SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 371

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 371: Home Sweet Home (1)

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Over three months had passed since my return to Babylon.

During those three months, I played with Raviel, established new diplomatic relations with the city of the underground civilization, played with Raviel, saw Kim Hwang-Tae transfer to high school, played with Raviel, and dealt with various overdue tasks.

It was indeed a fruitful time, but after a hundred days, I suddenly lifted my head.

"It's time to climb the tower again."

Silence followed my declaration.

At the moment, I was lying on the sofa, flipping through a magazine. It was one that featured an interview with me. The magazine was filled with cheesy headlines like "What Does Kim Gong-Ja Think of Being a Hunter!?" and "Everything You Want to Know About the Hunter Industry! 100 Questions, 100 Answers!" Who would even read this?

After a pause, a response finally came.

"...? Why all of a sudden?"

It was the Black Dragon Master.

Anastasia was seated on the opposite armchair, engrossed in the same magazine. Incidentally, she was also the cover model for this issue.

The magazine cover looked as if all human civilization had been mobilized to embody the concept of nobility, but at that moment Anastasia was completely in older-sister mode, sprawled around the house on a Sunday evening.

Wearing a gym uniform of the sort only high schoolers would wear, which I had no idea where she had obtained, she chewed away at a squid tentacle.

Scenes like this made one want to ask, "Does Ukraine have brown gym uniforms?" or "Do Ukrainians also snack on squid legs?" It was tempting to tease her relentlessly.

But everything about Anastasia was perfect, her posture, her expression, and even the crunchy sound of her chewing the squid legs.

She was a Korean unemployed layabout, Lv. 99.

Anastasia's pose was so natural that I had no choice but to accept it as part of life's natural flow.

"No... Staying here any longer and I feel like I'll rot away. How should I put it? Moisture is seeping into my heart, making me feel like mold is going to grow in my brain."

My words made my friends look up one by one.

We were in the communal living room of our lodging.

In the evenings, when everyone returned from their day's work, they would naturally gather here in groups of three or five. As a result, the noble, Viper- the Celestial Clan Master, and the Heretic Inquisitor all looked up at the same time, creating a harmonious moment.

"Mold? Moisture? I'm not sure what you're talking about. Liǎofàn, do you understand?"

"I doubt it. That guy's been spouting nonsense not just today, but for a while now."

"Ah, Silvia! Could we have another half plate of fries, please?"

By the way, my friends were wearing yellow, navy, and blue gym uniforms respectively.

I'm not exactly sure when made in Korea gym uniforms became the dress code for this communal lodging.

From what I can vaguely recall, I was the first to wander around the lodging in a black gym uniform. Anastasia, having seen me, commented, "Oh, that looks comfortable. What is that?" and then the tragedy began the very next day. Yes, it's best to bury this memory for the sake of my mental health.

"That's exactly it! Right there!"

I abruptly stood up and pointed accusingly at the Heretic Inquisitor.

Just then, Silvia delivered the fries with a sour expression, and the Heretic Inquisitor cheerfully picked one up.

With ketchup smeared around his mouth, the Heretic Inquisitor blinked.

"Me?"

"Not [me?], but [me?]! Bambolina, you're eating those potato fries with your bare hands! Wearing a gym uniform! And with ketchup smeared on your lips!"

"Aha, Master. Fries are traditionally eaten with bare hands. I hope you're not one of those heretical types who use a fork or chopsticks just because they don't want salt on their fingers!"

"I'm more on the chopsticks side, actually..."

"My goodness."

"Dear me."

"Are you insane?"

"I'm really disappointed in you, Kim Gong-Ja..."

In turn, the Heretic Inquisitor, the noble, Viper, and Black Dragon Master looked at me with disdain, as if I were trash.

At that very moment, Paladin passed through the living room with a towel around her neck.

"For the record, I belong to the disposable-plastic-gloves camp."

Paladin dipped her head and trudged onward through the living room.

For a while, we watched her retreating figure, which looked ready to head out for a jog to the mineral spring on the hill behind us.

"...Anyway, that's not the point!"

I quickly regained my composure.

"You all! You've rotted! Completely rotted! There used to be a more edge-of-the-knife vibe around here! How did you all become so terribly slack?"

"Rotted, you say? That's quite rude, my friend."

"If you're going to say such things, at least take off those triple-stripe slippers!"

"Eeeh, but they're comfortable."

Yes, Anastasia, seated on the armchair, was indeed wearing triple-stripe slippers with bare feet.

Not just Anastasia, but everyone here was dressed the same: school gym uniforms and triple-stripe slippers, a fashion terrorist combo only found in South Korea that had taken over the top echelons of the tower.

Could this also be due to my influence? Did they start copying me one by one after seeing how comfortably I moved around? Oh, God. No one ever asked for this kind of Hallyu wave.

"If I keep hanging around with you guys, my brain will start to rot too! You should be working, not lounging around! There must be tasks piling up, with subordinates dying off while you're here relaxing!"

"Well, we're not subordinates, are we."

"Right. We only work when we need to and leave the rest to our subordinates. Isn't that what we pay them for?"

"Relaxing occasionally is very important, Master!"

This was hopeless. These people... their brains had already been infected by mitochondria-nitro-vector-tetra-iji-influenza-bacteria. There were no dreams or hope left.

"I'm going to climb the tower."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. I'm really going. I can't bear being with you any longer! If I stay cooped up here any longer, I might lose all interest in conquering the stages and end up a bum, so I'm going!"

My friends stared blankly at me.

"Hmm. Well... do as you wish. Live your life."

"Since all the urgent matters are dealt with, you're free to do as you please."

"Everything will flow according to your will, Master!"

"Damn, these fries are fucking good. Hey, Gong-Ja's household steward! What oil did you fry these in? Give me the recipe so I can make them for my people too."

It seemed like only about 0.5 people were genuinely interested in what I had to say.

Are these really my friends? My comrades with whom I've entrusted my life? I doubted it for a moment. Then, the Paladin, who had left the living room earlier, returned.

Holding an electric toothbrush in one hand, Paladin swept her gaze over the room.

"By the way, I think socks are better with sandals."

Then Paladin dipped her head and walked through the living room.

We silently watched Paladin's receding figure until the noble hurled a slipper at the back of Paladin's head with all her strength.

"I'm really going... See? I'm going. Really."

No one answered.

The fight between the Countess and Paladin began, but astonishingly, no one paid any attention to me.

I mulled over the feeling of being the neglected adult in the family as I weakly headed towards the next stage.

[You are being transported to the 80th floor.]

"---And that's how I ended up here. Ah, yes. As a hunter, or rather, now a Constellation, climbing the tower is a must. I suppose I should be called a Hunter-cum-Constellation? Anyway, one must ascend to higher places. See? As soon as I reached the 80th floor, even the air felt different."

"You..."

[The Staff of Time Immemorial] looked at me with incredulity.

"Sorry, but have you ever been told you sound like an idiot?"

That was a bit harsh.

The administrator who welcomed me on the eightieth floor was [The Staff of Time Immemorial].

The mage looked at me with eyes like unwavering silver blades and, above all, an extremely sullen stare.

"Well, I was beginning to wonder when you would resume your ascent. I thought you might be coming soon, and you have arrived right on time."

"Yes, I've finished everything I needed to do on the 1st floor... Huh?"

I suddenly noticed something different about [The Staff of Time Immemorial]. Her eyes had not changed, nor had her face or attire. It was her staff, the object that symbolized her.

Her trademark staff, as thin as a little finger but extremely long, was snapped in half.

"Why is your staff like that? Did you get into a fight with someone?"

"Get into a fight? Are you seriously asking me that?"

[The Staff of Time Immemorial] let out a sarcastic laugh.

"I lost a fight with you, Netherworld Heaven. Ever since control of the Netherworld was handed over to you, I've been left with a broken staff."

"Ah, but you're still managing the heavenly floors, aren't you?"

"For now... for the time being, at least."

The mage sighed.

"If you fail to reach the hundredth floor or give up halfway, I will return to being a complete Pillar. If you conquer the hundredth floor, I will be cast aside like this. It infuriates me, but now I am no longer in a position to [guide] you. I must [attend] on you, my superior."

"I see."

I nodded.

"Then I would like some Job's tears tea from a vending machine. Could you fetch it for me?"

"...First, I understand why you started ordering me around the instant I said I had to attend on you. I will concede that much. But why, of all things, Job's tears tea from a vending machine?"

"Think about it, mage."

"Speak."

"Imagine your boss ordering you to fetch Job's tears tea, of all things, and specifically from a vending machine. Just that one drink. How would you feel while inserting the money, pressing the button, and waiting?"

"I'd feel just like I do now."

"See? You know exactly. What are you waiting for? Go fetch it."

"This son of a..."

Three minutes passed.

I slurped the Job's tears tea the mage had brought from the vending machine. A chaotic flavor spread softly through my mouth as the Job's tears powder and sugar blended until there was no telling where one ended and the other began.

"Mm. This is the taste. The Principal of Memorial Gourmet said this was the taste of memories. Maybe we could turn this into a spin-off series."

"You won't die a peaceful death..."

I was already incapable of dying.

Now, even more so.

"Is the Job's tears tea I delivered using every trick in the book delicious?"

"Yes. It's delicious."

"Then listen while you enjoy your honey. From the 71st to the 80th floor, it was the phase where you were established as a Constellation. And you've passed this course more perfectly than any other Constellation. Now, from the 81st to the 90th floor, it's time to build [Your Own Kingdom]."

I paused, straw in my mouth, and tilted my head.

"My own kingdom?"

"Yes. It is also called a Star Domain. Many people call it a Sanctuary or a Dragon Kingdom instead."

The mage tapped the air with her broken staff.

A white cube appeared, displaying a familiar scene on its surface.

"That's the Great Library of Myriad Thoughts."

"Right. The Great Library of Myriad Thoughts was the Sanctuary of [The Holed-Up Head Librarian], or Hamusutra."

Interesting.

With this example, I got a sense of what was expected of me.

"[The Ruin-Harvesting Cow], Mutia's Sanctuary was a temple buried in the desert. [The Eye Dwelling in the Labyrinth]... Hisimet Cretsu, whom you now wear as a bracelet, had a doll exhibition as their Sanctuary. Even a hunter who never becomes a Constellation is permitted a personal space after passing the ninetieth floor."

"In essence."

I removed my lips from the straw.

"I'm about to have my own home."

"Yeah."

Thump.

The mage tapped the floor with her staff.

"A palace that is solely yours."

[You are being transferred to the 81st floor.]

White light enveloped my vision.

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