Chapter 17 Trauma Penalty (2)

Translator: HH

[Penalty commencing.]

[The trauma of the Monster h.e.l.lfire Maiden is being created.]

A fancy western style residence.

I was here.

No, the word here probably didnt fit. I wasnt here. It was just my consciousness floating around like a ghost, looking down at things from a third person perspective.

What is this?

I was taken aback.

Whats happenin?

-S, Save me.

Then, I heard a voice.

A young child was sitting in the corner of the 2st floor lobby. At first, I thought she was talking to me, but she pleaded to someone else.

-Please save meIm hungrysomething to eatsomething to eat, please

-Mm.

A person dressed like a n.o.ble.

-Orphans like you are the plague of this kingdom.

-Something to eat

-Left alone, you eat society. You dont even work. You wander around from one village to the next, spreading your disease. Im a prison ward that isolates those like you from the kingdom.

In an instant, information entered my brain.

A time when there were many wanderers because there wasnt enough food. The n.o.ble gathered orphans into his residence. He funded an orphanage as a cover. He was known as a kind wealthy man, a great businessman, and a conscientious man with knowledge.

-Others treat you as rotten. Im different.

But in this large mansion.

-Im going to educate you.

The n.o.ble was just a tyrant.

-Those who look for food just because theyre hungry are beasts. Of course, you were born in the field like beasts, but you shouldnt live like one.

-Im hungryhungry

-Endure it. Even if youre hungry, endure it. Endure it, and become a human.

The n.o.ble smiled. It was a generous smile. He was someone who was able to smile at a skinny child whos rib cage could be seen.

-Repent!

The crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d called other crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.

-Aaaaaack!

-Oh, children of witches! The plague of our kingdom! Dont worry. G.o.d never turns his back on you. Like him, I wont turn my back on you sheep!

-It hurtsithurts

Some G.o.ds priest raised his hammer.

-Pray!

A time when lunacy was wrapped up as kindness.

The screams didnt end inside the mansion.

-Im hungry

Starvation.

-I dont like itplease forgive mewhyforgive me

Torture.

-Ah. Thank youkind sir. Kind manreward for enduring pain. Promise. Thank you. Thank you, kind man

Brainwas.h.i.+ng.

These orphans were brought in like corpses and left as corpses. It was only the death of someone who was about to die, but the children couldnt imagine the pain between the two.

Tens, hundreds, thousands were in the mansion.

And tens, hundreds, thousands of deaths.

I stared blankly at the sight in front of me.

Just what

-Wow. Eff. Whats this?

I was able to come to attention thanks to someone.

You were looking too? I thought you werent here.

-I was looking from the beginning. I didnt know you were here. I couldnt see you.

Mm. Seems like both of our consciousnesses are floating around

-Thats not my problem.

Bae Hu-ryeong spoke.

-What kind of crazy psychos are these? Ha. Theyre educating them into humans? How would these nonhuman b.a.s.t.a.r.ds educate others into humans?

This is probably the origin of the 10th floor boss stage.

Before my consciousness flew over here, a voice told. [The death of the enemy who killed you is being reenacted.]

If it was the enemy who killed meit was the real doll hiding somewhere in the h.e.l.lfire residence. That meant this was the trauma the doll remembered.

I had no idea.

I whispered.

The monster was a human when it was alive

-Not all monsters are like that. Only the bosses are like that. Usually boss monsters are made from humans from other worlds.

I heard him click his tongue.

-Carnivorous plants, or heroes of other worlds. Things like those. As you cross the 11th floor, it becomes more intense.

What? Why didnt you tell me that?

-You didnt ask.

He was so shameless that I was speechless.

-But Ive never seen something like this. Tsk.

What?

-The origin you talked about. The scenes we see now. I knew boss monsters were from other worlds, but how would I know what happened to them. Its not like Im psychic

Bae Hu-ryeong muttered to himself.

-I feel like s.h.i.+t.

Agreed.

Yeah.

Things worse than this were probably happening all over the world right now, but imagining it and seeing for myself was different.

I didnt know if it was a good or bad thing.

-F, Fire!

But the [Trauma] ended soon.

Some servant accidentally tipped over a candle. The servant pa.s.sed by without noticing it. It was nighttime. When people were sleeping, fire slowly and quietly spread. It was too late when someone realized the flames.

-Cough, gasp. Cough!

-We have to get awa

The flames soared up.

The ropes in the bas.e.m.e.nt burned up. The chains burned up. The cuffs around the orphans burned up as well, and brainwashed kids, tortured kids, and starved kids burned. It was like the fire burned all brainwas.h.i.+ng, injuries, and starvation.

-Ah

The children opened their mouths. The burning chains were tightened around the childrens ankles and wrists. They couldnt move, like they were dolls. They just screamed.

However, I could hear it.

-I dont want to die.

Hate.

-Im hungry.

-I want to live

-Kind sir.

The grudges and resentment entering my consciousness.

-I didnt do anything wrong. I didnt have a family. But it was still ok. I wanted to play a bit more. But

-Its not our fault. I feel wronged. I didnt do it.

-Im hungry.

The mansion burned up.

The chandelier in the 1st floor lobby burned up. The bedroom of the residences owner burned up. The fancy curtains. And the stone stairs that led down to the bas.e.m.e.nt.

-I dont want to die.

Crack.

Crack-

Sparks flew everywhere.

Now what I could see was a mansion burning up from far away.

[Trauma reenactment finished.]

[The penalty is ending.]

And I returned to a day before.

.

.

.

.

.

.

When I opened my eyes.

Bae Hu-ryeong and I didnt say anything. We both silently sat on the bed.

Rather than being shockedit was because we didnt know how to react.

-Mm

After a while, Bae Hu-ryeong scratched the back of his head.

-It was really sad and pitiful. I saw it well. But isnt there nothing we can do?

Wow. Thats the first thing you say? You really

-Yup. Right. My personality is trash.

He frowned. Have you ever seen a gorilla get mad? It was totally similar to this.

-But the truth is always like s.h.i.+t! The 10th floor boss is just a monster, and the children have already died in another world. Its something that happened a long long time ago. Zombie. What can you do!

-And if it was something that happened in this Tower, you could die 4000 or 5000 times to return to the past. But that happened in another world in a different time. Even if I was alive, I couldnt fix that! Even if I was Sword G.o.d and not Sword Emperor, I couldnt do it.

He was right.

-Find the real king and hunt it. Kill it.

Bae Hu-ryeong spoke.

-And go the the 11th floor. Thats the only way youre gonna clear the 20th, 30th, 40th, and 50th floor. If you decided to become the hunter at the top, deal with these things yourself!

He was right again.

But.

Flame Emperor also thought that way.

-Hm?

Flame Emperor. s.h.i.+t Emperor. Yoo Soo-ha. The first human I hunted.

I got up from my bed.

I tied my sleeping back to my backpack. I carried my backpack. I inserted my sword into my waist. In other words, I was ready to climb the tower. Even though it wasnt the best, I was still getting ready a a hunter.

Did you know? Yoo Soo-ha wouldve 100% found the real doll and exploded its head. Whether he saw the trauma or not. Without any hesitation.

-So what?

I dont want to be like that Flame Emperor b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

I climbed the tower.

Like the last time, I tricked the doorkeeper.

And I stepped in front of the mansion again.

The same n.o.ble mansion that I saw in the trauma.

-Hey! Youre not a baby. Youre not gonna get the boss just because you dont want to be like that guy? What are you gonna do. You have to get rid of the boss to clear the stage, you zombie fool!

Who said so?

-What?

I put my hands on the door and murmured to myself.

d.a.m.n. I was stupid.

-What are you talking about?

I was stupid! And you were equally stupid. s.h.i.+t. Were saying we cant remember.

Bae Hu-ryeong wrinkled his forehead.

-Did this kid lose his mind? You being stupid is a fact all over the world, but why am I stupid too? I grew up hearing that I was a genius.

Skill card.

I mumbled in annoyance.

The S Cla.s.s skill card we didnt pick. Do you remember it? The h.e.l.lfire Limit. You went crazy saying I had to pick this one.

-Hm? Of course I remember.

-Huh, this Zombie. Finelisten.

Bae Hu-ryeong rattled on with a frown. I guess the fact that he was called a genius when he was younger wasnt a lie. He said everything on the card without a single mistake.

+

[h.e.l.lfire Trap]

Rank: S-

Effects: Regrets. Resentment. Complaints. What you couldnt do, the voice that you couldnt say, the wishes that you werent able to achieve. Burn them all. Its hot. Is it hot? Make the world a clump of fire. I feel like Ill die. Die. If you want you, the Auras h.e.l.lfire will descend anywhere within 2 km of you.

No one can leave the h.e.l.l without your permission.

No one.

However, you have to be within the radius.

I quietly listened to the skill summary and asked him.

Sword Emperor. Dont you think somethings wrong?

-Sheesh, this is so frustrating. Whats wrong!

The last section.

[No one can leave the h.e.l.l without your permission.]

[No one.]

I spoke.

It says no can can escape from the h.e.l.lfire trap without the boss monsters permission. No one. Then just how were the players who challenged the 10th floor able to escape from it.

-Huh?

Bae Hu-ryeong blinked.

-Huh? f.u.c.k, yeah, why?

There was a guild called Black Dragon.

The person who controlled them was the Rank 2 hunter. The Black Witch challenged the 10th floor countless times. Everytime she did, she failed. The Rank 2 failed, but all the hunters came back alive.

They all came back alive.

It doesnt make sense.

I put some strength onto my arms.

It slowly opened.

It says escaping itself is impossible if the boss doesnt let you go. Thats the skilland they escaped perfectly fine even without killing the boss. Everyone. So it doesnt make sense.

-Thenwhat happened?

s.h.i.+t. Theres only one answer!

Creaaak.

The door opened like it was welcoming me with its arms wide open.

The boss let them! Escape!

The 10th floor boss.

The stage that humanity hadnt been able to subjugate.

The mansion of h.e.l.lfire prison came to view.

[You have entered the boss stage.]

[The challenger is hunter Kim Gong-ja. 1 person.]

[May luck be with you.]

Cant you tell seeing how she let them escape? The boss, these, they never considered the hunters enemies.

-..

[The boss stage is commencing.]

They just wanted to play with the people who came.

Candles.

All over the mansion, candles tilted over. Fire spread from where they fell over.

-Giggle giggle!

Dolls came from flames. They couldnt move, like they were tied down by something. They just turned their heads to look at me.

-Are you gonna play with me?

The dolls opened their mouths.

-Are you gonna play with us?

-Freeze tag? The flower has bloomed? Hide and seek?

-The ice melted. The flowers all ripped. Lets go with hide and seek!

-Lets! Play with us! Play hide and seek with us!

-Hahahahah!

The flames soared up.

The chandelier in the 1st floor lobby burned up. The bedroom of the residences owner burned up. The fancy curtains. And the stone stairs that led down to the bas.e.m.e.nt.

In the midst of everything, the children, who were now dolls, didnt burn up.

I clenched my teeth.

Alright. Ill play with you.

[Your skill is activating.]

The skill I received from my last lie. I used the fire immunity skill on myself. The moment the skill was activated, the heat washed away from my body. I could breathe easily. My vision was a bit clearer from the smoke too.

I could see the faces of the dolls.

-Huh?

-Hes not burning.

The dolls faces were all different. They didnt have any expressions, but I knew.

-Isnt it hot?

-Weird guy.

-Can you play?

-Are you gonna play with us?

I nodded my head again.

Yup. Hide and seek. Be careful. I never lost hide and seek when I was young.

-Giggle giggle! Its a weird guy!

-Hide! Everyone hide!

The dolls all laughed. I told them to hide, but no one moved. Tens. Hundreds. Thousands of children laughed.

-Ready or not, here I come. Ready or not

Hide and seek began.

got you.

I roamed the mansion. I grabbed dolls while I walked around. When I patted their heads, the dolls heads creaked up. Then, they opened their mouths to speak.

-Beep! Not me!

The dolls disappeared while laughing.

-Not me!

-Not me!

Everywhere I turned, there were dolls. There were so many. I got each and every one of them.

-

One.

-Hey, this is

Another one.

-This isa memorial service.

Bae Hu-ryeong muttered.

Memorial service.

Comforting the soul of a dead person.

I quietly walked around the mansion. I saw the chains that wrapped the orphans, and I saw their cuffs. Where the chains and cuffs were, there were always dolls there.

The fire burned up.

-Its not me! Not me! Not me!

-No! Not, me. Memenotme

-Notme

Time flew by.

Eventually, I was in the bas.e.m.e.nt. I had just stepped down the long stone stairs. There were dolls on the stairs as well. They were all toppled over. Like they had stopped while trying to escape from the bas.e.m.e.nt.

I got all the children who had fallen on the stairs, and stood in front of the last doll.

-Are you gonna play with us?

The doll was leaning against the wall.

Around the doll, there were hammers, scythes, and nails.

-

I slowly walked towards it.

And I patted the hairless dolls head.

Got you.

The head of the child who made this h.e.l.lfire was small. Enough to be wrapped around one hand.

Youre it now. Kiddo.

There was silence.

The doll raised its head. Like the other dolls, the doll was expressionless. The doll spoke with the face that lost its expression.

-Kind man.

Its voice wasnt the only thing it let out. Lips. Skin, Eyes. Her body slid down like paper. The fire instantly swallowed the doll, and it continued to speak like a broken record.

-Thank you.

And it melted.

-Thank you.

The doll burned up. The chains melted down. Cuffs, hammer, scythe, pick, nails, they all burned up. Even the trace of starvation. The fire that had lived its life completely disappeared.

Death disappeared without a trace.

I stood alone in the middle of the abandoned mansion.

For years.

[Congratulations.]

For years, humanity hadnt been able to clear this place.

[Normal stage clear.]

[Hidden stage clear.]

[You have cleared the bonus stage.]

That day. The towers 10th floor was cleared.