Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
[1]
‘Is there a problem between the two of them…?’
Yeom Junyeol and Sawol Seeum, who didn’t have a point of contact in the game.
I tried to analyze the two people’s past track record.
‘Perhaps, is it about that?’
I recalled the conversation I eavesdropped in the traditional culture classroom, following the guidance of the Power of Fate.
— If Red Wall Thief-nim says it’s okay… if Yeom Junyeol senior-nim learns who Red Wall Thief-nim is…
— Okay. I’ll make sure to ask.
The day they made me shrink when using ‘that word’.
Sawol Seeum asked to convey that he wanted to say thank you to me.
‘And thinking about it, he didn’t say a word about that conversation with Sawol Seeum, right?’
If it was Yeom Junyeol I knew, the day he met me, he would straight away say something like this:
‘Master-nim! You remember Seeum, correct? That child said he wanted to pass his thanks to master-nim…’
Even if he won’t tell Sawol Seeum that he found me, shouldn’t he at least ask me?
I saw Yeom Junyeol’s stiff face become gloomy.
“Hey, then I’ll act as a referee.”
A that moment, Yong Jegeon suddenly appeared behind me.
Yeom Junyeol, who was standing between me and Gwak Gyeong-gu, who placed a chess board and sat down facing each other, realized his appearance late and was flustered.
Something was strange about him not being able to detect Yong Jegeon’s trace straight away.
As if Yong Jegeon thought something like this, he stared at Yeom Junyeol for two seconds and then spoke:
“Junyeol, your superpower wave is a bit disturbed. You should go to the infirmary to check whether your vitality signs are in the norm. If not, as Sang-hui is still at school, let’s call Acea to…”
“Thank you for worrying. My vitality signs aren’t disturbed enough that I feel anything strange. Then I’ll sit down to watch.”
Yong Jegeon raised one eyebrow and made an unwilling face.
As if Gwak Gyeong-gu didn’t see that overprotectiveness once or twice, he said with the expression saying ‘that dragon is starting again’:
“Teacher Yong Jegeon-nim, please do well as a referee.”
After Gwak Gyeong-gu’s indirect urge, Yong Jegeon was forced to nod his head.
“… Okay. I’ll toss the coin.”
While the White player and Black player were decided by the coin toss.
Yeom Junyeol took out a folding chair prepared in the matching room and sat down.
As the location was somewhat strange, it didn’t seem like he was putting a distance between Sawol Seeum and him.
“Please start the match.”
At the same time as Yong Jegeon’s signal to begin, Black player Gwak Gyeong-gu pressed the chess clock.
The order situation was reversed from the previous match.
‘… My head hurts.’
With each move played, one after another, my headache got worse and my fingertips gradually turned cold.
If not for my Playable Characters sitting in the match room and observing me, it would be difficult to endure.
‘It’s hard to play like during the days when I was still active, huh?’
In the past I was evaluated as someone who would play the move he wanted to play, even if he had to go a roundabout way to get there and someone who plays chess persistently and tenaciously to dig into the opponent’s weakness and make them crumble.
However, there was a time limit on my mind and body right now. I had to first think about the best and fastest move I can do rather than the best move of all.
‘There is still a lot I have to overcome…’
While I was waiting for the next move Gwak Gyeong-gu will play and looking at the chessboard.
“I give up.”
Gwak Gyeong-gu ended up giving up again.
We entered the end game, but I still hadn’t called ‘check’.
But he endured for longer than before.
“Uisin won! Congratulations!”
“Congrats.”
“Then let’s review it together.”
After I finished a handshake with Gwak Gyeong-gu, the guys who were sitting in the audience seats came flocking.
Soon, a match review followed.
“Gyeong-gu, when you give up, you should be thinking that in a situation where Uisin’s king takes the opposition and will do the pincer attack with the rook, you will soon be checked, right?”
“Ah, there is a special rule that says that you have to put a certain distance between kings, correct?”
“Yeah, the rule says that the king has to give a way for the king, which has opposition.” [2]
After Yong Jegeon finished his explanation for the chess beginners, Sawol Seeum and Han Yi.
He pointed out a few moves that Gwak Gyeong-gu could have played and said with disappointment face:
“You’re fast to give up, huh? Gyeong-gu.”
Gwak Gyeong-gu had an even more disappointed expression.
This was much better than his lighthearted attitude before.
When I said goodbyes together with Sawol Seeum and Han Yi and were leaving the match room, Yeom Junyeol with a face filled with worry caught my eye.
He accepted the goodbyes from the 1st years and gave his own with a smile, but he couldn’t fool my eyes, the game wreck’s fossil[3].
‘Yeom Junyeol didn’t comment at all.’
I’ll have to try to talk with my disciple the next time we meet.
***
Road heading towards Kim Yuri’s house.
I entered the bakery ‘MITRON’ in front of the west gates with the two people who came to cheer for me during my match this time, though they said they were just watching.
They refused at the words that I’ll buy them something, but as I persisted, the two regular customers of MITRON finally gave up.
“I bought so much this month, so I tried to endure, but…”
“I don’t know if I should eat a plum flavored gelato or black chokeberry trifle…”
“Let’s buy both and share it between the two of us.”
“Yes? Excellent! The apricot custard tart I couldn’t eat last time still hasn’t sold out, so let’s please start with choosing that.”
Han Yi and Sawol Seeum chose the best menu items in front of the display.
I decided to point out all the items the two glanced at to thank them.
As I said I was also selecting the other children’s share, they cheerfully started to place all sorts of desserts on the tray.
Looking at their delight, my stomach seemed full, even though I still hadn’t eaten dinner yet.
‘As expected, I should spend money like this, right?’
Buying snacks for our class children was a wise spending strategy.
Opportunely, as I received full reward thanks to my performance as a member of the party conquering SSR rank otherworld the previous week, I was doing very well.
‘The previous time, you stood here in the morning, right? There are times when you take charge of the counter even in the evening?’
Even today, as if by chance, the MITRON’s patissier and Player personally stood behind the counter.
As the patissier became quite close with the regular customers, Sawol Seeum and Han Yi, he chatted with them lightly.
“We got candies as a bonus! As there are ten of them, let’s divide them later and eat.” [4]
“I want to eat the one with strawberry cream flavor.”
“Then I’ll have the lime flavor!”
When we arrived at Kim Yuri’s house after having such casual conversations like this.
While Kim Yuri opened the door a bit later than usual, she spoke in a joking manner.
“Hahaha, come in! It’s a bit of bad timing.”
As I looked inside of the living room, the very first thing that caught my eye straight away was laughing hard Hwang Jiho.
Looking at that scene, it was ominous.
Did you say that it was bad timing?’
“Ah, really!”
The one with a loud voice was Song Daeseok.
He was staring at us, who had just arrived, while making an expression like he was in an ugly mood.
“Why won’t you just not come to the study meeting and go flock somewhere else instead? If you’re going to come late like this, you should rather just not come. You didn’t help this at all…”
“Daeseok!”
“Hahahaha!”
After Min Geurin stopped him, Song Daeseok shut his mouth straight away, but Hwang Jiho burst out laughing.
It was a bit embarrassing, but we understood that Song Daeseok was short-tempered and Hwang Jiho was a lunatic, so we, who were here, weren’t particularly bothered and sat down.
“What is happening?”
“Why are you like this?”
After Sawol Seeum and Han Yi asked, Kwon Lena said while smiling awkwardly.
“Actually, Geurin was about practice taking off her AR glasses. She often comes to Yuri’s house, so she got a bit accustomed to it, and excluding Daeseok, there are four people who she met recently, you know? We thought there won’t be problems if it’s only four people, so we were about to practice it.”
Was that an effect of painter Hong Gyeongbok-nim coming to school?
Min Geurin was actively coming out like this even?
‘I get why Song Daeseok is angry.’
It was an opportunity for Min Geurin to overcome her trauma and take off the AR glasses, gifted to her by an unknown bastard.
He wouldn’t be in a mood if that opportunity vanished.
“If it’s like this, then we will leave!” [5]
“We will go out.”
“No, it’s fine! We were thinking of going home now to eat dinner, so…”
After Min Geurin said something like this, Song Daeseok started to straight away pack their things.
I guess they wanted to go home quickly.
“Won’t you eat dinner here and then go? … There are enough ingredients.”
“We can’t, we’re expected at home. We are going.”
Kim Yuri tried to stop them, but when they said that their families were waiting, she couldn’t hold them back anymore and sent the two people off.
“… Can I help with dinner preparations tomorrow?”
After Min Geurin revealed an intention of eating dinner here and then going starting from tomorrow, Song Daeseok behind her made a plainly hateful expression.
Kim Yuri acted like she didn’t see that expression and replied with a wide smile.
“Why not? Let’s make a menu Geurin and Daeseok like tomorrow!”
“Ok…! Then see you tomorrow.”
“Let’s go.”
After Min Geurin finished her goodbyes, Song Daeseok pushed her back and got outside of the door, almost as if dragging her out.
I looked at the entrance that fell silent, and then asked:
“How far did you get?”
At those words, the remaining children made subtle expressions while laughing.
“What happened? Today we decided to study a common subject, Player Combat Theory 1, correct?” [6]
“Hahaha, we studied the satellite topic to the extreme.”
“That fucker talks a lot.”
Kwon Lena pointed at the textbook spread out on the table while speaking to us, who were confused.
“The test range includes the topic of ‘Party strategy using satellite data’, you know? I and Hyodon were a bit at a loss in that part, but Daeseok suddenly burst out into a fiery speech and explained it.”
What, you’re saying my Playable Character did such a commendable act?
‘In the game, Song Daeseok was shown to be a satellite nerd, right?’
Song Daeseok’s future hope was to become a researcher of the satellite management team or satellite development team that were rumored to be 3D departaments in the Association.
But because he was a Great Hero Iron Arm’s grandson and was born with outstanding superpower, there was a pressure saying ‘You also have to become a top ranking otherworld conquest Player’, so he almost never expressed it out-loud.
‘I hope he achieves his dream this time…’
In the game, it was one of the settings, briefly shown only in the video before Song Daeseok’s death.
‘I’ll have to investigate if there are intern positions in the Association.’
Song Daeseok didn’t have the courage to personally step out, so I needed to throw a curveball[7] to help him.
I immediately recalled what move I had to play to let my Playable Character achieve his dream.
***
As I returned to the dormitory, the device messages, which were left alone, caught my eyes.
Majority of the content of the sent messages were about learning late, about me playing an active role in otherworld conquest and congratulations.
[Ok Toyeon] Benefactor! You conquered an otherworld in Hongcheon? You’re still 17, but you meddle into SSR rank otherworld conquest? Are you crazy? Do you want to die? But you fought well. Good job. Next time also fight well and… um.. I hope that you don’t fight if you can!
[Ok Toyeon] But benefactor, if you have time to do things like conquering an otherworld on weekends, don’t you want to go with me to the baseball stadium? These days because of the satellite work, Toyun unnie… mhonroe;ai
Ok Toyeon’s message was cut off at this point.
It seemed that she was beaten up by Ok Toyun in the middle of writing the message.
The key points were difficult to understand, but in any case, it seemed that she was worried about me, benefactor, and wanted to go to the baseball stadium.
‘One also came from team leader Hong Gyubin-nim.’
As if Hong Gyubin still didn’t have overwork, he sent messages saying to call him if I wanted to eat dinner with him, that he wants to reserve first print of Jegal Jaegeol’s next magazine, that I worked hard on the SSR otherworld conquest and that he is cheering for me.
‘Uh, the last one has something more.’
As I scrolled down, I saw one more message Hong Gyubin left.
[Hong Gyubin] Be careful of Cunning… These days he is smiling unusually.
As that Cunning contacted Hong Gyubin, he was probably doing something behind the scenes.
I sent messages roughly thanking Hong Gyubin for the key points, and then I wrote a new message.
[Me] Senior Kwon Jane-nim, hello.
[Me] I wanted to talk about the Eungwang School’s honorary teacher position which you declined the previous time.
…
…
…
After I shortly explained the events today, Kwon Jane sent a very positive reply.
[Kwon Jane] Okay.
[Kwon Jane] Okay.
[Kwon Jane] I’ll consult with Jared.
Kwon Jane has the position of the Eternal Lake team master.
As it was difficult for the team master to make a decision about taking an honorary teacher position alone, it seemed she thought of calling Jared to consult with him.
‘Jared also won’t stop it, right? Though he would have to work hard, because there will be a lot to deal with if his team master suddenly becomes a teacher.’
The last to check was the group chat with Jang Namuk and Yu Sang-hun.
Looking inside of the chat room, a small notification message floated up, informing that Jang Namuk was writing a message.
***
In the darkness.
Hundreds of butterflies whirled around Nabiryeong as the scales filled with light scattered.
“Um… not that either…”
Paat!
After she clenched her white palm, the lump of superpower wave made into the shape of a butterfly shattered.
She continued to burst butterflies.
Pat! Paat!
And dozens of butterflies disappeared.
She, who read the information condensed inside of the scattered scale powder, finally stopped her movements.
As if she obtained the information she wanted, she curled up the corner of her lips and laughed.
“Huhuhu, at last I obtained some good information, but there are a lot of ‘eyes’ watching, so it’s hard to pass it.”
She, who observed the scene of the scale powder losing its light and disappearing, mumbled with a voice filled with laughter.
“It’s hard to go to the Eungwang district, so let’s go to the Lake side.”
She laughed ‘huhuhu’ again, while recalling the blue eyed violinist.
*~*~*
[1] No title – ‘Final test (2)’ =-=
[2] what the fuck are they talking about? (quick, bad chess rule explanation) –
I’ll send you to look up ‘opposition (chess)’ if you want a better understanding and an explanation from people who actually can play chess (not like this translator).
But in very basic terms. Kings cannot move on the tiles adjacent to the tile on which the opposite king is standing. So when two kings are facing each other with one tile between them, it creates a situation where neither of them can move forward, because it would mean entering the other’s king’s ‘territory’.
That’s where opposition rule comes along. As Yong Jegeon says, in this situation it means that the king who doesn’t have the opposition has to give way. The opposition is the player who doesn’t have to move, in other words, it’s not their turn. The player captured by the opposition has to move and therefore, give way to the other king.
Quick, less related note. The rule that prevents kings from touching also prevents kings from checking each other. You could say that a king cannot defeat a king.
[3] fossil – slang for someone who played a game for a really really long time.
[4] “We got candies as a bonus! As there are ten of them, let’s divide them later and eat.” – Sawol Seeum’s sentence.
[5] “If it’s like this, then we will leave!” – Sawol Seeum’s sentence.
[6] “What happened? Today we decided to study a common subject, Player Combat Theory 1, correct?”– Sawol Seeum’s sentence.
[7] curveball – literally ‘tool of change’ in raws.
Translator’s note:
Jo Uisin’s spending mentality:
Buying things for yourself: BAD, SIN.
Buying things for Playable Characters: Greatest virtue! Let’s go to heaven! +100 good karma!
Addressing ‘check’ and ‘checkmate’:
I didn’t address it in the previous chapters, I apologize.
Some of you rightly pointed out that ‘checkmate’ should be used if the game is completely finished. But raws uses ‘check’ not ‘checkmate’ and therefore I follow raws on that, even when it’s probably wrong. (I’m not sure if it’s just a Korean thing to always call check, or author choice… Or maybe I’m an idiot somewhere.)
Did you see a mistake? 🐞
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