WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Max-Level Swordsman of Fusionpunk ◈
Chapter 7
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Silence fell over the storage room at Kang Doseok's words.
The werewolf's red eyes turned toward Doseok's hand. The red star that had rested there a moment ago was gone. Instead, a faint blood-red line writhed once beneath the skin on the back of Doseok's hand, then settled.
The mage clenched their teeth.
"Fuck... He took it."
The shield gunner raised their shotgun.
"What do we do, boss? Should I shoot?"
Creak. Doseok remained calm even as the gunner slipped a finger inside the shotgun's trigger guard.
"Planning to kill me and take it?"
A Skill Star didn't disappear completely once it was absorbed.
If someone killed a player who possessed Skill Stars, they could choose one of the dead player's stars and absorb it.
So if these bastards killed Doseok, they could take the Skill Star.
Of course, that only applied if they could kill Doseok.
Creak. The shield gunner's finger touched the trigger.
At that moment, the werewolf pushed the shotgun's barrel down.
"Don't."
"But boss, that bastard took our star..."
"I said stop."
The werewolf's voice dropped low. The shield gunner shut their mouth. The ball of fire floating at the mage's fingertips flickered unsteadily.
"There are plenty of players outside... and the barrier artifact's gone. We're pulling out."
Doseok wasn't the only opponent they had to worry about. If they fought here, they would have to face the players outside while wounded.
The werewolf growled at Doseok.
"What rotten luck. Count yourself lucky, Kang Doseok."
"I think you're the lucky ones."
The shield gunner ground their teeth.
"Fuck it, boss, let's just kill the bastard..."
"Shut up."
"But come on, we can't just lose everything like this..."
"If you want to fight, do it alone."
The shield gunner's face twisted. The werewolf looked at Doseok again.
"We're backing off today, but the Cheongmyeong guild will remember this."
Doseok smirked.
"You talk too much. If you're done here, leave."
"...We'll meet again, Kang Doseok."
The werewolf's red eyes gleamed fiercely, as if they were about to bite through Doseok's throat.
But they never moved.
"We're pulling out."
The shield gunner ground their teeth, but finally lowered the shotgun. The mage closed a hand around the fireball, extinguishing it, and backed toward the shattered storage room door.
The werewolf looked back at Doseok one last time.
"Don't think you'll live long acting like that."
"Longer than you, I'd say."
"...Let's go."
The werewolf's teeth ground together again.
But that was all.
The three Cheongmyeong guild members left the storage room. Wet footsteps and the clatter of metal faded down the corridor, then disappeared into the gunshots and shouts ringing out on all sides.
Doseok stood still for a while.
Only when their presence had faded completely did Doseok lower the blade.
"A-are they gone?"
Mort spoke from behind.
The corpse collector was crouching beneath a mortuary table, pale-faced, cradling a broken hand against his chest.
"I asked if they're gone."
"For now."
"Fuck... I'm alive."
"Not yet. Lead the way."
Mort struggled to stand, only to sink back down. His legs seemed to have given out.
Doseok looked down at Mort.
"If you don't get moving, I'm leaving you behind."
"I'm coming! Fuck. I'll make myself move, all right?"
Mort stood with a hand against the wall.
Doseok headed behind the cooling equipment at the back of the storage room. There was a staff waste disposal passage there. The door was locked. Doseok kicked the handle.
Crunch.
The door buckled. A rotten stench poured out.
"Get in."
Mort grimaced but followed without complaint.
They hurried through the narrow passage. Gunshots and curses still erupted outside. The players were searching the collection facility.
Doseok stopped several times.
The smell of blood was strong. Several times stronger than usual.
Doseok had just absorbed a blood-type Skill Star. With status windows no longer around, there was no way to know exactly what skill a star held before absorbing it.
That also meant absorbing one would reveal what it was. From the heavy smell of blood filling his nose, Doseok thought he had a rough idea of the skill he had gained.
Mort followed, barely daring to breathe.
"There," Mort whispered. "We can get out that way."
An old ladder stood at the end of the passage. Doseok checked for any signs of movement above, then pushed up the manhole cover.
Rain poured down.
They were in an alley behind the collection facility. Waste transport vehicles stood in a row, and neon light spread in a faint glow beyond the high wall.
Mort barely managed to crawl out before collapsing onto the ground.
"Fuck... I'm alive."
Rain poured over the heaps of waste.
Torn black bags, rotting flesh, and discarded prosthetic body parts lay tangled together. Mort slumped forward in front of them, gasping for breath. The rain made the stench of sewage and blood rise even stronger.
Doseok looked down at Mort.
"Once you leave here, get your face changed first."
Mort raised his head.
"What?"
"Get rid of your name, your home, and your terminal. Don't touch your accounts. Don't contact anyone you know."
"Fuck, why should I do that?"
"Because you'll die if you don't."
Doseok pointed toward the collection facility.
Gunshots were still ringing out inside. Doseok had already absorbed the star, but most of the players in there didn't know that.
They had only one lead left.
Mort.
The corpse collector who had found a Skill Star.
"They'll still think you have the star."
"B-but you took it."
"Who's going to believe that?"
Mort's face went stiff.
"If they so much as hear a rumor you're alive, they'll come looking. They'll break into your home, cut off your fingers, gouge out your eyes, and slit your belly open while they ask where the star is."
"..."
"They won't believe you if you say you don't know. They won't believe you if you say you handed it over, either. They'll keep checking until you die."
Rain ran down Mort's face.
Mort opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
"So live like a dead person," Doseok said.
"Change your face and hide on the streets. Live like a homeless person, then leave Netron City when you get the chance."
"..."
"You brought this on yourself."
Mort couldn't say a word.
His home address came to mind. The alley on the way to work. The cheap restaurant he often visited. The room with overdue rent. His saved contacts.
Every one of them could lead Mort straight to death.
Those were the places the players would search first.
They would break down the door, overturn the bed, and grab people Mort knew to question them.
Only then did Mort realize that all he had left was his own body.
Doseok took a small cash chip from inside his clothes and tossed it in front of Mort.
Tap.
The chip landed in a puddle.
"Use it to fix your hand and change your face."
Mort stared blankly down at the chip.
"Why...?"
"Payment for the star."
With that, Doseok turned away.
Mort hurriedly picked up the chip and tucked it away. The broken hand nearly made Mort drop it several times, but he held on.
"Kang Doseok."
Doseok didn't stop.
"I really just have to live like I'm dead, right?"
"Right."
"Then... I can survive, right?"
Doseok stopped. Rain dripped from the tip of the blade.
"If you're lucky."
That was all.
Doseok walked out of the alley without another word.
Behind, Mort was breathing hard. After a while, unsteady footsteps faded in the opposite direction.
Doseok didn't look back.
Gunshots still rang out inside the collection facility. The players would be cursing at one another. Some would be dying, while others searched for the star, covered in someone else's blood.
That star was already inside Doseok's body.
Doseok walked through the rain. When he raised a hand, blood-red veins could be seen faintly writhing beneath the skin on its back.
The smell of blood still lingered in his nose.
* * *
A few days later.
Doseok sat in Kabel's office. It was a tidy room.
A desk with a black glass top. Six thin monitors covering one wall.
An air purifier ran silently, and a view filled with neon signs stretched out below. It looked more like a corporate executive's private office than an information broker's workplace.
Kabel was leafing through a folder. A single gold tooth flashed in that gaunt face.
"Here. Got it."
Kabel picked up the folder, approached Doseok, and settled into the chair opposite.
"You said you wanted someone with a blood sample available. There happened to be exactly one. Harrow Industries' finance director. Name's Raden Beck. Embezzled company money, got a new identity, changed faces several times, and ran."
"And you're sure about the blood's condition?"
"Yes. It's been kept in excellent condition."
Kabel raised an index finger and tapped the edge of the folder. Tap, tap.
"But why do you need a blood sample?"
"There's something I need to check."
"What can you check with that? Sure, Raden Beck ran off with a lot of money, but hiring a Blood Mage won't leave you much profit."
Blood Mages burned their own life force to cast spells. With a single drop of blood, finding someone wasn't difficult for them.
The problem was how much they cost to hire. Their fees were far too high for a simple debt collection job.
"I have my ways."
"Is it the skill you absorbed a few days ago? Sounds like you got something that helps you find people."
Kabel smirked. The gold tooth flashed.
"Given that the star was red, it must be blood-type. Am I right?"
"Don't go prying into my trade secrets."
"Hmm. Well, as long as you do the jobs I give you properly, that's all I care about. Handle that however you like... Anyway, Kang Doseok."
"What?"
"About Mort. He's dead."
Doseok's hand stopped.
"Take a look when you have time. I'll send you the link."
A moment later, the terminal inside Doseok's clothes vibrated. Doseok took it out, checked the link, and tapped the screen.
It was a shabby anonymous message board.
[Caught the corpse guy who was selling a Skill Star lol]
A photo was attached to the post.
It was Mort.
Half the skull had caved in, and both eyes had been gouged out. Mort lay on the ground in a waste dump, belly slit open. Beside the body was something someone had scrawled in blood.
The post continued below.
[Caught this bastard trying to run into the contaminated zone.]
[Didn't take long to get him talking.]
[Bent two fingers and he spilled everything.]
[Said Kang Doseok took it.]
[Kang Doseok the swordfighter. Yeah, that guildless bastard.]
[Apparently Doseok had already swallowed the Skill Star.]
[So there was nothing else to ask. Killed the corpse guy lol]
The comments below were on fire.
[What does guildless mean? Time to gang up.]
[No idea what kind of star it was, but I bet it tasted good.]
[Didn't Cheongmyeong chicken out and run? Some first-generation guild lol]
[A swordfighter? Won't a bullet kill him?]
[Recruiting people to hunt Kang Doseok. If we get the star, profits split 1/n.]
[You go first. I'll cheer you on from behind lol]
Doseok slowly read through the comments as well.
"And I even paid for the star."
Doseok had certainly paid Mort for it. Saved the corpse collector's life at the collection facility, then handed over a cash chip with money to pay for a new face.
Doseok had settled the price of the star, but Mort's account wasn't closed yet. There was still one more party that would demand payment.
Netron City.
Mort had to pay for what he had done. For recklessly provoking the players. It was a price to be paid not in money, but with his life.
In the end, Mort had become a real corpse before getting the chance to live like one.
The broken hand hadn't been fixed. The face hadn't been changed. Leaving Netron City had never even been within reach.
"...Unlucky bastard."
Doseok looked at the photo of the dead Mort and clicked his tongue. Tsk.
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