Chapter 9
Chapter 9 – The Monologuing Identity(2)
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Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
-Can’t you return me to the old man now?
Bae Hu-ryeong was raging . In the cramped room, it was inhumane for more than a single person to be in it, though, he was a ghost so he was a blind spot in human rights . Could you take it if you had a 3 meter mosquito buzzing?
“Ah, really! Even if I wanted to do it, I can’t!”
-You copied me with your skill . Then you should be able to cancel it . Don’t you know how to give a refund? Refund! What kind of world is it these days with no refund!
“I can’t cancel it!”
I’d explained how the skill was copied . But even after hearing the explanation, the ghost still bothered me in vain . Wanting me to send it back to the Sword Saint .
-Ugh . Old man Marcus! Disciple! Master Lee has been kidnapped! Your one and only teacher has been kidnapped by a child!
Even then, this ghost turned in the air and began to shout .
-Geez, you ugly student . This all happened because you ignored your precious Master! I was afraid of this happening, that’s why I told you to treat your teacher like the heavens .
“Excuse me…”
He was giving me a hard time . I’d lost the fear of seeing a ghost in real life for the first time . Fear? That was something . No matter how scary it was, it would give anyone a headache if this was how it acted .
“Let’s just live quietly, please . Okay?”
-What do you mean live? I’m already dead .
“Ah, then please die quietly . ”
-No . Do I look like a fucking dog? You’re scolding a ghost that’s already dead and afraid to die another time . Everyone in the neighborhood, look at this bastard! From the beginning, there’s nothing I couldn’t say!
“Wow . ”
I opened my mouth in shock . What the?
This was my first time seeing a ghost in real life but it talked too much…no it’s the first time seeing someone talk too fucking much .
And then I realized . I could understand why the Sword Saint was talking to himself at the bar . That…Come to think of it, the Sword Saint kept mumbling, but the content that he talked about was pretty monotonous .
‘Shut up . ’
‘Don’t be so noisy . ’
‘You’re too loud . I’ll take care of it so leave it alone . ’
99% of what he said was about noise .
He’d been babbling at the side like he had a mental illness .
“That constant muttering . If it was a ghost-like this…”
-Huh? What the . Did you just talk to me? At your age . You dare to speak up to me?
“Damn it . ”
My shoulders sagged subconsciously . My future looked bleak .
“I’ll have to avoid the Sword Saint for the rest of my life . No matter what skill I got, I didn’t expect a ghost to come out . ”
-Huh? I have to live away from that old man . What kind of bullshit is that?
Bae Hu-ryeong shook his head .
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-Where’s a hunter as good as old man Marcus? He’s my disciple, but he’s still a good old man . Oh, but never talk about his grandkids . He’s usually pretty nice, but when it comes to his grandkids, he gets crazy .
“I already know that . ”
I sighed .
“There is a skill that the Sword Saint has . What is it called? The one that tells the number of people a person has killed . ”
Ah . Detective’s Insight? It’s a fucking crap skill .
Bae Hu-ryeong responded quite quickly indeed . So that was the name of the kill counting skill? [Detective’s Insight]? The ghost seemed to know all of the Sword Saint’s skills .
-What about it? It’s only useful to find out if someone is an assassin or not . Besides, there’s no guarantee that someone is an assassin simply because they killed a lot of people .
“The number is 4091 . ”
-Huh?
“The kill count floating above my head . The number is 4091 . ”
Bae Hu-ryeong looked dumbfounded . He frowned . Somehow, the facial expressions of this ghost was better than many living people .
-What . This guy . Are you crazy?
“I think I will really be crazy if I have to spend one more day with you . You’re so noisy . ”
-No…you’re a complete beginner .
Bae Hu-ryeong’s facial expression became serious .
-A beginner among beginners . Looking at you, I don’t get it . How does a guy like you kill 4091 people? I couldn’t have done that even while reaching the 99th floor in my lifetime .
“That’s because I didn’t kill 4091 people . ”
-Ha?
I shrugged and began to explain .
“This is what happened . The only person I really murdered was a really bad guy who would later be known as the Flame Emperor…”
That I was murdered by the Flame Emperor . That luck allowed me to copy his regression skill . That if I stayed there, there would be no hope for revenge . That I made a decision to go back over 4000 days .
-…What?
Bae Hu-ryeong who was listening, had his mouth wide open .
-You committed suicide more than 4000 times? Just to get revenge on the Flame Emperor?
“Yes . ”
-……
Bae Hu-ryeong became silent . He had looked dumbfounded at first, but now his expression changed . He looked straight at my face with eyes that seemed to be struggling with something . He was so serious that I wondered if he was the same ghost that was just making a fuss in my 2 pyung room .
-Hey .
After a long period of silence, Bae Hu-ryeong opened his mouth .
“What is it?”
-What is your name?
“I’m Kim Gong-ja”
Bae Hu-ryeong let out a groan .
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-Why did you choose the old man?
“Yes?”
-After you got revenge on that Flame Emperor guy, why did you decide to copy a skill from the old man?
“Isn’t it obvious?”
I felt uneasy . I couldn’t understand why he’d asked that question .
“He is the hunter ranked 1st in this era . He’s the strongest so he must have strong skills . ”
-That way, you’ll get stronger faster?
“Yes . ”
-…you can honestly answer my questions as there is no fear of the information leaking anyway . It says on the skill card that no one else but you can see me . It’s totally safe is it not?
“What? Absolutely . ”
Silence fell in the room once again .
-Hmmm
Floating, Bae Hu-ryeong wandered through the air around me . He came to the left and stared at my face, then to my right and measured my height . All of it with a serious expression .
I frowned, it felt like he wanted to do something weird .
-Let’s see . Um . The physique wouldn’t be too bad once it’s refined . The willpower is amazing . Sense of improvement is moderate . Knows how to keep his sanity but still unpredictable…Ahem, indeed . Um . If it’s this much…
Bae Hu-ryeong kept muttering to himself .
‘What is he talking about now?’
From what I’d heard, this ghost seemed to be the Sword Saint’s master . And now this master was talking to himself while moving side to side .
-Hey, Kim Gong-ja .
Suddenly Bae Hu-ryeong flew to my face and called my name .
“Yes?”
-Show me how you hunt monsters .
So I hunted a few mobs .
“Are you satisfied?”
I didn’t have anything to do in my room anyway . As soon as dawn came, I headed to the hunting ground . Actually, since I’d died to the Sword Saint and returned to the day before, it meant I had to kill Yoo Soo-ha one more time . So it was necessary to go out anyway .
-As expected…
Bae Hu-ryeong nodded .
-My expectations were indeed correct .
“What did you expect?”
-Well . In my past life, I was called Sword Emperor(劍帝) .
As dawn broke, Bae Hu-ryeong’s voice seemed to echo across the hunting ground .
-My hometown is not here . You can think of it as a different world . Anyway, just like it did here, the tower appeared in my hometown, and I conquered faster than any other hunter there .
“I was wondering what you were doing, turns out you were bragging about yourself . ”
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-Well
Bae Hu-ryeong snickered .
-So what . Eventually, our world failed to clear the 100th floor . This was written on your skill card right?
[Sword Constellation]
-Rank:
-Effect:
>A ghost from another world . 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 .
Come to think of it, it was pretty amazing .
Before I’d returned, the Flame Emperor had only broken through the 40th floor and was considered a legend . What about the 99th floor? The ghost before me was truly incredible .
-I can tell if you’re good or not . How talented a hunter is . I can tell immediately . That’s why I asked you, Kim Gong-ja to show me how you hunt monsters .
“Aha . ”
I laughed bitterly .
“Are you trying to see if I have talent for swordsmanship?”
Why . There are many stories like this . A story where the main character lives without realizing their talent then they suddenly fall down a cliff or meet a great master and awaken their true power . A meeting of fate(奇緣) .
“Tut . You worked in vain . ” (TL: Tut is like the sound made by clicking your tongue . )
Unfortunately, such luck didn’t come to me .
“I don’t have any talent for combat . It’s all luck of the draw . But now when I die, I can at least copy the skills of other hunters . If I had talent I would’ve been out of the F class long ago . Why would I want to live like that?”
Bae Hu-ryeong frowned .
-What are you talking about? You’re talented .
“Yeah?”
-Tremendously so .
Huh . That wasn’t the response I’d expected .
“Hey, jokes too . Are you making fun of me?”
-I’m not joking .
Bae Hu-ryeong quietly shook his head .
-Of course, you have no martial arts talent . Your coordination is poor . Your physique is lackluster and it would take a long time to learn to use aura . But regardless of that, you have a very rare talent . (TL: This was so harsh, I cringed, poor Gong-ja)
Bae Hu-ryeong’s eyes became serious .
-You’re not afraid of death .
“…”
-You just don’t have it . Surprisingly, nothing at all .
Bae Hu-ryeong stroked his chin .
-Probably, after dying over 4000 times, the fear of death disappeared without you knowing . This is also what I expected . You don’t realise it, but you’re completely reckless when you face monsters . People usually hesitate a little because they’re afraid of dying or getting hurt, but you don’t have that .
“Uh . Is that a talent?”
-Of course .
I got an immediate answer .
-Innate talents are not the only type of talent . People can awaken talents one by one in their lives . The most difficult of these, is the talent to overcome the fear of death . But you have already learned the most difficult thing .
“…”
-It’s awesome .
I was a bit embarrassed .
So far, no one had ever talked to me like this . (TL: Awwww Gong-ja is getting shy) I had never thought of myself in this way either . It was just because I’d been treated like a worm by the Flame Emperor so…I was so angry that I surpassed 4000 deaths . (TL: I think he should get to 5000 deaths, it’s a whole number after all, who agrees?)
Dying .
That was my talent .
-I just have one question .
“What is it?”
-When old man Marcus killed you . What were you thinking then?
I recalled what had happened in my last death . Only a few hours had passed, so I was able to vividly recall the memories and my emotions . (TL:I can’t even remember how I felt 10 minutes ago…ㅠㅠ)
The night sky, the moon and the wind that was blowing so quietly that no sound could be heard .
“…I thought it was beautiful . ”
It was then .
-Hahahahaha!
Bae Hu-ryeong raised his head and laughed heartily . The sound of the laughter was magnificent and it spread through the empty plains .
-That was funny .
Bae Hu-ryeong’s eyes twinkled as he looked toward me .
-You don’t rob skills, you just copy them . In other words [Another Me] is still attached to old man Marcus . The Old man and you . I wonder which of you will be the greater hunter? I’m a bit curious .
“…”
-I’ll help you .
Sword Constellation . The ghost that once conquered 99 floors in the tower and was known by the name Sword Emperor, looked directly at me .
-To the extent that you can get rid of old man Marcus . No, to be much stronger than that old man!
Then he reached out his hand .
-Let’s conquer the tower .
It was the moment my partner was born .