WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: DereKimchi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

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

Chapter 25

──────

Seo Hajin resumed pull hunting.

This time was different. He was not returning to the riverbank, herding Wolves together and having them tear each other apart with Crocodiles.

Juggernaut and Vulcan.

The two replaced the Crocodiles, while Black was in charge of drawing in the nearby Wolves. There was no need to go to the river. Instead, they went deeper north into the forest.

Pulling them in was not difficult.

With Black's speed, Black only had to dart around and lightly swat a Wolf in the pack.

Perhaps because they were the same kind of monster, Black normally did not draw their aggro. But if Black picked a fight first, of course they reacted.

Dozens of Wolves gathered that way.

He had started because it seemed manageable, but when he first saw the sight, he wondered if this was really right. Still, he decided to test it.

And he confirmed it.

They could handle it.

The sufficiently accumulated Nemesis effect let them endure even being relentlessly mobbed by all those Wolves.

On the other hand, every strike they landed dealt just as much additional damage. With monsters everywhere he looked, there was no need to hold back.

Pull hunting from a fixed position.

The addition of a professional puller.

It enabled faster hunting than their pull hunts by the river. It was unfortunate that they could no longer obtain Crocodile byproducts, but he already had more than enough stockpiled.

Naturally, loot, experience, and Points piled up quickly.

That prepared Vulcan to unlock his level cap and evolve at the same time. He went straight through without waiting.

One thing surprised him. Unlike when Juggernaut had unlocked the level cap, Vulcan did not receive Additional Enhancement Points or anything similar.

He was probably unable to receive duplicates because he controlled two Avatars alone. He had encountered similar restrictions before, so he could understand it.

Still, he was not disappointed. He had not received Additional Enhancement Points, but he had gained the same effect.

He realized later that his Unique Ability had been strengthened by another stage.

Like last time, he could not add another Avatar. He had secretly hoped for that, but perhaps that would have been too much.

Instead, his basic field of vision, the view from above, improved. He could see clearly from much farther away.

Naturally, it could rise higher than before, but even from that greater distance, he could make out finer details than he had previously.

His vision was not the only thing that changed.

This was more interesting.

“Integration...”

Skill Slots.

And inventories.

Their positions changed. Rather than belonging separately to each Avatar, they had moved up to a higher level, to Seo Hajin himself.

It seemed to follow the same logic as when his list of owned Skills had moved there before. But this was a much bigger change.

“So it applies to both, no matter which one I equip it to.”

Whether he equipped a Skill in Juggernaut's Skill Slot or Vulcan's, the other Avatar could now share and use that Skill.

More precisely, all Skill Slots and, similarly, all inventories seemed to be managed together.

Of course, each Avatar's individual carrying limit still applied as before.

It simply meant he could manage the two Avatars' inventories more conveniently, much like he used the Wolf's shared inventory.

“Since getting Subspace, I haven't needed to calculate inventory space so tightly. But integrated Skill Slots are really great.”

This meant there was no longer any need to convert Skills into Bound Skills for both Avatars to share them. Still, the changes that occurred during the binding process could sometimes be important.

'Depending on the situation, there will definitely be times when making one a Bound Skill is better.'

In any case, he had a wider field of vision than before and could manage his Avatars more efficiently.

Black's evolution was not difficult.

He already had an appearance in mind, and fortunately, there was an evolution line that could apply it.

[Night Panther]

It was not an evolution that completely transformed Black into a human-type creature like the Werewolf. Instead, Black could transform into human form.

Normally, Black would be a Black Leopard, but could take human form when needed. It might even be better than being a Werewolf.

'It would be interesting to completely remove the Black Leopard traits in human form.'

That was the appearance he applied.

The sharp-looking woman with black hair and black eyes suited the name Black even better.

There was one minor flaw. When her emotions changed, her pupils split vertically. But normally, she looked no different from a human.

After evolving her, he returned Black to her Black Leopard form.

That was better for helping hunt. Of course, even in Black Leopard form, she was slightly larger than before and gave off a different overall impression.

Black seemed quite excited.

Maybe running around the Wolf packs and swatting them was fun.

After gathering all the nearby Wolves and running off in one direction, Black was soon brought into Subspace by Seo Hajin, disappearing from sight.

Grrrr!

Bark! Bark bark!

Kyoooh!

“I pulled in too many this time.”

Juggernaut muttered low as he swung his club. But he was smiling.

“I should rest after this round.”

This time, Vulcan spoke.

If he wanted, he could speak through both mouths at once or have them talk to each other. But it somehow felt like having multiple personalities, so he preferred not to.

Dull impacts.

Occasional brief cutting sounds.

The Wolves filling the area gradually dwindled until they were gone. By the time they began to respawn, Seo Hajin had already left the site.

* * *

[Avatar Name: Juggernaut]

[Level: 14]

[Avatar Name: Vulcan]

[Level: 12]

[Werewolf]

[Name: Companion No. 1]

[Level: 7]

[Night Panther]

[Name: Black]

[Level: 2]

After finishing the unlocking and evolution process, he adjusted the experience distribution ratio that had been focused on one side. Juggernaut, who had been stuck at Level 13 for some time, gained another level.

He had no intention of forcing Vulcan and Juggernaut to have the same level. If he had wanted uniformity, he would have made the Avatars identical from the beginning.

“I've killed a fucking lot.”

After continuing pull hunting in the forest, their hunting speed grew faster by the day.

Naturally, that was thanks to the Nemesis effect.

-Current Record-

Wolves: Stage 38 Nemesis effect applied.

1. Impact increased by 190%.

2. Damage received decreased by 190%.

3. Grants a Critical-Hit Chance at a set probability.

4. Loot Drop Rate increased.

Current: 250%

5. Effect shared with Similar Species.

Current shared effect: 20%

Stage 38.

That meant he had killed more than 3,800 Wolves.

The details were absurd enough to make him laugh hollowly.

“Even after going up nearly 200 percent, they can still hurt me.”

He still did not know how the calculation worked. One thing was certain, though. The higher the percentage rose, the less it hurt.

And since effect number six still had not appeared despite the stages continuing to rise, he suspected the fifth effect might be the last.

'The Loot Drop Rate changed too.'

When was it?

Probably around Stage 30.

Originally, it had said that he could assign the Loot Drop Rate increase. It presented a total percentage, which he could distribute among different loot.

But that wording disappeared entirely, turning into a single effect. It simply raised the drop rate for every item to 200 percent.

That could be worse in some situations.

If he concentrated it on one item, it had been possible to raise it above 300 percent.

But he had never focused it so extremely, so he only found it convenient that the calculation had become simpler.

'It went up once at Stage 35, so it probably rises every five stages after this.'

The fifth effect, sharing effects with Similar Species, was the same. It started at 10 percent at Stage 25, then rose 5 percent every five stages.

'I won't need to hunt any more Crocodiles.'

He did not feel the need to deliberately hunt them, so the Crocodile record stopped growing when the riverbank pull hunts ended.

'How many stages is this going up every day... Does it even have an end?'

If it rose all the way to Stage 50 or 100, and the impact continued to increase until then, would he eventually kill Wolves in a single light swing?

It seemed absurd, but he had already seen plenty of impossible things. He could not help feeling some anticipation.

“The byproducts are selling steadily too.”

He had tried making other products from Wolf hides to sell, but he had nearly given up on that now.

The hides piled up so quickly that simply selling them as hides was easier than making something from them first.

The quality was better when specialists made various things from those materials anyway.

'I make things for my own use, at least.'

Meanwhile, the boss of Rabbit Field had already been killed more than twice more. Once the Field Level reached 5, the Feral Dog packs had apparently increased dramatically.

But Feral Dogs did not only attack people. They also hunted nearby small animals, so they seemed to be tearing through the rabbits whose population had also increased.

Some people said it was nice because they could gain free experience and Points by staying nearby. But it was dangerous, since one wrong move could leave them surrounded by a Feral Dog pack.

'The gap between the rich and poor is starting to widen.'

The strong, or those who had become strong by banding together, were doing well in that Field despite the increased Feral Dog packs.

They even seemed happy to have more prey.

But plenty of people were not doing so well.

That was why more people were gradually leaving Rabbit Field, once said to be the safest place, and crossing over to the Lake Field or the Logging Forest.

Even so, almost nobody came to the northern forest.

There were people who followed the river upstream to pull hunt Wolves. But perhaps because of the smell of blood, after pulling in a large group once, they would retreat far to the rear for a while.

Naturally, their efficiency was not high for pull hunting. Other than those moving in clans or parties, fewer and fewer people came.

'There was one unusual attempt, too.'

Some people had tried to build a fort near the riverbank.

Calling it fortification was an exaggeration. It was merely a makeshift camp surrounded by wooden palisades and fences.

Their original goal seemed to have been a forward base capable of defending against even a Tiger, but apparently they could not even properly stop a coordinated Wolf attack.

“Wolves aren't like Feral Dogs.”

They attacked obstacles too.

They did not give up easily. If something caused a disturbance in one area, Wolves from nearby swarmed over.

Anyone who had hunted Wolves should have known that. Still, they had probably tried despite knowing, hoping it might work.

“Hmm.”

And now, Juggernaut and Vulcan stopped as they moved along the forest path.

He had already cleared out the nearby Wolves, so the area was utterly quiet. Yet his gaze was fixed on a distant spot.

'There's someone there?'

One of the routes he usually traveled.

Someone was hiding in a tree.

'Strengthening my Unique Ability really was the answer. I can see all the way from here to there.'

Of course, the later enhancement had happened automatically. But it must have been possible because of that first enhancement.

'They hid pretty well.'

They would never have been visible from below.

The same was true from a similar height.

He could only tell because he was looking down from above.

More precisely, the branches around them had been deliberately bent or broken, gathering the leaves into one place. That made it noticeable.

They had prepared everything while considering only the view from below.

They could not have expected someone to look down from so high above.

'Preparing an ambush?'

He swept the area, but there did not seem to be anyone else hiding nearby. That made him even more suspicious. He did not think someone would come this far alone.

But when he quietly sent Black to check, Black said they really were alone.

“Really?”

Nod.

Like Companion No. 1, Black could not speak, but she could understand him.

And there was one more thing.

Black extended a claw from one forepaw and scratched something across the ground.

“A bow, and arrows? Something on the arrows... Ah. Poison?”

Black mimed rubbing something onto an arrowhead, as though coating it. That was probably what the figure in the tree had been doing.

“Poison arrows.”

He had some confidence when it came to poison himself, but that did not mean he intended to walk right over and confront them openly.

“Going by the circumstances, they probably came to kill me. Even if they didn't, they've definitely done something suspicious.”

This Field was not his.

But they did not seem to have come hunting. Sitting motionless in a camouflaged tree while handling poison arrows...

'They couldn't complain if I struck first, could they?'

He had no intention of managing his image.

He did not want to waste time and stamina by taking a hit first, then claiming self-defense or whatever.

'Good thing I spotted them first.'

For stealth-types, getting discovered was the end.

He had been discovered.

That was all.

With Juggernaut's hand, he called Black over and gave her brief instructions. He also gave separate instructions to Companion No. 1, who had come out of Subspace for the first time in a while.

The two quietly disappeared.

He resumed walking.

“Ah.”

Then an amusing thought suddenly occurred to him.

Maybe he could secure an even clearer justification.

'I'll let Vulcan take one hit.'

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