WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a B-Rank Hunter ◈
Chapter 28
──────
* * *
The reception room was neither particularly large nor ornate. The wooden floor was old and stained, with a thin carpet laid over it. Wooden furniture that looked just as old filled the room.
A few old paintings hung on the walls instead of elaborate decorations. The windows were tall and narrow. Though it was daytime outside, little sunlight entered, leaving the room somewhat dark.
The fireplace was the most active and radiant thing in the old room.
The bricks of the fireplace along one wall looked evenly worn, as if they held time within them, and a lonely fire burned inside.
The sound of burning wood was like low music. Against that music, the firelight spread softly along the fireplace frame, illuminating the furniture in the dim room.
The outlines of the desk, sofa, table, cabinet, and bookshelf glimmered.
Someone sat on the sofa facing the fireplace. Long fingers, pale enough to seem gray, idly touched the air while their elbow rested on the sofa arm.
Their owner spoke.
“What did you say you saw?”
Ingrid Haugen, who had been staring blankly at the fireplace, suddenly looked up.
“Pardon?”
“You said you saw something.”
Blinking, Ingrid finally came to her senses and answered.
“Ah, sorry. I couldn't sleep properly because the plane was so cramped...”
“You were the ones who insisted on economy. Take business class obediently next time.”
“I don't think church donations are that plentiful. We run orphanages and homeless shelters all over the world.”
“Why leave out the warriors who enter dungeons and bring back Vanaskelium? We have income besides donations, and we can at least afford to make your flights comfortable. No, forget that. So? What did you see?”
“...A winged female warrior. A female warrior in armor with a spear and a winged helmet.”
The figure sprawled on the sofa slowly sat upright. Fireplace light revealed black lipstick and dark eye makeup on her flour-pale face.
Her dirty, mottled dark blond hair fell loosely across her cheeks.
“What did you say you saw?”
“...You realize that's the second time you've asked, right?”
“I do. Say it again.”
Ingrid gave a small sigh, slumped her shoulders, and repeated herself.
“I saw an angel wearing a winged helmet, or perhaps a female warrior. She was beyond the shadows, so ordinary eyes couldn't see her.”
“How long have you trained in seiðr?”
“Three years.”
“How many coils have you wound?”
“Five.”
“You don't have a boyfriend, do you?”
“...No.”
“That much without any experience. You're a genius, then. You couldn't have seen it wrong.”
“How could I have?”
“Still, shall we test your spiritual sight now?”
“If you wish.”
The next moment, Ingrid's sea-blue eyes turned bright amber. She looked at the woman on the sofa with those eyes.
A massive being covered in black scales was reflected in those amber eyes. Its eyes, each as large as a basin, were amber as well.
“Hmm. Your eyes don't seem to have any problems... Are you certain it wasn't an illusion or trick of the dungeon?”
“No, I'm not certain.”
“Why?”
“There is no fixed, immutable truth in a dungeon. Especially in the world seen through spiritual sight.”
“You learned well.”
“Who do you think taught me?”
“Anyway, you saw a Valkyrie...”
Ingrid blinked. Her glowing amber eyes returned to blue. Once again, she saw the woman sprawled on the sofa.
“...Could it really have been a Valkyrie?”
“Who knows? Even if it truly was a Valkyrie, there's no telling whether it was Odin's dís or merely some other ghost. But if it was a Valkyrie...”
Her fingers tapped the sofa arm. Ingrid watched them hesitantly before speaking again.
“That... warrior the Valkyrie was attached to. I mean, the hunter.”
“Hunter?”
“They call them hunters in Korea. Apparently, it comes from online novels that were popular around the time of the Odin Shock. East Asia generally followed that and calls them hunters. Anyway, that warrior.”
“What about that warrior? Because that warrior destroyed the looping staircase you made and escaped?”
“That too, but more than that...”
Ingrid met the eyes of the woman looking back at her.
“...When I looked with spiritual sight, the Valkyrie was strange, but so was the warrior's afterimage.”
“How?”
“They looked like a huge beast wrapped all over in thick hide and fur made from black... shadows. A beast warrior walking on two legs...”
“A berserker?”
“I wasn't necessarily trying to say that.”
The woman rubbed her temple.
“...Another thing to worry about. Did you learn anything more about the one-eyed old man?”
“You mean the old man who tells people to offer sacrifices to Odin? No. Nidingr didn't seem willing to talk in the first place, and we never had a chance to subdue and interrogate him. But we did confirm the power he gives people.”
Ingrid folded her arms and continued.
“He was strong enough that Jakob nearly got hurt. His combat skills were mediocre, but his strength was that of an A-rank hunter. Ah, that's the Korean way of classifying warriors. We divide them into five levels, but there it means someone far stronger than other warriors...”
“Forget that. Continue with the part about Jakob nearly getting hurt.”
“Ah, yes. Anyway, that Nidingr was far stronger than Jakob, and he didn't die even after his neck was broken. I thought he was a draugr from legend.”
“This is a world where unfathomable dungeons have appeared, Yggdrasil sends messages from within them, and we practice real seiðr. Draugr may not be mere legends either.”
“Mm. I suppose so...”
The woman said nothing after that. Ingrid watched her carefully, then eventually opened her mouth in a yawn without realizing it.
For a while, only the sound of firewood burning filled the reception room.
After the flames had flickered for some time, the woman spoke.
“I should go to Korea.”
“Pardon?”
Ingrid, who had been dozing, jerked her head up. She stared at the woman with wide eyes.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Y-you're going to Korea? Why?”
“I need to meet that warrior and Valkyrie. If I face them in person, I might learn something.”
“...Will you go alone?”
“Why? Do you want to go again?”
“Of course! The Curves guys have a concert in Korea a month from now!”
“...”
The woman looked at Ingrid with faintly pitying eyes.
“...I understand why you don't have a boyfriend.”
“Even without one, I can still wind my coils just fine! The Curves guys are the source of my seiðr, if anything!”
“Oh? So yearning, desire, and sexual desire for an unattainable member of the opposite sex are more effective for seiðr training?”
“W-who said anything about s-sexual desire...?”
“Sorry, but you can't go. The New York church asked for help. The three of you will have to go.”
“Ah...”
The flush on Ingrid's face immediately faded. Seeing her disappointment, the woman laughed loudly.
“Ha ha ha ha! You're cute. You said the concert is in a month, right? Did you get tickets?”
“...No.”
A faint hope appeared on Ingrid's fallen face.
“How were you planning to attend a concert in a month when you don't even have tickets?”
“I-I thought I'd buy scalped tickets...”
“Tsk, tsk. Anyway, I'll get you tickets. Resolve the New York matter as quickly as possible, then come to Korea.”
“Wow!”
Ingrid jumped to her feet. She looked ready to run over and hug the woman.
At that moment, the woman raised one white finger, and Ingrid's movement came to an abrupt halt.
“Don't make such a fuss. Go tell the others. Leave by tomorrow.”
“...Yes.”
The frozen Ingrid soon regained her freedom and quietly straightened up. Without even looking at her, the woman waved a hand as though telling her to leave.
“Then... I'll see you in Korea.”
The woman did not answer. Ingrid hurried out of the reception room. Even after she left, the woman remained sprawled on the sofa, staring at the fireplace for a long time.
After watching the flames for so long, her lips began to move.
“...Gods and threads of fate wash in like waves from beyond the round world. What is truth, and what is illusion? In the round land where the boundary between falsehood and truth collapses, and among the newly sprouted nine worlds, where do our souls go?
Ancient völvas. Gods who were never meant to return are returning, breaking the boundary between myth and reality. My fear is not the divinity they bring, but the inevitable ending at the end of myth.
The end of the old world, the fate of the gods, Ragnarök...”
Having murmured words only she could understand, the woman soon closed her mouth.
The next moment, her form twisted together as though sucked into a single point in space.
Then a crow flew up from the sofa.
Using its beak, the crow deftly opened the narrow window of the reception room and flew outside.
Even after the woman vanished and the crow departed, the fireplace continued to burn.
For a long while, despite having no more wood to consume.
* * *
The engine made a slightly rough sound as it shut off. Dohyeon frowned.
“...”
He had driven this car for over five years. The mileage was considerable because he had driven it everywhere, wherever dungeons opened. Of course, it had been a used car from the beginning.
Maybe it was time to buy a new one. It wasn't as if he lacked money. He simply had never felt he needed a good car. Once he entered a dungeon, all he had were his two legs anyway.
Dohyeon's train of thought always reached the same conclusion: dungeons. Not money or fame.
After turning off the engine, Dohyeon opened the car door and got out. Brushing back his hair, he looked around and saw cars filling the parking lot.
Beyond them stood the sign for an upscale Korean restaurant.
“...”
His phone rang. When he checked it, it was Jo Gyeongtaek.
[Oh, Dohyeon. Are you here?]
“I'm in the parking lot.”
[Really? I'm at the entrance. I'll come get you.]
As he walked toward the restaurant entrance, Jo Gyeongtaek came out to greet him. Despite it being evening, he wore sunglasses.
“Dohyeon!”
“...Hello.”
Unlike the somewhat reluctant Dohyeon, Jo Gyeongtaek was delighted to see him. Smiling constantly, he led Dohyeon into a private room.
“This place is really good. Even I've only been here a few times.”
“...It must be expensive.”
“It's fine, it's fine. I got out alive thanks to you, Dohyeon. I should at least treat you to this much.”
Dohyeon scratched the side of his neck with a sullen expression.
A few days earlier, after escaping the dungeon, Dohyeon and Jo Gyeongtaek had exchanged contact information and parted ways.
Normally, he would not have done so, but Jo Gyeongtaek had helped him in the dungeon, and Dohyeon was curious about his still-unreadable intentions.
Then Jo Gyeongtaek had contacted him today, asking him to dinner. He said they should also discuss what to do with the artifact found in the dungeon.
As soon as they sat down, servers knocked and entered, beginning to set out the food. Jo Gyeongtaek rubbed his hands together and smacked his lips, apparently full of anticipation.
Soon, he picked up a piece of abalone with his chopsticks and ate it. He nodded with an impressed expression.
“This is good. You should try some too, Dohyeon.”
“...”
Dohyeon also picked up his chopsticks without a word. Jo Gyeongtaek had not been exaggerating. The abalone dish was quite good.
“Do you remember the helmet that crazy Asatru guy was wearing?”
“...?”
Jo Gyeongtaek said it casually, as though merely mentioning it in passing while picking up another dish. It took Dohyeon a moment to react.
“...That Greek-style helmet?”
“More precisely, it was Corinthian style, right? Anyway, that thing.”
“You picked it up?”
It was an item they had not been able to collect amid the battle with the fanatics, the arrival of the three Asatru members, and the wave of Orphan Horde monsters.
Thinking back, that helmet seemed to be the artifact that had made it impossible for him to focus his attention on that fanatic. He could not look directly at him or pay attention to his sounds and actions.
“In ancient Greek mythology, Hades' Helmet supposedly made its wearer invisible. I think this artifact may have some connection to that.”
“...Its performance is rather low-grade for a helmet belonging to the god of the underworld.”
Jo Gyeongtaek snickered. Then he took a bag from beneath the table and set it on his lap. He pulled the helmet out.
“Maybe it's a degraded version or something. Anyway, strictly in terms of performance, there couldn't be a more valuable artifact for a solo hunter. You could roam a dungeon alone without drawing anyone's attention. And from the perspective of people studying dungeons from outside...”
A smug smile spread across Jo Gyeongtaek's mouth beneath his sunglasses.
“...It would become a very important milestone toward understanding the world of dungeons. It is an object connected not to Norse mythology, but to other myths in the real world.
I contacted someone I know. They said that not only corporations, but research institutes studying dungeons in connection with the humanities and history would especially want an item like this.
If we negotiate well, we'll get more for it than in most Vanaskelium deals.”
“...”
As Dohyeon stared at it with his chopsticks in hand, Jo Gyeongtaek slowly held the helmet out as if telling him to look at it too. Dohyeon set down his chopsticks and accepted it.
The artifact was heavy, like a genuine Corinthian-style helmet, as though it were made of bronze.
“Here. It's yours now.”
“...?”
When Dohyeon looked at him in confusion, Jo Gyeongtaek smiled and picked up his chopsticks.
“That belongs to you, Dohyeon.”
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
