WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Abandoned Tank is a Disaster-class Awakener ◈
Chapter 28
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Hye-won slowly looked down at her hands.
“...This.”
Even her voice had changed slightly.
But her appearance and voice were not what mattered.
“...!”
The cold flowing from her fingertips had a completely different density from before.
Even without deliberately summoning her power, pure white cold air slowly swirled around her body.
Shaa.
Frost spread across the floor beneath her feet.
Hye-won looked around in alarm.
“I-I didn't do anything, though?”
“...”
I did not answer.
My gaze remained fixed on the cold swirling around her.
I knew.
That appearance, that power. It was unmistakably the White Witch from before my return.
However.
‘Something is... different.’
Before my return, Shin Hye-won had also become overwhelmingly powerful after completing her Evolutionary Awakening.
But all she gained at the time was one attack skill.
This felt different.
So.
“Ms. Hye-won.”
“Yes?”
“How many new skills did you gain?”
Hye-won stared into the air for a moment.
She was probably checking information visible only to her.
Then her eyes widened.
“...Three.”
“Three?”
“Yes.”
The corner of my mouth rose without me realizing it.
‘As expected!’
My prediction had been right.
The cold contained within the Ice-Soul Snow Lotus Herb was far purer and stronger than the cold relic she had absorbed before my return.
A miracle-grade spirit herb. That difference had changed the outcome of her evolution itself.
“Could you tell me what skills they are?”
“Of course!”
Hye-won nodded.
Then she checked the first skill.
“First... Ice Spear.”
Ice Spear.
A skill I knew.
Hye-won held out her hand.
At that moment.
Crack.
Cold rapidly condensed before her palm.
A long, sharp spear of ice.
High-density cold air had taken the shape of a spear.
Hye-won pointed toward a distant training target.
Whoooosh!
The Ice Spear shot forward.
Crunch!
It pierced straight through the thick metal target.
But it did not end there.
Craaaack!
Ice spread from where the spear had struck, and the entire target froze in an instant.
Miller's eyes widened.
“Penetration and freezing occur at the same time.”
“Yes. And...”
Hye-won checked her second skill.
“Ice-Snow Wave.”
She tilted her head.
“It says it releases cold air across the area in front of me.”
“Let's try it.”
“Here?”
I looked around the spacious training ground.
“Isn't this a place that can afford to freeze?”
“Well...”
Miller tried to say something.
But it was already too late.
Hye-won raised a hand and lightly pushed it forward.
Whoooooom!
“...!”
Pure white cold air burst out in a fan-shaped wave.
Boom!
Craaaack!
Everything in front of her froze.
The training targets.
The metal pillars.
The floor.
The walls.
There was almost no delay between the cold touching something and that thing freezing.
“My goodness!”
Miller struck his forehead in surprise.
Hye-won was also staring at her hand with wide eyes.
“Did... I do that?”
“I think so.”
Ice Spear, a single-target attack.
Ice-Snow Wave, a wide-area attack in front of her.
Both were beyond what I had expected.
But what concerned me most was the third skill.
“What about the last one?”
“The last one is...”
Hye-won made a slightly strange expression as she read the information.
“Frozen Domain.”
“...A domain?”
“It is a sustained area skill.”
At that moment.
Shaa.
Cold air rose around Hye-won again.
The cold that had been naturally flowing from her since earlier.
It was not simply lingering cold from the evolution process.
Amazingly, it was a skill.
The temperature within a certain range around Hye-won dropped sharply.
Crack.
Moisture in the air froze into small ice crystals that floated around, while frost continuously formed on the floor.
When Hye-won moved, the cold moved with her.
It was as though an invisible realm of winter had formed around her.
“...What does it say the effect is?”
“It says cold accumulates continuously on enemies that enter its range.”
“...”
“The more cold accumulates, the slower their movement and attack speed become. And once enough has accumulated, they enter a frozen state...”
It was an extremely powerful skill.
Just approaching Shin Hye-won would slow an enemy down.
Stay too long, and their body would freeze.
Then Ice Spear and Ice-Snow Wave would come flying at them.
For enemies who needed close combat, it was nothing short of a nightmare.
‘Eira.’
Eira, the Snow Queen.
Her mere presence lowered the temperature around her.
When Eira walked, the ground froze, and the closer enemies came, the slower they became.
I looked at Shin Hye-won again.
Pure white hair.
Eyes that had turned silver.
And a domain of cold that froze the surroundings merely by standing still.
‘Could it be?’
It seemed that evolving through the Ice-Soul Snow Lotus Herb had changed her powers in a direction similar to the Snow Queen's lineage.
Shaa.
At that moment, pure white cold air swirled around Hye-won once more.
Her long white hair slowly fluttered.
Small ice crystals glittered beneath her silver eyes.
Before my return, her nickname had been the White Witch.
But seeing her now.
‘Rather than a witch...’
An Ice Princess.
That suited her much better now.
Watching her, I became certain.
Then I opened my inventory.
“Ms. Hye-won.”
“Yes?”
“You still have more to receive.”
“...More?”
When I moved to take something else out, she looked worried instead.
It seemed she felt burdened by receiving so much.
But she had to take this.
Especially this.
Shing.
A cold aura brushed against my fingertips.
What emerged from my inventory was a staff that looked as though it had been carved entirely from clear ice crystal.
A blue crystal was embedded in its center, and a pale cold mist constantly swirled within it as though a blizzard had been compressed inside.
Just taking out the staff lowered the temperature around us.
Hye-won's eyes widened.
“That is...?”
“One of the rewards I received from the 28th floor.”
This time, I was sure.
The four chests received as solo-clear rewards did not contain only enhancement tickets.
It had seemed strange from the beginning.
I had opened several chests so far, yet every single one had contained enhancement tickets.
At first, I thought chest rewards were fixed that way.
But no.
It was chance.
An enhancement ticket could appear, or if you were lucky, a completed relic could appear.
‘I'd just had terribly bad luck until now.’
Still, this time, as if to compensate for all that misfortune, I got a proper item.
The problem was that I could not use it.
【Snow Queen's Staff】
Grade: Unique
Classification: Staff
Usage Requirement: Mana 50 or higher
Effect: Amplifies the power of cold-type attacks by one level.
Additional Effect: Increases the manifestation stability and control of cold abilities.
Cold attack power increased by one level.
It did not mean the same thing as an ordinary numerical increase.
It was the kind of effect that grew more efficient the stronger the cold abilities its user already possessed.
If not for the Snow Lotus Herb, this relic would have been the offering for her Second Awakening.
I held the staff out to her.
“Take it.”
Shin Hye-won stared blankly at me.
“...Pardon?”
“It is for you to use, Ms. Hye-won.”
“C-Can I really accept this?”
Even her voice trembled.
“I cannot use it even if I keep it. And as far as I know, Ms. Hye-won is the only person who can properly use it.”
Only then did Hye-won cautiously hold out both hands.
The staff passed into her hands.
At that moment.
Fwoooosh!
The blue crystal embedded in the center of the staff shone brightly.
As if it had found its original owner, the cold flowing through the staff began to mesh with Hye-won's mana.
She seemed to feel it too.
“Ah...!”
She drew in a breath.
After looking at the staff in her hands for a moment, she turned toward me.
“May I test it?”
“Go ahead.”
Shin Hye-won raised the staff toward the training ground.
From the beginning, it was different from when she had formed cold directly with her hands.
Whoooooom.
Blue mana gathered at the tip of the staff.
Crack.
The moisture around us began freezing in an instant.
Small ice crystals formed in the air, reflecting light as they swirled around her.
Then she thrust the staff forward.
Booooom!
“...”
Even I opened my eyes slightly wider.
It was far stronger than I had expected.
A beam like a laser shot forward.
At the same time, massive pillars of ice rose one after another from the ground, and the training targets within its range were trapped in ice.
The cold did not stop there.
It climbed the wall and covered the entire side of the training ground in pure white frost in an instant.
A space that had been ordinary just seconds ago had turned into a snowfield in the dead of winter.
It was definitely different.
It was not simply more powerful.
The speed at which the cold formed, the range it spread through, and most importantly, its control had all risen by a level.
‘Narrowing the range instead of spreading it into a fan makes it an entirely different skill.’
As expected, it was better for the right person to use a good relic than for just anyone to equip it.
“Thank you so much.”
Hye-won repeatedly bowed, her eyes round.
“Not yet.”
“...Pardon?”
I opened my inventory again.
Hye-won's eyes widened once more.
“There is... more?”
“Yes.”
“...”
This time, she looked completely speechless.
What I took out was a small medal.
A silver medal small enough to fit in a palm.
A woman's profile with her eyes closed was engraved in its center, while blue patterns resembling snowflakes ran around its edge.
【Eira's Medal】
Grade:
Type: Possession Relic
Binding: Unbound
Effect: All of the holder's cold-type skills +1
All cold-type skills, plus one.
For an Awakener like Hye-won, whose abilities were concentrated in the cold type, it was an incredibly good effect.
And completely useless to me.
Well, just because it was a medal did not mean it was guaranteed to have an effect related to physical abilities or stats.
Still, it was fortunate that it was cold-type.
There was someone who could use it.
“Take this too.”
This time, Hye-won could not immediately hold out her hand.
“You helped me even with my Second Awakening, and you are giving me relics like this too...”
Her voice grew quieter.
“...I do not know how I could ever repay this kindness.”
Tears even gathered in her eyes.
I looked at her for a moment.
Then.
“It is simple.”
Hye-won raised her head.
“...Pardon?”
I spoke as though it were nothing.
“There is a way to repay me.”
Her expression stiffened as she wiped away her tears.
I raised one finger.
“The first floor.”
“...”
“Go in alone and defeat the Guardian.”
Hye-won's eyes slowly widened.
“Clear it solo, like I did.”
“W-Wait a moment.”
But I was not finished.
“And.”
The corner of my mouth lifted slightly.
“Take that floor's throne and all its rewards too.”
“...”
The tears vanished from Hye-won's face, which had been tearful with emotion just moments before.
* * *
From early morning, dozens of broadcast vans lined up in front of the Korean Awakeners Association headquarters.
Barricades had been set up on both sides of the main gate, with hundreds of reporters gathered beyond them.
Cameras stood in rows.
The microphones were crowded with logos from broadcasting stations and newspapers.
Reporters who would normally only cover high-floor clears or the return of famous Vanguards had turned their lenses toward the entrance to a mere first floor today.
The reason was simple.
Those leaving today were not an ordinary first-floor Raid Party.
The launch ceremony for the Korean Low-Floor Guardian Special Vanguard, personally selected and supported by the Korean Awakeners Association.
Low floors, which had not received serious attention around the world for some time, had begun to take on an entirely different meaning because of one person, Kang Seong-un.
The Guardians hidden on each floor, their thrones, and their enormous benefits.
At first, people thought such things were only possible for an abnormal Awakener like Kang Seong-un.
But that thinking had changed.
If they prepared properly and selected suitable people, could they not create a possibility?
South Korea was one of the first countries to turn that possibility into a national project.
And today was its first test.
The top real-time portal searches were already filled with related terms.
1. Low-Floor Guardian Special Vanguard.
2. First-Floor Guardian.
3. Throne Rewards.
4. South Korea's First Official Low-Floor Clear.
5. Association Live Broadcast.
Related articles were also pouring out every few minutes.
『South Korea Officially Begins Low-Floor Guardian Raids, Special Vanguard Enters First Floor Today』
『Will the “Value of Low Floors” Mentioned by Association Chair Park Gang-sik Lead to a National System?』
『Is There a Hidden Throne Even on the First Floor? Experts Divided』
The internet was as heated as the media interest.
-Wow, they are about to play the national team theme song for a first-floor run lol.
-So the first floor is not a tutorial anymore, it is a national project?
-First floor: I did not expect people to take entering me this seriously.
-The association chair is personally here lol. Even the Guardian must feel pressured.
-Is the Guardian watching the news right now?
-???: This is just a beginner map, why are there a hundred reporters here?
-Still, getting the throne would be insanely profitable.
-True. Even if it is a low floor, throne authority is no small thing.
-Look how nervous they are. Do well and come back safely.
-Even if they do not get the throne, just come back alive.
-Why does this launch ceremony feel like the World Cup finals lol?
At the center of the stage, where all of South Korea's attention had gathered, Association Chair Park Gang-sik stood before the microphone.
Dozens of cameras turned toward Park Gang-sik at once.
“Today, South Korea begins a new challenge.”
The noisy plaza fell silent.
“Until now, we have thought of low floors as a process to be passed through quickly. We believed that climbing higher was the most efficient way to secure national competitiveness.”
An image of the Tower appeared on the large screen.
“But recently, we have confirmed another possibility. There is still value on the floors we have passed that we have not secured.”
Park Gang-sik paused briefly.
Then.
“Many of you are probably thinking of one person.”
The mood at the site shifted subtly.
There was no need to say who it was.
But Park Gang-sik said it anyway.
“Kang Seong-un.”
Click!
The cameras all focused on Park Gang-sik.
“I acknowledge that what he has recently accomplished is remarkable.”
Association Chair Park Gang-sik's voice was calm.
“However, there is one thing I would like to make clear.”
Park Gang-sik looked directly at the camera in front of him.
“Kang Seong-un is not an Awakener who suddenly fell from the sky one day.”
“...”
“He Awakened in South Korea, grew in South Korea, and gained experience through South Korea's raid system, resources, and facilities. America and the related media are portraying his strength as the achievement of one individual alone, but that is not the truth.”
That one statement created a peculiar resonance.
“Numerous Awakeners and researchers in South Korea paved the way first. Countless raid records were accumulated, and the nation and the Association invested personnel, equipment, and consumable items.”
Park Gang-sik's voice gradually gained strength.
“Kang Seong-un also grew upon that foundation.”
Then.
“If that is so, what he has accomplished.”
Park Gang-sik turned toward the Special Vanguard.
“Is there any reason South Korea cannot accomplish it too?”
“...!”
Several reporters raised their heads.
“I do not believe there is.”
Park Gang-sik declared.
“Kang Seong-un is not stronger than South Korea. Kang Seong-un is an Awakener who came from the soil of South Korea.”
It was a prepared interview intended to turn around the recent unfavorable atmosphere.
“Even so, he changed his nationality after taking every experience and foundation South Korea provided him, and his achievements and rights are now accumulating under America's name.”
Association Chair Park Gang-sik had not insulted Kang Seong-un directly.
But the meaning was unmistakable.
“Naturalization is an individual's choice. But choices come with responsibility.”
Park Gang-sik's eyes turned cold.
“South Korea has no reason to glorify the choice of turning one's back on the country that raised you and using the experience and value gained there for another country.”
Murmur, murmur.
A low noise spread among the reporters.
“Some call that individual freedom.”
Park Gang-sik nodded.
“That is correct.”
However.
“The nation also has the freedom to remember such choices.”
The atmosphere changed completely at those words.
Park Gang-sik did not mention Kang Seong-un again.
Instead, the association chair looked at the Special Vanguard standing behind them.
“That is why we will prove it today.”
The cameras followed the association chair's gaze.
“That South Korea's strength does not come from Kang Seong-un alone.”
The faces of the Special Vanguard appeared large on the screen.
“That South Korea's potential has not disappeared just because he left.”
Then.
“That we, too, can claim the thrones he claimed.”
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
This time, the applause was fairly loud.
The chat watching the launch ceremony through the broadcast immediately split as well.
-Is that not true? Kang Seong-un was raised in Korea.
-Honestly, he got all that support in Korea, then went to America and got thrones. Of course it does not feel good.
-Naturalization is not illegal, but feeling betrayed as a citizen is separate.
-It was kind of funny how people treated Kang Seong-un like he was above the entire country.
-For real. How many Korean Awakeners are there? Is the country supposed to be finished because one person left?
-If they get a throne today, public opinion will flip right away.
-Park Gang-sik is speaking harshly, practically calling him a traitor.
-But saying the country raised him is a bit much lol. How much did Kang Seong-un do by himself?
-Here we go again. When things go well, it is thanks to the country. When they fail, it is the individual's fault.
-Still, if they succeed today, they will have something to say.
-Just get one throne. Then they prove they do not need Kang Seong-un.
-The Special Vanguard must feel insane pressure lol. It is not a raid anymore, it is a nationalist hype test.
The reactions were divided, but one thing was clear.
People's interest was far greater than before.
And if the Special Vanguard succeeded under that attention, it would prove that South Korea could secure thrones without Kang Seong-un.
But if they failed?
Those words would come back to haunt Park Gang-sik.
Park Gang-sik, who could not possibly be unaware of that fact, picked up the microphone again.
“The Vanguard entering today does not have the simple goal of clearing the first floor.”
The names and roles of the Special Vanguard appeared on the screen.
Attack.
Defense.
Search.
Recovery.
Five people selected from each field.
“This is the first practical test of how South Korea should clear low floors going forward.”
Then, this time, the association chair's voice softened slightly.
“However, above all else, the Vanguard's safe return comes first.”
The heated mood from moments ago settled down.
“People come before thrones. Survival comes before rewards.”
Park Gang-sik looked at the team members.
“If you judge the situation dangerous, withdraw immediately.”
It was a kind of insurance.
Even if they failed now, experience and strategy guides would still accumulate.
A short while later, the Vanguard came down from the stage.
On this day, they would use the entry ticket in the plaza rather than the return room.
It was so that the public could witness both the moment they entered and the moment they returned.
The Vanguard leader took out a first-floor entry ticket.
Slide.
The thin ticket unfolded in his hand.
“...”
He turned around.
He met the eyes of his team members.
Then he spoke firmly.
“We are entering.”
They all nodded.
But at that exact moment.
[The International Ranking for the first floor has been updated.]
“...?!”
The sudden Tower message made his hand stop.
[A new first-place record has been registered.]
[1st Place. America: Shin Hye-won (2 minutes 15 seconds)]
“...!”
No one could speak immediately.
The applause that had filled the plaza just moments ago, Park Gang-sik's speech, and South Korea's confidence all became strangely quiet before the three-line system message.
The reporters were the first to break the silence.
“Shin Hye-won?”
“Who is that?”
“She belongs to America?”
“Wait, that is a Korean name.”
Association employees also began urgently checking their devices.
“...”
Not long after, their expressions began to stiffen.
“...She is a Korean-born Awakener.”
Park Gang-sik's gaze snapped toward them.
“What?”
“She is Awakener Shin Hye-won, who recently naturalized in America.”
“...Who is that? What do you mean, naturalized?”
At least to Park Gang-sik, the name was unfamiliar.
Then came an even more surprising fact.
“...She applied for this Special Vanguard.”
Park Gang-sik's eyes narrowed.
“An applicant?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do I not know about her?”
“...She was rejected during the document screening.”
The moment those words fell, the eyes of several nearby reporters changed.
The cameras naturally turned toward Park Gang-sik.
Park Gang-sik's jaw tightened ever so slightly.
But not yet.
It was still only an ordinary clear record.
Park Gang-sik forced himself to speak calmly.
“Regular clear speed and defeating a Guardian are separate matters.”
The surrounding executives quickly nodded.
“That is correct.”
“The Special Vanguard's objective is the Guardian.”
“Clearing it quickly does not make the plan itself meaningless.”
Those words were not wrong.
However.
[Challenger Shin Hye-won, who overcame the Hidden Trial, inherits the throne of the first floor.]
The system message rang out once again.
[America's Shin Hye-won has been registered as the new Guardian of the first floor.]
One member of the Vanguard muttered blankly.
“...Is it over?”
No one answered.
Instead.
-LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
-Wait, the Guardian is dead? LMAOOOOOO.
-Who was just saying “the Guardian is separate”?
-That was me. Sorry, I raised the death flag.
-The Special Vanguard has not even started the actual game yet.
-Shin Hye-won: So I finished it for you.
-LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
-What did Park Gang-sik say earlier?
-There is no reason South Korea cannot do what Kang Seong-un did.
-But South Korea has not even entered, and America already did it lol.
-That American Awakener is the person South Korea rejected on paper.
-Ahahahahaha, that is the most painful part.
-South Korea: Our talent pool is the best in the world.
-America: Then we picked one up.
-A Special Vanguard that held meetings for weeks VS a rejected applicant in 2 minutes 15 seconds.
-Who is special here?
-The Vanguard is special, all right. They have not even set foot on the first floor.
-The unprecedented no-entry Raid Party, wow.
-Park Gang-sik: South Korea raised Kang Seong-un.
-Shin Hye-won: You did not raise me, though?
-LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
The chat from viewers watching the live broadcast only surged as though it were about to explode.
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