WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

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◈ Surviving as a B-Rank Hunter ◈

Chapter 14

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* * *

"Yes. He refused. I expected as much, but his attitude was far worse than I thought."

Yoo Ahyeon's voice was cold and rigid. Seated in the driver's seat, she was speaking to someone on the phone.

"It's not impossible to win him over. He seems to view corporations negatively, but he doesn't seem to dislike money.

"Yes. Yes, that's correct. This artifact's Vanaskelium reaction was considerable. Neither my field team nor any hunter would have given it up.

"He was the only one among the hunters who initially entered that dungeon to come out carrying an artifact. Whatever method he used, there's no question that he was the final victor."

As she reported in a dry tone, Yoo Ahyeon held the wheel with her free left hand, tapping her fingers against it.

"His ten years of experience are real, at least. His first registration date was 2022. Yes, going by his registration date, that would make it eleven years of experience.

"It appears he registered the very year Korea's Hunter Registration Act was established. After that, it wasn't difficult to find records of his Vanaskelium sales. No, I couldn't verify every transaction.

"He has a management firm he deals with privately. He also seems to use the black market frequently. Yes. That's correct..."

Yoo Ahyeon's eyes widened slightly as she idly flexed her fingers, her expression sour. Through the windshield, she saw Kang Dohyeon steadily walking out of the shopping arcade and into the light rain.

"...Yes. That's correct. I haven't yet confirmed any experience before that. But he was eighteen at the time, legally a minor in Korea, so I didn't think he would have any prior experience...

"Yes, you're right. It is certainly strange that someone who wasn't even an adult could register as a hunter. I'll investigate further."

Even while continuing the call, Yoo Ahyeon could not take her eyes off Kang Dohyeon as he walked through the rain.

The sight of the man walking alone beneath the overcast sky, getting soaked without an umbrella, held her gaze.

"Yes... I don't think it'll be easy to hire him for the field team right now. But I believe there's more than enough reason to keep watching him.

"Rather than saying we found a capable field operative, it would be more accurate to say we found an anomaly in Korea's hunter world. One way or another, he'll be useful when dealing with the 'old guard.'"

The rain grew heavier. Raindrops pattered against the windshield. Yoo Ahyeon casually turned on the wipers. The streaked view ahead became clear again.

The man in the distance kept walking steadily through the pouring rain, still without an umbrella and without any greater hurry.

"...There are people in this world who live like lone wolves. You may not be able to put a collar on them, but throw anyone in front of them, and they'll tear out their throat. Yes. For now, I'll put someone on him and learn more about him."

When the call ended, Yoo Ahyeon tossed her phone into the cup holder beside her. Then she leaned closer to the steering wheel and covered her mouth.

With both hands on the wheel, she silently watched the man's back as he faded into the rain.

"Let's get to know each other a little better, Mr. Dohyeon."

* * *

After buying information from the Observer, Dohyeon returned home at once, gathered his equipment, and headed back out. As he drove along rain-soaked roads, the Valkyrie spoke to him.

[You continue onward to dungeons without end, Warrior. Are you not tired?]

"......"

Dohyeon only glanced at her once in the rearview mirror without answering. A faint smile hung beneath the Valkyrie's winged helmet.

[I understand your will and strength. But remember that even steel can break at times...]

Following a113's information, Dohyeon arrived at the GPS coordinates shown in his navigation system. He stopped the car and looked outside.

The buildings stood packed together, but the streets were empty.

Judging by the well-maintained roads and trees, it was not yet a slum. It seemed to be on its way to becoming one.

The tightly packed commercial buildings were all vacant, filled only with banners seeking tenants. People were hard to find.

There were a few shops still open here and there, but even those had hardly any customers. There were few pedestrians and few vehicles. Until a few years ago, the streets had always been crowded, but now they were desolate.

Even Dohyeon did not know exactly why it had become this way.

Some said commercial rents had become too expensive. Others said the area's development policy had failed. There were also claims that dungeons occurred here far more frequently than elsewhere.

Some said hunters stayed here too long because of that, causing more serious violent crime. Supposedly, guns had to be used to subdue hunters, and that kept people away.

Whatever the answer was, Dohyeon did not care.

After parking in a suitable spot, Dohyeon got out and gathered his equipment. According to the information he had bought from the Observer, the dungeon was on the roof of the vacant commercial building ahead.

He slung his bag and long saber across his back, packed several daggers and arrows, then picked up the carbon crossbow. It had been made by refining dungeon materials, but despite its sleek appearance, its power was merely passable.

"Tsk..."

Dohyeon clicked his tongue, but he took the crossbow anyway. He had broken too many expensive crossbows over the past few days. The mechanical one he normally used was much more powerful and easier to reload, but bringing one of those in today felt burdensome.

For some reason, he had a feeling that he would break another crossbow today.

Of course, he could simply avoid bringing one. But he could not leave behind a weapon that was part of his basic equipment just because of a feeling. That, too, was part of his routine.

For someone exploring the bizarre world of dungeons, such routines were extremely important.

After gathering his gear and locking the car, Dohyeon entered the commercial building. Though he had only been in the rain briefly and was damp, the building's interior welcomed him with a chill even colder than the rain outside.

Several vacant spaces lay beyond glass walls, with only tenant banners visible inside. Dohyeon's gaze passed over the empty interiors without interest.

He climbed the five flights of stairs in one go.

The rooftop door was locked. Dohyeon clicked his tongue again, then took a small leather pouch from his pocket.

Inside was a lockpick.

[Oh? Our Warrior is deft with his hands as well!]

Out of all things to praise, she was praising his skill at picking locks. Thinking that to himself, Dohyeon gripped the doorknob and worked at it.

A moment later, the lock opened with a click.

Beyond the door stretched the empty rooftop of the commercial building. Other than the falling rain, it was not much different from the floors below.

And in the middle of it stood a dungeon door.

It looked as though glowing paint had been brushed across thin air. It was an unreal sight, as though foretelling the strange world beyond the dungeon.

Humanity still did not know exactly what these doors were.

Yet people kept entering those worlds of unknown origin. Half of those who entered never returned, and half of those who came back unable to come to their senses and entered again never returned either.

Even so, people entered.

Because they were desperate.

The ultralight new-material machinery that had developed after the Odin Shock had steadily destroyed people's jobs over the past ten years.

Ordinary jobs, those not truly essential, were becoming scarcer and scarcer. Naturally, as jobs disappeared, more people found themselves in urgent need of money.

Medical bills, rent, education costs, transportation, even food. People who desperately needed money crawled into dungeons in droves. Fully refined pure Vanaskelium was more expensive than gold of the same weight.

It could have been called a twenty-first-century gold rush.

If someone entered a dungeon out of desperation and came back alive, a corporation that bought Vanaskelium would stamp them with a B-rank certification. Once they received that hunter stamp, however, returning to an ordinary job became difficult.

The lawlessness and strangeness inside dungeons, made known through the Dungeon Integrated Board, frightened people. Hunters naturally became taboo as well.

That was how the new economic class of the Odin Shock era, the hunter, was born.

[What are you thinking so deeply about?]

"...The door's color is faint."

The glowing door was pale blue. That meant it had been open for some time, and that there could be several other passages elsewhere leading to the same dungeon.

a113. Dohyeon did not know what they looked like, of course, but they were an Observer he had dealt with for quite a long time. Still, both the dungeon information they had urgently sold him last time and the information for this dungeon had been poor. Perhaps it was time to find a new Observer.

After checking his equipment once more, Dohyeon approached the door. A strange heat and the smell of iron came from it. Rain evaporated around the door, sending up a faint mist.

Feeling that heat, Dohyeon paused.

"...A factory."

He would sweat a lot. Dohyeon tugged his collar loose for no real reason, then entered the dungeon.

Bright light and heat, oil and iron filings assailed his nose.

Once the light faded, his vision abruptly darkened. Dohyeon did not panic. He lowered his stance and steadied his breathing.

First, searing heat washed over his face. Then the stench of iron, acrid smoke, and oil filled his nose.

The interior was dark overall, but fires and warning lights glowed dimly here and there. That faint light illuminated the ceiling. Tangled steel frames and pipes made it feel as though he were looking up at a jungle of rusted metal.

The heavy, hot air suddenly sank beneath a cold draft that came from somewhere else. Coolant must have been leaking somewhere.

Complex assembly lines, wires, and cables hung everywhere like vines. Engines and materials suspended from factory cranes swayed dangerously.

And amid the low roar that echoed everywhere, something pulsed irregularly in the distance. It sounded like a heart made of rusted steel, with old pipelines vibrating in place of veins.

That sound made the assembly lines, wires, and factory cranes feel like parts of one enormous mechanical lifeform.

It was as if this entire place were inside a giant's body. The roar was the sound of muscles and bones grinding against one another, and that pulsing was the beat of its heart.

It was a dungeon pattern called a "Factory" on the Dungeon Integrated Board.

Then a message from Yggdrasil appeared.

[At the pulse of molten iron that never hardens, dolls of bloodless rubber and gears convulse.]

The entire factory pulsed with a thump, thump.

Instead of panicking, Dohyeon narrowed his eyes and watched his surroundings. What kind of nonsense was that damned tree spouting the moment he entered?

[It would be best to search quickly and leave, Warrior. This steel mirage is becoming more active.]

"What?"

Normally, he would not have asked again. But what the Valkyrie had just said was worth confirming.

There were no mirrors, glass, or smooth reflective surfaces nearby, so it was difficult to see her.

But her voice was clear.

[Did Yggdrasil not say so? This dungeon is waking in earnest. The core smelter is burning, and this dungeon's tentacles are preparing to move actively.]

"...You can interpret Yggdrasil's messages?"

[Do you not also strive to understand Yggdrasil's words?]

"Guessing from context and actually understanding are different things."

[If you insist on distinguishing them, then yes. I can see through Yggdrasil's nonsense. And for my Warrior, I shall gladly whisper its truth to you.]

"......"

Dohyeon blinked for a moment.

He roughly understood what the Valkyrie meant. She would translate Yggdrasil's always vague messages into something he could understand.

There were three reasons Dohyeon froze for a moment. First, he was calculating the advantages that interpretation could bring. Second, he was struck by the self-loathing of wondering what he had suffered through for the past ten years. Finally, there was the question of whether he could trust her.

If the Valkyrie was nothing more than a hallucination in his head, following her interpretation could, bluntly put, get him screwed.

But what if she was not a hallucination, but some real ghost?

Could he trust her even then?

What exactly was the artifact called Vargband?

Then, not far away, a tremendous crash rang out.

Dohyeon reflexively aimed his crossbow toward the sound. But the densely packed assembly lines and mechanical arms blocked his view, preventing him from seeing what had caused it.

[Hiyahhh!]

The roar did not end after one burst. A clearly human battle cry had mixed with it.

After a brief moment of thought, Dohyeon hooked the crossbow to its anti-theft tether and swung it behind his waist. Then he grabbed a nearby piece of machinery and began climbing.

Higher ground gave him a broader view.

Climbing the machinery as swiftly as a monkey up a tree, or a competitive climber scaling a wall, Dohyeon soon found the source of the noise nearby.

[Hahahaha! Is that all you've got? Come at me, you idiots!]

A massive figure of steel was lifting a mechanical arm that had stood beside them, perhaps weighing hundreds of kilograms or even a ton, and hurling it away.

The chunk of metal rolled across the floor and crushed a fleeing person beneath it, spraying blood like a mosquito being swatted.

The massive figure of steel laughed like a madman at the sight.

Dohyeon quietly clicked his tongue when he saw them.

An A-rank hunter.

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