WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Seven-Time Hero Goes Live ◈
Chapter 36: Free Chapter (3)
──────
Jun-il mostly only checked the Gaksalbeop community.
He did not look at other public opinion online.
That was because he did not care much about what happened to this world.
The only reason he might have watched the news was because of his home's value.
But it had already crashed, so there was no way he would care about that.
For now, all that mattered was how to keep himself in the mainstream and survive as an Awakener.
Kang Hae-il, on the other hand, was different.
‘Still no solutions today...’
He always kept an eye on the Society section of the portal news.
[Effectively a State of Anarchy, What Measures Are There for Gates?]
[This Free Chapter Will Decide the Nation's Fate]
[Overseas Imports Cut Off: Can the Supply Emergency Caused by the “Food Shortage” Be Resolved?]
Every article that came up was alarming.
Too much damage had accumulated in this country, no, in this world.
People trembled with anxiety, and the news comments always demanded that someone take responsibility.
BEST) What are our taxes even for? There are no measures or response, and we're not getting any news at all.
BEST) Where are all those assholes who pass bills to raise their own pay so damn fast?
The government, the military, the police, and others.
People insisted that those meant to prepare for situations like this should take responsibility.
But Hae-il knew.
They would need time to regroup too.
‘They've taken serious losses as well.’
The goblins did not spare people because they held high office or worked for the country.
No, if anything, Gates seemed to appear persistently around key national institutions, as if someone intended to destroy the system.
‘Public officials can't do much about it either.’
Hae-il's gaze turned to a photograph in one corner of the room.
It was a photograph of someone whose funeral had been held not long ago.
A man in uniform, wearing a dignified expression.
“Ha...”
Hae-il sighed for a moment, got dressed, and headed out.
‘They said it's a Free Chapter now, anyway.’
That was the conclusion he had reached after looking through the news.
‘It's better than before.’
The world was certainly in chaos, but it was better than when monsters had first begun running rampant.
It seemed a Free Chapter really was a period of rest.
Goblins had stopped popping up at all hours.
The cities had stabilized to some extent as well.
‘This is when I should go.’
Hae-il intended to visit the gravesite while he had the chance.
He got into his car and entered the address into the navigation system.
‘Pocheon City...’
Pocheon.
* * *
Fairy Corporation's monitoring room.
“Hae-il will receive even more attention during this Free Chapter.”
“Really?”
Ram asked skeptically.
Almost nothing Sam had said so far had actually happened.
“Yes. First, now that monsters have stopped appearing everywhere for a while, national institutions will seek out Hae-il. He's still the only S-rank.”
“Hmm. Right.”
Ram nodded.
It made sense.
Kang Hae-il possessed both great power and conviction.
He was exactly the kind of talent the country wanted.
“Talent the Nation Wants! Kang Hae-il! Power on the Level of the State! The Constellations will be quite satisfied with keywords like those.”
“Is that all?”
That sort of thing could happen even without a Free Chapter.
“Ah, no. This is the real part. The things you planned, Lady Ram.”
Sam pointed at a certain pouch.
“Sub Quests.”
“...Oh.”
It was a pouch containing Sub Quests.
“You said that while Free Chapters have no Main Quest, they should consist of chapters containing countless Sub Quests.”
“I did.”
“I tried to create an efficient sort of flow for these Sub Quests. One connected to Kang Hae-il's personal history...”
After hearing the explanation that followed, Ram clapped.
“Kikik! I like this for once.”
“Thank you!”
Sam saluted with tears in his eyes.
It was almost the first praise he had heard since this series began.
“Sub Quests that unfold along Kang Hae-il's personal history. Good. You must have worked hard to weave them together like this. So, what is the first Sub Quest?”
“It begins with an elf who appeared where Kang Hae-il's father is buried...”
* * *
At a bus terminal in Seoul, a saying suddenly came to Jun-il's mind.
‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.’
It was one of his favorite quotes.
There were far too many situations where it applied.
Even to himself.
“...Pardon? The bus isn't running?”
“Oh, dear. The country's in chaos right now. A lot of express buses were wrecked... and... a lot of people died too.”
The app had clearly said it was running, so he had come here only to be told otherwise.
“Ha...”
That was right.
Ram had concentrated goblins around public transportation.
She believed that would create the most shocking scenes.
Thanks to that, getting around had become incredibly difficult.
Of course, Jun-il's considerably lowered Luck stat probably played a part too.
Quite a few buses to other regions were still running.
‘Damn it...’
Jun-il thought seriously.
What should he do? Should he find another bus, even if it meant taking a detour?
But then, one by one, the Constellations began to leave.
-This is gonna take forever
-I'll go look around somewhere else^^
-Come on, we're getting stuck here? Tsk tsk
Impatient bastards.
Then again, who would watch someone travel for long?
The Constellations, which had numbered over 800, gradually dropped back into the 700s.
[Current Constellations Watching: 735]
The Constellations who had come in out of fleeting curiosity were this coldhearted.
‘Damn it... I can't waste too much time traveling.’
Jun-il finally made a major decision through tears of blood.
“Taxi!”
He decided to take a taxi all the way to Pocheon.
‘I’ll squeeze those elves dry if I have to and make my money back.’
A fierce glint appeared in his eyes.
* * *
Jun-il had been staring intently at a horse galloping along spiritedly.
‘No.’
He shook his head and decided to spend this time finding more information instead.
He checked the community.
More posts about the elf had appeared there.
[That elf pic is real ㄷㄷ]
[I found the exact location holy shit]
[I'm a Pocheon resident, and it's real. More than one or two old folks say they saw one in the mountains ㅇㅇ]
[Breaking) Near a cemetery in Pocheon! Elf genuinely spotted!]
Perhaps they lived nearby, but some people had even gone right up to the elf.
==== ====
But when I spoke to the elf, they suddenly looked shocked and vanished ㅠㅠ
==== ====
-Really?
-What the hell, that's insanely fascinating
-Wow
-Isn't that dangerous?
-What if the elf is a monster???ㄷㄷ
-Huh? I talked to the elf earlier too, and they vanished. Just leave them alone. They didn't seem like they wanted to attack.
└How do you know that? It could suddenly turn hostile
└You can just tell
└What are you even talking about...
Apparently, even when they found the elf, the elf vanished if they spoke to them.
‘Why?’
Even Jun-il found it difficult to guess why.
Elves were not particularly shy.
As immortals, they were always curious about new things.
They should have found everything here interesting.
Yet they rejected anyone speaking to them.
“We're here.”
The taxi arrived while he was searching for information.
And he had to pay a horrifying fare.
‘Ha. Damn it.’
Jun-il's insides boiled, but he figured everything would be resolved once he sold the elf some goods.
‘Anyway, let's find the elf.’
It was a cemetery built in the mountains.
Based on information from the Constellations and his search results, Jun-il reached his destination in one go.
-Oh, he made it
-This should be the place?
-He came to the right place
Jun-il confidently entered the cemetery.
Then he walked deeper into the forest.
When he had almost reached the edge of the cemetery.
‘Huh.’
She really was there.
A woman walking around barefoot as if it were perfectly natural.
Bright blond hair and emerald-green clothes.
Pale white skin and long, pointed ears.
Jun-il slowly approached her.
At the same time, he glanced at the Constellations' reactions.
-Oooo, here he goes
-So damn pretty
-Won't she run if he talks to her?
-Maybe L4GS can do it?
-Rumor says elves judge by faces
-Nope
-Well, he might have a chance with the mask on lol
‘So it's completely true that she runs when people talk to her...’
That made it seem all but certain that she would run.
-They say she doesn't run if a handsome guy talks to her ㅇㅇ
-It's all about the face
-She runs because ugly men talk to her, tsk tsk
The Constellations kept saying things like that.
‘No... really?’
Jun-il unnecessarily pulled out his phone and checked his face.
‘Hmm...’
He turned his head this way and that, touching up his hair a little.
Then he saw a chat message.
-Even handsome Hae-il failed, so no way this guy can do it lol
Apparently, Kang Hae-il had failed too.
Which meant...
‘Kang Hae-il was here?’
It seemed Kang Hae-il had been nearby.
‘Why did he come here?’
Jun-il had come because he knew the elf could make Mana Crystals, but what about Kang Hae-il?
Had that guy come knowing something too?
In any case, once Kang Hae-il was mentioned, the Constellations began fighting again.
-If Kang Hae-il couldn't do it, then it's not because of looks, fuck
-As if she'd be judging faces in the first place lmao
-You think this guy's face will cut it? lol
-You Kang Hae-il fanboys are forcing it so hard lol
-If Hae-il's face didn't work, this guy has no chance
-His potential is F-rank, she'll probably run just from him getting near lol
-He just has such an Extra face
‘Huh?’
Jun-il got a little competitive.
‘These bastards keep talking about people's faces...’
Since people from Kang Hae-il's channel had started coming over, a group had kept comparing his looks to Kang Hae-il's.
He might be a veteran who had gone through seven Hero runs, but Moon Jun-il was still human. Of course it pissed him off when they kept saying he looked plain and whatnot.
‘Fine. If I can do what Kang Hae-il failed to do... the Constellations will react, right? Even if it goes badly, I lose nothing.’
Gathering his courage, Jun-il approached her from behind and spoke.
“Excuse me.”
At the same time, he prepared to sprint a hundred meters at full speed.
‘If she runs, I'll chase her down and catch her.’
-Are you a track athlete? lol
-You gonna kidnap her? lol
-Why are you standing like that lol
-Getting ready to run lol
* * *
“...W-what is this!? Why did she disappear!?”
A few minutes earlier.
Fairy Corporation.
Ram grabbed Sam by the collar.
“You said something would start here!”
Kang Hae-il had found the elf and spoken to her, but the elf had vanished.
[Huh?]
Kang Hae-il looked around in confusion on the monitor.
-What's this
-He lost the elf
-Ah
-Is this some kind of Hidden Quest?
-Why did she disappear??
-Try chasing her
The Constellations grew impatient.
A guess had spread among them that the elf possessed something valuable.
Why else would an elf suddenly appear out of nowhere?
She looked important at a glance, so they were frustrated that Kang Hae-il had absurdly lost her.
That was not all.
“Hey.”
To make matters worse.
“Yes?”
“...Why is he there?”
Ram pointed at another monitor.
Jun-il was standing face-to-face with the elf.
“Uh...”
Sam panicked.
There was no reason for him to come here.
He did not have any information, after all.
“What? Did he see it on the community? No, is he just crazy about elves? Anyway, don't worry. She'll run again.”
“Right?”
“That's what she's done the whole time, isn't it? That crazy elf bastard.”
The prediction missed spectacularly.
[Ugh... Why?]
She seemed a little displeased, but she answered him!
“...!?”
“!”
Why?
That was what they wanted to ask.
The elf had run away from everyone so far, not just Kang Hae-il.
“W-why!?”
Why was she answering only Yulian?
The Constellations shared the same question.
-Oh?
-What, she's answering him?
-Wow, first time hearing her voice
-What's going on?
They had not expected the elf to answer either.
They knew what had happened with Kang Hae-il, and that countless other Awakeners had spoken to her as well.
And the hardcore Constellations who were practically Yulian fans began to cheer outright.
-L4GS! L4GS! L4GS!
-Where are the bastards who kept saying he was uglier than Kang Hae-il? LMAOOOO
-FACE GAP
-L4GS >>>>> Kang Hae-il
-Wasn't this guy allergic to women? Elves are okay? lol
-What matters for a man is ability~
-An F-rank seduced an elf ㄷㄷ
-Maybe elves think he's more handsome? lol
-Maybe she only answered because she feels sorry for him being F-rank? lol
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