WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Seven-Time Hero Goes Live ◈
Chapter 53: The Expert's Way (5)
──────
Thud.
Ram hit her head against the desk.
“R-Ram! If you keep banging your head like that, you’ll get dumber!”
“I didn’t bang it... I bumped it.”
“Pardon?”
It might have looked as though she had deliberately slammed her head into the desk, but the strength had simply left her waist, causing her to hit it without meaning to. So “bumped” was the correct expression.
Perhaps that was the sort of thing a Story Fairy would be particular about.
...No, that was bullshit.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Ram began banging her head again.
“Ram! You’re going to dieee!”
Sam clung to her, crying as he tried to hold her back. With her head forcibly pulled up, Ram muttered.
“Krrr? I’m not trying to die... I’m trying to check whether I’m alive.”
“No! You’re clearly alive!”
“No. I might be dead as a Story Fairy. This is a world of the dead, and I’m dead-living. Otherwise, something like this... this couldn’t be happening!”
Ram shouted and pointed.
Kang Hae-il’s Constellation count was displayed there.
It was still an enormous number. That was the power of a Storyboard 3.0 blockbuster.
But there was one piece of data beside it.
The Constellations who had recently left.
[Unsubscribed: 108]
Storyboard 3.0 had a Subscription feature, which Constellations could use if they wanted to return regularly.
And a whopping 108 of them had gone out of their way to cancel it.
That was the effect of the cemetery incident.
Meanwhile...
“Th-these Constellations! They all came here instead!”
[New Subscriptions: 110]
Yulian’s Constellation subscriptions had increased by an almost identical number.
It was obvious to anyone.
They had abandoned Kang Hae-il and switched over to Yulian.
“Ram... They didn’t leave because they hate Hae-il and like Yulian... They went to see when this bastard would die.”
“I know! I know there are Constellations like that! But not all of them are!”
“...”
That was the truth Sam had wanted to hide.
-Honestly, if L4GS is cooler, upvote lol
-This guy feels more like the protagonist
-Once you’ve tasted life’s bitterness, L4GS is where it’s at fr
-Hah... Don’t you guys get hooked on L4GS.
At least half of the Constellations who had switched over had started liking L4GS more than Kang Hae-il!
The numbers were still small, but the fact that this phenomenon had begun meant something.
There had definitely been value in playing villain theme music and teaching Kang Hae-il a lesson.
There were even Constellations saying things like this now.
-L4GS is actually trying to make Kang Hae-il stronger. He supports him as a Porter by day and trains him as L4GS by night.
Day Porter, Night L4GS.
Constellations had emerged who went around confidently spreading that bullshit.
At first, talk like that did not attract much attention. Later, though, things would be different.
After all, a lie repeated a hundred times became truth.
And that theory was not even entirely wrong.
It was only natural that some Constellations would get confused.
In fact, there were not many other theories that could explain Jun-il’s current actions.
Who would ever think that his real goal was to steal Kang Hae-il’s Constellations?
“C-could that really be it?”
Even Ram was tempted by the theory.
“Ram!?”
* * *
Meanwhile, Pam and Ham watched from prison.
[Learn the expert’s way well.]
They watched Yulian teach Kang Hae-il a lesson after saying that.
“Kyaruru! He fucking shredded him!”
Pam felt an overwhelming catharsis.
It even felt as though he were beating up the bastards who had thrown them in prison.
This was a story!
This was a Hero!
And villain theme music was playing in the background.
“Kyarururururu... rk!?”
Pam nearly passed out from a lethal dose of hype.
“Pam!”
One was about to die from repeatedly banging their head against a desk, while the other was about to die of happiness.
L4GS’s appearance had completely reversed their fortunes.
* * *
‘Ah. Damn transportation fare.’
Jun-il had even received gold coins from the Elf, but that was not the same as getting cash.
So he had worried about transportation fare for the trip home, but...
“I’ll give you a ride.”
Fortunately, Kang Hae-il had a car.
“Can you drive?”
“Yeah. I’m completely better.”
And so Jun-il got a ride in the car of the Kang Hae-il he had just beaten senseless.
-This bastard isn’t human
-???: Hey, Kang Hae-il! Go buy bread and bring back some change!
-Where’s your conscience? Lmao
-No, lmao, Hae-il hyung is even giving him a ride? ㅠㅠㅠ
-He doesn’t know, so it makes sense lol
-From Hae-il’s perspective, Jun-il is such a benefactor that he’d carry him in a palanquin lol
-Steals the boss, steals the car...
“Thanks for saving me today. I’ll repay you someday.”
To make matters worse, Kang Hae-il truly considered Jun-il his benefactor.
The Constellations asked Jun-il whether he had any conscience, but...
‘Well... I’ve saved him several times. I am his benefactor.’
That was how Jun-il saw it.
Quite a few Constellations agreed with him.
-Without him, Kang Hae-il would already be dead twice
-How many times has L4GS saved him in the first place? What are you talking about?
-He’s just L4Dad, smh
That was right. Saving someone was saving someone.
By his own standards, Jun-il had clearly done Hae-il a favor.
Even so, he said this.
“You don’t need to repay me.”
-?
-???
-For real?
-What’s gotten into him?
Jun-il said there was no need to repay him.
Then he immediately went back on those words.
“Just let me join when you make a team.”
He wanted to be repaid in his preferred way.
-An F Rank? Lmao
-Forget gifts, give me cash instead~
-You said he didn’t need to repay you, you bastard lmao
-Nepotism Porter, damn
-Corrupt hiring, damn
“A team?”
Kang Hae-il tilted his head as if he had no idea what Jun-il meant.
“Yeah. You said you form parties when you hunt.”
“That’s just temporary when I’m hunting. It isn’t really a team.”
Perhaps Kang Hae-il preferred going solo whenever possible.
He drew a clear line, saying it was not a team.
‘He keeps his distance in strange places.’
He did not seem like the type to be completely swept away by emotion.
He just hated L4GS.
“There’ll probably be lots of people trying to form teams soon. Gangster assholes will start roaming around in groups too.”
“That’s true.”
His reaction made it seem as though he had never considered operating as a team at all.
‘This might be better.’
If Jun-il brought it up before the team was firmly established, his priority would rise.
“If you do form a team, please include me.”
“...But tell me something.”
Kang Hae-il changed the subject.
What was this?
Did he suspect something?
As though he were conducting an interview, Hae-il asked.
“Why are you doing this?”
‘You’re interviewing me before even letting me onto the team after I saved your life? This F Rank life is miserable.’
“Huh? What do you mean...?”
Jun-il pretended not to understand and asked again.
Hae-il persisted.
“This. The work you’re doing. Should I call it being a Porter? Either way, you keep trying to do things as an Awakener.”
-Just let him join already, fuck
-He’s asking why an F Rank keeps trying to do anything lmao
-Lmao, it is weird
-Fr, if I were F Rank, I would’ve quit ages ago
-The interview begins lol
-Fuck, he saved your life. Just give him a nepotism hire, bastard~
-That’s true lol
-Surprisingly sharp. He just has face blindness.
It was an extremely sharp question.
An ordinary Awakener had no reason to endure the unfairness of being F Rank and keep doing this work.
They could simply live an ordinary life.
At least E Ranks could gain experience through production work, since their Classes were production-oriented and did not put them in combat situations.
F Ranks had no Class at all, so they had no choice but to hunt.
Anyone who insisted on continuing despite that had to be strange.
‘I need to answer this well.’
In any case, Jun-il needed to stay close to Kang Hae-il. He had no choice but to think carefully about his answer.
‘He’s probably asking about my convictions.’
This work.
The work of being an Awakener.
To Jun-il, it overlapped with the work of being a Hero.
Perhaps that was why he turned his gaze to the streetlights flashing past outside the car window.
Seven runs as a Hero.
He had experienced as many things as there were lights outside.
How had he managed all of it?
He had made it through the first run thanks to Maylin and his companions.
Then what about the second run?
The third?
How had he kept doing that kind of thing?
‘To buy an apartment.’
That was his biggest reason.
But it was not a good answer for Kang Hae-il.
‘That’s it.’
Something suddenly came to mind.
-I was so moved at the end! Yulian really did it in the end! Hehe, I hope things work out for me someday too~! This was so fun, Yulian! Hehe
Someone had kept leaving supportive comments.
First-Run Villain.
-The first run was a true masterpiece! Lmao, this is fun too though lol, because it’s Yulian~
-Goodbye, Yulian ㅠㅠㅠ
-I sobbed when he unlocked Mana Blade in the first run... I miss those days.
There were Constellations who liked Yulian, the useless Hero from the first run.
“Someone kept cheering me on.”
There were people who rooted for someone like him.
“...Cheering you on?”
“Yeah. Weird, right? I was useless. But they kept cheering me on like it didn’t matter. Maybe that’s why I do this.”
Kang Hae-il scratched his head.
“It can’t be easy to cheer for an F Rank.”
‘No. You said Rank was just a number.’
-Lmaoooo this bastard
-He never misses a chance to roast him lol
-Fuck lmaoooo
-It really isn’t easy~
-Everyone in the L4GS stream, stay strong ㅠㅠ
“They sound like a good person. Treat them well.”
He seemed to think the person was Jun-il’s girlfriend.
After all, who else would cheer on some F Rank nobody?
“Yeah, well...”
“It’s a good reason, too.”
“!”
A good reason.
Kang Hae-il liked Jun-il’s answer.
“I’ll contact you if I form a team.”
* * *
Flop.
After returning home, Jun-il threw himself onto the bed as if collapsing.
“Man. I saved money.”
He had completed a Sub Quest.
He had not taken a taxi.
And he had received gold coins.
‘Should I look for more Sub Quests?’
Sub Quests could surely be found elsewhere, not just in that cemetery.
Completing them might earn him special items or rewards, but...
‘There’s no point.’
Jun-il was growing stronger by inheriting Yulian’s power anyway.
If his goal was to become stronger, he needed to gather more Constellations.
[Current Constellations Watching: 1,380]
There had been around 700 when he left home for Pocheon earlier that day.
Now, he was nearing 1,400.
His viewers had nearly doubled.
‘Good.’
Satisfied with his day, Jun-il fell asleep.
And once he was asleep, the Constellations began leaving one by one.
It was time for only the weird ones to remain.
-He wears blue a lot hehe
-Who wants to grow mushrooms with Jun-il~
-You crazy bastards lmao
-He’s finally asleep? I only come by at this time hehe
-Why does this guy sleep so much?
-Die die die die
.
.
.
While he slept, many things happened throughout the world.
Ding.
[Free Chapter Ended]
The brief rest period they had been given was over.
[A total of 21 people on the server have cleared Sub Quests.]
[The ‘Honorable Awakener’ Medal will be awarded to them.]
[Please continue striving in the next Chapter.]
The chain of linked Sub Quests that Kang Hae-il should have completed had gone wrong from the very beginning because of Jun-il.
As a result, many other Awakeners had ended up clearing them separately.
There were as many as 21.
Those quests should have gone to Kang Hae-il as linked quests.
Of course, that was an extremely small number compared to all Awakeners.
Who would risk their life seeking out Sub Quests during a Free Chapter that had been created specifically so they could rest?
It was not something that would normally happen.
Most people had not even known such quests existed before that notification appeared.
The Free Chapter passed like that, and the Story setting entered a new Chapter.
Ding.
[Chapter. 02]
With that notification, many things changed.
[The ambient mana concentration has increased sufficiently.]
[Gate Lv.2 is activated.]
[A World Boss has spawned.]
Rumble.
A deep, heavy boom echoed throughout the world.
Jun-il woke at the sound.
‘What?’
A new quest greeted him.
[Main Quest #2]
=====
Reach Lv.30 before the World Boss is cleared!
On Failure: Awakening Revoked
On Success: Random Item Granted
=====
“Fuck, levels again?”
It seemed a level requirement came with every Chapter.
This time, it was Level 30.
He needed to gain 20 levels.
-Lmaoooo straight to swearing
-Lmao, anyone would swear, fuck
-The rewards always come up blank for him anyway, so it doesn’t matter lol
-“Responsibility without pleasure”
-If you had any sense, you’d tell F Ranks to die already~ lol
-Fuck, levels again lmao
‘How am I supposed to gain 20 levels in 72 hours?’
But this time, it was not that simple.
‘Huh? Wait.’
There was no time limit.
‘Until the boss is defeated?’
The condition was not based on time.
As long as the boss was not killed, the time given was unlimited.
‘Do I... need to stop them from killing the boss?’
Footnotes:
“L4Dad” recreates a Korean blend of L4GS and “father,” joking that L4GS acts like an all-providing benefactor.
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