WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Seven-Time Hero Goes Live ◈
Chapter 27: Swarm (3)
──────
Thud.
Maylin slumped down and muttered.
“Count Rhinac and the Third Knight Order were wiped out.”
Their first Goblin Swarm had been a disaster.
It had left countless casualties behind.
Everyone had gathered thinking they were just subjugating a Goblin settlement.
None of them had imagined Goblins could change like this.
“A Goblin Swarm. You really see everything in this life.”
Tou, the martial artist, grumbled as he changed his blood-soaked bandages.
Maylin asked him,
“What about Isabel...?”
“She left us in the end.”
Avoiding her gaze, Tou delivered the bad news.
“...I see.”
The Hero party had suffered its first casualty.
But they did not have time to mourn.
There were piles of dead people at the scene, as numerous as the dead Goblins.
They could not even take the bodies with them.
They had to leave everyone here and get the survivors out.
Goblin Swarms were contagious.
It was a kind of pheromonal stimulation. If people covered in the blood or saliva of Swarm Goblins moved elsewhere, the Goblins there would be stimulated too.
They just had to end the expedition and return to the village.
Grateful to be alive.
“If it hadn't been for you, we would have been wiped out too, Maylin. Thank you.”
Tou thanked her and turned away.
Maylin spoke to his back.
“No. My magic... That wasn't my magic.”
“What?”
Maylin's fire magic had been amplified several times over, reducing a large number of Swarm Goblins to ash.
But it was not her magic?
“What do you mean, Maylin?”
Tou was baffled, as if it made no sense.
But Maylin, the caster, knew.
She did not have that kind of power yet.
This was...
“Yulian.”
Yulian's power.
“Yulian?”
“Yulian's mana was mixed into it.”
She could tell instinctively.
A considerable amount of Yulian's mana had entered her magic.
“Is that even possible? That kid could barely look after himself.”
He might have been the chosen Hero, but he had only awakened Fa Jin and just begun to put mana into his weapon.
“Adding mana to a mage's spell? Wouldn't that require the mastery of mana possessed by only upper-tier mages? How could he do that?”
“I don't know how he did it. But...”
Maylin looked at Yulian's back as he sat blankly on a rock in the distance.
“He's the Hero, isn't he?”
“!”
“Just by existing, he's someone who threatens the Demon King. Maybe... Yulian's very presence helped my casting.”
Tou's eyes wavered for a moment.
‘Is that it?’
He had felt it a little today too.
Even though Yulian was weak, he had fought Goblins without yielding an inch.
‘Is that what it means to be a Hero?’
That Yulian was a true Hero.
* * *
Bzzzt!
The sudden memory replay, like a montage flashing before his eyes, came to an end.
‘That didn't feel like a memory...’
Come to think of it, this was not Jun-il's memory.
‘It wasn't from my point of view.’
There was someone sitting blankly on a rock far away, shown from behind.
Wasn't that Yulian?
If this was Yulian's memory, there was no way he could see Yulian's back.
Besides, he did not remember that conversation at all.
There was no way he could have heard them from that distance.
It had been a conversation between his companions, held far beyond Yulian's hearing.
This was someone else's memory.
‘Whose could it possibly be...?’
He did not have long to think.
Ding!
[Skill: Mana Shout Acquired!]
A rather lazy name compared to that beautiful memory.
[Mana Shout]
==== ====
Achievement: ★
Potential: B
Description: Let out a shout infused with mana that bolsters courage. Allies within range gain resistance to mental attacks and find it easier to concentrate. Your usual voice also becomes more persuasive.
==== ====
‘Oh. B-rank?’
-Nice
-He got another skill
-This bastard is earning skills LOL A self-made Awakener LOL
-It's B this time! Insane!
-Great skill for scamming people
-Jackpot
-Good
This time, its potential was an impressive B-rank.
Since Yulian's power was being inherited, it was hard to fully trust the potential assessments granted by Ram's system.
Still, the Constellations liked it.
‘Higher is better.’
Jun-il was happy too.
Wasn't that enough?
‘Great. I got another skill, so now let's go level up.’
If he found and killed the Champion Goblin from the photo, he should be able to level up.
‘Kang Hae-il might be there too.’
He might run into Kang Hae-il there.
‘He might not get in my way right now, but I need to level up.’
He could not let Kang Hae-il take the Champion Goblin.
‘I should hurry.’
He was about to rush off when someone spoke to him.
“Um... Mr. L4GS?”
“Thank you so much...! You saved us!”
“Thank you!”
The other Awakeners came over to thank him too.
Jun-il blankly watched them for a moment.
A scene overlapped with this one.
「Oh... Thank you, Hero.」
「You're the benefactor of our village...!」
The villagers who had thanked him during his time as a Hero.
‘Right...’
Being a Hero had mostly been awful, but it had its good parts too.
“It was nothing. I'm busy, so I'll be going now.”
Jun-il gave them a reply similar to the one he had given back then and was about to turn away.
But one thing was different this time.
“W-wait!”
“?”
“C-could we take a picture with you? Hehe.”
They wanted a photo.
“Ah.”
That was unavoidable.
Despite saying he was busy, Jun-il went over to stand beside them and struck a pose.
Snap.
-? LOL
-?
-Where did the busy man go?
-Thought he was leaving LOL
-LOL <(_ _)/
-“I'm busy, so I'll be going now” << He literally said that
-Ah, but you've gotta do what needs doing <(_ _)/
-Gotta help keep the Insta farms alive~
Snap.
As Jun-il struck his pose, everyone gasped in admiration.
“Ooh... Such a perfect angle.”
“He perfectly recreated that bizarre pose.”
“As expected of L4GS...”
Click! Click!
Jun-il stood like a statue while people came up one at a time to take pictures with him, like they were taking vacation photos.
The Awakeners laughed and took photos in front of the countless Swarm Goblin corpses.
Everyone approached L4GS for a photo.
“If I post this on Instagram, it'll blow up.”
“This is insane. That mask is fucking hip.”
“M-me too!”
Amid the cheerful atmosphere, someone stood behind a large tree.
‘Because of that perverted attention-seeking mask, Jun-il...’
It was Suyeon.
She had only just arrived at the scene, after standing there blankly when Jun-il abandoned her and ran away.
And now, a cat mask impersonating L4GS was receiving everyone's praise.
‘Who the hell is that guy?’
She wanted to know who was behind the cat mask.
She turned on her phone and searched social media.
#L4GS
There were several encounter photos.
Posts from some gangster-looking guys calling him Boss, posts from a woman in a tracksuit, and more.
The early photos had one difference from the current ones.
‘The weird pose is the same. But he didn't have a mask before.’
It was dark, and his head was lowered, so she could not see his face well.
But he was not wearing a mask.
Ding.
[New post containing your search term!]
A real-time notification appeared.
==== ====
Took down a huge pack of Goblins coming at us. It was seriously dangerous, but L4GS showed up and handled everything. Insane. Side note, I hit level 10 thanks to him.
#L4GS
#BukhansanGoblinSlayer
#GoblinMassacre
#Level10
==== ====
They had taken a photo over there and immediately posted it online.
Well, posting an encounter photo with L4GS was practically guaranteed to draw massive attention these days. It had to be hard to resist.
The comments came pouring in.
-Holy shit
-Was this made with AI? Those Goblin corpses are fucking huge.
-I'm jealous
-Looks like something happened at Bukhansan if encounter photos are going up.
-I'm glad you're alive.
-What Rank is L4GS, anyway?
.
.
.
“Hah?”
Suyeon let out a hollow laugh.
“What a fake.”
* * *
After taking several encounter photos with them, Jun-il left.
He had to find the Champion Goblin.
He considered finding people to go with him, but...
“Ugh. I'm done for today...”
“I nearly died earlier. Nothing matters if you're dead.”
No one wanted to hunt anymore.
‘Fair enough.’
Jun-il understood.
When first-run Yulian had experienced a Goblin Swarm, even the veteran knights had balked and disbanded.
That was how dangerous it was.
‘Once it happens, it can easily happen again.’
More than anything, once a Swarm began, it affected other Goblins too.
A kind of pheromone spread through the air, its scent stimulating Goblins and starting the hell all over again.
Sniff. Sniff.
Jun-il smelled the air.
There was a strange scent mixed in with the smell of dirt.
‘Damn it. It's already spread.’
They had put it down fairly quickly, but it had already spread through the air.
To make matters worse...
Ding.
[There is a dungeon nearby.]
The notification appeared.
-Ohhh
-It's here
-Guess it is
-So this is the place
The Constellations reacted too, so it seemed they could see the notification as well.
‘A dungeon...’
If it was described as a dungeon, it had to be fairly large.
Following the traces left by the Goblins, Jun-il went farther down the path.
‘Here it is.’
Among the holes the Goblins had dug, one was much larger than the rest.
At this point, it was less a hole and more an underground tunnel city.
For a Goblin burrow, this would be A-rank.
‘How did they make something this big in such a short time?’
Even Jun-il, who had fought plenty of Goblins, found it strange.
‘Ram must have had a hand in it.’
It seemed to be a device prepared from the moment she laid out the Story setting.
Step. Step.
After walking farther into the burrow for about three minutes, a bluish, translucent wall suddenly blocked his way.
‘Huh?’
Ding.
[Would you like to enter the dungeon?]
It looked like there was a dungeon entry system.
‘It only appears after I've come this far in.’
Normally, something like this would begin right at the entrance, but there was a barrier partway inside.
Jun-il examined the window floating before him.
==== ====
Restrictions: None
Members: 4/5
Difficulty: Lv.15
==== ====
The difficulty was level 15.
‘What exactly does that mean?’
Would someone with Potential Rank A clear it easily?
No way.
Potential was only potential.
Current combat ability would be measured by level.
Then did that mean there were level 15 monsters inside?
‘I'll find out when I go in.’
There was only one open slot.
Without much thought, Jun-il stepped inside.
Then something unexpected happened.
Ding.
[Explorer List]
==== ====
Kang Hae-il S
Jeon In-su B+
Kim Chae-young C+
Kim Seong-woo C+
Moon Jun-il F
==== ====
Everyone except Jun-il had potential of at least D-rank.
Considering the dungeon's level, that was only natural.
But whether they were teasing him or not, the Constellations overreacted.
-Wow, what is this lineup?
-The Avengers, damn
-Whoa...
-L4GS is coughing blood at this filthy world...
Ding.
Another notification rang out.
[Would you like to immediately join your team members?]
[Yes / No]
It would obviously be better to join them right away.
But Jun-il was cautious.
‘Did it reveal my name and Rank too?’
He could see their real names and Ranks.
So they would be able to see his as well.
If L4GS's Rank and real name were exposed?
That would make things very difficult from now on.
He needed attention from Constellations, not people. Attention from humans would only cause trouble.
‘Especially Kang Hae-il. He has a grudge against L4GS, even if I don't know why.’
When Jun-il had identified himself as L4GS, Kang Hae-il had charged at him like he truly wanted to kill him.
Had killing the Dark Mage really been that wrong?
No, judging by his reactions in the community comments, perhaps he had disliked L4GS from the beginning.
‘What is this, exactly...? This is dangerous.’
If someone like that learned L4GS's real name and Rank?
No matter how confident Jun-il was in handling him, that would be a problem.
His everyday life itself would be at risk.
No matter what anyone said, Kang Hae-il was this world's protagonist.
This entire world revolved around him, and all information was edited around him.
But should Jun-il refuse to enter?
‘No. This is definitely the main stream.’
Where Kang Hae-il was, opportunity followed.
Countless Constellations would be watching this place.
More than anything, Jun-il urgently needed to level up.
If he failed to reach level 10, he would lose his qualifications as an Awakener.
He could not pass up this opportunity.
“Whew.”
Jun-il took a deep breath and made his decision.
‘I’m going in.’
Swish.
He took off his mask and put it in his inventory.
‘As Moon Jun-il.’
Even if his real name was exposed, it was fine as long as he was not L4GS.
The identity of Moon Jun-il, an F-rank, could not be connected to L4GS.
He pressed the floating button.
[Yes]
Whoosh!
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