WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 345: The Voyage of the Full Moon (2)

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I blinked.

"Did you say you came here 300 years ago?"

"Indeed, junior..."

The hooded figure nodded repeatedly, his face concealed by the hood. Suddenly, I was the junior, and he was the senior, but I wasn't particularly concerned about that.

What caught my attention was what the hooded figure had said.

'Whether it's the Evil Heaven World or the Heaven of Gold, everyone who comes here forgets their previous lives. The fact that he guessed I'm a challenger means there's a high chance he really is a Hunter.'

Hadn't [The Staff of Time Immemorial] mentioned it? Unless recognized by the judge, one would linger in the stage like a ghost forever.

Perhaps the hooded figure in front of me was a challenger who hadn't completed the quest for 300 years.

"I am a failure..."

The hooded figure stuttered.

"Trapped here, unable to go anywhere, just wasting my time. My life might have ended like this, but junior, I wish to prevent other challengers from ending up like me..."

"How about it?" the hooded figure's voice rose.

"Wouldn’t you like to hear my advice? Even if it's just the ramblings of a worthless life... a failure's murmurs, if it could help a junior..."

"No, no, what are you saying? You're willing to share your story, and I'm all ears."

"Ho ho. Such a kind-hearted junior. Then, if you could just buy me an apple orange, I'll gladly help with what lies ahead."

The hooded figure crooked his finger.

[A trade request has been made by the other party.]

Then, a message arrived.

[Do you wish to purchase the offered item with one orange apple?]

This seems pretty straightforward.

I went to a stall vendor and bought a fruit that was half apple, half orange. Literally, 50:50. The left side was an apple, and the right side was an orange. What's this?

"Come on over! Wow, young man, you're looking fine!"

The stall vendor, seeing me as an easy mark, gleefully asked for 3 gold. It was an obvious rip-off.

But my pockets were full of gold coins. Considering it an investment for advice from a person 300 years my senior, it wasn't too bad.

[The bargaining is over.]

[The other party is satisfied with the trade.]

[You are satisfied with the trade.]

[Both parties are satisfied with the trade!]

That was easy.

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth discreetly reveals that the fruit vendor considered you a top-tier sucker....]

I know that, but I just wanted to finish it quickly!

"Here you are, senior."

"Oh, such a kind junior..."

I quickly handed the orange apple I had procured to the hooded man. He accepted the fruit with trembling hands.

[The trade is completed.]

[The bargaining is over.]

That's when it happened.

"Yahoo!"

The hooded man sprang up and, with a surprisingly cheerful motion, threw off his hood. The sudden change was so startling that I instinctively stepped back.

"What, what is it?"

"What do you mean, what? I am a fisherman from the port city of Levanta, and I just reeled you in! Your face was practically screaming 'sucker,' so I cast my line on the off chance, and what do you know, I landed a whopper! Hahaha! This luscious fruit in season is mine now, young man!"

The hooded man, now unveiled, greedily devoured the orange apple.

"Ah! Delicious! Feasting on the tender and naive is the ultimate delicacy!"

"......"

I was dumbfounded.

"Wait. You said you were a challenger. How could you be a resident here and pull off all that challenger talk?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I merely recited the repertoire of a sucker who was fleeced by me long ago. Was it 300 years ago? Occasionally, some kids fall for such nonsense, standing right where you are."

"This crazy…?"

"That's the expression I wanted to see!"

A dramatic sound effect seemed to echo in my head.

[The other party is very satisfied with this trade.]

[You are very dissatisfied with this trade.]

[You have suffered a loss!]

Right after the message, it happened.

"Uh? Uh-oh?"

An immense hunger struck my stomach. It was an ambush-like hunger unlike anything I had experienced before. I had starved more times than I cared to remember while practicing the Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven, but never had hunger struck so suddenly.

"What, what's this all about?"

"Umm, delicious...."

Contrary to me, the hooded man's face shone brightly.

"Thanks for the meal, junior. Do not be too disappointed. Thanks to me, you learned a tremendous lesson, did you not? Teaching you such a life lesson for a single OrangeApple, goodness, I am almost too considerate for my own good... How will I ever make my way through this harsh world when I was born so kind...?"

"Hey."

The hooded man's expression had a devastating impact. Even I, who had grown accustomed to not getting angry, felt a surge of irritation at that face.

[You are more dissatisfied with this trade.]

[The other party gains even more satisfaction from this trade!]

[You have suffered another loss!]

I soon realized that even this anger was calculated by the other party.

"Ah, excellent. Excellent! It's like having a prime Deodeok pig steak in my mouth, oozing with juice! What a gourmet spot, young one. You were a gourmet spot..."

The other party savored the moment slowly, as if enjoying a delicacy.

"Now that I think of all the city's jackals learning that you are such a gourmet hotspot and descending upon you, it almost feels like a waste. This is a flavor I would rather enjoy all by myself..."

I was doing my utmost to hold back my anger. Only now did I begin to appreciate what the law governing the Heaven of Gold, where everything operated through bargaining, truly meant. If I vented any more rage here, I would only suffer further losses.

"But that simply would not do..."

"Hey."

The hooded man gave a soft chuckle, pulled his hood back on, and turned away at an angle that made it seem as though he had monopolized every ounce of cool in the world.

"I am simply too kind a soul to keep something so precious all to myself..."

"..............."

"Adieu."

The hooded man trudged away, like a gunman making his exit in a western.

Then something in my head snapped. I swear, anyone who could watch that without their blood boiling was no human, but a living Buddha.

[You are even more dissatisfied with this trade.]

[The other party gains even more satisfaction from this trade!]

[You have suffered yet another loss!]

Fuck.

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth says the other party considers you the biggest sucker in the universe...]

Shut up, Cretsu.

[The Goddess of Protection looks at you with a very pitiful gaze.]

Where even are your eyes, huh? You're a sword.

[A Music Box Just for You doesn't say anything and just looks at you with a compassionate heart.]

You too, fox?

-Puhahahahahaha! Puhah, hah, heh, ho! I'm dying! I'm dead! Kim Gong-Ja, this bastard is killing the Sword Emperor! Oh my, people of the neighborhood! The Sword Emperor, who conquered up to the 99th floor, is about to be killed by this bastard!

You... just don't speak. No. Please don't speak. Can you not speak, please? Please.

"Look, that young man is a sucker."

Whispers.

"Is he really a gourmet spot?"

Murmurs.

Not only the Constellations were looking at me. The stall vendors were blatantly staring, gossiping among themselves. Their gazes could be described as those of a panda cub, that after starving for three days, sees a bamboo leaf falling right in front of it. How do I know what a panda cub's gaze looks like? Well... can you leave me alone for a bit?

"Young man! Mister! Do you remember me? I sold you the apple orange earlier. Young man, trade with me just one more time! We've already proven a solid trust between a seller and a buyer, haven't we?"

"Try the sweet-potato grape wine! Just one sip, no more and no less! Young man, I will personally keep pouring sweet-potato grape wine into you until acid rises in your throat! It is a whole new world!"

"Deodeok pig barbecue."

The merchants rushed me, the whites of every eye glaring. They were like waves battering the shore, with a second and third wave arriving no matter how many broke against it. From the rock's perspective, there seemed to be no answer but to be worn away in this profoundly shitty situation.

"Just one bite..."

"Gourmet spot..."

"Deodeok pig. Try it."

What more could I do here?

"Okay."

Run away.

"Ah, the gourmet spot is escaping!"

I launched myself into the air with Aura-infused footwork, clutching my stomach with my left hand. The extreme hunger gnawed at my stomach.

"Chase him!"

"Catch him!"

"How often do we get a sucker like this! We can't let him go!"

As a result, I had no choice but to run around, twisting my body and bending over.

If Master saw me now, she would probably weep and say, 'I've never seen such disgraceful movement technique...'

"Hungry, ugh. So hungry..."

Of course, I managed to escape.

No matter how hungry I was, I had not fallen so low that I could no longer escape from angry pandas.

In a dark alley.

"I'm hungry... What kind of insane hunger is this...?"

I staggered along, enacting the opening scene of a classic movie. I was a poor little kid wandering the alleyways. The problem was, even that kid had trash cans to rummage through for food scraps, but there was nothing like that here.

What if I hadn't mastered the Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven's Sword of Starving Death?

Would I have gone mad by now?

The hunger torturing me was something no ordinary hunter could possibly withstand. Seriously, anyone but me would already have had their eyes roll back and their stomach turn over, collapsed to the ground, and performed the caterpillar dance.

-Gong-Ja.

That's when the Guardian Spirit spoke to me.

"Yes...?"

-I have something I really want to say to you.

I looked at Guardian Spirit with difficulty. Guardian Spirit was looking down at me with a serious expression, as if about to impart a crucial message.

And then the Guardian Spirit said.

-Adieu.

"......"

-Hahahahaha!

Right.

Okay.

That's how it's going to be.

"I understand..."

I slowly straightened my bent back. I stood firmly on the ground, despite the monochrome scenes flickering before my eyes due to severe hunger. Somehow, my mind was eerily clear.

"The world treats me this way, so I have no choice..."

-Huh? What? What's the gourmet artisan mumbling about?

"You all are dead."

It seemed like my mind had cleared because the fuse had blown.

When a blackout occurs, silence naturally follows.

-...

Guardian Spirit's expression changed upon seeing my face.

-Zombie? Hey, Kim Gong-Ja? Hello? Can you hear me?

"Yes. I can hear you fucking clearly, at the level of a 1080p high-definition video. Is there anything else you would particularly like to say to me, Sword Emperor?"

-......

The Guardian Spirit quietly retreated.

-I just said adieu. I did nothing wrong.

[The Goddess of Protection insists she is completely innocent!]

[A Music Box Just for You reminds you that it has always been an innocent entity.]

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth argues that it merely spoke the truth...]

I drew the Holy Sword and gripped it tightly in my right hand.

"Why are you all like this? I'm not angry."

-......

"I was just thinking... Do you not agree that people should never toy with someone's hunger? Because that violates basic courtesy. It simply is not proper... This city has no manners."

I smiled brightly.

"Let's teach them some manners."

Heaven of Gold, golden hair, whatever the hell it was, I would start by cleaning up this port city.

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