WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Seven-Time Hero Goes Live ◈
Chapter 52: The Expert's Way (4)
──────
Far away, the Elf Isillen watched the fight.
‘What are they doing?’
She could not shake the question.
She had seen humans engage in foolish fights countless times, but was this not taking things too far?
‘Why did they suddenly start fighting?’
It could only look strange to her.
Thanks to the wisdom of her long years, the Narrative Trick Mask had no effect on her.
‘They were getting along just moments ago.’
Only moments earlier, the two had been talking like friends. Now, for some reason, they were fighting hard enough to draw blood.
The fight itself was utterly ridiculous too.
‘Are they not fighting... but training?’
The stronger side was so overwhelmingly superior, and even holding back, that she could not help thinking so.
If they had truly wanted to, they could have killed the other dozens of times over.
This went beyond holding back. It was practically training.
After watching the fight to its conclusion, Isillen nodded.
‘As I thought.’
‘It is training.’
She understood.
This was a form of training practiced between humans.
The training here was a little harsher than what she knew, but the process was similar.
The overwhelmingly strong side beat up the weak one while teaching them.
‘Then the man the World Tree showed me must be...’
Isillen had not been completely certain about the World Tree's revelation at first.
Revelations were always vague in some way.
She had considered that it might have meant the man beside the Porter instead.
But now, Isillen was certain.
‘The man in the revelation was the Porter.’
Those who appeared in revelations.
Humans called them Heroes.
Heroes were exceptionally strong, opponents of the Demon King.
They were favored by the world and granted countless gifts by a god.
They were special beings.
That overwhelming strength, that unfamiliar warm scent...
‘It is certain.’
That man was a Hero.
But...
‘What is he doing?’
The Hero had incapacitated the man wreathed in flames and seemed to make a cool exit.
“Come back stronger.”
After saying that, he walked away slowly, then suddenly began to run.
It was too far away for human eyes to see, but an Elf's vision was exceptional. With mana, she could even zoom in.
Tap tap tap tap!
The Hero was racing somewhere in a terrible hurry.
Did he have something urgent to do?
‘...Hm?’
But if it was urgent, should he not have gone straight there?
Instead, he was taking a wide route back this way.
The only difference was that he had removed his mask and changed clothes.
“Pant... Pant...”
The Hero panted before holding out a hand.
“Um, Miss Elf? Do you have something like a potion?”
“A potion?”
Isillen tilted her head.
“You don't?”
Jun-il asked again, as if confirming it.
He had not expected her to lack one.
“I need treatment... urgently.”
He called it a potion for the Constellations' sake and for convenience, but Jun-il meant something else.
A substance Elves made by periodically purifying herbs imbued with mana and toxins.
An Elixir.
-He just asks for a potion out of nowhere ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Does he think a real Elf is the owner of a Shop?
-Don't tell me this bastard is going to go as the Porter and give someone a potion? Isn't that literally demonic???
-Why does he need a potion?
-I vote that he's asking to heal himself ㅋㅋㅋ
The Constellations thought he simply wanted something from a game.
‘Ah. Treatment.’
Isillen understood.
‘He means an Elixir.’
Still, asking for an Elixir. What an arrogant human.
Making even one took Elves what they considered a long time.
And if Elves themselves felt it took a long time, a human might not see one made before the end of their life.
“I don't give them to just anyone, but...”
However, this one was a Hero.
The World Tree had chosen him, and he was favored by the divine.
“For this much in gold coins... Huh?”
Jun-il, about to pay, was startled.
‘An Elixir?’
He had asked for a potion and received something far superior.
“Here. Just take it.”
“?”
She was even giving it to him for free.
“You're just giving it to me?”
“Yes.”
As she answered, Isillen gave the Elixir in her hand another shake.
Slosh.
Shimmering ruby-red crystals that seemed liquid, yet also solid.
‘It is real.’
This was truly an Elixir.
“Th... Thank you.”
“Come visit often.”
Isillen spoke like an elder of the household.
Then again, it suited her.
She really was an elder.
“...Of course.”
Jun-il nodded respectfully.
“Come over and... mushrooms too, with me...”
“Ahhhhh!”
“?”
“I, uh, have something urgent to do!”
-Mushroom allergy?
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Mushrooms ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-???: Mushrooms... Look at the mushrooms!
Jun-il ran toward Kang Hae-il as though fleeing in a panic.
Perhaps regretting how brief their conversation had been, Isillen watched his retreating back.
* * *
Hot.
The first sensation that struck him when he opened his eyes was heat.
It was absurd for someone with the power to set his entire body ablaze to feel hot.
But his whole body truly burned with fever, like when he had the flu as a child.
He thought he had opened his eyes, yet the sky was pitch-black.
No, the entire world was darkness.
Darkness.
That bastard's color.
Clad head to toe in black, wearing a black cat mask...
‘Watch the way a professional does it.’
L4GS.
That figure flickered in his mind.
“Ugh...! Ngh...!”
Was his body convulsing at the thought of L4GS? Pain flooded his body again.
It was a terrible pain, as though crushing his nerves.
Perhaps it was not physical pain at all.
‘He was... He was completely beyond me.’
Even with S-Rank potential, he could not lay a finger on the enemy who had killed his father.
‘Kang Hae-il. You're too much of an amateur.’
Maybe he was right.
He had merely been fortunate enough to receive S-Rank potential.
He had killed monsters, but killing a person?
Honestly, had it not been for the hatred he felt toward his father's killer, he would never have even considered it.
And what about his opponent?
That man valued human lives less than flies.
He had casually decided to save only his own subway car out of every car on Line 4.
He had killed the man who sent a rescue request from the rooftop, and he had not hesitated even once when cutting down the Patchwork Corpse Golem.
‘But...’
Still, something was strange.
‘Why didn't he kill me?’
He had spared Kang Hae-il alone.
L4GS's image spoke again.
‘Come back stronger.’
What a truly strange thing to say.
Why tell him to come back stronger?
Did he want to die?
‘What is this...’
Either that bastard was truly insane and toying with him, or there was some reason behind it.
Within his unconscious world, L4GS's mask warped into a grin.
Crunch.
Kang Hae-il gritted his teeth.
‘Reason, my ass...’
Don't weaken.
He would definitely kill him.
Yes. As he said, he would come back stronger.
“...Come back...”
At that moment, the jet-black world gradually began to regain its light.
In truth, Kang Hae-il's eyes were only now truly opening.
The sky was still blue, and the grass in the cemetery was fresh and green.
But someone was looking down at him.
“...Come...”
‘Come back stronger?’
Thinking he heard those words, Kang Hae-il sprang upright.
Whoosh!
“Whoa. You've come to?”
The other person hastily dodged, nearly getting hit in the head.
“...You.”
It was not L4GS.
“The Porter?”
The F-Rank Porter.
Moon Jun-il.
-The Porter ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-He never calls him by his name, always Porter ㅋㅋㅋ
-Guess it's become a habit
He scratched his head as he replied.
“Yeah... I'm a Porter, hyung. I couldn't help you fight, though.”
Jun-il was about to explain why he had run away.
“What are you doing here?”
Kang Hae-il seemed to think it was only natural that he had run.
“Huh?”
“You're F-Rank. You have no combat ability. Why are you here instead of running?”
“I ran away and came back.”
“What? Why? It's dangerous. That bastard is still...”
Kang Hae-il rose, thinking L4GS might still be around.
Of course he was not.
The guy right in front of him was L4GS.
“...Did he leave?”
“The masked lunatic?”
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Self-inflicted critical damage ㅋㅋㅋ
-Wow, this guy is seriously a demon ㅋㅋㅋ
“Uh...”
“He left. He disappeared after striking a bunch of poses.”
“You said you ran away, but you watched him closely.”
“I had to watch from far away.”
“Hah. Then you saw everything.”
Kang Hae-il seemed bothered that the Porter had seen him in such a miserable state.
His expression was a little bitter.
“But I didn't just run away.”
Slosh.
Jun-il shook the Elixir.
“I brought this.”
“...?”
Hae-il tilted his head.
“What is that?”
“A potion.”
“A potion...? Like from a game?”
“Yeah.”
“Those really exist?”
“It really heals you.”
“!”
Realizing something, Hae-il looked down at his body.
It was spotless.
His clothes were torn, but not a single wound remained on his body.
“You...?”
“That's right.”
Jun-il nodded, saying he had done it.
“Where did you get it?”
“I told you, I'm kind of close with an Elf. Once we got close, she just gave me one.”
-Fuck ㅋㅋㅋ he's rubbing it in again ㅋㅋㅋ
-Hey, me and the Elves? We drink together! Go to saunas together!
-ㅠㅠㅠ That was supposed to be Kang Hae-il's, fuck ㅠㅠ
“That is impressive.”
Kang Hae-il meant it.
This guy might not be able to fight, but he was incredibly capable.
‘He didn't get first place in Contribution for nothing.’
A man acknowledged even in the Champion Goblin Dungeon.
Moon Jun-il.
“Rank really is...”
“Just a number.”
“!”
Kang Hae-il's eyes widened, as though this was the first time he had met someone who agreed with him.
“Thank you.”
It was unclear whether he was grateful for the agreement or the treatment.
Jun-il did not particularly care and handed over the Elixir.
“Take this with you.”
“...Me? Isn't this precious?”
“An S-Rank body is more precious. You have to save the world.”
He had said Rank was just a number, then contradicted himself only seconds later.
“...All right.”
Kang Hae-il nodded and accepted it.
“Thank you. I will definitely repay this kindness.”
-It is precious, though~
-No, seriously ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-S is not a Rank. It is prestige.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Come on
-This is fucking hilarious ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The Constellations laughed at Kang Hae-il's behavior.
Of course, the ones reacting so freely and cheerfully were Jun-il's Constellations.
The main channel was different.
-No, fuck, that bastard is L4GS!
-Wow... Holy shit.
-What the... Fuck...
-But the Porter is nice? Why would he be L4GS??
-The Porter-is-L4GS theory is seriously deranged ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-How does it make sense not to recognize L4GS?????
-There are so many people watching the story half-assedly ㅋㅋㅋ
-Don't get so invested while watching this shit on the toilet, damn it~
A full-scale war had broken out.
There was one broad trend, but on closer inspection, every Constellation watched stories differently.
Some inspected every detail as if using a magnifying glass, while others watched casually, as though only glancing over now and then.
-Just watch it as it goes. Why tire yourselves out trying to read minds? ㅋㅋㅋ
-Hey, make your own story then, fuck
-The Porter isn't L4GS in the first place, fuck. Is the producer a psycho?
-If the Porter is L4GS, I'm showing up with a knife
As a result, many could not connect Porter Moon Jun-il with L4GS.
After all, plenty of Constellations watched the story only sporadically to begin with.
Even some who had watched lacked experience and were fooled by the Narrative Trick Mask.
The ability clearly did not apply to Constellations, but they were fooled simply because he looked different.
-His clothes are different, his build is only similar, and even his shoes are different?
-Just paranoid delusions
-Only his hairstyle looks a little similar ㅋㅋㅋ
-Poor Porter ㅠㅠㅠ He's F-Rank to begin with ㅠㅠㅠ
Naturally, this caused conflict among the Constellations.
From the perspective of those who saw the truth, the man who had killed Hae-il's father and brutally beaten him was standing beside him, pretending to be his benefactor.
Yet the Constellations watching alongside them did not know that and were saying, “Poor Porter ㅠㅠ.”
How could they not be furious?
-Ah, fuck ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Quitting isn't enough. We need to file a complaint, fuck
-I'm seriously losing my mind
-Am I the weird one?? Is this world the Matrix??
Not everything in the world went according to plan.
This conflict did cause some people to quit, just as Jun-il intended.
But unexpectedly, it made others determined to keep watching until the end.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Yeah, fuck it, let's see this through. I'll wait for the day that bastard's mask comes off ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Constellations had appeared who vowed to watch until L4GS died.
In other words, the number of Constellations in the Story setting actually increased.
The problem was that they would not watch through Kang Hae-il's channel.
-I came to see when you die
-When does this guy die?
-Die die die die die die die die die
[Current Constellations Watching: 1,303]
‘Ugh. So noisy.’
They headed to Jun-il's channel.
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