WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Protagonist Doesn't Want to Leave the First Floor ◈
Chapter 68
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Bang!
A pickaxe larger than a person slammed into the rock.
Thick cracks spread in every direction. Then, without pause, a second pickaxe struck beside it, knocking off a boulder the size of a person’s torso.
“Oh.”
A brief reaction.
The Beastkin tapping the fallen chunk of rock was even bigger than Juggernaut.
It was not just tall, either.
Broad shoulders. Thick arms and a thick torso. Its upper body was covered in almost disgustingly abundant fur, especially its fluffy chest fur.
Perhaps that was why it wore only pants despite the winter cold, steam rising from its whole body.
Similar-looking Beastkin were swinging pickaxes throughout the Mine.
They were Bear Beastkin.
‘I didn’t even know they existed.’
When tamed Bears evolved, most simply retained their existing forms while growing larger and stronger, like Sangun.
But occasionally, a different branch appeared.
He did not know what triggered it, but it happened about once in every three evolutions.
Like when Wolves evolved, it was a Humanization branch that walked on two legs and used its hands. Whenever it appeared, Seo Hajin chose it without hesitation.
And he was quite satisfied with the results.
‘They’re awkward for hunting, though.’
First of all, they were slow.
Just like when they had been Bears.
Their walking speed was not slow, but they could not carry out orders as quickly as Wolves or Tigers.
When given a task, they would stare blankly as though thinking for a moment. Only after the time it took for two or three breaths would they start lumbering into action.
Even Black, who usually loafed around, would run about briskly when assigned something. The Bears did not.
Adding them to a hunting team reduced that team’s efficiency. They could not form an encirclement in time, and they often blocked the paths of busy allies.
But they were different when working in one place.
Especially in a Mine like this one, they were doing more than their share.
Bang!
Bang!
Pickaxes continued striking throughout the Mine.
Chunks of rock tumbled down.
The Bear Beastkin did not need to load those fallen rocks onto carts and haul them away. They simply opened Subspace and rolled them through.
Even boulders that several people would struggle just to push aside were only a little heavy to them.
‘It’s good that I have a Mine.’
Watching from the sky, Seo Hajin shifted his gaze and took in the full view of the Mine.
The Gold Mine looked completely different from how it had at first.
Originally, they had dug narrowly downward along the vein. But as the number of workers increased and excavation sped up, they decided it would be better to remove the upper portions at risk of collapsing.
That work began in earnest after they confirmed the Bear Beastkin’s capabilities.
Removing dirt, breaking rocks, then shaving away the surrounding ground along the exposed vein. Work that would normally require heavy machinery was being accomplished at a similar rate with the Bear Beastkin.
As time passed, roughly half of the vein had been exposed to the outside.
It now truly resembled a small open-pit mine.
‘The work is picking up speed.’
The Bears had naturally struggled during the depths of winter.
But perhaps because the cold had eased and the temperature was gradually rising, they had all thrown off their coats, steamed visibly, and increased their pace.
‘They really work well.’
Bear Beastkin swinging pickaxes.
Bear Beastkin carrying ore.
Bear Beastkin sprawled on the ground, eating something.
‘They eat well, too.’
Even after evolving, Bears were still Bears.
They ate an amount of food so enormous that calling it excessive would not be an exaggeration.
If the hunting teams were not securing even more enormous quantities of meat, he would not have considered increasing their numbers like this.
‘Still, the concentration is higher than I expected.’
The more upper rock they cleared away, the more of the hidden vein was revealed.
The golden streaks running through the rock were longer and thicker than when he first found them.
‘Gold is still expensive, apparently.’
He would need money once he returned home.
With gold mined here, he could make a considerable sum without even exchanging Points.
‘The more money, the better.’
He had little desire for things like an apartment overlooking the Han River or a luxury imported car, but he would like to own a spacious house with a yard.
‘Managing a yard won’t be easy, but I have Pets.’
Bang!
Another mass of rocks poured down.
The ore entering Subspace was refined, sorted, and steadily stacked away.
One day passed.
Then another.
As the stay duration requirement gradually filled, the central Rocky Cliff Field finally reached Level 100 as well, integrating every Area.
But the ensuing change was greater than he and the other users had expected.
“...”
The change was immediately apparent from his view in the sky.
He gathered the hunting teams spread widely across the north into one place.
“It looks like the detection range limit is gone.”
All kinds of Mobs were surging in like waves from far away.
Their destination was clear.
Juggernaut, standing below.
‘Would it have been better to become a mage after all?’
He muttered inwardly as he prepared for another fierce battle.
* * *
The change was drastic.
And merciless.
Every creature inhabiting every Field began targeting users regardless of distance.
It did not matter where they hid.
Even if they climbed trees or dug into rocks and concealed themselves thoroughly, the Mobs found them precisely, as though they could sense their very existence.
Users had to fight.
That was the only way to survive for the moment.
While everyone was in such turmoil that almost no posts appeared on the forums or social media, some people discovered slight differences amid the changes.
[Seems like there are users who aren’t being attacked.]
Doesn’t seem like they attack everyone just because they’re users.
-I noticed it too. Feels like they hate some users more? If you’re together, they gather around that person.
└Did an Aggro Level get added?
└Yeah, that’s exactly it.
-No fucking way. Aggro Level applies across every Field? Without a detection range?
└That’s insane.
└Then we can’t stay near people with high Aggro Levels, right?
└Need to get as far away as possible.
-Not that. You can’t get too far away either.
└Huh?
└If you get too far, they might stick to you instead.
└Didn’t the detection range limit disappear?
└That’s true, but I think they target whoever has the highest Aggro Level within a certain distance.
-I’ll say it for sure. When they respawn, they target the person with the highest Aggro Level within a certain distance. That’s right.
└What about the detection range?
└Seems like it expands farther when there aren’t any users nearby.
└Hmm.
[Why the fuck is everyone saying something different?]
Can’t someone analyze this?
-Who the fuck has time for that? We’re fighting nonstop and can’t even sleep.
└But there are people who don’t draw aggro at all.
└For real?
└Yeah. I thought it was a Skill, but apparently it isn’t.
└Then what is it?
└People who haven’t killed a Mob even once since coming here.
└What the hell. Is that possible?
└Apparently. There are quite a few Loggers, and some fishers too. I think there are some around the Wasteland Mine.
└Wow.
└If we stick close to those people, can we avoid the Mobs too?
└Are you stupid? The Mobs will stick to you instead.
The few posts that did appear were mostly people trying to analyze the situation or reach some rough conclusion.
Still, as time passed, details were added and counterarguments emerged, gradually giving the matter some shape.
It did seem true that there was no detection range.
The Mobs were clearly finding users and moving toward them even from great distances, though they were also seen changing targets along the way.
The fact that people who had never hunted were somewhat freer from the current situation was strong evidence for the theory that Aggro Level existed.
And the hypothesis that fishing probably did not count as hunting was nearly becoming accepted as fact.
Users acted according to their own inclinations.
Some formed even tighter bonds, taking turns resting and sleeping as they faced the Mobs.
Others retreated completely into remote places, or fought Mobs one-on-one after already hiding in such places, buying time with terrain and structures like traps.
There were also those who identified the person in their Area most likely to have accumulated the highest Aggro Level, then settled nearby, though not too close.
It was difficult for the last group to maintain the right distance, but if they positioned themselves properly, they might not even be attacked by Aggressive Mobs.
[Where did that named-user list from before go?]
-(Link)
└Is this the latest version?
└No. Some people returned home.
└The people updating the rankings went home, so nobody’s doing it now.
└Ah, got it.
Named users had naturally hunted more than others, which meant their Aggro Levels would be higher.
Based on that theory, more and more people headed near the named users still around, and it actually worked.
But they were not helping the named users. They were simply taking advantage of the Mobs gathering there.
If the named users could not withstand the waves of Mobs and died, those people could be swept away in the flood that followed.
Some headed up high mountains, following those who had taken shelter there early on.
-Mobs gather there, but there are terrain features they can’t climb. That’s the sweet spot.
└So you’re just camping it out.
└Yeah. I’ve saved up plenty of Points, so I’m going to endure the remaining time.
└But if more people camp out like that, food prices will go up.
└Ah. Should I stock up now?
└It’s already almost sold out.
└Already?
└Only Juggernaut’s ramen keeps getting listed.
└That guy, seriously. LOL.
-Is Juggernaut holding out?
└Yeah.
└LOL How?
└(Video)
└What the actual fuck?
-So people actually tried to pick a fight with someone like this? This was filmed from above, right?
└Yeah. Some people are camping in the sky on Eagles.
└Can Eagles endure that?
└Apparently they can rotate them if they have several.
└Damn, I should’ve bought some in advance.
-Is anyone selling Eagles? I can pay up to 10,000.
└Looks like Juggernaut is about to beat every Eagle to death right now. (Video)
└Oh my fucking god, what is that?
The user presumed to have the highest Aggro Level of anyone.
Juggernaut, who showed no sign of dropping from the named-user rankings.
Naturally, users expected a tremendous amount of aggro to gather around him, but few could actually approach that place.
The Northern Forest itself was already rough terrain.
But there had to be some limit to how many Mobs could converge. Once videos spread of terrifying numbers converging from every direction, no one dared even consider it.
-At that rate, even Juggernaut will get swept away soon.
└For real, are we about to see Juggernaut die?
└If it gets dangerous, he’ll escape on an Eagle.
└Ah, right. Juggernaut has Eagles.
His battle videos were so overwhelming that people had forgotten he even had several Eagles.
Unlike most users, who fought with their backs to an obstacle and defended at least one side, he stood in an open clearing and indiscriminately faced down, then beat to death, hundreds or thousands of Mobs.
He had a four-digit Wolf force to begin with, and since they were not targets of the Mobs, people assumed he could use them as a defensive wall around himself.
But what actually happened was quite different.
His Pet combat force was certainly working hard, but it remained quite far away, leaving the routes to him completely open.
It was clearly deliberate.
And people soon learned why he had kept the Pets at a distance.
Juggernaut and his subordinates fought nonstop in every direction, occasionally using similar Skills to sweep clean the areas before them.
Some recalled the bizarre stone batting Juggernaut had displayed when he destroyed the Villain Clan’s wooden wall in the past.
And it was indeed that Skill.
Heavy Attack.
It was not even a particularly advanced Skill, but in Juggernaut’s hands, it possessed terrifying destructive power.
It did not just strike the Mob directly in front of him. The Mob burst apart, sweeping through everything beyond it.
As the Mob died instantly and its fragments began to vanish, they still swept through an area roughly ten meters out in a 120-degree arc.
It was like a Claymore mine made of bone and flesh.
When Juggernaut and two other Avatars faced separate directions and set it off, even the tide of Mobs rushing toward them would temporarily weaken.
But only temporarily.
Newly respawned Mobs continued gathering there from all directions, even from distant places that would have been other Fields in the past.
‘It’ll be time to rotate Stone out soon.’
That was why he was not deploying all his Avatars at once.
Dividing into three directions was the most efficient arrangement for Heavy Attack’s range, but using it repeatedly exhausted their stamina and made them tired more quickly.
So three fought while three rested, though that would soon change.
[Avatar Name: Iron Wall]
[Level: 30]
When Juggernaut unlocked the Level 50 lock, another viewpoint was added for the first time in a while.
There were still not enough Keys to raise its level past 30, but at this pace, it would soon unlock the next lock and reach Level 40.
And based on what he had felt so far, Level 40 was enough to do its share.
‘It’ll tire faster since it has to put more force into Heavy Attack, but it’s still better to deploy it.’
That did not mean Iron Wall was simply idling in the Rest Area.
It was managing Subspace and the worker Pets, while helping sort the terrifying amount of loot pouring in.
“It’s already filled this much? ...Let’s expand it by another 100 Blocks.”
Loot came in at a terrifying rate to match the hunting speed.
There was so much backed-up work that a single Arc Recycler could no longer handle it.
Whenever they stacked supplies in the expanded space, they soon needed that much new space again.
Fortunately, he had accumulated enough Points to expand it further. But at this rate, he would use up every Point he had saved just expanding Subspace.
“Put the Wolf Pelts straight on the marketplace. Don’t process them. Make them free, though.”
There would be a fee, but the buyer paid it, so that did not matter.
He considered throwing them away, but giving them to users for free seemed better.
He released the similarly piling Wolf Meat for nearly free as well, except for the amount he needed. Only then did he secure a fairly spacious area.
“It’ll be full again before the day ends anyway.”
Would it not be better to stop hunting now?
He knew how to do that.
He had Subspace.
‘If I enter Subspace, the Mobs will have no target to recognize.’
But if he left, the Mobs would gather around the other users currently in the north.
The D-Day Clan, who he had become quite close with at some point, along with Hogu and Miyu-chan, who had suffered because they defended him...
“Well, it’s not dangerous enough to kill me.”
He was only a little tired.
It was not as though he had never hunted endlessly while sleeping in shifts before. It was merely more intense than then, and there were more types of Mobs.
“Why are Eagles flying in too?”
Eagles were relatively easy to deal with.
He had Eagles too. If they swooped down and knocked one out of the sky, the Pet hunting teams below would take care of it.
The number of Eagles he had hunted that way had already exceeded two digits.
He would have liked to try taming some when he had time, but he could not spare a moment.
‘Pets can’t tame them. I have to do it myself.’
Then, something suddenly occurred to him.
Since creating the new youngest Avatar, Iron Wall, he had never once taken it outside Subspace.
‘It’s never killed a Mob...’
If the current theory was correct, it might not be attacked even if it went outside.
‘Should I try it?’
If he was wrong, it would only be disappointing. There was nothing to lose.
So he immediately equipped it with suitable gear and sent it outside.
And it really was not attacked.
A few Mobs watched it, but soon looked elsewhere and headed in another direction.
Toward Juggernaut.
“I can do this, then.”
He did not need to hunt a Mob himself to attempt taming.
That was why fights sometimes broke out when someone tried to tame a Mob another person had already beaten down.
‘I need to increase the Wolves too. As many as possible. And...’
He turned his head and spotted an Eagle falling in the distance.
He could also see a pack of Wolves and a Wolf Rider running toward it.
“More Eagles would be good too.”
The youngest Avatar, whom he had not intended to deploy just yet, had found a purpose.
It was work only Iron Wall could do.
‘Still, at this point, Sangun should be coming too. It’s good that Aggro Levels don’t draw Boss Mobs.’
It seemed the system had not altered that much.
If Boss Mobs were included, even he would have had to evacuate his acquaintances first and observe the situation somewhere suitable.
‘I can kill Sangun, but if I do, the next one to appear will be stronger.’
Even if he killed it, he needed to leave a certain interval before doing so again.
There was still far too much stay duration remaining.
‘Wow. Now that I think about it...’
Could he endure nearly two years like this, endlessly killing and killing?
After thinking about it for a moment, Juggernaut smashed another Wolf apart and nodded.
“Nothing I can’t do.”
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