WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Seven-Time Hero Goes Live ◈
Chapter 24: Pam's Gift (3)
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[Next station: Hyehwa, Hyehwa Station. The doors will open on the...]
Clatter, clatter.
The subway moved in a dull rhythm, carrying Jun-il to his destination.
With his headset on, Jun-il leaned back in his seat, absentmindedly looking through YouTube.
Or at least, that was how it looked.
In truth, he was planning a strategy.
‘This won't be easy.’
The Hero's eighth mission.
A two-billion-won mission.
It was the biggest blockbuster mission he had undertaken so far.
And that was why it was so difficult.
‘I need to gather more Constellations than this world's protagonist.’
Only then would Ram lose all her authority, control of the story would pass to Jun-il, and the mission would be complete.
‘It's impossible this early in the story.’
No matter how popular Jun-il became, how much interest would the protagonist draw at the beginning of the story?
He could not even guess.
But judging from the numbers he had seen, it was bound to be enormous.
‘Maybe I should call Ham.’
Jun-il cautiously checked the Constellations' reactions.
Nothing unusual.
They seemed to think he was just watching YouTube while commuting, chatting amongst themselves.
Jun-il tried reciting the spell in his head.
‘Jjaruru, jjaruru, Chapaguri!’
There was no response.
‘What? So it wasn't Chapaguri after all? There's no way a fairy spell would be Chapaguri...’
Then.
Pop!
The world froze, and Ham appeared.
“Correct incantation! Why'd you call me?”
“...”
It really was Chapaguri.
“You didn't tell me how many Constellations Kang Hae-il has. I need to surpass him, but I don't know the number.”
“Ah...?!”
Ham looked troubled for a moment.
“W-what would you need that for? You can't see how many Constellations Yulian has either...”
Right.
They did not know what Jun-il could see.
“I can get a rough sense of it. Just tell me. I need a target.”
“A rough sense? How can you sense something like that?”
“I've got experience, idiot.”
It was the vibe that came with experience.
A convenient explanation for a lot of things.
“Okay. The Constellations' interest is especially hot right now because it's the beginning of the story, so it's a huge number. You might get discourag...”
Thwack!
Jun-il grabbed Ham and shook her.
“Just tell me when I ask! Tell me, you little brat!”
Whirl! Whirl!
“Uwaaaah, aaah!”
Dizzy from being shaken around, Ham finally came clean.
“F-fifty thooousand!”
“...Fifty thousand?”
Jun-il stopped shaking Ham.
“Huff... Yes. I-it's still increasing because this is the influx period...”
“That's rough. How many do I have?”
“Th-three hundred.”
He had asked as a test.
‘So she wasn't lying.’
It was the right answer.
“But you said you could sense it, so why did you ask... Uwaaaah!?”
“Why are you talking back so much?”
Jun-il grabbed Ham again and spun her around.
“O-okay! Stooop!”
Huff. Huff.
Ham panted and tried to comfort Jun-il.
“D-don't be discouraged just because the gap is so huge! It's always like this at the start! Once you reach the middle, it'll drop quickly!”
“Don't worry. I know that better than anyone.”
“Ah, r-right. Of course you do.”
The beginning of a story always had momentum.
This would be a long fight.
“That is why you need to interfere with him. If you both rise at the same rate, it'll be hard to catch up.”
That made sense.
Kang Hae-il needed to lose popularity while Jun-il gained it.
He needed to aim for the point where those two lines crossed.
If only one side rose, the gap would remain hopeless.
“Got it. You can go now.”
“Yes!”
Pop!
After Ham disappeared, Jun-il closed his eyes until he reached his destination.
At the same time, he reflected.
‘Level 10 comes first.’
Surpassing Kang Hae-il's Constellation count was a long-term plan.
First, he needed to level up and survive as an Awakener. Only then would there be a next step.
* * *
Meanwhile, at Fairy Corporation.
Ram sat up with her forehead badly swollen.
“Haa... Hah... Damn it...”
She had been headbutting Sam this entire time.
“Ghhk...”
Sam sounded like he was about to cry.
“Whew. Are you awake now?”
“Yes... I am... Though I think I'm about to pass out soon...”
Sam stood up while readjusting his glasses.
They were half broken.
Ram did not care and gave him an order.
“He's one level-up away, right? Make sure he never gets it.”
It sounded nearly impossible.
“H-how?”
They could not collect every goblin lying around, so what was he supposed to do?
Besides, Yulian was getting too much attention now. If they intervened carelessly, they would lose a massive amount of coins.
“Luck...”
“Luck?”
“Lower his luck stat even further.”
“Isn't it already at rock bottom?”
“No. Getting an F Rank used up his bad luck.”
“...You want me to get rid of even that?”
Sam looked at Ram as if she were a demon.
“Yeah. Just shove it straight down! I can't stand watching that bastard do well!!”
Luck.
It was the easiest route for intervention.
But if they took it to extremes, it would consume an enormous number of coins.
There was a high chance the Constellations would be displeased.
‘But he's not a main character.’
That only applied to people at the center of the story.
Who would care about an Extra's luck?
In superhero movies, countless ordinary citizens were mowed down by the enemies' guns.
Did anyone think those people died because they had bad luck?
No. They thought they died because they were Extras.
Sam began spending coins.
Ding! Ding!
[Luck -10]
[Luck -10]
[Luck -10]
.
.
.
* * *
Jun-il finally arrived at his destination.
As he headed for the exit shown on the map, he stretched.
“Ugh... Mm... I feel kind of stiff.”
It felt as if something nasty were sitting on his shoulders.
People said that when you earned someone's grudge, ghosts would cling to you.
‘Did the souls of some Demon Kings attach themselves to me? Which Demon King would it even be?’
He had done far too many things during his time as Yulian that could have earned someone's grudge.
There was no point guessing.
He could only hope it was not connected to Yulian's soul.
Bump.
Someone ran into him from behind.
“Damn it... Hey, watch where you're going! Huh?”
The man had bumped into him from behind, yet he was the one raising his voice.
Jun-il felt stiff and wanted to let it go, but...
-What a pathetic asshole.
-Isn't the law basically paralyzed right now? Beat him up, damn it.
-What's with that guy?
-Here he goes again.
-I hope Jun-il beats him up.
‘Well... I guess I have no choice.’
Tap.
Jun-il grabbed the man's shoulder and spoke.
“Hey.”
“What? Hey? Is this bastard insane? You punk, I'm an Awakener. Can't you tell?”
Hummm...!
A C+ Potential Rank floated above the man's head.
The rough-looking men around him displayed their Ranks as well.
Every one of them was at least C Rank.
That meant they were specialized combat classes.
Jun-il sighed.
“I can usually put up with something like this...”
“You can put up with it? What's this bastard talking about? Then just put up with it, punk. Want me to pick you up and throw you over?”
“Hahahahaha!”
The men around him laughed heartily without knowing the situation.
“Mega Jun-il can't stand for it. Right?”
Jun-il suddenly lifted the man.
“?!”
“Graaah! I can't stand it!”
Whoosh!
The man flew into the air.
-Hahahahahahahahaha.
-Holy shit, hahahahaha. He's insane.
-Mega Jun-il, what the hell? Hahaha.
-No, hahahahahahaha.
Mega Jun-il.
He was actually talking about the Constellations.
‘What a tiresome bunch.’
They hated it when Jun-il let conflicts caused by others slide without punishing them.
Even small ones.
It was better to punish them when he could.
It improved Jun-il's mood too.
“Graaah!”
Acting like a madman, Jun-il threw all the other nearby men as well.
Crash!
“Aah, aaaah!?”
“F-fuuuck...!”
“Uwaaaah!”
Some of the men flew in every direction like stuffed dolls.
“S-sorry, hyung!”
“I'm sorry!”
The rest could not even meet Jun-il's eyes as they scattered in all directions.
“Whew.”
Jun-il brushed off his hands and checked the Constellations' reactions.
-Hahahaha, this is killing me.
-That's so fucking funny, hahaha.
-The impact when they hit is insane.
-Why is it so funny when he throws them? Hahaha.
‘That'll do.’
Satisfied with their reactions, he looked away.
He had been trained in this kind of showmanship since his days as Yulian, so it came naturally.
He chose to throw people instead of hitting them for the visual satisfaction.
When someone flew a long way, it just felt refreshing.
“Was that too loud?”
Muttering that, Jun-il headed to the restroom.
It was a restroom at a rest area before the hiking trail.
Maybe because he had been active since morning, his stomach hurt a little.
Clunk.
As he opened a stall door and stepped inside...
“?”
Something caught his attention far too strongly.
The moment his nose registered it, he could not help frowning.
“Flush the toilet, damn it.”
-D-d-d-d.
-What? Hahaha.
-What's with today?
-Blegh.
-Censor that, please.
Jun-il entered another stall.
The situation there was even worse.
It was not a place that needed flushing. It needed to be hosed down.
“Uuurgh!”
He gagged and opened every other stall, finally finding one that was clean.
‘Damn it.’
The lid was closed.
‘...’
Thump. Thump.
His heart began beating faster.
Cold sweat ran down his face, and his eyes trembled.
Should he really open it?
-Holy shit, hahaha.
-Why is this so tense? Crazy.
-Please, no.
-Just flush the first stall. At least that one was an angel.
-Ugh...
Jun-il barely touched the toilet lid with his fingertips and slowly opened it.
Bang!
He immediately shut it and headed back to the first stall.
“U-uurgh...!”
* * *
“Kikiririri~!”
For the first time in a while, laughter erupted in Fairy Corporation's monitoring room.
“Serves you right! You bastard Yulian!”
Ram clutched her stomach and delighted in it.
‘Is it... really that funny?’
Sam thought Ram looked a little childish, getting so excited over seeing some crap in a toilet.
Still, he clapped, figuring she might be taking comfort in anything she could.
“Th-that's daebak! Or... daebyeon? Hahaha!?”
“Kikiririri! Not daebak, daebyeon! That's so funny!”
Thump. Thump.
Ram slapped Sam's shoulder in delight.
It was not actually that funny.
“The poop attack is only the beginning, Yulian.”
Ram glared at the monitor with an excited expression.
She was not wrong.
They had lowered his luck stat terribly, so he would experience all sorts of strange things.
Still...
“Um... Ram? Could you pay some attention to Hae-il too...?”
Ram complained that the Constellations were going to Yulian, but when she came to work, she only watched Yulian herself.
Yulian when she left work, Yulian when she arrived at work.
Ram talked about Yulian all day long.
“Ah, right. Our Hae-il. He must be doing well, of course. Kikiriri.”
Speaking awkwardly, Ram turned the screen toward Kang Hae-il.
Kang Hae-il was climbing a mountain at around the same time.
However, he was climbing in a completely different area.
They would probably meet at the destination.
* * *
Jun-il was now properly making his way up the mountain.
A police officer stopped him.
“...Wait. You can't pass.”
It was the first intervention by public authority he had seen since this situation began.
“Why?”
“We're restricting access because goblins are appearing in large numbers. Only Awakeners are allowed through.”
“Yes. I'm an Awakener.”
Jun-il nodded and tried to pass by.
But the officer blocked him.
Tap.
“Show me.”
“Excuse me?”
“Show me your Potential Rank.”
“...”
-He's F Rank, hahaha.
-Oh, hahaha.
-He's in trouble.
-Moon Jun-il's greatest crisis, damn.
“Why does my Rank matter?”
“I heard C Rank and above get a free pass. This is for the citizens' safety. Anyone below that will just get hurt if they go up there. Hurt. I'm D Rank myself. I gave up on going in.”
The police officer was D Rank.
Jun-il could have pushed past someone at that level, but...
‘It's troublesome if I deal with public authority carelessly.’
This was public authority.
Even Yulian had suffered greatly after accidentally killing a town guard.
Conflict with public authority caused a person's social reputation to plummet, and that was fatal. Humans were social creatures.
More importantly, reputation in this world would ultimately affect what the Constellations thought of him.
“Haa...”
Just as Jun-il was wondering what to do...
“Excuse me. Please let him through. I know him.”
Someone unexpectedly vouched for him.
Jun-il turned his head toward the voice.
“!”
It was not good luck at all.
‘It's Suyeon...?’
Unbelievably, Suyeon was here.
Hummm...!
[B]
She confidently displayed her Rank above her head and spoke to the police officer.
“B Ranks get a free pass and can bring one person whose identity they vouch for, right?”
“...Tch. Well, yes.”
For some reason, the police officer reluctantly nodded.
“Then, let's go, Mr. L4GS?”
Suyeon tapped Jun-il on the back as she spoke.
“...”
Jun-il could not answer.
‘I ignored all her messages.’
He had been avoiding Suyeon's attempts to contact him.
-What?
-Suyeon's here??
-Is Suyeon his almost-girlfriend?
-Who's she?
-Wow, B Rank.
-What is this?
-He has an almost-girlfriend? Is he going to start dating? Damn it.
-He's allergic to women. How would he have an almost-girlfriend? Do you even know him?
-Calling a guy with a woman allergy someone's almost-girlfriend, hahaha.
Jun-il sighed after reading the Constellations' chat for a moment.
‘Almost-girlfriend, my ass.’
If they really were in that kind of relationship, at least he would not feel wronged.
‘Why is my luck so bad today?’
Footnotes:
“Daebak” means “amazing” or “a huge hit,” while “daebyeon” means feces or a bowel movement. Ram and Sam make a childish rhyme-based pun from the two words.
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