Chapter 8
Chapter 8 – The Monologuing Identity(2)
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Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
Luck .
It was pure luck that helped me evade the old man’s attack .
“Hmm?!”
The Sword Saint’s eyes widened slightly . Perhaps, in his eyes, I was a tremendous master . So after I dodged his attack he immediately jumped away expecting a counterattack . What he probably didn’t expect was that I would be fiercely rolling on the ground .
“Swo-, Sword Saint-nim . Wait . Please listen to me for a moment . ”
It didn’t matter if I died . I wanted to die after all . No, what mattered was if I could fix the misconception that the Sword Saint had, then die . That way, I could avoid useless confrontations in the future .
“I’m an F-class hunter…”
“You dodged my sword . You must be a high-end assassin huh?”
“Ah! Is this old geezer dead?!”
This was horrible . Instead of clearing up the misunderstanding, it was just getting worse .
Again, avoiding the sword had been pure luck . I couldn’t even follow the blade with my eyes . The old man’s skills far exceeded my cognitive abilities .
‘If he attacks again, I wouldn’t be able to avoid it . ’
After all this, it seemed like I could only give up on convincing him . I watched the death approach in the form of a sword .
“…”
He stopped .
The Sword Saint suddenly stopped, just a step away and at first, I thought this was my chance .
‘Oh? Are you ready to listen to me now?’
But the Sword Saint didn’t look at me . Instead, the old man frowned at the air . Curious, I also turned my head to look but found nothing there .
“…didn’t I tell you I’d take care of it?”
The old man spoke to the open air .
“…so noisy . Catch and interrogate . So I should keep this demon alive?”
He was talking to himself .
‘What the?”
The Sword Saint, who had just been about to cut me down, stopped . Instead, he began to mutter to himself . The immediate crisis was delayed a bit .
I furrowed my brow .
‘Is he…is that a self-talk skill?’
Maybe . Maybe it was .
At the bar, I’d thought, ‘This old man is mentally ill . ’ But now that I was witnessing it up close it seemed a bit different . Shall I say a bit more elaborate and sophisticated? The man truly seemed to be talking to someone .
‘Is it telepathy?’
Suddenly a thought came to me . Telepathy or Sound Transmission(傳音) . The ability to freely communicate from a distance . Such a skill did exist .
‘Then…was he talking about me to someone else?’
A shiver went down my spine again .
‘He intends to capture the man who slaughtered 4091 people . ’
Wanted Criminal .
The Hunter Bureau rarely released bounties . And when they did, the targets didn’t last very long . The Wanted person would be hunted by top players and would need to hide for life . If they were caught, they would be executed publicly in Babylon Square in the middle of the city .
‘This is not good . ’
I clenched my teeth .
‘I have to die right now . ’
So that everything I could go back 24 hours and let everything be reset, I had to die immediately . I stared at the Sword Saint .
“…it’s too late . I’ve already made up my mind . Even if you’re the master…”
The old man was still muttering to himself . I wasn’t 100% sure if he suffered from psychosis or was really talking to someone, but even if I wasn’t sure I still opened my mouth .
“How are your grandchildren doing?”
The old man stopped talking to himself . Then he slowly turned and looked at me .
“I heard that the outside world is really ugly these days . If they’re the grandchildren of the great Sword Saint then they must be quite pretty . You must be very worried . ”
“…”
Dark blue eyes, and pupils that were as still as the ocean’s depths stared into my eyes .
“It is said that you’re originally from Northern Europe . I heard that terrorists there are really rampant . I don’t know, maybe without your knowledge, your grandchildren have already suffered many injustices . ”
Suguk .
‘Huh . ’
The sound of an apple being cut in half rang out in the clearing .
‘Huh…’
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At first, I couldn’t tell what had happened . I’d been watching the old man this entire time and I hadn’t seen him move . Not even his lips moved .
So where did that sound come from?
The strangeness didn’t end there though . Originally, the Sword Saint was standing on the ground right in front of me . But does it feel as though the ground was slowly turning over .
The horizon tilted and the moon in the sky flipped over . High in the night sky, the first quarter moon(Sanghyun) tilted and became the last quarter moon(Hahyun) . The only thing on the horizon was an upside-down old man .
“…”
The old man’s blue eyes just stared at me and I couldn’t help but think that they truly resembled the starry sky . I could see why he was called the sword saint .
Then I realized .
‘Ah . ’
The ground was not upside down .
My head had been cut off and it was slowly falling .
One Hit KO(一擊)
‘Beautiful . ’
My eyes couldn’t follow the attack of the old man, but after seeing the world after my head was cut off, I couldn’t help but think it was beautiful .
After a while, my head hit something . My mind was blank and I couldn’t hear anything, but I finally realized that my head had landed on the ground .
By the time I realized that there was no longer any life in my eyes .
[You have died . ]
What kind of skills did he have? How long did he have to practice before he could get skills at that level?
[The skill condition has been achieved due to death . ]
I was filled with emotions that were much different from when I had been killed by the Flame Emperor . I felt betrayed by the Flame Emperor and I’d wanted revenge for my wrongful death .
However, it wasn’t the same with the Sword Saint .
‘I want to be like that . ’
‘I want to have a one-hit attack too . ’
This was similar to the feeling I had toward Yoo Soo-ha before I learned what he truly was like .
Jealousy . Covetousness . Adoration .
Flames of desire burned within my heart .
And there was something that responded to those flames .
[A skill of Hunter Marcus Calenbury will be randomly copied . ]
Cards began to appear in the darkness around me .
[Creating Skill Cards . ]
Swish!
The cards had their backs toward me so I couldn’t see their information .
‘Still, the colors were more pronounced than when I was killed by Yoo Soo-ha . ’
Perhaps it was because I’ve already adapted to death .
4090 times . As the Sword saint had confirmed with his [Kill Counter] skill, I’d already experienced death thousands of times . No hunter was more familiar with death than me .
‘It’s not something to be proud of . ’
I couldn’t help but make a bitter smile .
‘Please select a skill card . ’
The cards floating before me all started to fly around quickly .
‘Whoa!’
At first, I was surprised . But it didn’t take long for me to regain my focus and begin to concentrate on the cards .
‘I mustn’t get anything else . Golden yellow! I can only get a golden yellow card!’
But they were fast . It seemed impossible to chase after them .
‘Oh my God . ’
Did I grab a golden card from these fast-moving cards when I was killed by the Flame Emperor? Me? How did I do that? I was new, but I was really lucky at that time .
‘There is nothing to say, I can’t get lucky again this time! Golden Yellow, where are you golden yellow?’
But I realized something strange .
‘Huh?’
No matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find one .
‘I don’t think there are any golden cards . ’
Among the cards flying around in front of me, there were blue cards and silver cards . However, none of them were golden . Believing I was wrong, I focused and searched even harder to look for anyone that I missed, but found nothing .
This meant there was only one possibility .
‘Re-, really?’
I was shocked .
‘Is there really no . . ?’
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From the start…the Sword Saint did not have any S-rank skills .
‘This doesn’t make sense!’
I wanted to scream .
‘He is the number one hunter! The most legendary character before the Flame Emperor arrived and he didn’t have any S-rank skills?!’
It was very hard to believe, but it was true . My skill proved it .
Marcus Calenbury, the great Sword Saint, reigned above the world without a single S-rank skill .
I was shocked and a bit fearful .
‘No, no! This cannot be!’
My reaction of shock and fear were completely genuine .
‘I’m sure that there are at least a few strong skills among the silver cards . ’
I didn’t know where to curse my situation or laugh at the odds . Nevertheless, I was eager to try my luck .
With a very earnest heart, I stared at the cards .
‘Three blue cards and four silver cards . ’
Seven cards in totally flew around dizzyingly .
‘I can completely ignore the shit cards . ’
It was a reasonable choice of course .
Now the question was which silver card to choose .
The [Kill Counter] skill was probably included in the silver cards . And he probably had an unidentified cheat skill as well .
Of course, the technique I wanted should not be as subtle as the kill counter skill and it would be better if it was a cheat skill like the resurrection skill .
‘The probability is 1 out of 4 . ’
In other words, I could only rely on pure luck .
‘Please be something good . ’
I reached out my hand .
‘Please, please be the one I want . The Sword Saint’s cheat skill!’
Then I caught one of the silver cards .
[Selection Complete . A skill has been copied . ]
[Returning to 24 hours ago . ]
…
“-Huk!”
I woke up, swallowing a groan .
Side room .
A 2 pyung1 large lodge welcomed me, the familiar sight enriching my heart a bit . The futon gave off a bad smell as it hadn’t been washed in a long time .
Unfortunately, this single bedroom apartment was all I could afford at the time .
“Wh, what did I get?!”
I immediately opened my stat window, wondering if I’d succeeded or failed in my 25% gamble .
[Kim Gong-ja]
Class: F
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Skills(3/4):
→I Want to Be Like You2(S+): Passive
→Returners Clockwork Watch(EX): Passive
→Sword Constellation(): Passive
None
(TL: Of all passives…rip…)
“Ah…”
I sighed, feeling both happy and sad .
“I’m glad I got an -rank skill…”
First I felt glad . Even though it wasn’t an S-rank skill, I still believed this was the best one he had . I was also lucky to not get a skill like Kill Counter .
“…it’s another passive skill . ”
Then there was my sadness . What I’d initially aimed for was a combat skill . Some kind of rare martial art . Like fencing . Or maybe a skill that awakens an aura . Most of those were active abilities .
In other words, I failed to get the best combat skill .
“Haa”
I sighed again .
“No, if I think about it, it’s not so bad . . ”
In fact, if other hunters were to hear my lamentation now, they’d go crazy .
Where could you find -rank skills without having to work hard for it .
I decided to look at the bright side instead .
First, I had to focus on checking the skill out first .
Shak!
Of course, the skill cards were only visible to the hunter themself .
→I Want to Be Like You(S+): Passive
→Returners Clockwork Watch(EX): Passive
→Sword Constellation(): Passive
Sword Constellation .
Just by looking at the name, it was really hard to determine what the skill did .
“But even ‘I Want to Be Like You’ had a strange name . ”
It was difficult to judge whether a skill was a scam or a prize from the name alone .
Maybe it would turn out to be an amazing skill . It was a little comfort I gave myself since I was the one who grabbed the silver card .
-Ah . What’s so noisy?
A voice sounded out from somewhere .
-Grandfather . This Master told you . If you want to have practice in the middle of the night, at least be quiet .
“…”
-When you move, there’s no need to disturb me . I don’t have to wake up . Let’s treat each with manners yeah?
Slowly .
I slowly turned to look in the direction of the voice .
On a futon in a single room . I was crammed into space where I could barely lie down alone . Yet I could see something behind, though blurry . Someone was laying there, with his back to me .
“Excuse me . ”
I felt goosebumps .
“Who are you?”
-Huh?
And then my eyes met with someone I didn’t know .
Spirit . Ghost .
Something that was clearly not a living human .
-Eh?
The ghost was large . If it wasn’t for his clothes, he might’ve been mistaken for a gorilla . His physique was rather wide, even down to his eyebrows . And he stared at me with a shocked expression .
-Hey . Who are you?
“…I want to ask the same thing . Who are you?”
-Can you see me?
I nodded evenly .
“Yes . ”
-Can you hear my voice?
“Um . If we’re communicating right now…maybe that is obvious”
What the hell . Am I really talking to a ghost right now?
You would think that an ordinary ghost would be like a monster, picking on everyone because of its grudges in life .
But this guy was different . He spoke and acted like a human, only with a blurry body .
-Huh, isn’t that weird? I don’t know what to do .
The ghost shook his head . It seemed that I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t understand the current situation .
-Where are we? It’s as small as a doghouse . Where has that old man Marcus gone and why is there a boy like you in front of me?
Only then did I finally understand something that the ghost had said .
“Uh . By Marcus…do you mean Marcus Calenbury? The Sword Saint?”
-Tch-tch . Even a beginner like him can be called a Sword Saint? It’s undeserved .
The ghost clicked his tongue as if he heard something unbelievable .
-Anyway, the name you called was right . Where is he? He should be around here .
I was dumbfounded .
‘The Sword Saint is a beginner?’
The hunter who was currently ranked number one in the world . And since I intended to murder Yoo Soo-ha, maybe he would continue to reign at the very top in the far future .
What exactly was this ghost in front of me that called such a big shot, a beginner? And why was I able to suddenly see ghosts?
“…”
To answer my questions, I brought up the skill card and read the information .
[Sword Constellation]
→Rank:
→Effect:
→A ghost from another world . He cleared the 99th floor but failed the 100th floor and died . The resentment remained, causing him to become a ghost . He cannot interfere with the physical world, but it is possible to tamper with the owner’s mind . Seek advice from his rich experience and amazing skills!
→However, no one can see the ghost except for the owner .
→This skill was copied from Hunter Marcus Calenbury .
I was lost for words .
-Hey . I said where’s the old man . Are you ignoring me? Tsk . Hey . Hey! I’ve been doing well this past year . It’s rare to find warriors like him, even if he’s only so-so
Oh my God .
It seems I copied the Sword Saint’s ghost .
(TLN:
1 . 1 Pyung= 3 . 30579 m2= 35 . 5832 ft2
2 . I’d originally kept the original team’s translation of the skill as ‘I want to become just like you’ but it is unnecessarily long . So I’ll put it the way I wanted from the start which is ‘I want to be like you’ which is simpler but carries the same meaning .
3 . From 15 June Onwards Release rate will increase to 6 chapters a week )