WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 40: Their Time (1)
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It did not age.
It was perpetually youthful.
-Ester.
It grew more beautiful day by day, with the scent of freshly-picked apples wafting from its fingertips and the rich aroma of grapes from its feet. As it walked, people felt intoxicated as if by wine. Its hair was like a field of golden wheat ripe for harvest, enchanting the village with the scent of autumn whenever it fluttered in the wind.
-Ester, the Saintess of the Outskirts.
Eventually, people began to say so.
-Saintess.
A poor woman, burdened by poverty, came with a sick newborn in her arms. She had followed the rumors from afar.
-Please, I beg you. This poor child is ill. Please bestow your blessings...
-Do you know the rule?
-Yes, yes, I do...!
Ester nodded.
-Leave the child here. Come back at dawn tomorrow.
The woman bowed and left.
After the mother departed, only a small child remained. The swaddle was worn but soft. The woman had selected the softest rags she owned, patched them together, and wrapped the child in them. Ester buried her nose for a moment in the worn swaddle, the fresh bundle steeped in the scent of milk.
So fragrant.
Humans are so desperate in their love.
-Goo?
The child reached out and touched Ester's hair.
Ester smiled. Even wrapped in rags, life was radiant. Ester considered herself fortunate that such an overwhelming, undeserved miracle existed in the world.
-It’s okay.
Ester’s shadow writhed.
-You won't suffer anymore.
-Gaga...
The shadow's maw yawned open.
-Poor thing.
Ester quietly devoured the newborn.
The child's death was gentle. It did not struggle. It simply sank into the shadow without resistance.
As the newborn's flesh and bones melted, memories flowed into Ester. They were memories clinging to the child's flesh and bones: the pain of birth, the sensation of a swollen throat, the mother's smile...
-Yes.
Short memories for a brief life. After skimming through the ephemeral life, Ester gestured towards her shadow. The shadow bubbled and boiled.
-Live a little longer.
At that moment, the shadow shrank into the shape of a baby. The black shade took on the color of flesh. That flesh wriggled in tiny motions, smiling innocently like a young animal.
-Gaa!
Ester smiled.
-Poor thing.
The mother returned at the crack of dawn the next day. Had she stayed up all night? Her complexion was haggard. Ester, who had been waiting by the door, handed over the baby wrapped in the swaddle.
-Your child should be healthy now.
-Ah...
-It won’t fall ill again. Please continue to cherish it as you have.
The mother’s face crumbled with gratitude.
-Thank you...
The rumor started spreading from the outskirts of the continent.
-Saintess...
The rumor from the outskirts consumed the small nations.
-Thank you, Saintess...
The small nations on the outskirts were the first to stir.
-Ester.
Next, the great kingdom that encompassed those small kingdoms began to stir.
-Saintess Ester.
Then other small kingdoms, which had endured by using that great kingdom as their bulwark, were shaken into an uproar. The continent was vast. As vast as it was, unfortunate humans overflowed everywhere.
Those gripped by dreadful diseases, rotting away.
Those limping, lamenting their fate.
Those born disabled.
Those who had lost their sight.
-Saintess of salvation!
All those blind eyes, disabled arms, limping legs, and rotting flesh increasingly gravitated towards Ester. With each occurrence, Ester’s shadow grew a little more.
-O you who will save us!
As Ester’s shadow expanded, human territories shrank. In abandoned villages, officials could no longer govern, and in cities deserted by their citizens, kings could no longer reign.
-Salvation of all the sick!
Ester.
The kings realized that this new name was a plague.
And they knew exactly what was needed to eradicate a disease.
-Burn it!
Fire.
-Burn the witch’s nest to the ground!
Ester heard screams.
Raging flames were burning people.
No.
That wasn’t it.
-Show no mercy. They are all cursed monsters! Don’t spare a single one!
Humans were burning humans.
-Those who do not see humans as humans.
It sounded like a groan.
Almost like a scream.
Groans amalgamated into shadows, and screams congealed into blades.
-Be swallowed by your own malice!
The Demon King swung its sword.
The sword trembled as if emitting groans.
“Kim Gong-Ja!”
The Witch shouted.
“I’m okay!”
I faced the Demon King. The air churned like rapids. The Demon King's sword seemed ready to unleash a red beam at any moment.
‘Right?’
I concentrated aura on my feet.
‘Or is it left?’
A 50-50 chance.
The Demon King's sword screamed.
The sword, hotter than fire and redder than blood, engulfed me.
[You have died.]
[You will return 24 hours back to the past.]
‘Left, then.’
I died.
When I die, I go back 24 hours.
[6 days 23 hours 53 minutes 27 seconds left until you can reuse Ghoul Summoning.]
[Returner’s Winding Clock] explicitly states that its user retains [memories and stats].
That retention includes skills.
[You have died.]
[You have 5 days 23 hours 51 minutes 42 seconds left till you can reuse Ghoul Summoning.]
And as we know from the Sword Emperor's Guardian Spirit sharing the memories of my regressions with me, skills carry over in exactly the state they were in when I died.
Abilities. Power. Cause and effect. Memories.
Even cooldowns.
[You have died.]
A day went by.
[You have 4 days 23 hours 49 minutes 33 seconds left till you can reuse Ghoul Summoning.]
I conquered the 11th floor.
No one died.
I climb to the 12th floor and cross swords with the Demon King.
The Witch of the Black Dragon assisted me.
The enraged Demon King summons ghosts.
I charged at the Demon King and died.
[You have died.]
[You have 3 days 23 hours 47 minutes 15 seconds left till you can reuse Ghoul Summoning.]
I died.
[You have died.]
[2 days 23 hours 45 minutes 28 seconds left until you can reuse Ghoul Summoning...]
I died.
[You have died.]
[You have 1 day 23 hours 43 minutes 13 seconds left till you can reuse Ghoul Summoning.]
A day went by.
[You have died.]
[You have 23 hours 41 minutes 53 seconds left till you can reuse Ghoul Summoning.]
And then…
The day returned.
[You are now able to use Ghoul Summoning again.]
With each repetition of the seven sword battles.
I could fight one decisive battle.
"---Kim Gong-Ja!"
The Witch shouted.
I nodded.
"I’m okay."
In this life, I leaped to the right without even seeing the beam.
Swoosh!
The red beam uselessly pierced the empty space. Dozens of skeletons were ensnared in the beam and perished screaming. But ten times more goblins and orcs were set ablaze.
-You!
The Demon King's voice was twisted with rage.
-A mere mortal! Do you possess the Eyes of Prophecy?
"Sort of."
Minus the fact that my price for prophecy is a week of my life.
-You're relentless.
The Sword Emperor clicked his tongue.
-Really harsh, this guy.
The Sword Emperor demonstrated tirelessly in front of me, where to swing the sword and how to move my feet.
-But this is incredible value. Hey, Zombie! Later, test whether you can summon duplicates. Hole up somewhere, wait a week, and summon them again.
I frowned.
'Let’s talk about it later! Please!'
-My guess is that the previous summon will be canceled and only the latter will be recognized, but who knows? 4,000 could become 8,000, and 8,000 could turn into 80,000. A miraculous jackpot time. Then you'll evolve from a zombie to a Zombie King! Zombie King Kim Gong-Ja! How cool is that!
‘Ah, stop talking nonsense! I can't concentrate with this...’
[You have died.]
[You will return 24 hours back to the past.]
‘Damn it!’
-Though your body dies and dies again, though zombie flesh becomes skeleton, soul or no soul, can my exasperation with Kim Zombie ever fade?
‘It’s your fault I died! Now I have to repeat a week again!’
-It’s because you're weak. Not my fault. Definitely not.
The Sword Emperor laughed.
‘I swear, someday, I will definitely get you!’
-Oh, I'm already dead. How will you get a dead ghost? Meh. Our zombie is getting angry, peekaboo.
‘This damn...’
-As angry as you are, go and defeat the Demon King. Even without skills like yours, I conquered up to the 20th floor alone. Oh, the shame, Kim Zombie.
‘Damn it!’
Though we joked, we steadily cornered the Demon King.
Skeletons held back the Demon King's forces. Any monsters approaching us were slaughtered by the Sword Emperor. I predicted the Demon King’s attacks through my week-long deaths, and with those predictions, the Witch delivered effective blows to the Demon King.
“Black Dragon Master! Next, it'll attack from the right!”
“Got it!”
The Witch scattered dark aura. The mirrors reflected the aura. Once, twice, thrice, four times, the aura doubled with each reflection in the mirrors. Swoosh! The dark strike, amplified dozens of times in an instant, ripped through the Demon King’s waist.
-Kyaaa!
In the center of the frozen world, the Demon King's scream tore through the sky.
“Hahaha! Nice shot, Mrs.!”
I laughed, swinging my sword.
“Who are you calling Lady! I'm not even married yet!”
“And you're still unmarried at your age!”
“I'm still, quite, young!”
“Yeah, right. Youthful thanks to the Elixir of Immortality! I know.”
“You... first, let’s finish the Demon King, then come see me.”
We crossed countless lines of death.
Sometimes the red beam ensnared the Witch. The Sword Emperor was swept away too. One second. Another second. We fought desperately, entrusting our lives. The Demon King’s strikes were lethal, so even a second of carelessness was fatal.
[You have died.]
But that didn't matter.
[You will return 24 hours back to the past.]
My willingness to die was stronger than the Demon King's power to kill.
-You, you...
Twelve times.
-How dare you defy my resentment... my hatred...
The Witch's aura pierced the Demon King’s body twelve times. Only then did the Demon King’s movements slow down slightly. Black sludge bubbled from the attacked areas.
‘Huh?’
Was it my imagination?
For a brief moment, before the sludge boiled over... it seemed like flesh-colored skin was visible, not black. It was a fleeting moment. When I turned to look again, the Demon King's body was already covered in sludge.
-Kuh!
The Demon King retracted its sword.
Even without a face, I could feel it glaring at us.
[The Demon King of Autumn Rain decides to retreat.]
What?
[The Demon King of Autumn Rain retreats to the 13th floor!]
That's overkill!
I felt a surge of heat from my heart to my head.
“Wait! Who ever heard of a boss running away when nearly caught!”
-Do not be mistaken! I will return again!
“That bastard!?”
I swung my sword, but before it could hit, the Demon King's body crumbled. Like a hidden drainpipe beneath the ground, the black sludge rapidly flowed downward.
“Hey! You black sesame shake!”
Not just the Demon King. The monsters born from its shadow also bubbled and collapsed. Gurgling! Like water draining from a toilet. The monsters turned into dark currents and disappeared into the ground.
“Wow.”
Suddenly, only me, the Witch, the Sword Emperor, and thousands of skull-and-bones were left on the field.
“What is this...”
As I stood bewildered, wondering if my countless deaths were in vain.
[The Tower acknowledges your choice.]
A voice echoed in my head.
[Creating Hidden Quest.]
[The 12th floor quest has been amended!]
“...What?”
And one after another.
[The 13th floor quest has been amended!]
[The 14th floor quest has been amended!]
[The 15th floor quest has been amended!]
[The 16th floor quest has been amended!]
[The 17th floor quest has been amended!]
[The 18th floor quest has been amended!]
[The 19th floor quest has been amended!]
I was speechless at this unprecedented phenomenon.
Can quests be amended?
“......”
As I stood with my mouth open, text appeared before me.
Text meant for me.
+
[The Hero of a Time-Frozen World]
Difficulty: Unknown
Objective: You have made up your mind. You will not tolerate even a single sacrifice.
It is called justice to not expect anything back from those you have saved. It is called devotion to not expect recognition from those you have saved. And they call those who are dedicated to justice a hero.
Hero!
The humans of the continent will not know of your justice. They will not recognize your devotion. Yet justice will remain justice, and devotion will remain devotion. Will you continue choosing to be a hero even in this frozen world?
The Demon King has escaped after being injured. It hasn't gone far. If you wish, you can still pursue it.
Now only your choice remains.
+
A quest just for me.
“......”
The voice rang out.
[Will you accept this quest?]
My heart pounded.
It was a question that required no hesitation.
“Yes.”
The voice responded to me.
[Hidden quest activated!]
[Quest Name: The Hero of a Time-Frozen World.]
[May fortune be with you.]
I was enveloped in white light.
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