WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a B-Rank Hunter ◈
Chapter 27
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“Gurgle...”
The cultist with an arrow in his neck spat bloody foam from his mouth. He did not die. Instead, he collapsed to the floor and fumbled at the arrow with trembling hands.
The woman warrior holding a sword and shield looked at him and said,
“Nidingr! You honorless bastard! Lie down and die quietly!”
As the arrow-struck bastard trembled helplessly at her words, the remaining cultist looked around with a stupid expression, apparently unable to understand what was happening.
Then he noticed the three Asatru warriors’ clothing and shouted.
“What the hell are you doing? We’re warriors who believe in O-din too! So why are you attacking us...”
“Hold kjeft! Don’t you dare put the Father God’s name in your filthy mouth, Nidingr!”
“Wh-what? Niding? What the hell are you talking about...?”
The woman warrior made no attempt to hide her disgust at his baffled expression. She was about to shout something else, but the poleaxe warrior beside her smoothly stopped her. Then he strode forward.
“No talk with the honorless. Those who steal the Father God’s name and wield it, the axe is the answer.”
Nothing but coldness flowed from the poleaxe warrior’s blue eyes as he looked at the cultist. His gaze was as cold as the steel in his hand.
The cultist flinched when their eyes met. Then, perhaps angered by the realization that he had been frightened, he struck his sword and axe together with a Clang! and shouted.
“I see! You are evil sorcerers who believe in Loki! O-din! Here stands a warrior before an honorable battle! Please look upon me!”
The woman warrior made a quiet clicking sound at his shout. It sounded like she had cursed at him. But perhaps because she respected the poleaxe warrior who had already stepped forward, she did not raise her voice or interfere.
What was this? Why were these cult bastards fighting each other?
While they shouted insults back and forth, Dohyeon and Jo Gyeongtaek were left standing apart, completely excluded.
After reading the situation, Jo Gyeongtaek leaned over and whispered.
“It looks like those blondes are the ‘real Asatru,’ then?”
The real Asatru.
Not people who captured others in dungeons and executed them with blood eagles, but people who believed in Odin and the Norse gods as a way of life.
Warriors who explored dungeons in search of death and mystery, fought bravely in the process, and also treasured their lives outside the dungeon.
Fighters who, instead of offering sacrifices to Odin, wished to burn themselves like flames and illuminate their lives.
More precisely, they were people who centered traditional ideals, respected modern values, rejected the anti-human conduct of the past, and rejected codified religious denominations. They were often described as eclectic.
He would have to learn more, but those three seemed to be such people.
Originally, Asatru was a term for modern paganism, a modern religion encompassing diverse mythologies beyond Norse mythology. After the Odin Shock, it had become fixed as a term for believers in the Norse faith.
[At least they appear to be warriors with some common sense left.]
The Valkyrie’s brief impression came just as the cultist charged the poleaxe warrior.
“Kiyooooot!”
As Dohyeon had already thought, the bastard’s movements were extremely fast and vicious. They were closer to those of a beast than a person, relying on strength and speed rather than refined combat skill.
In short, he was a stupid bastard who was only strong.
How had people like that survived in dungeons long enough to become that strong?
In contrast, despite his well-equipped armor and weapon, the axe warrior did not charge straight in. Instead, he swung out the head of his poleaxe to make distance.
The cultist ignored the axe head and tried to close in. Apparently, he thought he only needed to avoid the blade, since it did not have a spear tip attached.
The axe head tapped the cultist’s mouth.
“Ghk!”
The cultist who had been trying to press close suddenly stopped. Teeth scattered from his mouth. Every one of his front teeth was gone.
As the startled cultist clutched his mouth, the butt of the poleaxe shaft flew in and struck his temple.
After being hit in both the mouth and head, the cultist staggered. At the same time, the warrior grabbed the end of the shaft, swung the axe behind his head, and pulled it back.
It was the posture made before bringing down a full-force blow, like calling down lightning.
Crack.
The axe buried itself in the cultist’s crown.
It was clean combat technique. He had used the axe head and shaft to control his opponent before following with a lightning-like strike.
It looked simple, but the fact that he had controlled the timing and rhythm he wanted in that brief exchange showed he was a highly trained warrior.
The cultist, on the other hand, was nothing special. He had not even properly swung the axe and sword in his hands. The more Dohyeon thought about it, the stranger it was that bastards like these had captured hunters in dungeons and made blood eagles out of them.
The axe warrior seemed to think the same. As the cultist with the split head collapsed, he made a disappointed Tsk.
Then the woman warrior shouted in alarm.
“Jakob!”
At the same time as her warning, one cultist attacked the axe warrior.
It was the one who had been trembling with an arrow in his neck.
Blood poured from the bastard’s mouth as he shoved the axe warrior into the wall. The warrior dropped his axe.
“Ghk!”
With a heavy Bang!, cracks spread across the concrete wall. The axe warrior’s face twisted as though his back hurt.
The woman warrior hurried to step forward, but the male archer, who had remained quiet since firing the first arrow, stopped her. He shook his head.
“...”
Dohyeon thought she would intervene. One cultist had collapsed with his head split open, but it was still two against one. The woman warrior had more than enough reason to step in.
But she did not.
She merely watched the axe warrior with a hardened expression and stepped back again. Was she considering a warrior’s honor?
The next moment, the warrior let out a battle cry.
“Uwooooah!”
He struck the cultist’s inner elbows, freeing himself from the restraint, then swiftly threw both fists.
In an instant, he struck the cultist’s jaw twice, then both sides of his torso, and finally his Adam’s apple.
“Ghk!”
Like when he had brought down the axe earlier, the warrior’s fists were like lightning. The final blow to the throat even snapped the arrow lodged there, leaving it dangling. Blood, of course, streamed through the gap.
But the cultist did not merely take the beating. Even as blood ran from his throat, he swung the sword in his hand. The blade, about two handspans long, struck the warrior’s upper body.
The sword could not cut through the warrior’s chain mail. But perhaps the force behind it was extraordinary, because sparks flew where the chain links met the blade.
“Uoooh!”
Immediately after taking the hit, the warrior closed in and threw another punch. His large, rugged fist crushed the cultist’s nose. Blood burst from the flattened nose.
“Khk!”
Blood ran freely from his mouth, nose, and throat. Yet the cultist’s eyes were still fixed on the warrior.
Strangely, the closer he came to death, the more extreme his condition became, the more clearly his eyes seemed to shine.
Once again, the two men charged each other, tangled together, and rolled across the ground.
“O-diiin!”
“Uoooh!”
Two men who believed in the same god.
But only one shouted that god’s name. And even he was battered to pieces, blood streaming from him.
The cultist tried to stab the warrior in the face with the sword he had somehow held onto. Unable to pierce the armor or helmet, he tried to force the blade into the exposed area around the warrior’s mouth.
Naturally, the warrior did not simply let himself be stabbed. As they grappled and rolled around, he pressed closer, seized the cultist’s arm, and twisted it.
Crack.
The cultist’s arm dislocated. Before he could open his mouth wide and scream, the warrior grabbed his waist, rose, and slammed him down headfirst.
The cultist hit the concrete floor with his head first.
Snap.
A chilling sound came from his neck.
The warrior released the cultist, who had been driven into the ground upside down, stood, then struck his own chest with a Thump! and growled.
“@#@$$@.”
He muttered something. The woman warrior, who had watched with a tense expression, slowly shook her head in disbelief after hearing it.
[He is strutting over someone so insignificant.]
The Valkyrie whispered in Dohyeon’s ear.
So she could speak Norse too. Here he was, having studied runic script so diligently, yet unable to speak their language.
The warrior even let out a Hmph! through his nose as he turned to retrieve the axe buried in his opponent’s head.
“Creak... khihk...”
“...?”
The warrior, Dohyeon, and everyone else looked toward the source of the sound in surprise.
The cultist who had been driven headfirst into the floor was rising with grotesque movements, his broken neck dangling.
The warrior looked at him in shock and muttered.
“...Draugr?”
“Khoh... dihiin...!”
Following that strange, breathless murmur, the cultist swung an arm at the warrior.
The warrior flew away as if dragged by a fishing line. He hit the floor, rolled, and slid all the way to Dohyeon and Jo Gyeongtaek.
“Jakob!”
It seemed there was no longer time to worry about honor. The woman warrior rushed forward with her sword and shield, and the archer drew his bowstring.
But the cultist, his head dangling from his broken neck, moved faster.
Using both arms and legs, he rushed at the warrior called Jakob with an odd, spider-like motion. It was as if he had suddenly gained two more legs and doubled his speed. He was faster than both the woman warrior and the archer’s aim.
“Khyeeeek!”
The warrior struggled to rise and fight back, but the cultist reached him first.
The warrior, unable to stand, saw the cultist flying toward him like a tarantula. The bastard’s huge hand reached for his throat.
Then a clean arc of light flashed.
The right arm reaching for the warrior was severed.
Another beam of light followed. In successive flashes, the cultist’s left arm was cut off at the shoulder, and finally, his dangling head was forcibly parted from his body.
A clean triple strike.
The flying cultist broke into several pieces and scattered across the ground. Blood splashed over Jakob’s face.
“...”
Jakob turned his startled eyes toward the owner of those arcs of light.
Dohyeon stood there holding a long sword, casually flicking blood from the blade.
The sword traced a gentle black curve, as though it held shadows within it. Yet under the dim light of Kowloon Walled City, it gleamed white like a mirror.
Dohyeon met the warrior’s gaze and tilted his chin.
“What are you looking at?”
“...You. The one who shot an arrow into my head.”
Dohyeon took a few steps back.
When he had fired, he had assumed these people were cultists and immediately loosed his crossbow. But now that he looked at them, they did not seem to be. They had had every reason to chase him down like they wanted to kill him.
As he backed away, Jakob rose to his feet, while the woman warrior and archer approached him. The two tried to check whether he was all right.
But Jakob calmly pushed them away and stood tall before Dohyeon.
“...”
“...”
Jakob’s blue eyes looked at Dohyeon through his helmet. Dohyeon could not tell what thoughts lay behind those cold eyes.
He kept a loose hold on his sword, ready to swing at any time.
Then several Orphan Horde monsters came pouring out from the corridor Dohyeon and Jo Gyeongtaek had crossed through earlier. Spotting the hunters gathered in one place, they opened their mouths wide and raised their voices.
“Kreee-ee-ee-ee!”
They were scouts. That shriek was a horn calling the rest of them.
Jo Gyeongtaek’s face immediately turned pale. He looked uneasily between the monsters and the blond, blue-eyed warriors.
Then Jakob spoke.
“My name Jakob. Jakob Johansen. You?”
“...Dohyeon. Kang Dohyeon.”
At Dohyeon’s somewhat reluctant answer, Jakob Johansen tilted his chin.
“I forgive arrow shot at my head. Our Korean is poor. Misunderstanding may have happened because of that. Our prey are these Nidingr. Not you, Dohyeon. At first, we wanted ask whether you had seen these ones.”
So these three Asatru warriors had been after the cultists from the beginning.
Dohyeon turned his eyes toward the dead cultists, one beheaded and another with his head split in two. The last had fallen into the bottomless abyss first.
“Those Nidingr have no honor, but received power from unknown someone and became strong. Cruel, but do not know fighting. Still, they are strong and use powerful artifacts. While doing that, they defile gods’ names. At headquarters, we are eliminating such people all over world.”
“Khueee-ee-ek!”
Apparently, the scouts’ signal had carried well. Orphan Horde monsters began flooding out from the corridor where the first few had appeared.
Even so, Jakob calmly raised a fist toward Dohyeon.
Dohyeon reflexively raised his own fist and bumped it against Jakob’s. Jakob grinned and said,
“Go, Dohyeon. I am curious about your ability to escape looping staircase, but someday, when our paths meet again, we can find out. Go.”
“...”
As Dohyeon hesitated over how to respond, Jakob turned around and walked to his axe. The woman warrior and archer followed beside him.
After pulling the axe from the cultist’s head, he gripped it in both hands and faced the rushing Orphan Horde.
“Mr. Dohyeon, let’s go. Numbers appeared above the elevator door. I think it’s a time limit.”
“...”
Jo Gyeongtaek pulled at the hesitant Dohyeon.
Dohyeon silently watched the three Asatru warriors’ backs, then turned away.
As he did, the woman warrior glanced at his back. A golden ring briefly gleamed in her blue eyes.
Her gaze seemed fixed on something behind Dohyeon, or more precisely, behind his back.
But it was only for a moment. Her eyes and Dohyeon’s then turned in opposite directions.
Beyond the open elevator doors, Dohyeon saw a glowing door that looked painted over empty space. Above it, numbers counted down from ten.
“@#@$! Thor!”
“@#@##! Tyr!”
“@#@$%. Frigg.”
[They pray for blessings from their respective gods. Beings false in truth, yet more real than anything within their hearts... I can feel their gazes upon this place...]
Dohyeon glanced behind him.
He had many questions too. About the unknown person who had given the cultists power, and about the woman warrior who had caused an Anomaly with her own hands when no one else had ever managed it.
But Dohyeon left every question behind and threw himself toward the exit.
At the same time, the Orphan Horde poured in like a wave and engulfed the three Asatru warriors.
* * *
A post appeared on the Dungeon Forum.
[ValkyrieInSeoul: Hello Korean Hunters. I am Ingrid Haugen.
Hello, Republic of Korea Hunters. I am Ingrid Haugen. Odin and Yggdrasil God’s believe.
Recently, Korean Odin-believing people did wrong. Bad People. I know Korean Hunters have complaints.
So bad people we handled. We did our best. Therefore, want good response on Deontong.
so from now on, Republic of Korea Hunters who insult us, be careful. If insult us, children made by mistake.
I studied Korean. But insufficient. Therefore borrowed translation machine power. Hope no misunderstanding of my words.
I also love Kpop. Bought lots of our Curves oppas goods. Happy.
Korean Hunters, always wish Yggdrasil blessing, and I also like Tyr.]
Attached to the post was a selfie of three blond, blue-eyed people smiling brightly on a street in Seoul.
There were selfies taken at Gyeongbokgung Palace, on famous streets, and atop Namsan Tower. To anyone looking at them, they appeared to be nothing more than tourists.
Anonymous 1: What is this? Are these the Asatru people?
Anonymous 2: LMAOOOOOO I think they really are Asatru
Anonymous 3: What the fuck does “handled Bad People” mean lmao
EyeOfHorus: I think they mean those Asatru people who were supposedly causing trouble recently. Does “handled” mean they killed them all? I heard a rumor that the headquarters was dealing with cultists, but I didn’t know they were doing it like this. Anyway, enjoy your Korean sightseeing...
Anonymous 4: The way they talk and the photos are absurd, but the content is brutal lmao
UnicHorn: Huff huff Nordic blonde noonaaaaaa so pretttyyy... Ingrid noonaaa...
* * *
Dohyeon lowered his smartphone and snickered.
“Looks like all three made it out alive.”
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