WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: DereKimchi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Protagonist Doesn't Want to Leave the First Floor ◈

Chapter 14

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[Awakener: Seo Hajin]

[Unique Ability: Multiple Viewpoints]

[Avatar Name: Juggernaut]

[Level: 9]

[Skill Slots: 4]

[Inventory: 30] (+5)

Level 9.

His Skill Slots had increased by one, bringing the total to four.

Lately, more posts had been appearing on the board saying things like, “You get three Skill Slots at level 6,” and, “It’s definitely one additional slot every three levels.”

“Still, hunting like I do can’t be easy.”

It was not as though nobody had tried to endure the Wolf Forest. Some had apparently managed for about a day.

But there was a reason they could not stay for long.

They were human.

Ordinary people could not keep up with endless battles, even with system features like skills.

This place was like a game, but everything before his eyes was no different from reality.

The Wolves’ gleaming eyes.

Their drooling mouths and fangs.

Their claws scraping at the ground as though they could pounce at any moment.

They rushed at him in packs to devour him for real, and killing them first was not easy.

Even if someone survived the battle, it was only natural for them to be exhausted physically and mentally.

“Killing something isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

The reason he had managed to endure this long was the defense mechanism he had always possessed, his unique ability, Multiple Viewpoints.

If he had truly been fighting them head-on instead of watching from a slight distance, he did not think he could have lasted very long.

‘I would’ve tried, but... I probably would’ve died a few times before moving somewhere else.’

He shook his head, then looked at another reason he had been able to keep going despite his surroundings growing harsher with every level.

[Passive: Slaughter Record]

[The Nemesis stage against the relevant species increases for every 100 hunts of the same species.]

[When confronting the target species, Intimidation is continuously applied, causing them to lose their will to fight: The effect grows stronger as its stage rises.]

-Current Record-

Wolf: Stage 9 Nemesis effect active

1. Impact Force +45%

2. Damage Taken -45%

3. Grants a Critical-Hit Chance

It was proof that he had killed more than nine hundred Wolves before he knew it.

The Nemesis effect.

At least against Wolves, it was incredible.

Now, even when he was hit by the same attack, he took nearly half as much damage. In return, his own attacks struck about fifty percent harder.

The Critical-Hit Chance effect had also changed from “a low chance” to “a certain chance.”

A tiny change in wording.

But having experienced it himself, he could feel that the difference was far from small.

‘Will it change again if it goes higher?’

Would a new effect be added once he killed a thousand Wolves and reached Stage 10?

Even if not, simply strengthening the existing effects would be more than enough.

“Hmm.”

After closing the Status Window, he looked through the newly uploaded posts on the board. Some users from fields where bosses had been defeated were belatedly posting unusual proof posts.

[This came out of a Boss Chest]

-What is this? Why did this drop?

It was a phone.

An ordinary smartphone.

However, judging from the photo, it was hard to identify the model or age. According to the poster, that was because it was not from Earth.

-It works for now. But you have to link it to the system first. The language was weird too, so at first I was wondering what the hell it was.

└ What do you use it for?

└ Can you call home?

└ (OP) Can’t make calls. I’m just checking out the basic apps. It’s got most of the usual stuff, like a camera and calculator.

└ You won’t need a camera feature if you have that.

└ (OP) Yeah. I took these pics with it too. It can record videos as well.

A smartphone from another world.

Well, he did not know whether this really was another world, but the language in the attached photos was certainly bizarre.

If he had to compare it to anything, it felt somewhat like Thai script mixed with pictographs.

‘It gets translated when you connect it to the system.’

It apparently could not make phone calls.

Still, it was only unable to call home. If another user obtained a similar device, it seemed likely they could connect to each other.

[I got this instead]

-What the hell is that?

A similar proof post.

The photo showed a kettle resembling an electric kettle, though it was slightly taller.

It seemed to be made of metal, and it looked fairly well-used.

-Looks like you got it free off Karrot.

-What does it do? Is it just a kettle?

└ (OP) Its basic function is similar to an electric kettle, but it purifies contaminated water into clean water.

└ That’s fucking amazing.

└ But can’t you just boil it?

└ Some water stays questionable even after boiling.

“Interesting things are dropping.”

They were items that naturally could not be obtained through ordinary hunting in this area.

It was strange for a Wolf, rabbit, or some other beast to drop an electric kettle or a smartphone.

But these items had supposedly come from several chests that dropped after boss monsters were killed.

They made this place feel even more like a game. At the same time, they gave renewed strength to the claim that they were test subjects in an experiment.

-Do key fragments drop too?

└ (OP) Yeah, they do.

There was one more thing.

Among the items that dropped from Boss Chests were fragments of a key that could open something.

They did not have any specific number written on them. They merely gave the impression that gathering several would create a complete key.

Opinions differed on what they could open. Some said it was the key to the next floor, while others claimed it was the key to return home.

Quite a few people argued that it could simply be a key to a treasure chest or a hidden treasure room, but one thing was certain. You could only obtain it by hunting a boss.

‘They don’t give one to every person who participates. Only a few chests dropped.’

There were items given to most of the participants as well, though nobody yet knew what they were for.

-It says it can be used from level 10.

└ When am I ever getting there?

└ You’d probably have to kill thousands of rabbits.

└ Should we try moving to another field?

└ You’ll die if you do.

└ No, no, no. You’ll die on the way there.

“I need to kill a boss...”

Hunting a boss monster would not be easy.

Watching people take on the Giant Stray Dog, the boss of the rabbit field, had made that even clearer.

What would a tiger be like?

Seo Hajin lightly shook his head.

‘Fighting it head-on would be suicide.’

Should he look for trap-type skills now? It seemed better to dig deeper into that area.

‘I have the money.’

Endless hunting.

He had been throwing away items because he had nowhere to put them, so naturally, Points had been piling up as well.

That remained true even though he bought various items from the marketplace from time to time.

“I’ll set some traps first... It probably won’t die to them, but I can at least shave off some of its health beforehand.”

As he browsed the skills listed on the marketplace, he suddenly stopped on one page.

“Hmm?”

The thing listed there was strange for a skill.

“A boss dropped this too?”

[Dimensional Shelter]

-Creates a separate subspace isolated from the real world.

-Interior Space: 2 Blocks

(1 Block is a variable-form space of 1 cubic meter.)

-Maximum Stay Time

According to the seller, there was nothing inside the space. You could only enter it and stay there briefly.

Still, it would give someone a moment to catch their breath away from outside threats. Yet, judging from the comments below, the reactions were not very good.

-One minute isn’t even enough time to take a shit.

└ (Seller) The stay time increases if you enhance it.

└ Enhance it with what?

└ (Seller) It costs 1,000 Points each time, or enhancement items. I don’t know what those are even after looking.

└ Ugh, not buying it.

The seller had listed it for 2,000 Points.

People looked at it, but nobody bought it.

“Hmm.”

Seo Hajin was different.

“It could be useful if I use it well.”

It was only one minute, but the duration could be increased through enhancement. According to the description, he could also put whatever he wanted inside.

“It’s an inventory with no weight limit.”

Was that not worth 2,000 Points?

But judging by the comments, there were barely any people who had gathered 2,000 Points in the first place.

Those who had started trading early on might have had that much, but even they mostly said it was not a skill worth paying that price for.

There were some who said they would buy it if the seller lowered the price, but the seller insisted they needed 2,000 Points to buy the equipment they wanted.

[Would you like to purchase this item?]

[Purchase complete.]

After watching for a moment, Seo Hajin bought it.

There was no bargaining. It was almost an impulse purchase.

Still, he did not regret it.

[Points Held: 1312.58]

Even after spending 2,000 Points, he still had more than a thousand left. Besides, he would earn even more once the items currently listed on the marketplace sold.

‘Wolf hide sells pretty well.’

It was still cold at night here.

Unless he was going to build a fire, or even if he did, warm clothes and bedding were better to have.

Rabbit hide might be better in that regard, but people said its durability was low and it wore out quickly.

Wolf hide still had fur attached, and the leather itself was fairly durable. It was useful for clothes, equipment, blankets, or floor coverings.

Demand was high while suppliers were limited, and Seo Hajin made up a considerable share of them.

“Should I try it out?”

He equipped the Dimensional Shelter skill in a slot and used it immediately. Something rippling appeared in front of him.

He did not even need to walk into it. All he had to do was confirm the system prompt, and he could move inside.

“It really is narrow.”

Two Blocks.

A Block was a one-meter cube, one meter long, wide, and high. There were only two of them.

“Since it’s variable-form, I can change its shape, but that doesn’t make it much bigger.”

Still, the 2,000 Points did not feel wasted.

After moving some of the random monster items that had filled his inventory into it, he was certain of that.

‘I won’t have to throw away items anymore.’

He had thrown things away because they were heavy, because of limited inventory slots, because they would not sell... The items he had discarded so far must have been worth hundreds of Points.

“Should I go pick them back up?”

The last time he had thrown things away was the previous night.

He knew they disappeared over time, but he thought they had been fine overnight.

“Hmm. It’s not a good time to move around.”

The sun was already setting.

Going to retrieve them could put him in danger, so he decided to write off the discarded items.

“Oh. It links with the marketplace too.”

He also learned that he could list items stored in the shelter on the marketplace, which put him in an even better mood.

Listing an item on the marketplace only created a sort of link. It did not remove the item from his inventory, meaning he still had to carry it.

Now, he did not have to.

If he moved the things he planned to sell into the shelter, his inventory would be under less strain.

Of course, he would still need to maintain a certain amount of weight to improve Heavy Attack’s effectiveness. But now he could choose what to carry and what to move.

“Hmm. This doesn’t work.”

One disappointing thing was that he could not exert physical force on the outside from within the shelter.

He had wondered whether he could attack outside from within it like a bunker, but that did not seem possible.

Then again, if that were possible, it would not be called a shelter.

[Would you like to enhance this skill?]

“...”

Seo Hajin paused at the window before him and considered it. He had Points left, but he wondered whether he should spend them on this.

“I was planning to look for trap-type skills.”

There were no skills that caught his eye.

Trap-type skills existed, but many people said their performance was iffy.

Some even said it would be better to invest in carpentry and study real traps rather than skills.

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to spend money right now.”

He was also curious about how much bigger it would become after enhancement.

Since it used Blocks as the unit, it would probably add one Block. Even that would be fine.

“Guess I’ll splurge.”

[Enhancement complete.]

At least he could enhance it with Points.

He had never even heard of the dedicated enhancement items.

“Huh?”

But after the enhancement, Seo Hajin read the skill description and was briefly taken aback.

“It’s not one Block?”

[Dimensional Shelter]

-Creates a separate subspace isolated from the real world.

-Interior Space: 12 Blocks

(1 Block is a variable-form space of 1 cubic meter.)

-Maximum Stay Time

-Stay time recovers every hour.

It had added a full ten Blocks.

The space was six times larger than before.

On top of that, the stay time had increased fivefold to five minutes, and an additional line stated that it recovered every hour.

‘It didn’t say so in the original description, but I think the seller said it could only be used once a day.’

Either way, it was clearly worth 1,000 Points.

At this point, it could be used as a real warehouse instead of a temporary storage space.

“Five minutes is enough to deal with an emergency shit.”

His digestion had become incredibly strong, but it was impossible to turn everything he ate entirely into calories.

Eventually, some of it had to be expelled. Taking care of that physical need between battles was not easy.

But now he had a kind of emergency toilet.

Of course, he would still have to clean up afterward, but if he set up the interior properly, he might be able to use the system to clean it.

“Hmm. I had over 3,000 Points, and now I only have three hundred and change. Time to earn a lot again.”

He had been able to buy the skill because he had Points, and he had been able to enhance it because he had Points left over.

In the end, he needed to be prepared for anything.

Nodding, he took out the hammer and chisel from one slot in his inventory.

“Still, I’ve dug out a lot compared to the beginning.”

He resumed his work.

He was expanding and digging deeper into the crevice in the rock where he currently was, roughly halfway up the waterfall cliff.

The Wolves were growing more numerous by the day.

Furthermore, the Wolves brought in by the ones that escaped were gradually getting stronger.

In the end, he needed to find a safe place.

This was the place he had thought of.

He had once been bitten by a venomous insect here, but aside from that, there was nowhere better.

“Building a house in a tree wouldn’t be easy either.”

Besides, there were even more venomous insects in the trees.

This place, on the other hand, was quite good aside from a few minor drawbacks.

Whoooooosh.

“It’s a little loud, but it’s fine if I dull my senses.”

The waterfall poured down right beside him.

It was inevitably loud, but it still felt better than the sound of his goshiwon neighbors snoring.

“It’s good for washing too.”

If he approached the waterfall, he could let the water spraying off the cliff hit him.

The water came from the side rather than above, but it was still something like a shower.

There were quite a few drawbacks if he listed them all, but they were acceptable in exchange for one definite advantage.

“It’s safe.”

The Wolves could not come here.

They would have to climb to the top of the cliff and jump down to reach it, but none of them were bold enough to do that.

So after finishing his day, he came here and chipped away at the cliffside rock.

Metal tools were necessary to break stone, but a hammer and chisel were not that much of a burden.

Clang! Clang!

The hammering continued until deep into the night.

Footnotes:

Karrot is a Korean neighborhood-focused secondhand marketplace app.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried