WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Protagonist Doesn't Want to Leave the First Floor ◈
Chapter 63
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[More than thirty Clan members killed by Juggernaut's pets]
At first, there was only a minor dispute over who owned the loot.
There was no notice that the area was Juggernaut's private property, nor was the loot marked as having been hunted by his pets.
A conflict broke out while some people were collecting the loot, after which the uncontrolled pets began attacking indiscriminately.
They even chased down and killed people who were running away.
I do not believe Juggernaut himself is free of responsibility merely because he was not at the scene.
If he released his pets outside, he should be accountable for their actions.
We demand compensation of 320,000 Points, including the revival losses of the deceased, Personal Effects, and damaged equipment.
The video below was recorded by a Clan member who was at the scene.
* * *
The video began with Wolves attacking people. Someone carrying a shield fell to the ground, and two Wolves pounced on them.
Others backed away.
The Wolves did not let them go.
The screen shook violently.
The camera angle dropped as if the person filming had fallen, and the video soon ended.
There was no footage of the Wolf Rider being pulled off their mount with ropes. The part where the people lying in wait rushed out and attacked together had been cut out as well.
Naturally, there was also no footage of them stuffing the loot left on the ground into bags.
- Why is the beginning of the video missing?
└ They said they started recording late.
└ They framed the shot that perfectly, but only the beginning is missing?
- Isn't it true that the pets attacked first?
└ Have Juggernaut's pets ever attacked people for no reason?
└ So this is probably the first time there has been an incident.
- If the loot wasn't marked with an owner, couldn't they take it?
└ Watching someone hunt for days, then secretly taking the loot isn't normal either.
└ Is there proof that really happened?
- Still, killing more than thirty people is too much.
- Am I the only one who thinks it's weird how everyone always defends Juggernaut?
└ They say he's the Logger Forest Liberator, lol.
└ Didn't he just kill some annoying Villains he happened to pass by? Seems like the same kind of people to me.
- If you can't control your pets, you shouldn't let them loose.
└ Exactly.
Similar posts appeared one after another.
People who had lost their bases to Juggernaut in the Eastern Forest in the past joined in as well.
Villains who had survived back then and joined other Clans. People who had not suffered direct losses but were friends with them, or simply held a grudge against Juggernaut.
They portrayed this incident not as a simple loot dispute or a small clash, but as Juggernaut bullying people by monopolizing a hunting ground.
[It's true that Juggernaut uses Northern Forest like it's his own land.]
[I knew something like this would happen someday.]
[If a pet kills someone and the owner takes no responsibility, is that the end of it?]
[The control of hunting grounds has begun.]
Posts with similar titles filled the board.
The same video was edited and uploaded under slightly different titles.
There were videos that played only the scene of people being bitten to death by Wolves in slow motion, or clips that isolated the part where Wolves chased fleeing people.
And nowhere did they show how those people had prepared the ambush in the first place.
A day passed like that.
Juggernaut showed no particular reaction.
There was not even any sign that he had logged onto the board.
Then, on the second day, the victims' demand for compensation rose a little.
They claimed there had been expensive equipment among the Personal Effects. They added that they should be compensated for the experience lost upon revival and the time they had been unable to spend hunting.
The sum, originally 320,000 Points, exceeded 400,000.
Someone demanded that Juggernaut apologize in person.
- But would Juggernaut even apologize?
└ More than thirty people died. Would he really stay quiet?
└ Feels like he would.
- Still no response?
└ None.
└ Is anyone in Northern Forest? What's it like there?
└ Just packed with Wolves.
- At this point, isn't he just ignoring them?
On the third day, Juggernaut finally made a short post.
[Damage Calculation]
A short title.
The post itself was not long either.
The losses suffered by his pet hunting team.
The recovery and re-summoning waiting period.
The expected losses from being unable to hunt during that period, along with the damaged equipment and consumable items.
Each figure had been converted into Points.
Below them was the total.
- Total: 25,200 Points -
- I'm coming to collect. -
It was not a demand.
There was no deadline for sending it, nor did it say he would list items on the marketplace at matching prices for them to buy.
I'm coming to collect.
That one line was both his purpose and his conclusion.
- Is this a compensation demand post?
└ No.
└ It says he's coming to collect.
- 25,200 is way less than what they demanded.
└ I don't think the amount is what matters here.
- Don't people already know where their base is?
- Can we move now?
└ I'm packing, but it'd be scarier if an Eagle showed up while we're moving.
There were plenty of malicious comments.
Many of the people who had led public opinion on the board so far also appeared there in significant numbers.
Then, shortly afterward, interesting posts began appearing in succession.
[A compilation of Juggernaut hate-post writers and suspected opinion manipulators]
Something felt shady, so I gathered what I could.
I took screenshots too since they might delete them.
Add more in the comments if you find any.
Dozens of screenshots were attached.
They listed the posting times and usernames as well.
It was not simply targeting every post that asked about the situation or shared an opinion.
It focused on people who had spread edited videos and written unconfirmed claims as if they were facts.
Coincidentally, the names began to overlap with people who had subtly taken shots at Juggernaut or quietly disparaged him on the board.
As more tips piled up, that pattern became clearer.
From then on, the mood gradually began to turn.
- Isn't this like that thing before? The image-damage-whatever.
└ Ah, I remember that, lol.
- When did they even gather all of this? This took effort too.
└ These days, they probably can't hunt and are barely getting by day to day, so there isn't much to do besides browse the board.
└ Honestly, same.
- The people trash-talking Juggernaut are deleting their posts, lol.
└ Isn't it already too late?
- Is this finally going to be some premium entertainment?
Just as someone had said, the posts that had gone up on the board were disappearing one by one.
The video titles were changed as well.
The title, “Juggernaut's Pets' Indiscriminate Massacre,” became “Northern Forest Loot Dispute Video.”
The Clan demanding compensation deleted its original post too.
Then a new post went up.
It was written by a notable member of that Clan, someone with a fairly good public image who had remained silent until then.
They said there seemed to have been some misunderstanding within the Clan and that they wanted to settle it through conversation.
Naturally, other users did not react well.
- Now it's a misunderstanding.
└ For real. What were they doing this whole time, lol?
Users watched with their arms folded.
Meanwhile, Juggernaut remained silent.
Several more days passed.
With large and small incidents happening everywhere, the issue involving Juggernaut seemed to fade somewhat into the background.
But not for the people involved.
The Clan that had caused the trouble checked the board constantly. No posts had yet appeared claiming Juggernaut had been spotted.
They took turns standing watch around their base. Some suggested moving their valuables and equipment somewhere safe, but clumsily making a move could give other hyenas an opening.
And naturally, internal discord surfaced.
There was growing support for expelling the people responsible for the incident, those who had started it, and those who had tried to distort the facts afterward through social media agitation.
Naturally, some people felt wronged.
They had merely belonged to the same Clan, but without their knowledge, someone had provoked Juggernaut, and now an antagonistic relationship had formed.
Those who had died in the incident argued that they had already died and dropped all their gear, so why should they be held responsible for anything more?
Meanwhile, everyone who had returned alive from the scene had only come in response to a request for backup. They avoided responsibility, saying they had merely answered fellow Clan members asking for help.
They passed the blame back and forth, and some people, disgusted by it all, quietly left the Clan.
But it could not end there.
Their Clan roster had already been posted on social media.
Even if they claimed they had left the Clan and done nothing, people only asked what they had been doing while Juggernaut was being criticized all this time.
“But... why isn't he coming?”
“Exactly.”
While they spent their time anxiously waiting, another week passed, and the mood gradually changed.
- But Juggernaut still hasn't gone there?
└ Was he just trying to scare them?
└ Does he seem like the kind of person who would scare people with a post like that?
- For 25,200 Points, it isn't really worth going there in person.
- Maybe it'll end without much happening after all.
As people said this and that on social media and the board, Juggernaut was inside Subspace.
“Ah. It feels like it should work, but it just won't.”
Repeated improvements.
The key seemed within reach, yet he could not quite grasp it. If he had a theoretical foundation, he might have solved it already, but doing it through sheer trial and error was frustrating in many ways.
Still, he eventually did it.
Hummm. Clack.
A sound came from inside the drum magazine.
It was much cleaner than before.
Two Iron Shots rose upward.
He tried it again and again, then several more times, but the result did not change.
“It worked.”
After changing and adjusting the structure of the internal feeding mechanism countless times, he had succeeded in feeding exactly two rounds at a time.
Still, just in case, he did not remove the discharge tube beneath the barrel.
“...”
He filled the magazine, then pulled the trigger repeatedly.
Boom!
Clack.
Boom!
Clack.
The Iron Shots, fired two at a time, shattered the logs set up in front of him one after another.
The drum magazine did not stop.
The barrel grew a little warm, but smoke did not leak out like before. He had prevented mana from being overfed and reduced the internal friction as much as possible.
Ten shots.
After firing all twenty rounds, he nodded.
“It's usable.”
There were still shortcomings.
It was heavy, and its range was short.
The drum magazine held twenty rounds, but firing two at a time meant it was empty after only ten shots.
Mana consumption was still high, so after those ten shots, the mana reserve would be reduced by nearly half or more.
“Still, it means it almost never jams while firing.”
It was strange that he had suddenly evolved from clubs and bladed weapons to a gun, but he did not consider this his main weapon.
“Still, it's enough to make a strong first impression. I can strike first.”
After checking its power against Wolves and other monsters, he sealed away the Iron Shots and replaced them with Stone Shots.
The first reason was that iron was scarce. Processing stone also took much less time.
“And... Stone Shots should be enough for people.”
Spare firearms.
Spare magazines and a large number of rounds.
Spare Mana Batteries.
After mobilizing all his Avatars to prepare various things, he finally stepped out of Subspace.
He took out the Eagle, climbed into the saddle, checked his destination, and marked it on the map.
‘It'll be my first time shooting a person.’
He had not tried firing at another Avatar himself.
No matter how much pain he could tolerate, he was not insensitive enough to do that.
Maybe he would never have had to do it.
Could he really get a justification for it this way?
“Let's go.”
The huge wings spread.
The Eagle kicked off the ground and soared into the sky.
A little while later, social media began to burn.
* * *
At the western edge of the Giant Lake Field.
Just before the stream flowing down from the mountain range merged with Giant Lake, a narrow, winding tributary ran through the forest.
There was no reason to set foot there unless someone deliberately sought it out. The water was not especially deep, and there were no special hunting targets or resources.
It was simply a place with enough fish to catch and a small clearing nearby, enough room for one cabin and a small vegetable garden...
Miyu-chan lived quietly in such a place.
Originally, she had planned to plant flowers, farm a little, and relax. Unknown flowers had indeed been planted in neat rows around her cabin, and there was a small field as well.
But now, a wooden palisade reaching a person's waist and traps crowded the area around it.
It was naturally far removed from relaxation.
“Another one broke over there.”
Miyu-chan pointed at a broken trap.
It was made by weaving together thick branches.
It could bind the legs of something as large as a Wild Boar and leave it hanging upside down, but intruders had forcibly cut it apart a few days ago.
Hogu was pulling an arrowhead from a Wolf and applying crushed herbs to the wound when he spoke.
“I know. I'll fix it later.”
“They'll come again.”
“Not right away.”
“True. They only left a little while ago.”
Miyu-chan nodded.
Neither of them had slept properly for more than three days. During the day, they watched the surroundings and repaired traps. At night, they took turns keeping guard.
Monsters had appeared in between, so they could not even get proper naps.
They had endured only because they had Wolves.
The Wolves Hogu had bought from Juggernaut.
There were also the Wolves Miyu-chan had purchased, then evolved into Beastkin.
Before the trouble began, her Beastkin had quietly worked the fields, chopped wood, and cleaned up around the house.
But recently, they had needed to wield axes and spears instead of garden hoes and shovels, bleeding all the while.
Without them, Miyu-chan would already be dead.
No, more precisely, even with them, they had not been enough. But Hogu had come to help at some point, and together they had held out this long.
“You're suffering because of me.”
“No.”
“You even abandoned the place you used to live.”
“It doesn't take long to build a cabin.”
“But you'd lived there for a long time.”
Hogu did not answer.
The place where he had lived had been attacked as well.
It began when he left several posts defending Juggernaut. People learned that he knew Juggernaut, and some knew his location.
Just when he began to feel that the situation was turning strange, personal information about the people defending Juggernaut began circulating, as if in response to the material Juggernaut's defenders had posted.
Someone named 3SecondsMissJi, who had also defended Juggernaut, was said to be the female master of a Clan based in the north. All sorts of vile posts that could hardly be repeated appeared, linking her to Juggernaut.
But she led a Clan, and her Clan members shared her position, so they were not outmatched in online firepower.
More importantly, anyone who wanted to physically harm her would have to venture quite deep into the forest to the north.
Not many people were willing to take that level of risk.
But that was not the case here.
Information had spread somehow, claiming that they were people living alone in a corner of a Giant Lake tributary.
‘Who could it be?’
Given that the exact location had been marked, it had to be people who had been watching this place or held a grievance against them.
‘There are a few people I suspect.’
The place where he had settled was not bad for a tributary, so there had been several attempts to drive him out and take it.
Fortunately, because he had bought Wolves in time, they had never openly attacked him. Still, perhaps those people had leaked the information while they were at it.
In the end, he had abandoned his original home and joined Miyu-chan here, so things had worked out just as they wanted.
Anyway, whoever had leaked the information, five or six people showed up one day.
They questioned him about his board posts, and he politely and sincerely told them to get lost.
Unfortunately, his politeness seemed to have been somewhat insufficient.
They got angry and drew their weapons.
Then he secured five Personal Effects Bags.
The problem came after that.
The one person who had escaped alive. The people who had died and restarted. Even some hangers-on who seemed to be reinforcements.
They repelled another attack, but they suffered losses too. Wolves were injured, and some died and had to wait to restart.
He made his decision quickly.
He abandoned the cabin and joined Miyu-chan.
For some reason, he had thought she might be going through something similar, and his guess had been right.
“Still, your insults were a little too harsh.”
“Mine?”
“Yes. They had some punch, though.”
“If they had punch, that's enough.”
“No, I... Haha.”
Miyu-chan laughed weakly.
As though he did not see the problem, Hogu petted the Wolf. The Wolf licked his cheek with gentle eyes.
“I only called idiots idiots because they were idiots.”
“They say people get angry when you come at them with facts.”
“They would've come even if I hadn't insulted them.”
“...That's true.”
Miyu-chan knew it too.
They were not being attacked merely because they had defended Juggernaut.
That was only an excuse.
Villains often robbed people if they had even the smallest pretext.
Tap, tap.
Hogu patted the Wolf and looked at his fishing rod, which remained still. It was about time for something to bite, but there was still no sign of one.
“Juggernaut himself hasn't said anything, though.”
“So I did. It'd be kind of pathetic for him to argue with trolls on social media.”
“It's okay for you to be pathetic, Hogu?”
“Yes. It fits my name from the start.”
“...”
Miyu-chan stopped before trying to argue.
Once he admitted it so openly, there was nothing more to say.
She poked the campfire with the branch in her hand. The embers brightened for a moment, then dimmed again.
“The board has gone quiet now, though...”
“Only the board.”
“Right. Only the board.”
Most of the posts criticizing Juggernaut had disappeared.
The Clan that had first demanded compensation had backed down, and other incidents had erupted one after another on the board, scattering people's interest.
But those directly involved had not disappeared.
Ever since Juggernaut posted that he was coming to collect, they had begun looking for a way to survive.
- We aren't confident we can beat him in a direct fight.
- Then what if we hold people Juggernaut would not dare attack?
Rumors like that were circulating.
From her perspective, they seemed quite believable.
The Clan that had caused the original trouble claimed it had nothing to do with them.
They said several radical users had acted on their own, and that everyone inside the Clan who had supported them had been expelled.
At first glance, it was a clean conclusion.
It would have been perfect if photos had not appeared showing the supposedly expelled users freely coming and going from their base.
“Oh.”
Hogu put down his fishing rod.
“My guess was wrong.”
“Ah.”
Miyu-chan stood as well.
Birds rose from beyond the forest. A moment later, people could be seen moving between the sparse trees.
“But even if we fixed the traps, we wouldn't be able to use them properly against that many.”
“Hmm...”
“How many do you think there are?”
“A whole damn lot.”
“I can see that too.”
“About thirty?”
“...That's a lot.”
The Wolves remaining on their side.
Even counting both Beastkin and ordinary Wolves, they did not amount to even a quarter of the enemy's number.
It would be difficult to defend the entire cabin with their remaining forces.
It was remarkable they had held out this long.
Hogu slowly rose.
The injured Wolves rose with him and growled.
When Miyu-chan picked up a small wooden bow, her Beastkin quietly raised their weapons as well.
“Still, I think I'll hit more this time. There are so many people.”
“That would be nice.”
Hogu smiled.
But his eyes were dry.
“Can we hold out?”
“It'll be difficult.”
“Can't you say something a little more hopeful?”
“We can probably kill as many as possible before we die.”
“That's still a bad ending.”
Of course, both of them had stored a reasonable amount of supplies separately.
A foundation they could use to start over if they died.
But it was only a fraction of what they currently possessed.
Above all, they would lose all their precious pets.
Miyu-chan sighed softly.
The thought of losing the pets she had grown attached to made her wonder whether it would be better to run away now.
“Should we head for the mountain range?”
“Not a bad idea.”
Hogu spoke, then added that they would have to leave some pets behind to buy time and die in their place.
“Huh?”
But perhaps the enemies had already read their intentions.
Unlike before, their movements changed.
Rather than pushing in mindlessly, they split up from the beginning and moved to block off the escape routes first.
“They came prepared.”
“Ah.”
Long spears and shields.
Nets meant to catch Wolves.
Ropes in someone's hands.
It seemed they meant to capture them rather than kill them, but that did not feel encouraging.
“At least, they don't seem to be from one group.”
Hogu said.
His eyes swept over the enemies.
“At least three groups.”
Different groups had joined forces.
Was there a gap somewhere between them?
“This won't be easy.”
He took a spear from his Inventory and gripped it.
The Wolves quietly stepped forward.
Then it happened.
Hogu suddenly looked up.
A small dot appeared in one part of the sky, where the evening glow was slowly turning red.
“...”
At first, it looked like a bird.
But it grew larger.
Its shape gradually emerged.
A faint emotion appeared on Hogu's expressionless face.
“He's here.”
“Who?”
Miyu-chan looked up as well.
Then her eyes widened.
“Really?”
The huge Eagle folded its wings.
Then it plunged toward the ground at an almost vertical angle.
Whoooosh!
A sharp sound cut through the wind.
The approaching group belatedly looked up at the sky.
“What is that?”
“An Eagle!”
The Eagle dropped into the middle of them.
Crash!
Dust and fallen leaves burst in every direction.
One of the Eagle's massive talons pierced the shoulder and chest of a person who could not dodge in time.
“Aaaargh!”
It did not remain on the ground.
It rose again at nearly the same speed it had descended, a speed that did not suit its enormous body.
“Argh! Save me!”
The captured person bled and flailed.
The people nearby fired arrows, but few hit their mark.
The Eagle had already returned to the sky.
Only then did it let the person go.
- Aaaaargh!
The scream was not very long.
The person who crashed into the ground seemed to have a decent level. Though bones throughout their body broke and bent at strange angles, they did not die immediately and kept struggling.
Crunch!
But that movement soon stopped.
Someone nearby ended it by driving a spear through their neck.
“What the hell are you doing!”
People ran over.
They were probably the dead person's companions.
“I only ended their suffering.”
“Then why are you taking the Personal Effects?”
“I'll return them when they come back. Their name is on the bag, so it should be easy.”
“Hand it over. They're our companion.”
“How can I trust that?”
“What?”
“You don't have proof.”
A new conflict created by a single set of Personal Effects.
But since the Eagle had not disappeared from the sky, the others nearby watched it warily, regardless of who was fighting whom.
“Raise your shields!”
“Does anyone have a crossbow instead of a regular bow?”
But the Eagle did not descend again.
It only circled slowly from high above.
“What is it?”
“Wait, wasn't someone riding it earlier?”
Someone with sharp eyes spoke.
They said there had been someone on the Eagle.
There was no reason for an ownerless Eagle to fly all the way to this Field, which had not yet been integrated.
“Did it have a saddle?”
“Yeah. Right. You can still see it.”
“You can see that?”
It was then.
Under the sky slowly turning blood-red, within the darkening landscape, one man looked distinctly out of place.
A figure taller than everyone around him by a full head stood among the group. Someone who had been tilting their head in confusion turned their gaze toward him.
A man holding a strangely shaped yet somehow familiar weapon, rather than a shield, spear, or net.
“Juggernaut?”
Someone who saw him muttered.
The person beside them stiffened.
“It's Juggernaut.”
“Why are you standing there saying it's Juggernaut?”
The person leading the group shouted.
“Attack, you bastards!”
The people all turned in one direction.
Even those fighting over a Personal Effects Bag united at that moment.
Juggernaut did not move.
He merely raised the heavy-looking thing and aimed it at the nearest person.
Boom!
The deafening blast shook the foot of the mountain range.
The two people at the front flew backward at the same time.
The leading person's shield bent in half.
The person behind them was sent tumbling as well.
When the stunned people looked over, both bodies were bent in unnatural directions.
“What is that?”
Juggernaut turned the muzzle.
“It's a gun?”
Boom!
This time, the person rushing forward with a spear was hit.
Their torso bent backward as they flew away.
Fragments of broken equipment and blood scattered through the air.
Boom!
The closest people disappeared first.
Boom!
Those struck by the gun did not simply have bullets lodge in them.
Their bodies could not withstand the impact and folded nearly in half. If someone stood behind them, that person was caught up with them and rolled across the ground.
The formation collapsed in an instant.
Those who had been trying to approach from the side watched for a chance to retreat.
“Spread out!”
“Don't stand in front of the muzzle!”
“What the hell, he brought a gun!”
People fled to either side.
But some charged in instead.
Their eyes gleamed with something like competitiveness, or greed.
Boom!
But after the next explosive blast, the light vanished from the greed-filled eyes.
Even the person trying to approach by using someone beside them as a shield did not last long.
“...Huh?”
They somehow got close, but just as they nearly arrived, a club swung by someone who seemed to appear from thin air filled their vision.
Thud!
It was the first time they learned that a human head could be driven into a human body.
Before they knew it, they had been surrounded by four more barbarians like Juggernaut, as well as hundreds of Wolves that seemed to have appeared from nowhere.
“Wow...”
Miyu-chan, who had watched the scene from afar from the beginning, clapped with an awed expression.
“Did you see that? They all came rushing out of thin air.”
“He brought a gun.”
Hogu seemed interested in that.
He had heard there were people researching various things with junk items from another world on social media and elsewhere.
“That must be where it came from.”
“Ah.”
Boom!
Another person flew away.
This time, however, they had not been shot.
Juggernaut had already put the gun away and gripped a club, sending people flying like a home run hitter.
Footnotes:
Hogu's username also means “sucker” or “pushover” in Korean, which is why he says being pathetic suits his name.
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