WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 9: The Identity of the Soliloquy (3)

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"Can't you send me back to the old man right now!?"

The Guardian Spirit flew into a rage.

My studio apartment was already cramped, an inhumane place even for one person to live. With a ghost flying around as well, it was practically a blind spot for human rights. Can you imagine what it would be like to have a giant three-meter mosquito buzzing around you?

"Ah, seriously! Even if I wanted to send you back, I can't!"

-You said you copied me with your skill. Then you should be able to cancel it too! Don't you know what a refund is, a refund!? What kind of world is this if they won't even give you a refund?

"There's no way to cancel it!"

I explained how I had ended up copying the Guardian Spirit, but even after hearing the whole explanation, the ghost remained utterly unreasonable, demanding that I send him back to the Sword Saint.

-Wahhh! Old man Marcus! You bastard of a disciple! Your master has been kidnapped! Your one and only master was kidnapped by some shut-in bastard!

To make matters worse, the ghost began to wail, turning upside down in mid-air.

-Alas, my incompetent disciple. This is all because Marcus neglected and scorned his teacher! I always told him to revere his teacher like heaven.

"Excuse me..."

I was fed up. The initial fear of encountering a ghost for the first time had evaporated. Fear? What’s that? Even the scariest-looking ghost would just give you a headache if it's this noisy.

"Can we please be quiet? Please?"

-What do you mean, live? I'm already dead!

"Ah, then please die quietly."

-Would you look at this goddamn bastard? You curse a poor ghost who's already miserable about being dead by telling me to die again. People of the neighborhood, look at this bastard! We just met, and there's nothing he won't say!

"Wow."

My jaw dropped. Today was the first time in my life I had seen a ghost, but it was also the first time I had met such a too-much talker... no, a too-fucking talker.

And then it clicked. The reason Sword Saint kept mumbling to himself in the bar. Of course, looking back, his soliloquies were rather monotonous.

"Shut up."

"Don't be noisy."

"Too noisy. Leave me alone to deal with it."

Ninety-nine percent of his soliloquies amounted to, “You're noisy, so shut up.”

To an outsider, it would seem like he was constantly muttering to himself like someone with a mental illness...

"No wonder he kept muttering, with a ghost like this attached to him..."

-Huh? What was that? Did you just talk trash about me to my face? How old are you? You should be treating me as an elder, yet you dare insult me right to my face?

"Damn it."

I slumped my shoulders in defeat. My future seemed utterly bleak.

"I'm going to have to avoid the Sword Saint for the rest of my life. No matter what skill I get, why does it have to come with a ghost like this?"

-What? Avoid the old man? What nonsense is that?

The Guardian Spirit tilted his head in confusion.

-Marcus is one of the kindest hunters out there. Although he's my disciple, he's a real stickler. But never, ever bring up his grandchildren, okay? He's usually calm, but he loses it when it comes to the little ones.

"I'm well aware of that."

I sighed.

"About that skill Sword Saint has. What's it called? The one that shows how many people you've killed."

-Ah, Eyes of a Detective? Such a trash skill.

The Guardian Spirit immediately responded. So, the official name of the Kill Count skill was [Eyes of a Detective]. The ghost seemed to know all about Sword Saint's skills.

-So? It's only useful for determining if someone's an assassin or not. And a high kill count doesn't guarantee they are an assassin.

"4091."

-Hm?

"That's the kill count above my head. 4091."

The Guardian Spirit looked incredulous, furrowing his brow. Even in death, it seemed ghosts had more expressive faces than living people.

-What is this guy? Is he crazy?

"If I spend another day with you, I just might become insane. You're so loud."

-No... You're a total rookie.

The ghost’s expression turned serious.

-A rookie among rookies. It doesn't look like you've even learned to use Aura. How could someone like you have killed 4,091 people? Even when I was alive and conquering the Tower up to the ninety-ninth floor, I doubt I killed that many.

"Because I didn't kill 4091 people."

-Huh?

I shrugged nonchalantly.

And explained everything.

"How it all happened is that I actually only hunted one really bad guy who would later be called the Flame Emperor..."

That I was killed by the Flame Emperor.

That a stroke of luck had allowed me to copy a regression skill.

That I couldn't get revenge on the Flame Emperor if I just stayed put.

-......

That I had decided to regress more than 4,000 days into the past.

And I executed that decision.

-...What?

The Guardian Spirit's mouth dropped open.

-You killed yourself over 4000 times to get revenge on him?

"Yes."

-......

The Guardian Spirit fell silent. Earlier, he had an expression of disbelief, but now he was different. He stared at me, deep in thought, a stark contrast to his previous loud and boisterous behavior.

-Hey.

He floated right in front of my nose.

"Yes?"

-What's your name?

"Kim Gong-Ja."

The ghost hummed thoughtfully.

-Gong-Ja. Why did you choose old man Marcus, of all people?

"Excuse me?"

-Why did you decide to copy his skill right after defeating the Flame Emperor?

"That's... obvious, isn't it?"

I was baffled by the question.

"He's currently the top-ranked hunter of this era. You have to start with the strongest person's skill."

-So you can become strong as quickly as possible?

"Yes."

-...The reason you’re being honest is probably because you know there's no risk of the information leaking. According to the skill card, no one but you can perceive me. Completely foolproof, right?

"Of course."

Silence settled in the tiny room again.

-Hmm.

Float, float.

The Guardian Spirit circled around me. He glanced at my face from the left, measured my height from the right, all with a very serious expression. I grimaced, wondering what this strange spectacle was all about.

-Let's see. Hmm. Your build wouldn't be too bad with some work. You've got tremendous tenacity and a decent drive to improve. You can keep your head and use your brain too... Tsk, I see. Hmm. With this much potential...

The Guardian Spirit mumbled to himself.

'What is he talking about?'

From what he was saying, the ghost seemed to be the Sword Saint's master. Master and disciple alike were experts at talking to themselves.

-Hey, Kim Gong-Ja.

The Guardian Spirit hovered in front of me again.

"Yes?"

-Show me how you hunt monsters.

I hunted a few minor monsters.

"Is that enough?"

Having nothing better to do cooped up in my tiny room, I headed to the hunting grounds as soon as day broke. Since I had returned to one day prior after being killed by Sword Saint, I needed to hunt the Flame Emperor again today. There were several reasons to go out.

-As I thought...

The Guardian Spirit nodded.

-My prediction was correct.

"Prediction?"

-In my lifetime, I was known as the Sword Emperor.

At that early hour, with no one else around, the Guardian Spirit's low voice settled over the deserted hunting ground.

-I'm not from this world. In my world, a tower similar to this one appeared, and I conquered it faster than any other hunter.

"You mean to brag about yourself?"

-Well, yes.

The Guardian Spirit smirked.

-Though I failed to surpass the 100th floor in our world. Isn't that written on your card?

Indeed, it was.

+

[Sword Constellation]

Rank: A+

Effect: Originates from another world. Cleared that world's Tower through the ninety-ninth floor but met with frustration just before the hundredth. The lingering resentment prevented this being from passing on, turning him into a Guardian Spirit. 

The Guardian Spirit cannot physically interfere with this world, but can meddle with the skill holder's mind. 

Seek guidance from the Guardian Spirit's wealth of experience and astonishing skill! 

*Only the holder of this skill is able to feel his presence. 

*Skill copied from Marcus Calenbury.

+

'That's actually quite impressive.'

Before my return, the Flame Emperor, who had conquered up to the 40th floor, was revered as a legend.

But reaching the 99th floor? This ghost had truly achieved a feat no one else had.

-When you're as great as I am, you can tell at a glance how much talent a hunter has, whether they're a jackpot or a dud. That's why I asked you to show me how you hunt monsters.

"Ah, I see."

I gave a bitter smile at the Guardian Spirit's words.

"Were you checking to see if I had any talent in swordsmanship?"

Such stories are not uncommon, where someone suddenly realizes their true power after meeting a master or facing a life-threatening situation.

A fortuitous encounter.

"Too bad for you."

Unfortunately, I had no such luck.

"I have absolutely no talent in combat. A complete dud, really. That's why I'm desperate to copy other hunters' skills. If I had any talent, I wouldn't still be at F-rank. I wouldn't have lived like that."

The Guardian Spirit frowned.

-What nonsense. You have talent.

"Excuse me?"

-And an extraordinary one at that.

That was unexpected.

“Really? You're joking, right? You're just trying to tease me?"

-I don't joke about these things.

The Sword Emperor shook his head quietly.

-Of course, you have no talent in martial arts. Your movements are clumsy, and your physique is mediocre. It will take you a long time to awaken your aura using ordinary methods. But, irrelevant to all that, you have a rare talent.

His gaze was serious.

-You have no fear of death.

"......"

-Completely absent. Shockingly so.

The Guardian Spirit stroked his chin.

-You probably lost the fear of death naturally after dying over 4000 times. This was part of my prediction. You might not realize it, but you're recklessly fearless when attacking monsters. Normally, people hold back a little for fear of death or injury. But you, you don't have that.

"Is that really a talent?"

-Of course.

The answer was immediate.

-Talent isn't only innate. People can awaken talents as they live. Overcoming the fear of death is one of the hardest to develop, and you've already mastered it.

"......"

-That's remarkable.

I was a bit taken aback.

Not one person in my entire life had ever said anything like that to me. Even I had never thought of myself that way. I had simply been furious that the Flame Emperor treated me like an insect... so furious that, heedless of everything else, I crossed more than 4,000 deaths.

Dying.

That it was my talent.

-Let me ask you one thing.

"...What is it?"

-You said you were killed by the old man Marcus. What did you think at that moment?

I recalled my last death. It wasn’t long ago, so the memory and emotions were still vivid.

The night sky and the moon.

The strike so silent that I had heard nothing at all.

"...I thought it was beautiful."

That's when it happened.

-Hahahahaha!

The Sword Emperor threw his head back in laughter. The laughter was so loud and wild, it filled the early dawn plains, echoing in the stillness.

After a while, he stopped laughing.

-Interesting.

His eyes sparkled.

-You copy skills, not steal them. Meaning, there's [another me] attached to the old man Marcus as his Guardian Spirit. Now I'm curious to see who will become a greater hunter between Marcus and you.

"......"

-I'll help you.

Sword Constellation. The ghost, once a Sword Emperor who conquered up to the 99th floor, looked straight at me.

-I'll make you strong enough not to be overshadowed by old man Marcus. No, far stronger than him!

And he extended his hand.

-Let's conquer the tower!

It was the moment I gained a partner.

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