Chapter 194. < I didn’t mean to do that (2) >
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Translator: Seven
“So what happened was… Ah, should I just show you? Yeah. That would be better”
The Lady hit her head with her palms. It was a rather unsightly scene. At the same time as she did that, color began to spread in the white s.p.a.ce.
The surroundings began to change like VR.
“Huh?”
By the way, this scene. I wasn’t sure why, but it felt familiar.
“……is this the hunting ground on the 2nd floor?”
“That’s right.”
I finally recognized it. After all, before my return, it was a place I visited every day when I was living as an F cla.s.s hunter. It was also the place where I got rid of Yoo Soo-ha before he became the Flame Emperor.
Then I heard a familiar voice in this s.p.a.ce.
-Ah, f.u.c.k. How many times do I have to die here?
A man with black hair tied in a ponytail.
Yoo Soo-ha.
You would think that if he didn’t swear every time he opened his mouth, a rash would grow on his tongue. His cursing was so blatant that one would want to wash their ears after listening to him talk.
-Dammit. What kind of life is this? I’m getting sick and tired of chasing after these guys, f.u.c.k.
Yoo Soo-ha, who had been embodied in VR, began chasing slimes.
-Hey! Dude! Can’t you just stand still!?
The slime ran away and Yoo Soo-ha chased after it. The hunter had the appearance of a beginner. No matter how you looked at it, he couldn’t have been higher than F cla.s.s.
“……how long ago was this?”
“It was a long time ago. From your perspective, I guess it would be [before your return].”
The Lady answered without removing her hands from her head.
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“At that time, the Flame Emperor had only reached the 2nd floor like you. He hadn’t awoken his skill yet. By the way….”
Before she could finish her sentence, a blonde girl appeared in the VR. It was [The Lady Who Walks Through the Mirage].
While humming a tune, the Lady skipped through the gra.s.s. Her pace was relaxed as if she was only taking a walk in a park.
-What the h.e.l.l? Why is a brat in a place like this?
Yoo Soo-ha noticed the Lady’s presence immediately.
-Hey, brat.
He walked behind the skipping Lady and grabbed her by the collar. Regardless of if the Lady only looked like a child on the outside, such an act was extremely rude. Nevertheless, Yoo Soo-ha lifted the Lady by the collar as if it was natural.
-What are you doing here?
The moment their eyes met.
-Congratulations!
The Lady smiled brightly as she held up a sign with both hands.
The sign had the words [Golden Goblin Lottery] written in crooked letters.
-The first person to find and catch me is given a golden skill! You are really lucky. Today, you are the luckiest person in all of the Towers!
-Wh-, what is this? This crazy kid….
-If you check your status now, you will see your golden skill. Bye now!
The Lady disappeared after that as if to say that her business had been completed.
Now, Yoo Soo-ha was the only one left in the gra.s.s.
-What the h.e.l.l….
The VR illusion ended there.
The s.p.a.ce I was standing once again became plain like a page of drawing paper.
The Lady, who looked exactly the same as in the image, was still banging her head in front of me.
“…….”
I looked down at the back of the Lady’s pretty head.
“I still don’t understand despite seeing it. Please explain.”
“I sometimes hold [Golden Goblin] events. It’s kind of like a game. I appear in any Tower and walk around randomly, and the first person that catches me….”
“You don’t just give away golden skills do you?”
“No. Well kind of….”
“This is crazy.”
It was ridiculous. My mind was blank.
The thing that suddenly came to mind was a distant memory of when people asked the Flame Emperor about his secret to success, he would frown.
「Sir Flame Emperor! Please summarize the secret of your success for aspiring students! Please advise them!」
「If you were meant to succeed, you’ll succeed.」
That was what the Flame Emperor always said.
「That’s all. I have nothing more to say. So please stop following me.」
Before now, I’d always thought it was just a remark made from arrogance.
But what if he’d managed to catch the [Golden Goblin] by chance and obtained an EX rank skill?
He couldn’t tell anyone about it. Even if he did say it, he would simply be taken for a crazy person.
He literally had no choice but to say ‘If you were meant to succeed, you’ll succeed’!
“Why, why did you do that?”
“There are two reasons, one is very personal and the other is very public. Which would you like to hear first?”
“Let’s start with the public reason.”
“Among the pillars, there are bystanders and intervenors. I’m an intervenor. One of those who actively intervenes with the children climbing the Towers. As part of that role, I hold many events, and the Golden Goblin is one of them….”
“And the personal reason?”
“It’s a lot of fun.”
“So that’s why you hit your head.”
“Yeah….”
I finally understand why I was treated so well by such a high ranking member of the Tower.
I was a victim who had been murdered by the Flame Emperor, Yoo Soo-ha. And the skill that made the Flame Emperor successful [Returner’s Clockwork Watch], was nothing but a skill that had been given by a pillar for fun. In other words.
“So it was just victim compensation….”
“It’s not like that at all.”
My head hurt.
“I always wondered why that guy Yoo Soo-ha had such a good skill. However, it turned out to be something like this. It was like a story of a frog that had been killed by a rock that had been thrown for fun….”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Tch.”
I let out a sigh.
“So that’s why you were sent down here? As punishment? There’s someone with the authority to do that to a pillar?”
“That’s right. Mula… the Tower Master ordered me to come down and regain my senses. Experience all the prohibitions. Right now, compared to my true form, my physical strength, force, intelligence, charm, and everything else is much weaker. Isn’t it too much?”
“The Tower Master is a great and wise leader. A really great and wise leader.”
It was a brilliant judgment.
“In any case, I would like to personally reward the Death King. Whenever a meeting is held, I secretly support you, but that’s not enough, is it?”
“Umm.”
I tapped my chin.
‘I don’t need to be compensated for the Flame Emperor issue now.’
Thanks to Yoo Soo-ha’s [Returner’s Clockwork Watch], I was able to make full use of [I want to Become Just Like You]. I had been able to live a successful life, and I was happy to meet Master and Raviel.
-Hey. Zombie. What are the pillars that you guys were talking about?
As I pondered silently, the ghost behind me talked. Bae Hu-ryeong had been with me through all my struggles, except for when I met the pillar.
‘There’s something like that. I’ll explain later… Ah.’
After seeing the floating Bae Hu-ryeong, I changed my mind.
“You’re right. The Lady should compensate me.”
“With what? Should I give you a bunch of race points?”
“I’d like that too, but… no.”
I shook my head.
“Please show me how the kids lived after I left.”
“Huh?”
“Ssonia, Arika, Sak.u.m and Yumar. The kids that I touched. I want to see how those kids lived after I disappeared. If possible, I’d like to see Uburka and Gorke too.”
My kids later lives.
I wanted to see it.
Very badly.
“…….”
The Lady slowly raised her head to look at me.
Her eyes contained kindness as she looked at me
“Death King, you’re really greedy.”
“Yeah.”
“Alright. I can do that much.”
The white s.p.a.ce was dyed once again.
Soon, I was able to see my kids’ faces.
2.
Ssonia didn’t stop acting.
-It’s fine.
Since I left, Ssonia suffered from countless bad reviews. It was said that his skill in using aura dropping significantly or that his skills were no longer comparable to what he’d shown before. ‘Ssonia’s blood plays were never satisfactory enough for the goblins who had become more sophisticated after witnessing something extraordinary.
-It’ll be okay.
But Ssonia didn’t stop.
He practiced until his fingernails broke and his toenails crumbled.
-You can do it.
Ssonia became less talkative. Except for when he was performing or rehearsing, he rarely opened his mouth. His att.i.tude was decisive, as if he couldn’t live unless he was on the stage.
Beside this Ssonia were the one eyed Arika, the one armed Yumar and the one eared Sak.u.m who.
-We just have to think about it like we’re starting over from the beginning.
The Theater Conmpaby’s reputation fell, but the actors didn’t care
-At first, the dance plays were novel and shocking, but now, the audience has gotten used to it. That’s all. Don’t be discouraged. If we continue performing, we will receive their praises once again.
-Ugor.
A washed up Theater Company.
Despite receiving such an evaluation, the actors continued to do their job silently.
Arika’s long lost mother returned. It was difficult for the two people, who had already lost the chance to share their lives together, to develop a mother-child relations.h.i.+p. Nevertheless, Arika allowed his mother to come into his life and they ate together occasionally.
Most of the money Yumar earned while working as an actor was sent back to his hometown. The situation of the village hadn’t been good since almost all of the young people had been killed. But thanks to Yumar’s donations, the village was able to tide itself over until the next generation grew up.
Sak.u.m learned that his previous master’s family had fallen. As he wasn’t one to miss such an opportunity, Sak.u.m hurriedly ran over and threw a silver coin at his old master, who had become a beggar that sat at the side of the street. He then left happily under the old master’s blank gaze.
Time pa.s.sed.
-…….
Ssonia’s face was now filled with wrinkles.
Ssonia, who had spent all of his life on the stage, still had clear eyes. His life had been small, but it had filled a small place(TL:…would you believe it if I told you this was the first time the author used a p.r.o.noun(female) for Ssonia… It’s a bit late to change it now, so I’ll leave it as is…)
As he sat alone in the empty audience seats, he looked at the theater stage, where there was no part that his feet hadn’t touched.
-I lived a good life.
Ssonia’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the stage.
Reflecting on the way he’d danced like a shadow upon it.
-I wish I was a bit kinder to people.
Ssonia closed his eyes.
It was hard to guess what he was thinking.
-Lord Kekerkker….
Then the scene changed.
Unlike the delicate Ssonia, the hobgoblin that appeared was as large as a mountain. A warrior who had been recognized as the strongest in goblin history. The number 1 Chairman of the Fire River Council.
-There is no reason for me to rule anymore.
Uburka stood at the top of the world for more than 20 years after I left.
Countless warriors had challenged him in that time, but he had never been defeated.
The Undefeated Fighter.
One day, he announced his resignation.
-I will now step down from my position as Chairman and only focus on the path of martial arts.
The hobgoblins protested. They were now beginning to get used to Uburka’s iron fist ruling, so they couldn’t help but be shocked when he announced his abdication.
But Uburka held firm.
-I even feel like it’s too late. Ugo. It wasn’t hard for me to stabilize the situation with the snails or suppress the continent. I’ve already completed the things I set out to do 20 years ago, so I will now live for myself. Don’t worry. I’m not going to come back. I’m cutting all ties with the world.
-Where are you going, Chairman?
-I’m not going anywhere.
Uburka grinned.
-I’m waiting for my daddy to come.
After that, Uburka left Guru and climbed a mountain.
It was the Spirit Mountain, the most rugged and treacherous mountains on the continent.
In this place, a blizzard raged all year round.
And it was at the very top that Uburka crossed his legs and sat down.
-Daddy comes to the world every few hundred years.
In his quiet meditation, he muttered.
-As I am today, I would only be able to last for another hundred and fifty years. I need to go beyond my current realm.
There was a hint of joy in Uburka’s voice.
-Come, Daddy. I’ll be waiting for you.
The blizzard engulfed Uburka.
The scene that was supposed to end there, continued.
“…….”
The Lady didn’t revert the scenery like the last time.
One minute pa.s.sed, then 3 minutes, but the cold winds of Spirit Mountain continued to blow around me.
“Hey, Lady?”
“Mhm.”
“I think I’ve already seen the end of Uburka’s later life.”
“No.”
The Lady smiled brightly.
“It’s not over yet.”
The Lady’s smile carried a hint of playfulness.
“…….”
No way.
I felt my heart thump in my chest.
Even though I had a feeling, I couldn’t easily accept it.
“Do you mean… that he’s still alive?”
Uburka.
When we parted, I clearly remembered that child’s smiling face which seemed to say ‘I’ll definitely live for a long time’. Naturally, I thought he’d died. Uburka had already become a legend in the goblin race.
But what if Uburka had managed to succeed in reaching the Rejuvenating Body Stage.
“Did he really manage to survive?”
A voice shook slightly without me realizing.
When she saw me like that, the Lady’s lips curved slightly.
“Mhm. You want to meet him?”
The next stage.
On the 35th floor, I decided to meet the child I wanted to see the most.
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