Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Hell (6)
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At the entrance to the tribunal, the Black Sword Soldier jerked his chin.
"Go in."
Flutter—.
Without a word, Yuri parted the tent fabric at the front and stepped inside.
In the space they entered, there was a raised platform, and sitting upon it was someone Yuri knew well.
Yuri blinked.
"...Coco?"
At Yuri's call, Coco, who had been puffing away at a stiff cigar, lifted her gaze.
"Oh, you're here?"
She didn't seem particularly glad to see Yuri, waving her hand dismissively with little enthusiasm.
Yuri asked her.
"Are you on a side gig again today?"
"That's how it turned out. Apparently, I'm the most idle one. Tsk."
"...What's today's job?"
"Can't you tell? Obviously the judge. Now that you know, get over there quick, you sinners. I'm busy. I've got plenty more to deal with besides you lot."
She pointed to the area below the platform, and Yuri hurriedly took position there. Poppi and Arin, catching on, stood at his sides.
With that, the official trial began.
Coco cleared her throat and slipped into her judge act.
"Hear ye, sinners. You invaded the peaceful Animal Forest and caused a disturbance. Do you admit to this?"
"What if we don't?"
"Doesn't matter. Even if you deny it a hundred or a thousand times, you're all guilty anyway. That's not changing."
"...Jeez."
Only then did Yuri realize this wasn't a real trial.
It was called a trial, but it was really just a place to decide the sentence for crimes already deemed guilty.
So, Yuri gave up on everything and simply listened to what Coco had to say.
"Therefore, to you three who caused a disturbance in the Animal Forest, I sentence eight hours of hell training. If you don't serve your sentence diligently, time won't pass, and if you fail to complete the full duration, you won't step foot outside this hell training camp."
At her words, Yuri's eyes darkened.
'Eight hours...'
It seemed that upon being dragged to the hell training camp, they'd be stuck there for a baseline eight hours.
And it wouldn't just be sitting around—it meant doing all those things they'd seen on the way in.
'The leather gathering quests are all ten days.'
Every night, wolves, bears, and tigers would roam, dragging riders straight to hell.
Then it'd be another eight hours of rolling around until their mouths reeked of dirt.
They were already short on time to gather leather, and if hell training drained their stamina on top of that?
It would be a chain of hardships in every way.
But the real ordeal was only just beginning.
"Let me see."
Coco skimmed the papers in front of her.
"Arin Helga, Bobikurtankapurtabi. Each possessing one rabbit pelt and one deer hide..."
Her lips twisted as she read the next part.
"Yuri Holland, possessing 32 rabbit pelts, 12 deer hides, 4 wolf pelts... You gathered quite a haul in that short time."
Among all those who'd been brought here so far, Yuri's record was undoubtedly the best.
No, it was unparalleled.
Even if you added up everyone else, they wouldn't match this guy alone.
But what did it matter?
It was all for nothing.
Coco smirked, then dove back into her act.
"Tsk tsk, not content with disturbing this peaceful Animal Forest, you slaughtered so many innocent animals! Thus, I hereby confiscate all these pelts!"
Boom—.
At those words, Yuri felt the world crumbling behind him in a vision.
"Ah, confiscate? Where's that fair!"
"It's right here. That's the rule for this quest. If you didn't like it, you shouldn't have gotten caught."
Whoosh—.
Coco sneered and exhaled cigar smoke.
Yuri's face crumpled.
"Ugh... This is unfair. It's tyranny!"
"Quiet, you! The trial isn't over yet!"
Thud thud thud—.
Coco banged the wooden gavel, glared at Yuri once, and continued the trial.
"Arin Helga and Bobikurtankapurtabi, since this is your first trial and you don't have many pelts... In my discretion as judge, I'll show leniency. However!"
Coco's eyes pierced Yuri sharply.
"Yuri Holland... Your crimes are grave! Even on your first trial, slaughtering so many animals! Therefore, converting the value of the pelts you held—292,000 points—into time, I sentence you to an additional 29 hours and 12 minutes of hell training!"
Thud thud thud—.
Yuri's face went slack.
'...How many hours?'
If he hadn't misheard, it was 29 hours and 12 minutes.
Yuri tentatively raised his hand.
"Um..."
"What?"
With her judge act over, Coco's tone returned to normal.
But Yuri had no time to mind that.
With half-lidded eyes, he asked.
"You said additional hell training sentence... That means on top of the base eight hours, right?"
"Of course not."
"Oh, good..."
"On top of the base eight hours, plus 29 hours and 12 minutes. Why'd you leave out the 12 minutes?"
"......"
"If math's hard, I'll do it for you. Your total sentence is 37 hours and 12 minutes."
Yuri's face soured.
'37 hours...? 37 hours?!"
It was over a full day.
Of course, they couldn't do 37 straight hours of hell training, so in reality, who knew how many days it'd take to fulfill the sentence.
Yuri's already sour face turned pale blue.
'Then... my pelts? My points?!"
It was bad enough losing the pelts he'd worked so hard for, but now he'd spend the remaining time not earning points—instead rolling like mad in this hell?
To Yuri, it was thunder from a clear sky.
So he steeled his resolve.
'I have to reduce the sentence somehow.'
Yeah, what was taken was gone.
It pissed him off to no end, but if it was the rule, what could he do?
The only way to get revenge on this shitty situation was to gather points again as fast as possible, right under their noses.
By minimizing the time, no less.
And he had a perfect method for that.
Yuri shot his hand up.
"I object!"
"Object?"
Coco's eyes lit with interest at the sudden objection.
Yuri turned to her and unleashed his prepared line with grim determination.
"Those weren't caught alone!"
"Not alone? Then?"
Yuri crossed his arms and pointed at Poppi and Arin on either side.
"These guys."
"......?"
"I caught them together with these guys."
Poppi and Arin, standing blankly, naturally widened their eyes at being suddenly implicated.
"Ah, no! Absolutely not!"
"No no no, hungry!"
They shook their heads furiously in denial, but Yuri's shameless voice drowned them out.
And as the world always favors the loudmouths and the bootlickers, who rose high.
"The guilt shared with friends! Please divide it fai.rly! Oh wise and noble Judge!"
Yuri lifted his chin with bold, brazen confidence.
'You guys, from today, we're friends.'
* * *
Meeeh—.
The three emerging from the tribunal wore starkly different expressions.
Yuri looked a bit regretful but overall relieved.
The other two, on the other hand, had hollow, soul-drained faces.
Poppi and Arin's pupils were slightly dilated.
Who could blame them?
Just for standing next to Yuri, they'd been hit with a bolt from the blue: '9 hours 44 minutes additional.'
Arin, exiting the tribunal, glared at Yuri.
"You...!"
It was righteous fury at Yuri for dragging them in.
But her anger was drowned by a bellow from the Black Sword Soldier right nearby.
"New recruits, front and center!"
At the shout, the gazes of those already training snapped to Yuri and his friends.
The emotions in those gazes were peculiar.
Sympathy for the newcomers joining this hell.
And joy at having others to share the suffering.
Thus, Yuri and his friends were welcomed with everyone's bizarre fanfare as they merged straight into hell training.
Clank—.
The three had heavy shackles clamped on their ankles.
"High knees with arms out, starting now. No final cadence! Perfect completion gets you 10 minutes rest. Fail, and it's doubled. Objections?"
"None!"
"500 reps. How many?"
"Five hundred!"
"Voice too soft. 1,000 reps."
"Thousand!"
"That's all you've got? 1,500 reps!"
"One thousaaaaand five huuuundred!"
"Begin!"
"One, two, three! One!"
"One, two, three! Two!"
High knees with arms out began on the squelching mud pit.
Yuri gritted his teeth silently as he threw himself into the training.
'Points... my points!'
He hadn't expected the Cradle to hand out points easily, but to snatch them back?
When 292,000 points vanished before his eyes, Yuri thought the world was ending.
'Those vicious bastards!'
His despair and rage soon turned to vengeance.
'Tiger Auntie... I won't let you get away with this. I'll crush you!'
Yuri ground his teeth to the gums.
And beyond revenge, there was another reason he absolutely had to catch that tiger.
'No point wandering the forest gathering pelts a hundred days—if Tiger Auntie drags me to hell, it's all stripped away instantly.'
So, for a stable pelt supply, that axis of evil called Tiger Auntie had to be eliminated.
Plus, catching just Tiger Auntie meant jackpot points.
'You're mine, Tiger Auntie!'
Fueled by revenge and cold calculation, Yuri plotted to hunt the tiger.
Time passed like that.
"One thousand nine hundred ninety-nine!"
Finally, high knees with arms out neared 1,500 reps.
Everyone prayed desperately.
'Please, don't call it! Please!'
Please, no one shout the final cadence.
But their collective wish shattered.
"Thousand five hundred!"
From the very back, a man bellowed "1,500" with utter confidence.
The others' faces filled with dismay, and murder glinted in Yuri's eyes.
'You bald-headed fuck! How do you mess that up?!'
Forget tigers—for starters, should he beat that guy's ass?
But Yuri had no time for that.
He had to do 3,000 more high knees right away.
Thus, Yuri and his friends' hell training continued.
"Four thoooousand!"
"...Fuck."
For a good while, streeetch—.
* * *
On a day with light snow flurries.
Whoooosh—.
Rattle—.
The cold wind made the sign reading [Hell Training Camp] creak.
Soon, the rusted iron gate beneath it swung open left and right.
Screeech—thud!
From beyond the fully opened door...
"Arin Helga, Bobikurtankapurtabi. And Yuri Holland... released!"
Step—step—.
Three silhouettes emerged into the world.