WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 58: Bibliomania (3)

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4.

The task I set for the hunters was to find successful works.

"You understand, right?"

I moved among the hunters, instructing them.

"It's not good if the difficulty is too high, nor if it's too easy. Choose an Apocalypse with a suitable difficulty level! And one that provides appropriate rewards."

Following my directive, all 250 hunters read the Apocalypses.

Each book, chronicling the trajectory of a world, was immensely voluminous. Despite all hunters being engrossed in reading, the task was far from completion.

"King of Death, something is strange."

The Heretic Inquisitor, who hadn't received a single book, was the exception.

His hand still bore the word 'Fairy Tales.'

"What is it?"

"I'm not receiving any Apocalypses. Is 'Fairy Tales' a minor genre?"

"No way. There might be people who haven't read fantasy or romance, but everyone knows fairy tales. It's a major genre among majors."

"True. But why haven't I received a single one?"

The crazy psycho tilted his head.

'Because there's no fairy tale ending with world destruction, you weirdo.'

I swallowed such words and feigned ignorance.

"Who knows? Just wait a bit more. Surely, among all these books, there must be at least one fairy tale."

"Hmm. Perhaps I'm being too impatient. I'll wait patiently!"

The Heretic Inquisitor cheerfully walked over and sat in a corner. I knew, the Witch knew, and every other hunter knew that the day he received a fairy tale would never come.

"Hey, religious fanatic."

Correct that.

It seems the Emperor of Light Novels didn't know.

"Yes, Master of the Celestial Martial Clan? Did you call me?"

"This seems like a fairy tale. It was mixed in with the martial arts books."

"Oh! Thank you!"

The Heretic Inquisitor received the Apocalypse from Viper. His smile was radiant, as if made from grinding angels and saints.

It was a bit scary.

"Then, King of Death, I'll start reading too! Ah, I'm curious about the content of this Apocalypse!"

"Ah, yes... Um, what is the title of that Apocalypse?"

"[Me and Our Scapegoat]!"

The title was a bit scary too.

Eventually, all groups received their books and started reading.

After who knows how long, it was time to eat.

"Ugh."

"My eyes feel like they're going to pop out."

Pained groans echoed around.

Even the sandwiches and tea served by the Bookmark Maids were devoured without complaint, showing the extent of their exhaustion.

"King of Death..."

The Witch, who took charge of the [Romance] group, was no exception.

"I think I can understand the sentiment of that librarian."

"Really?"

"These Apocalypses, they all have their climax interrupted."

The Witch's face showed considerable fatigue.

"The heroine confesses to the hero, and a meteorite falls. Just as they are about to kiss, aliens invade. Everything's a mess! I mean, I get the meteorite, but alien invasions in royal romance comedies? What's that about?"

And then, the Witch continued.

"What makes them even more vicious is that they're all incredibly entertaining until they get cut off like this. The protagonists are charming and the stories are gripping, but the endings are garbage! It's like being served a perfect course meal, only to cut into the cutlet in the main course and find..."

"Don't say what it is. Can't you see I'm eating a pork cutlet sandwich?"

"Ah, sorry, King of Death. It wasn't very delicate of me... But I have to say! It felt like..."

"This is all being broadcast. Are you okay with that, Witch?"

The Witch hushed, closing her mouth. Really, she has a temper at strange times, like when she was trying to match the eye of a one-eyed giant zombie.

Anyway, relieved, I was about to finish my pork cutlet sandwich when the Witch leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"It felt like..."

I wondered if everyone in Babylon Square was holding their breath, watching the Witch whisper in my ear.

Hearing the content of her whisper, I felt like my breath stopped. The details made me not want to look at a pork cutlet sandwich for at least a month.

Oh, God. Please save me...

[Shiny does her best to save you.]

I wished a god who couldn't even save her own world would just stay quiet...

Of course, the god of this Great Library didn't save me. Instead, the Holed-Up Head Librarian floated around in the air, chuckling.

"At last, you too understand my pain."

The librarian looked like a child, but the smile on the Constellation's face was anything but childish. It was the smile of a gourmet who had lost their sense of taste after enduring life's endless sweet-and-salty combinations.

"Why hide it? The 683 Apocalypses I allowed you to read are grimoires that boast especially bizarre destructive power even within my Great Library."

"Grimoires?"

"Yes. So interesting and captivating that readers can't help but love them."

Their laughter grew eerier.

"But only up to that point! No matter how entertaining they are, you will never be happy. No, the more entertaining they are, the more miserable you will become! Because every last one of these grimoires met a dogshit ending!"

The Witch swallowed hard.

"Did you deliberately choose these works to give us the same pain...?"

"Feel free to think so."

"I can't think otherwise..."

"Ah! Join the hell of interrupted serializations. And like me, struggle in eternal pain! Go on! Suffer quickly!"

The librarian roared with laughter.

Some hunters trembled in fear.

"Could they be a demon?"

"Making us read only masterpieces that were discontinued, deliberately chosen for us. They're insane."

"It's a sin deserving of divine punishment...!"

Later, it turned out they were originally novel enthusiasts. I don't quite understand, but to them, the librarian's words seemed to be very frightening.

Then...

"Ah. Hunter."

"Hmm?"

A familiar voice called out.

Looking around, I saw a woman from the [Fantasy] group waving. It took me a moment to recognize her, but then I remembered.

"Oh. It's you, Boss!"

The hunter who would later become the Master Alchemist.

The Apothecary who made me an elixir was there.

"Boss, you received an alias too?"

"Well, somehow. 'Apothecary' is not that glamorous, but... Hehe."

The apothecary who had now become the hunter known as Apothecary smiled sheepishly.

I was surprised.

'The Master Alchemist already has an alias?'

Even for a hunter destined for greatness, the woman before me had just recently been wandering the slums. 'Alias.' It seemed too early for her to achieve something that the Tower would recognize. Even I, armed with cheat-like skills, only got an alias after repeated insane acts. Was it true that promising sprouts show their potential from the start?

"You're truly amazing, Miss. How did you get an alias so quickly? I knew it; I was right about you. It was worth investing in you."

"Oh, no! I'm not that great!"

The Apothecary waved her hand modestly.

"Really. I'm not being humble... I just got an alias without doing anything."

"What?"

"I don't know how it happened either. A few days ago, I suddenly heard 'Your created item contributed to saving the world,' and then I was given an alias. I'm sorry. I really don't understand..."

'Ah.'

The Apothecary looked as perplexed as she sounded. But I realized the truth upon hearing her words.

'It's because of the elixir she made for me!'

The cause was the Elixir I took to fight the Demon King.

During my fierce battle with the Demon King, the Elixir had greatly enhanced my senses. It allowed me to observe the Demon King's sword strikes in slow motion.

'So, that means...'

Essentially,

'I've been power-leveling her this whole time?'

I had accidentally given someone a free carry.

The Apothecary twiddled her fingers, unaware of this.

"It's not me who's remarkable, but you, King of Death! Oh, I should call you King of Death now... You're truly amazing. Just a few days ago, you were outside the rankings, but you shot up to third place! It's a huge, huge honor to know someone like you! I've always wanted to tell you this!"

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just lucky..."

As I awkwardly scratched my head, the Apothecary chuckled and clasped her hands behind her back.

"King of Death, if there's anything you need, just let me know! I'll help with anything I can!"

Wow.

What's with her?

Is she an angel?

-Zombie, can't you raise the bar a little before seeing people as angels?

'I just believe in people, Sword Emperor. Even if I'm betrayed, I can't stop believing in people. It's not my fault for having such a passionate heart.'

-Your bullshit is especially hot today. In English, that makes it hot dog sound.

Let's ignore that last bit of nonsense.

5.

On the fourth day of reading, we finally succeeded in reading all the Apocalypses.

Every hunter declared they had finished reading.

"The Romance group recommends four books."

"The Sci-Fi group will recommend two."

"The Mystery group..."

Each group announced their recommended works.

Suitable difficulty. Suitable rewards.

A list of recommended works with a perfect blend of both was presented.

"In my Fairy Tales group, I recommend this! It's the only one I have!"

+

[Me and Our Scapegoat]

Genre: Fairy Tale

Difficulty: A

Required Participants: 2 or more

*The serialization has been discontinued.

Description: Humanity in this world succeeded in creating a utopia. However, maintaining that utopia required a special power source: the screams an innocent child made while suffering despite having committed no sin. Regrettable though it may be, surely one innocent child should endure it for the perfect happiness of seventeen million people? Thanks to meticulously developed torture techniques and life-sustaining treatment, roughly five years' worth of screams could be extracted from each child. Efficient!

Reason for Discontinuation: 118,000 years after the creation of utopia, all innocent children were exhausted. The utopia, having lost its power, came to a halt.

+

This Apocalypse is a must-visit regardless of difficulty and rewards.

However, there was another Apocalypse that caught my attention right now.

"The Martial Arts group strongly recommends this work."

The Sword Saint spoke.

He was the team leader of the Martial Arts genre group. Unlike someone who was outwardly a martial arts enthusiast but inwardly the Emperor of Light Novels, Sword Saint was truly knowledgeable in martial arts.

He opened one of the Apocalypses.

"This book right here."

+

[The Veritable Records of the Heavenly Demon]

Genre: Martial Arts, Fusion

Difficulty: B

Required Participants: 2~4

*The serialization has been discontinued.

Description: In the world of martial arts, where martial arts are revered and utilized to reach enlightenment! Here, a Heavenly Demon appeared, aiming to unify the martial world. The Demonic Cult, united under the Heavenly Demon, and the opposing forces clashed over the fate of the world... or so they would have.

Had it not been for a sudden super pandemic.

Reason for Discontinuation: An unidentified pandemic spread, leading to the death of the Heavenly Demon. The Demonic Cult was annihilated. All other forces perished. The end.

+

"The reason for recommending The Veritable Records of the Heavenly Demon is simple," said Sword Saint.

"In this world, there exists a character called the Heavenly Demon. A martial artist who has collected every martial arts scripture in the Martial Realm. Thus, a massive secret library... um, sort of like a library, was established in the headquarters of the Demonic Cult."

Sword Saint looked embarrassed. Non-martial arts group members were all like, 'Martial arts scriptures? Secret library? What's he talking about?' Eventually, Sword Saint used simpler terms.

"Think of martial arts scriptures as books containing secrets of skills. If we succeed in saving this world, we'll get a library filled with the best skills in the world for free. It's an opportunity for our hunters to become stronger."

The hunters' eyes lit up.

"Martial arts."

"Gaining new skills?"

"Well, the chance to learn skills is really rare..."

"An opportunity to learn the ways of the martial realm!"

The atmosphere was positive. Especially for those like Sword Saint who valued individual strength, the response was particularly favorable. The priority was to strengthen ourselves. That argument gained traction.

And it was good news for me too.

'Not bad, right?'

I stroked my chin.

'In a martial world, there must be many flying masters. If I die to each of them at least once... Wow. Wouldn't I gain at least one A-Rank skill?'

-Zombie, are you only thinking about gaining easy benefits?

'There's a world I want to smash. But that's difficult with my current strength.'

The Sword Emperor quietly closed his mouth.

Instead, another being spoke.

[Shiny detects a presence.]

The sword on my waist suddenly vibrated.

'A presence? What kind of presence?'

[Shiny says she feels the presence of her sister very close.]

'Sister?'

Shiny, aka the Goddess of Protection, was split into five swords and sealed. One of those swords was on my waist.

Even Shiny didn't know where the other swords had gone.

'Where? Where do you feel it?'

I looked around.

The Great Library of Myriad Thoughts. Bookshelves stretched to the horizon. Each shelf was enormous. Looking up, they were as high as towers. Naturally, I saw nothing but books.

[Shiny advises not to look around aimlessly but to focus on what's in front of you.]

'In front of me? There's only the Sword Saint in front of me... Wait a minute.'

Apocalypse.

A book containing an entire world.

'Is it inside that?'

The holy sword vibrated.

[Shiny answers in the affirmative, saying, 'Yes, Hero.']

[Shiny says she feels the presence of her sister in the book Sword Saint is holding!]

That moment decided our next destination.

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