WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Seven-Time Hero Goes Live ◈
Chapter 3: Even Heroes Are Professionals (3)
──────
Jun-il thought for a moment.
Was this déjà vu?
Or was he dreaming?
[Assessment: C+]
“...?”
Why was it the exact same rating as last time?
“Kyah, kyahruru!”
Pam shoved a fist into her mouth and clutched her stomach to hold back her laughter.
Even so, it kept spilling out.
“Kyakyakyakyahruru!”
If Jun-il had had the strength to beat this fairy up, he would have thrown a punch without hesitation.
But he had learned last time not to mess with her.
He argued as calmly as he could.
“What is this? Why is it C-plus again? I did better than last time!”
“I told you. It depends on what the Constellations want.”
What kind of ridiculous standard was that?
“So I’m supposed to take half the pay for suffering through seven years without even knowing why? If this is how it works, I can never be a Hero again.”
“...Hmm.”
Had the thought of Jun-il never becoming a Hero again persuaded Pam a little?
“Fine. Promise you’ll be a Hero next time too. Then I’ll show you something that must never be made public.”
Something that must never be made public?
What could that be?
Jun-il considered it briefly.
“Fine. I can do it one more time.”
“Kyahruru. No, not once. I think I should raise you into a Professional Hero.”
“A Professional... Hero?”
“Yep. A profession. The kind of job ending in -sa that you like. You’ll become a Professional Hero, take my commissions, and enter any story.”
Professional Hero.
The words left Jun-il’s head spinning.
‘Well, if it makes money, it is a job.’
He had never considered that being a Hero could be a profession.
But hearing it said aloud made it seem possible.
‘Come to think of it, hero ends in -sa too, doesn’t it?’
When a commission came in, he could earn hundreds of millions in just a few seconds.
‘This doesn’t sound bad.’
Jun-il wavered.
“I don’t make this offer to just anyone. I’m saying it because I see potential in you.”
“What potential? I got C-plus twice in a row.”
That was what Jun-il thought.
Pam disagreed.
‘Hmm? As expected, he doesn’t know.’
An ordinary person suddenly sent to another world, defeating the Demon King cleanly two times in a row?
And in stories that lasted ten years and seven years, no less?
It was not easy at all.
‘Ninety percent fail.’
It took more than ordinary persistence.
Even with the protagonist buff a fairy gave them, most people still failed.
Then their story was given a Serialization Termination.
In other words, an F.
Such cases were common, and they were the worst outcome for a Story Fairy.
On the other hand, simply finishing a serialization was hugely profitable for them, regardless of its rating.
That was why Jun-il, who had completed two stories in a row, was valuable talent to Pam.
Of course, she did not bother telling him that.
It would be troublesome if he started valuing himself too highly.
“Whether you have potential or not doesn’t matter. If you agree, I’ll show you some data.”
“Data...?”
“Yeah. Data you can refer to as a Hero from now on. Once you know it, your ratings will improve. And you’ll earn more. Much more. It’s kind of like...”
The fairy paused to find a term Jun-il would recognize.
“An exam crib sheet, maybe?”
An exam crib sheet?
What was that again?
Jun-il thought for a long time.
He had lived seventeen years as a Hero, but only three years as a college student.
“Ah... that. That... thing. Okay. I get it.”
Only after a while did Jun-il finally remember and answer.
“So you’ll do it?”
“Yeah.”
He simply agreed.
‘Why not? Let’s try it.’
He had already realized something.
‘I can’t live normally anymore.’
He had spent too long as a Hero.
He could not return to his old life.
A Hero’s life was a bundle of dopamine in itself, and the rewards that came with it were enormous.
He could earn hundreds of millions in seconds.
If he worked any other job now, the rewards might frustrate him so much that he could not stand it.
“Kyahruru! Decisive. Nice. I’ll show you.”
Snap.
Pam snapped her fingers and displayed some numbers.
[110,237]
[110,002]
[109,245]
[87,372]
“Look. It got gutted, right?”
“What are these?”
He could tell that the numbers dropping was bad.
Beyond that, he had no idea.
Was it money?
“This happened when your companion died because you meddled in some village woman’s request.”
“What do those numbers have to do with that?”
Pam ignored him and continued.
“Look here too. When you delayed a quest because you wanted to meet the princess one more time at the party.”
[84,102]
[83,012]
[52,112]
“See how it plummets?”
He did not know what the numbers meant, but they seemed important.
They had fallen dramatically.
“Are those the Constellations’ evaluations?”
“Hmm. Something like that.”
Pam explained simply.
“It’s a measure of how much the Constellations watch your story. To get an A, it has to stay at ten thousand or higher until the end.”
“I mean... I understand why people would stop watching when a companion dies... but why did it drop because I met the princess?”
“Romance has rarely gotten good reactions. Besides, the princess’s Affection Level wasn’t high enough.”
Jun-il felt wronged.
Wasn’t the princess interested in him?
He was... a Hero, after all.
“How am I supposed to know the princess’s Affection Level?”
“Kyahruru! If you don’t know, you get smacked!”
Flick!
Pam flicked Jun-il on the forehead.
It did not hurt.
But it felt unpleasant.
“Oh, and you even made moves on other women too, right? Total turnoff. Total turnoff.”
Made moves?
That was a harsh way to put it.
He had only eaten a few meals with them.
“How am I supposed to know who I like unless I meet them? What, Heroes aren’t allowed to date?”
“Why? Is that strange? Humans have things like no workplace romance, don’t they?”
Jun-il flinched.
No workplace romance.
The words hit him like a blow to the head.
“You’re a Professional Hero now. A pro. A professional. Should you be dating while you’re conducting business? Kyahruru!”
He had nothing to say.
She was right.
If it was a profession, he needed to be professional.
Yet he had tried to date while on a mission.
Maybe it was only natural for people to dislike him.
“That’s why this happened.”
Tap. Tap.
Pam displayed the numbers again.
[84,102]
[83,012]
[52,112]
The numbers vanished from eighty-three thousand to fifty-two thousand.
Just looking at them made his chest ache.
Romance was not the only problem.
“Uh... okay. I understand. What’s next?”
Jun-il nodded.
“When you got betrayed like an idiot and didn’t even realize it.”
At that point, the number had plummeted into the thirty-thousand range.
‘That betrayal happened in my first run too.’
Was having a traitor in the Hero Party some kind of cliché?
He had been betrayed twice.
Even Jun-il himself could see that was a problem.
And that was not all.
“When you got stabbed in the back like an idiot, cried about how hard things were, then drank the next day and hit on a village woman... Wow. A three-hit combo! You’re way too emotional.”
It felt as though his entire life had been stripped naked before him.
Jun-il lowered his head.
‘Why is the shame all mine... Ah. Of course it is.’
Pam rapidly scrolled through the records.
The numbers kept dropping.
Then Pam showed him the final numbers.
“So this is how it ended.”
[1,933]
[1,601]
[1,383]
[1,520]
The bottom number was the final one.
“People came back to watch the ending, and it still barely reached 1,520. Kyahruru!”
1,520.
It was nowhere near the ten thousand needed for an A.
The gap was hopeless.
‘Good. I think I can do it next time.’
Like a model student, Jun-il reviewed Pam’s words again.
As if taking notes during a professor’s lecture.
He was preparing to earn an A next time.
‘No dating, no getting emotional, find the traitor... Huh?’
Then a memory flashed through Jun-il’s mind.
- First he hits on the princess, then gets tangled up with a village woman too lol. Ugh.
- The spy is obvious, and he still doesn’t notice? Doesn’t that wreck the plot? I was dying of frustration.
- The protagonist was too emotional and kept going overboard. Hard to watch.
- I dropped it when he failed to deal with the traitor, drank, and ruined another mission. The ending was a little better.
- I dropped it at the random scene where he suddenly grabs the princess’s hand, then skipped straight to the ending lol. As expected, total trash.
Those lines had appeared as the graphics briefly glitched at the moment he killed the Demon King.
‘Wait.’
Jun-il felt as though he understood what they were.
‘Could those have been the Constellations?’
They seemed like comments left by Constellations.
They matched almost exactly with the reasons Pam was now guessing at.
“Any questions?”
“Ah... no. None.”
Jun-il did not mention what he had seen.
He had been a Hero for a combined seventeen years now.
He was no longer the innocent Jun-il of the past.
Instinctively, he knew.
He should not tell the Story Fairy about this.
It would become Jun-il’s personal weapon.
He changed the subject.
“Ah, when is my next Hero assignment?”
Pam snapped her fingers as she answered.
“I’ll tell you soon. Go back!”
Snap!
At the same time, Jun-il returned to reality.
He was on the bed in his room.
‘I can just sleep like this.’
Unlike last time, he could get a comfortable sleep before starting whatever came next.
The exhaustion of having killed a Demon King tugged at his entire body.
Jun-il collapsed onto his bed and slept for a long time.
* * *
The next day.
For the first time in seven years(?), Jun-il met his school friends again.
Fortunately, he had been on vacation immediately before his second Hero run, so he did not need to sit through mind-numbingly boring lectures.
“Oh, you’re here, hyung. That makes eleven. Shall we go?”
They had gathered to play soccer.
They had managed to gather all twenty-two players for a proper match.
Their opponents were male students from the mechanical engineering department.
“They say the mechanical engineering guys are damn good at soccer. Don’t get intimidated. Just play like usual. Okay?”
“Okay!”
Jun-il entered the field with his friends, full of fighting spirit.
“Yaaawn.”
He was still half-asleep and tired.
The soccer ball moved rapidly around the field, but he did not feel any particular tension.
‘Hmm.’
Tap.
Jun-il merely nudged the ball that came toward him far too slowly.
“Hey!?”
“Damn it! Chase him!”
The opposing team came after him in a chaotic rush, kicking up dirt.
‘What are they doing? I’m basically there already.’
Near the halfway line, Jun-il lightly swung his leg.
Thwack!
“I said stop playing hoofball!”
An upperclassman from his department scolded him.
“Goal! Gooooooooal!”
Everyone’s mouths fell open at the cheers erupting from up ahead.
The shot had flown at tremendous speed and gone straight into the net.
“Hey, Moon Jun... Huh?”
The upperclassman, who had been about to say something to him, stared blankly at the goal.
The rest of the game went much the same way.
Thwack!
“Goooooal!”
Bang!
“Goal! Another goooooal!”
“This is insane! Moon Jun-il!”
Every kick went in.
It was not even a game anymore.
Jun-il had held back, so the first half only ended eight to one.
If he had wanted to, it could have gone to fifteen to one.
‘What is this...?’
Perhaps even Jun-il found it strange. Claiming that he was tired, he asked to be substituted and returned to sit near the bleachers.
‘What is this? My body feels so light. Maybe everyone else just seems slow.’
Had the experience of his life as a Hero accumulated in his brain?
‘Well, I lived as a medieval wastrel and wrecked my grades, so I should at least get something out of it.’
Jun-il felt that roughly balanced things out, so he did not question it much.
Still, his soccer skills today must have been amazing.
“Wow... Jun-il-oppa. That was incredible. Since when did you get so good at soccer?”
“Right? Right? You were amazing today.”
The girls from his department who had come to cheer approached him.
“You were seriously Messi.”
“Wasn’t he more Ronaldo-style?”
“Either way!”
“What is this, Jun-il-oppa? Where did you practice soccer?”
Suyeon was among them.
It had been a very long time since Jun-il had seen her.
For her, it had only been a few days since they saw each other during finals.
For Jun-il, it had been seven years.
‘She’s still pretty.’
But now, seeing her made him think of Maylin.
He looked away and replied casually.
“I just practiced by watching YouTube.”
It was an absurd excuse.
But what else could he say?
It was not as though they would ask whether he had gone to another world and practiced soccer there.
Suyeon simply accepted it.
“Oh? Um... I see.”
At the same time, her gaze swept over his arms and chest.
She sensed that something about Jun-il had changed.
‘Has he been working out lately?’
Had he always been built like that?
Was it only more noticeable because he was wearing short sleeves?
His entire body seemed to have become solid muscle.
His whole air had changed.
He also seemed a little more contemplative.
‘What is he thinking about so intensely?’
After all, Jun-il was almost glaring into empty space as he muttered something.
Without even looking at Suyeon.
‘No dating, no emotions, keep my companions alive, don’t help people for no reason...’
He was reviewing how he would handle the next run.
‘No dating. No flirting either. I have no emotions. I have no emotions.’
He looked utterly hardened in his resolve.
Apparently, it was because of the coin chart he had checked that morning.
Footnotes:
“Professional” plays on the Korean word for “hero,” whose final syllable, “sa,” is also common in Korean professional titles.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
