Chapter 34 - My Death Is (1)
Chapter 34 – My Death Is (1)
Translator: HH
Yeah. I was back.
I now referred to being ‘back’ to this place.
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s skills are being randomly copied.]
My prison. An abyss of consciousness.
People called me a loser. I was. And this was the place that gave me a chance. When I was burning up by the fire of the Flame Emperor, I didn’t miss the last chance the Tower gave me.
Why?
[The skill cards are being created.]
Why did the Tower give me such a skill?
It was the same question as ‘Why was it given to a psychopath like Yoo Soo-ha?’ Why? Why was it presented to a good-for-nothing person who surfed the Internet like me?
-I saw the skills.
Bae Hu-ryeong spoke.
-Do you want me to read them now?
‘Yes, please.’
-Okay!
Listening to Bae Hu-ryeong speak, it occurred to me that the tower might’ve been regretful. Because they were disappointed in the attitude of the hunters.
+
[Hate Flows Like Rain]
Rank: S-
Effects: You don’t look. You can’t see. People consider what they can’t see as not there. ‘Blind fools.’ Right. ‘Ignorant.’
Then, show them.
Show them how many lives have been lost due to ignorance. As much as blood has been spilled in this world, the sky will pour down red rain.
※However, only the blood you have seen will become rain.
+
The Flame Emperor Yoo Soo-ha had definitely cleared through the 10th floor stage.
Not in a good way.
He had probably ignored the despair and hate of the dolls and just cleared through them.
Wouldn’t the tower have considered that a shame?
Wouldn’t it have been disappointed?
‘What’s the next skill?’
-This.
Bae Hu-ryeong spoke.
+
[The Heart Cries Echoing]
Rank: A+
Effects: Your emotions will strengthen your Aura. The stronger your emotions, the more your Aura will react. Revenge. Detestation. Sadness. It can be whatever emotion. The fire will burn regardless of the firewood.
※However, you slowly become addicted to that emotion.
+
‘······.’
Right. The tower definitely would’ve been disappointed.
‘All floors have a hidden quest.’
Like there had been a quest to comfort the dolls in the hellfire residence.
Perhaps…there could be a hidden quest on the 12th floor as well.
I focused on Bae Hu-ryeong’s words.
+
[Hundred Ghosts Summon]
Rank: SS
Effects: What you killed will be summoned as monsters. The dead cannot use their abilities from when they were living. They can’t remember it either. They’ll be summoned as goblins, orcs, zombies, skeletons, etc.
※ However, you can only summon them once a week.
+
Other than this, there were a lot of skills.
But these three stood out to me the most.
‘…Nice.’
I nodded my head.
‘I decided.’
What skill to use, and how to clear the 12th, no, the 20th floor.
‘I’ll go with this.’
-Huh?
Was my choice unexpected?
Bae Hu-ryeong tilted his head.
-You’re going with that? Mm? I don’t know.
‘No. This will be the best, until the 20th floor at least,’
-I don’t know…well. Do whatever you want. I don’t know what you’re thinking. You’re probably just playing tricks again.
‘Look forward to it.’
I paused while stretching out for the card.
‘Sword Emperor. You know well about the Sword Saint’s daily schedule, right?’
-Huh? I do. Grandpops Marcus’ schedule is already determined from when he wakes up at dawn and goes to sleep. He’s a total grandpa.
‘Tell me his evening schedule. I have somewhere to use it.’
-Alright, I guess.
I grabbed the card.
A voice rang in the dark.
[Selection complete. The skill is being copied.]
[You are regressing to 24 hours before.]
And like that, I returned back to a day.
[Your current hunter class is D Class.]
[There is a penalty from your skill.]
[The trauma of the enemy who killed you is being reenacted.]
Of course there was a penalty.
I ended up seeing the trauma of the Devil King of Fall Rain but…
I needed to solve the problem of the 12th floor right now.
[The extremity of the penalty is Mid-level.]
[The penalty is Hungry Ghost Road.]
Let’s talk about the penalty later.
2.
Bae Hu-ryeong taught me the importance of a second.
That it was hard for most people to properly live out a second.
I deeply felt that this time.
“–Leaving already?”
In the cafe.
The Witch looked up at me from the chair.
It wasn’t just the Witch. All the ladders of the large clans looked up at me with various expressions.
Even the Count, who had died from the Devil King’s attack on the 12th floor, was faintly smiling at me.
I had returned to the cafe on the 1st floor, where I made a deal with the guild masters.
‘A day.’
I realized how long 24 hours was.
It was vertiginous.
We had begun a new age, cleared the 11th floor, and fought against the Devil King on the 12th floor in a day. But holy cow. It had all happened in less than a day.
“…yes. The 11th floor will open in a bit.”
I was a bit choked up.
I lightly coughed, and spoke.
“I have to start preparing now if I don’t want to fall behind.”
“How are you going to prepare when you don’t know what the 11th floor is like?”
“······.”
There wasn’t any problem on the 11th floor.
It started from the 12th floor, when the Devil King began to interfere.
There, you guys will split up.
Someone will betray you, and someone will fall apart from that betrayal.
There’s even someone who dies.
“…Kim Gong-ja?”
The Witch furrowed her eyebrows.
“Are you alright? Your face turned strange. Are you feeling okay?”
“Mm. I’m alright. It was just a bit touching to be here with amazing people who lead guilds.”
I casually answered her.
Bae Hu-ryeong silently watched me.
“Anyways, yes. You’re right. Everyone. I know what the 11th floor is like. Not only that, I know what the quest is.”
“······!”
The look in their eyes changed.
Information was as important as someone’s life. I had basically said, ‘I know something about your life at stake.’ It was understandable they would pale.
“I was given the information as a reward for clearing the 10th floor.”
“…and the reason why I’m saying that now.”
The Witch opened her mouth to speak.
“Can we take it that you’re going to share it with us?”
“Of course.”
I lifted my forefinger.
“However, there’s a condition.”
“Go ahead. We’ll gladly listen to it.”
“Please do me a favor when I ask for it sometime.”
I looked at each of the hunters sitting around the table. They all looked like they were deep in thought.
A favor. It was something easy, but also hard.
“What kind of favor is it?”
“I can’t tell you right now.”
“······.”
“However, I can assure you that it won’t put your life in danger. It’s not about money either. I won’t ask for you to take someone’s life. If you think this is impossible, just refuse me then.”
“Mm.”
Heretic Questioner stroked his chin.
With the right hand that was cut off by the Sword Saint last time.
“Sounds fine to me. To be honest, I really like that condition! Ahaha. There is almost nothing that can take you by surprise is you have information about it beforehand. I agree!”
“Hm. If we can refuse…I also agree.”
The Heretic Questioner and the Count approved.
When the other hunters all finished organizing their thoughts, they promised that they would accept my condition.
‘Nice.’
1 thing done.
“Then I’ll say it now. From the 11th floor to the 20th floor, it takes place in a world called the Aegim Empire. It’s receiving the attack of the Devil King, and the 11th floor is…”
My voice quietly echoed in the cafe.
The guild masters all started to murmur after hearing what I said.
“…Hm. It was a tutorial up to the 10th floor. And we’ll be thrown into a large scale fight from the 11th floor.”
“It’s priceless information, I see.”
“Yup! The fight will also be different now!”
“I should give this information to our guild members. Whew. But our Sangryun kids aren’t talented at all in fighting and…”
The hunters shared their opinions.
I nodded my head.
‘The 11th floor will be clear more easily with this information now.’
It was already changing. A lot of things had changed since the beginning of this regression.
But it still wasn’t enough.
“Then I’ll take my leave now…ah, Crusader.”
“Mm?”
The Crusader turned her head. She was sipping her third Americano now with a straw.
“Why did you call for me?”
“You’re the Vice Guild Master of the Civil Militia. Would you like to walk with me? I have something to discuss with you.”
“Hmm.”
The Crusader looked around and shrugged her shoulders.
“Well. I was planning on getting up soon anyway. As long as it doesn’t take too long…”
“It won’t take that long. 30 minutes is enough.”
“Then fine with me.”
The Crusader put her coffee cup down.
“I’ll accept the date request.”
3.
In the city bustling with people, hunters talked about the 10th floor in benches next to the fountains, outdoor restaurants, and in markets.
“Seeing as how there hasn’t been any announcement, it was cleared by a nameless newbie!”
“No way. The higher guilds are controlling it.”
“Seriously, who did it…”
“I want to clear a stage too.”
To those who’s tomorrow was canceled, the subjugation of the 10th floor had just happened.
It felt like I alone was walking in deleted time.
-Hey, Zombie.
Well, to be exact, I wasn’t alone.
-He’s following us.
Since I had Bae Hu-ryeong.
‘Are you sure?’
-Definitely. And don’t look back.
To safely clear the 12th floor, two things were needed.
One was the alliance with the leaders of the large guilds.
And the other…was for Sword Saint to not be hostile towards me.
‘It’ll be too late to do it on the 12th floor.’
I had felt it this time.
‘Is has to be solved before climbing the tower.’
The relationship between Sword Saint and the guild masters was horrible. If betrayal was added on top of this? We would be taking the shortcut to destruction.
-Dang, I can hardly tell. Look at his stalking skills. You probably won’t be able to tell even if you turned back. He has a skill related to this.
‘I got it, so please just check if it’s following us.’
I was baiting the Sword Saint right now.
I had heard about the Sword Saint’s schedule from Bae Hu-ryeong already, and purposely got noticed by him. After he saw me walk by the outdoor restaurant where he normally ate, he began to follow me.
Of course.
“Kim Gong-ja. Where are we going?”
The Crusader next to me wouldn’t now.
“There’s only dark and creepy neighborhoods if we go this way…”
“There’s a shop I want to recommend to you.”
“Shop?”
“Yes. It’s a shop that a nameless pharmacist runs. It’s amazing. If her name was known, it would get famous right now. But it’s not working out. If you think it’s good, please help with their sales.”
“Mmmmm…”
The Crusader looked at my face.
I knew what she was doing.
‘She activated her Lie Detection skill.’
The Crusader opened her mouth.
“Is what you said true?”
“Yes. Of course. Why would I lie to you?”
I really was going to introduce her to the store so it wasn’t a lie.
“Are you planning something suspicious?”
“I’m trying to receive help from you. Even if something happens, my life will be in danger, not yours. Trust me.”
“Hm.”
She slowly nodded her head.
It was all probably registered as the truth.
“Sorry.”
She smiled.
“I hear that I’m really doubtful of things quite a lot. Let’s continue.”
Nice. Pass.
We passed the street and arrived at the pharmacist’s store. She was moving something that seemed quite heavy. At first, she tilted her head looking at us approach her, then she smiled brightly when she saw my face.
“Ah! Sir!”
“Are you open now, Store owner-nim?”
“Ahaha. It’s closed, but always open for you! You’re my first regular. Hup!”
She put down what she was carrying.
She had looked pretty dirty just a few days ago, but she was completely neat now. She gave off the impression of a store owner now.
“Whew. Ah, sorry. This is…?”
“She’s the hunter that’s working as the Vice Guild Master of the Civil Militia. You’ve heard of her, right? Her name is Crusader.”
“…pardon?”
Her eyes shook beyond her glasses.
“T, the Vice Guild Master of the Civil Militia?!”
“Yup.”
“She’s so high up!”
This was the normal reaction for hunters.
“W, why is such a person at this lowly ship…gasp!? Drugs?! Is this to crack down on drugs? I, I didn’t make any! I’m working in a place like this, but I didn’t touch drugs at the very least, no, I didn’t make even a gram of anything bad!”
“······.”
“I lived conscientiously! And I’ll continue to do so! So please don’t investigate!”
She bent over flat on the ground.
This wasn’t a normal reaction.
“Mm…”
The Crusader had an awkward face. Since the Lie Detection had probably said that it was all true. She seemed to be considering whether she should think of the pharmacist in front of her as a psycho or a conscious business woman.
“Here, here. Store owner-nim. Don’t worry.”
Tap tap.
I patted her shoulder.
“I didn’t come here to tattle to the Crusader. You’re such a nice person.”
“Then…?”
“Sales aren’t equal to the quality of your work. So I wanted to introduce it to the Vice Guild Master here.”
The pharmacist lifted her head and dropped her mouth open.
“I, Introduce…?”
“Exactly what it means. Try giving the Crusader different potions to test out. Who knows? She might make a contract with you if she likes it.”
“······.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier for you if the Civil Militia uses your potions?”
The pharmacist blinked.
It seemed to take her a while to understand.
A moment later, she grabbed my hand.
“A, Angel-nim…!”
I wasn’t an angel-nim but Gong-ja-nim.
“You helped me when my store was almost sold away, ordered a huge stock, and uh. Uh. Now you’re even helping my sales. You’re an angel…How can I repay this…?”
And when the future Lord of Alchemy Castle’s eyes were shining.
Someone stepped into the quiet street. The footsteps were pretty heavy, so the three of us all turned our heads to look.
“-there.”
The owner of the footsteps was wearing black formal attire.
“Could everyone else except for that guy step aside?”
And he glared at me coldly.
Sword Saint.
He was the old man of this regression that didn’t believe me yet.
His low voice rang in the alley.
“I want to speak with that person alone.”
Fine by me.
It was time to clear the second condition.