SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 308

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 308: Floor by Floor (1)

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"King of Death... no, Mr. Gong-Ja. I'm sorry, but please let me say one thing..."

"Surprisingly, Apothecary, you have the right to speak not just a word, but a hundred, even a thousand, as long as the listener is generous enough. And not to brag, but I'm quite a generous person."

"Mr. Gong-Ja, right now you're a wreck..."

That was the first thing the Apothecary said after examining me for 30 seconds.

"I don't mean that as an insult. I mean it literally. Truly, literally, you're a sickly wreck. Not just any wreck, but an exceptionally wrecked one."

"That's a bit harsh."

"In that case, I'll be pickled radish...."

"What?"

"Huh?"

I tilted my head, and the Apothecary tilted hers. For an instant, a span of time far beyond human cognitive capacity passed between us.

The Apothecary continued nonchalantly.

"How can you still be alive in this condition...? Right now, I could write a thesis on Mr. Gong-Ja's condition. This is how it is with the arm. Like this. Yap."

"Aaaargh!?"

"You see how easily it bends, right? The curve is very smooth, just like this. Yap."

"Yeeek! Ouch, oww, eeeek!"

"Yep. The bones are shattered. You know the crumbs left at the bottom of a bag after crushing instant noodles...? Mr. Gong-Ja, your whole body is in that state right now... including your jaw and skull."

"I give up! I give up! Okay, stop bending it! I'm dying!"

"Talking about death like you were alive to begin with..."

But I am alive!

"Anyway, I'll treat you."

The Apothecary sighed.

"But my skill has a stronger backlash the more severe the injury is. I'll try to assist with potions as much as possible, but the pain will still be immense..."

"Uh, if we rate the pain just now as level 1, what level would the pain accompanying the treatment be?"

"Don't act like a baby over a slime hit."

Indeed.

Am I being told to die?

I've lived a life without shame.

"Mr. Gong-Ja, you have two choices."

"Choosing between life and death has always been a difficult question for me."

"Would you like to be treated all at once? Or should I divide it up and treat your arms, legs, duodenum, head, shoulders, feet, knees, and feet little by little?"

"Please enlighten me on the difference."

"Well, it's either enduring a pain beyond death all at once, or experiencing a near-death level of pain several times..."

"So it's a choice between death and death..."

Resolve to die, and you die. Then again, resolve to die, and you die. Even Admiral Yi Sun-sin would be troubled by such a tautological choice. This was certainly no speech he could give his soldiers. Even the most fiercely patriotic troops would flee shouting, "Hell Joseon!"

"So... what will you choose?"

"I'll choose death!"

"Sorry, I don't understand which option you mean..."

"Well, it's always better to get hit with a stick all at once."

I spoke based on my years of life experience.

"Just heal me all at once. It'll only hurt for a moment."

"Alright."

The Apothecary took a glass cylinder from her pocket.

A thick, red liquid like hangover soup swirled inside the bottle.

"Now, please lie down."

I lay down.

"Close your eyes."

I closed them.

"Then... please survive."

I survived.

"...Yes?"

There was no answer.

Feeling an ominous sense, I blinked my eyes...

Blink.

When I opened my eyes, I saw purple irises right in front of me.

It was the Tower Master's face.

-.......

The Tower Master, expressionless, looked down and murmured.

-...This is a bit problematic.

Tower Master Jaa Soo-Jeong?

-You shouldn't have come here yet.

What?

-Please go back.

What are you talking about?

Wait a minute.

Where is this…?

“Huup!”

I suddenly sat up.

The back of my neck was damp.

"Wh-What just happened? I felt like I really experienced the afterlife..."

"Are you awake yet?"

A familiar voice reached me.

The Elder, the Grey Spider, was lying on a bed next to me, leaning against it.

She, too, seemed to have received treatment, wrapped in bandages all over her body, sipping some unidentified red juice through a straw.

"Hey, that healer you brought is incredible. A full year of recuperation was reduced to one week. I'd like to hire her for our Tower."

"Oh, well. The Apothecary is a bit overpowered... Wait a minute. A week? It's been a week?"

"You've been yelling like a headless chicken for 173 hours, 31 minutes, and 26 seconds, so roughly a week, give or take."

Unbelievable.

[Shiny is relieved by the hero's safe return.]

The Holy Sword on the bed hummed softly.

That's impossible. I just closed my eyes and opened them again.

But in that brief moment, a week had passed, which felt utterly unreal.

"What happened?"

"What? To my life? It's rubbish."

"Not that. I remember defeating you and capturing you as a prisoner."

I had triumphed over the Elder, the Grey Spider.

But the moment of glory was brief. Severely injured, I had to leave the battlefield. Somehow, I managed to contact our world and called the Apothecary for treatment, which I received that same day.

...Treatment?

Is that what we can call it?

It would be more appropriate to call it a newly developed, advanced assassination technique.

Anyway.

"Setting our duel aside, the outcome of the battle still hasn't been decided, has it?"

Indeed.

The Magic Tower had lost their leader, the Elder and the Anti-Magic Alliance seemed to have the upper hand. Yet, despite this, the spiders refused to surrender, barricading themselves in the five spires.

Obviously, the Anti-Magic Alliance capitalized on the momentum and surrounded the spires.

A tedious and exhausting siege began.

I was asking about the outcome of that siege.

"I understand what you're expecting, but nothing has been decided yet."

The Grey Spider shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure, the kids must have been quite shaken by my capture. But surrender is a separate issue. Unless defeat becomes absolutely certain, they'll never raise the white flag."

"Even if I threaten them with your life?"

"Well, of course, some will be swayed."

The Grey Spider smirked.

"But you wouldn't do that."

"Right. That's true."

I nodded.

"You're not planning to escape and fight a second time, are you?"

"I really fucking want to... But no. As much as I despise the unfair and cowardly tactics used against me, a duel is a duel, and a test is a test. Unless you try to kill me, I'll behave as a prisoner for now."

The Grey Spider muttered that escaping would be difficult anyway with layers upon layers of sealing magic on her.

Surprisingly, she seemed quite calm about her defeat.

"Ah. Could you perhaps be trying to look good for the Guardian Spirit...?"

"Do you really want to die?"

"Strong denial often means the opposite..."

"A strong denial is exactly that, a strong denial. You bastard."

"Aaaaack!!"

"Yaaack!?"

Describing the recent incident, the Grey Spider lifted her bandaged leg and struck my waist, causing my still-healing ribs to scream in agony. Her leg bones, not fully healed either, crumbled as well.

It was a beautiful harmony.

As a result, I gasped and clutched my waist while the Grey Spider grunted, clutching her leg.

"Oof... Ouch...."

"Damn... Bastard...."

Groans filled the ward. Neither of us had the luxury to blame each other for our foolishness. We were simply in very, very much pain.

True pain leaves you speechless.

The Guardian Spirit looked at us as if thinking, what are these fools doing?

-Are you two idiots?

"Sword Emperor says that since 15,110 years ago, he’s only loved you..."

-I swear, I'll kill you!

"Oh, it's destined to be."

I shrugged off the pain.

That's life.

It's My Life... by Kim Gong-Ja.

[Shiny watches with worried eyes, thinking the hero is acting especially hero-like today.]

My whole body hurts, that's why. Please understand.

"Anyway, the fight isn't over yet. It's not over until it's over."

"Hmm. Excuse me, but hasn't the situation already concluded? The leader was captured and surrounded. What more could happen for the situation to be deemed decisively lost?"

"Well... Hmmm."

The Grey Spider narrowed her eyes and glanced at me.

"It might have come to a conclusion by now."

There was something ominous in her eyes.

"...What do you mean?"

"Our Magic Tower extends its tentacles across dozens of worlds, kid. Although we gathered a large army this time, that wasn't our entire force. If the kids holed up in the spires are the main force, then there's another group that can be called the 'Guerrilla Force.’"

"While they delay here with a siege, the guerrilla force could have attacked your world."

What?

"Up until a week ago, we couldn't pinpoint your world because you hid underground like a wary mole. But a week ago, you summoned a healer. Our kids likely pinpointed your world's coordinates while you were unconscious!"

The Grey Spider wore a look that said, "Serves you right."

"What the..."

"Ah, Sword Emperor's brat. You really are strong. I'll grant you that. But remember this lesson from the war. Just being strong alone doesn't guarantee victory."

The Grey Spider clicked her tongue and waved her fist, probably intending to wag her fingers, but the bandages made it a futile effort.

"You captured me as a prisoner, but we've taken your entire world hostage. If you were a typical psychopath like any other 50th-floor clearing hunter, you'd just shrug it off. But you're different. You're insane but kind."

"This can't be happening..."

"Yeah, King of Death. Your kindness has become your Achilles' heel."

"How could such a foolish strategy be possible..."

".....Hmm?"

The Grey Spider tilted her head.

"Anyway, take this as a good lesson. I'm not a devil, after all. You're young with a bright future ahead. Since I intend to take my defeat in our duel seriously, I'll be generous and call the overall result a draw. One win, one loss. What a splendid experience."

"Indeed. A truly splendid occasion seems to be unfolding."

"....What's with that attitude? Let's see if you can keep it up when you see your people begging for their lives, pleading for rescue."

The next day.

"Ugor."

A rumbling echoed.

"Annoying flies were clinging on, so I had to swat them a bit harder."

Dozens of unconscious spiders lay on the ground, each one a commander-level mage. Under their command, about six hundred guerrilla force members were tied up outside the building.

Uburka stood tall with his arms crossed.

"I wanted to resolve misunderstandings through conversation, but they wouldn't listen. I had to use my fists."

"How tragic."

"That, too, is life. Are there any problems, Father?"

"Hey."

I crunched on potato chips from my bed, waving at him.

"......"

The Grey Spider, lying on the adjacent bed, was gaping in disbelief.

"I'm completely fine except for the slight feeling that I might die, son."

"It's the same as usual."

"What about Babylon?"

"No big issues. Just some small ones. Besides these guys, all sorts of riffraff from various worlds swarmed in."

"Is that so? And then?"

"Even though our world is new, word has spread by now. Those who can actually learn their lessons won't dare to mess with Babylon anymore."

"Hmm."

I put down the bag of chips and looked at the Grey Spider.

"That's how it is."

"Anyway, consider this a valuable lesson. I'm not a demon either. And you are getting on in years. Since you gave me such a fine duel, I'll show you some consideration. One victory for me. One defeat for you."

I grinned broadly.

"What a splendid experience this will be!"

The Grey Spider slowly wrapped her head in her hands.

Then muttered in a voice cursing the universe.

"Can someone beat this kid for me..."

Hang in there.

Life is beautiful, isn't it?

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