magic Tower won't sit still! Because the only person who ever drove a stake into her cold heart was the Sword Emperor! (Dramatic)

Will the King of Death restart the heart of the most sinister spider?

If so, what music will the beating of that heart play? Love? Hate? Or perhaps love-hate? (Wink) Any rhythm will do. All I, Babbit, expect from the King of Death, is the sound of the Elder tearing apart!

Shatter the Elder's heart.

To all followers serving Babbit. Support the King of Death with all your might.

Prove that you are worthy to step beyond the 50th floor.

※Currently participating in the quest as a [Temporary Disciple].

I nodded.

“I called myself the Sword Emperor's successor precisely because I know all that. By now, the Magic Tower must regard me as extremely suspicious.”

I tossed the bundle of papers down.

Before the last vote, [The Princess Who Strolls Through Mirages] had told us about the history of the Magic Tower and its members.

However, there was no information about the Elder who rules the Magic Tower. No knowledge of when she was born, why she settled at the 50th floor, or why she prevents other hunters from ascending further.

The situation was the same for the hunters who resided on the 50th floor. None of them knew about the Elder of the Magic Tower. The documents provided by [Paparazzo] contained plausible speculations and inferences but no truth.

"They won't believe that the Sword Emperor has really returned. Not yet."

But there was one truth known to everyone.

That the Elder of the Magic Tower hates the Sword Emperor.

"'Not yet,' you say...?"

"Yes. Not yet."

To shake the Elder's heart, I need to use the existence of the Sword Emperor appropriately.

“I possess information known only to the Sword Emperor and the Elder. For example... Yes. The words the Sword Emperor spoke to the Elder when he brought down the spire.”

"......."

"If I release this information, the Elder will realize immediately. Ah, this guy is truly the heir of the Sword Emperor. I must crush this guy as soon as possible."

In the past, when I was with the Constellation Killer, I used words left by the Sword Emperor. Not a single word was different. As soon as the Elder of the Magic Tower heard my words, she became enraged and attacked us.

-Zombie. Just so you know, I have a lot more things to say that will piss her off.

'How reassuring.'

-Right?

'Yes. Your character is so reassuring.'

In other words, I have several trump cards to lure the Elder.

Perhaps, in this world, only the Sword Saint and I know of these cards.

"......How do you have such information?"

The Assistant Writer looked at me suspiciously.

"Do you have a skill to read people's pasts? Or are you really the successor of the Sword Emperor?"

"That's not important. What's important is that I have the means to provoke the Elder. And right now, I need to [appropriately] agitate her."

I lightly tapped the documents.

"Appropriately? What do you mean?"

“Merely angering the Elder will not be enough. The [Incarnation of Love and Lust] states the demand quite openly in the quest: upend the Elder to her very core. Therefore, I will...”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Step by step. Slowly. I will shake the Elder's heart.”

「Could the Sword Emperor really have returned?」

「No. It can't be.」

「The evidence is insufficient.」

「But, what if he really did return?」

"We can't just instantly reveal that the Sword Emperor has returned. It's too weak. The impact is too weak. The truth, when found by oneself rather than handed down from the heavens, creates a bigger ripple in a person's heart."

"......."

"Do you understand, Ms. Writer? We need to show the Elder at the perfect place and moment that the Sword Emperor has returned. To do that…"

"We need a script."

The Assistant Writer spoke softly.

She wore the same expression as I did. The eyes of someone plotting a scheme. The gleam that appears when one person means to bring another down, or steal their heart.

The same look carried by the eyes of Hamusutra.

"What do you want from me?"

Now we're getting somewhere.

"First, spread rumors on the streets of the city."

"Heh."

"The Magic Tower has not officially recognized the return of the Sword Emperor. The Elder probably thinks, 'Some madman is impersonating the Sword Emperor to provoke us.' But if rumors of the Sword Emperor's return start circulating publicly..."

"It'll start to bother her. Even if she doesn't want it to."

The Assistant Writer's eyes sparkled.

"Good. What's next?"

Hey, King of Death. What's going on?

What is it, Berserker? You seem awfully flustered.

What do you mean what is it? The Magic Tower folks are going crazy. Just yesterday, they were sitting back after issuing the extermination decree, and now they've suddenly formed a search party and are stirring up the streets!

“Rumors alone that the Sword Emperor has returned will not make the Elder's heart react. They will irritate her a little, nothing more. We need to go further. We must target a blind spot in the Elder's heart.”

"Tell me."

The Assistant Writer rapidly moved her quill.

"I'm writing it down now. Tell me all of your strategies. I'll adjust anything that seems off."

“We will stir up the resentment and anger that have accumulated among the hunters of the 50th floor.”

I enjoyed the sound of the quill scratching on paper.

“The Sword Emperor is not merely one hunter. He is a symbol. The Elder blocks and seals the 50th floor, while the Sword Emperor broke through that obstruction and advanced beyond it... The very rumor of the Sword Emperor's return is an attack on the Elder. [We hate this state of affairs, with the Elder ruling the 50th floor. We are sick of it. We want a person like the Sword Emperor. The Sword Emperor will return and smash these nightmarish days apart once more.]”

"Indeed. That's it... I get what you mean."

Scratch.

The Assistant Writer's hand moved even faster.

"Like, directly telling the Elder, 'You are wrong,' with the rumors?"

"Exactly."

"Sigh."

The Assistant Writer didn't look at me. Her eyes were fixed on the words her pen was writing. Laughter seeped into the paper from the Assistant Writer.

"Alright. The return of the Sword Emperor is just a pretext. A tool to mobilize and incite the hunters dissatisfied with the Magic Tower's rule."

"Yes."

I nodded.

"And at the same time, it's a blade aimed at the Elder's heart."

Look, Elder.

I died.

I fell pathetically on the 99th floor.

But why do hunters still remember me, even though I died long ago? Why are they so enthusiastic about me?

It's simple.

I was right, and you were wrong.

"The more the city buzzes with rumors of the Sword Emperor, the higher the resentment against the Magic Tower."

Even though you're alive, you can't defeat me, who's already dead.

Even though I’m dead, reduced to a mere ghost, I am stronger than you are now.

"If the Elder thinks of the Sword Emperor as just annoying... She won't react much. If it’s just a rumor she'll leave it alone, thinking it'll die down. But, if the Sword Emperor still occupies a place in the Elder's heart. If she truly loathes him to the bone, she will definitely react."

"......."

“Far more than necessary. She will react with enough nervous fury to seem excessive.”

How about that?

"......How can you be so sure?"

"Hatred is like that."

Do you still want to kill me?

"The Elder will react violently. She must."

The Magic Tower bastards have lost their minds.

They were always crazy, but this time they've gone too far.

Just for mentioning the Sword Emperor's name, they threaten to throw everyone in prison. This is madness. It's just idle talk in the taverns. Why are they reacting this strongly? Did they hit a nerve?

At this rate, even those without a clue might start believing that the Sword Emperor has really returned.

Strange, even for a rumor we started.

“I have learned something since coming to the 50th floor.”

"What's that?"

"From this stage onwards, we have to play the game of incitement and fabrication."

[A quest has been issued by The Incarnation of Love and Lust to their followers.]

"Whether the rumor about the Sword Emperor's return is true or not doesn't matter to ordinary hunters."

[A quest has been issued by The Last Sword Left in the Wilderness to their followers.]

"They all serve the Constellations."

[A quest has been issued by The Lonely Seeker to their followers.]

“A Constellation's word is truth, and whatever is written in a quest is fact. If the quest window hints that the Sword Emperor has returned, then regardless of whether it is true, the hunters will act on the premise that ‘the Sword Emperor has returned.’”

[A quest has been issued by The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth to their followers.]

"Just like how I was hunted down as an evil lich."

[A quest has been issued by The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains to their followers.]

"Spread the rumors throughout the city. When the Magic Tower starts oppressing hunters aggressively, issue quests through the Constellations. And in every quest, hint at the return of the Sword Emperor."

「Is he really the successor to the Sword Emperor?」

「Recently, rumors have been circulating in Monopoly City that the Sword Emperor has returned.」

「It might be hard to remember, but in the past, when the spire was destroyed....」

「Warriors!」

「Why is the Magic Tower oppressing you so harshly?」

「Perhaps he is the Sword Emperor himself.」

"That will decide the major trend."

"......."

The Assistant Writer's quill stopped abruptly. She slowly raised her head, and our eyes met.

I pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket. The soft touch wrapped around my fingertips. A comforting sensation. The only spell that could calm my mind.

Then I said,

“A coalition against the Magic Tower will be formed.”

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