Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
36. Beginning of growing thread (4)
‘You will have to answer, even if it’s difficult.’
The silence prolonged.
Bang Yunseop’s voice, who seemed to be on the verge of tears, cut the silence.
“Why aren’t you saying anything! Damn…”
“Bread Shuttle…”
“Ah, really! Where did you pick up that word again!”
In that important and grave moment, the atmosphere was ruined.
Tak Geosan might have called Bang Yunseop’s nickname out of friendliness, but right now he should have called him by name.
It somehow seemed that Tak Geosan didn’t know the meaning of bread shuttle very well, but used it with a thought ‘Hehe, students call my temporary disciple like this! I should also try to call him that!’.
“… fuckers from the whole country want to become grandpa’s disciples and line up. Don’t bother with me and go roast that stone brat or fuckers, who were said to stay in line.”
Bang Yunseop threw the last line without energy and ran out of the teacher office.
He was startled when he saw me leaning against the wall, close to the door, then he mumbled a curse and ran out of the 1st year building.
‘What shall I do…?’
Bang Yunseop was a cowardly and pathetic teen smoker.
He was cursed and beaten up, but the instant he was beaten up, when he was firing up, he got scared, and was acting up again.
From the game perspective, he had a character setting of someone who would boast around, get beaten up and then leave the stage, to emphasize the main character’s coolness and righteousness.
‘If Bang Yunseop becomes strong, he will somewhat raise the power of Eungwang School, so it’s not bad to force him into a master and disciple relationship.’
One way was to grab him with the ‘Fire Pincers of Promise’ and to sell him to Tak Geosan by putting stronger shackles on him with the excuse of releasing the contract.
If I suggested something like this, Bang Yunseop was certain to unconditionally accept it to show off.
However, I didn’t like that for some reason.
‘It’s a bit too much to push him into it with light mind, like I did with Eungwang Training Course. Because becoming Tak Geosan’s first disciple has a great meaning.’
I recalled our class guys, who savored the bread that bastard went to buy and die.
Our class kind children, who enjoyed eating the bread, greeted my Bread Shuttle when seeing him and often shared a nice conversation and even shared snacks and milk with him.
‘Let’s look into the situation first.’
While thinking like this, I knocked at the door of the special teacher room before opening them.
“Hello, teacher Tak Geosan-nim.”
“… You’re class 0’s vice president, huh? Come in.”
The boxes littered the entire teacher office when I entered.
Tak Geosan was pushing boxes, packed with dobok[1] and plaques, but as I couldn’t quite figure out the situation, I asked:
“Are you moving to a different teacher room?”
“No. … Now that I don’t have a disciple or anything, I’m planning on withdrawing.”
“Yes?”
“I made a promise with Hyodon, and didn’t I hurt that Bread Shuttle with my ignorant behavior?”
Tak Geosan stared at the items pushed inside the boxes with a face full of wrinkles.
“It’s a fact that he is a foolish bastard with no talent, tenacity, patience and his character is rock bottom…”
In addition to calling him Bread Shuttle, he poured out a dis on Bang Yunseop.
According with his declaration ‘Only I can roast my disciple’, Tak Geosan’s roast of Bang Yunseop was terrible.
But everything he said was correct.
“Even though he is truly an insignificant bastard, I diligently taught him with the thought of taking Hyodon as a disciple, right? Even so, he wasn’t so ugly that I couldn’t come to like him despite his flaws, and was someone I truly enjoyed teaching, huh…?”
Tak Geosan stared at the door Bang Yunseop ran out through.
With Tak Geosan’s abilities, he would catch Bang Yunseop in the instant, even if he fled riding an air board, if he only put his mind to it.
But it looked like he let him go, thinking that he had hurt him.
“… It’s lucky that the summer break is coming soon, so I won’t make troubles with the school schedule, huh? If it’s okay with you, can you pass to the two of them that I’m sorry?” [2]
It seemed that Tak Geosan was thinking of withdrawing on his own, because of the feeling of guilt caused by Bang Yunseop’s words.
I shook my head.
“Please don’t go.”
“Uh?”
“Will You leave Your disciple behind to go somewhere?”
Tak Geosan made an expression as if he doubted his ears.
“Before the summer break ends, Maeng Hyodon will become teacher Tak Geosan-nim’s disciple. So please don’t go and wait.”
“What are you saying?!”
Tak Geosan’s eyes blazed.
His expression was saying that he couldn’t believe me, but I was certain.
Maeng Hyodon’s actions and words he left behind, when I saw him in the game, and his personality or behavior style I observed from his side as the same class’ classmate.
When combining everything, it was the conclusion I drew.
“I don’t know how Bang Yunseop will come out… But I may be able to help with him becoming a disciple. Instead, I have a request.”
Tak Geosan, who listened to my words after that, made a dubious face, but he agreed as if he judged it wouldn’t harm him or his pre-disciple.
“As painter-nim said, he looks bright and clever, but somehow…”
It seemed I heard the word ‘suspicious’ behind me, when I was leaving the teacher room, but I decided to ignore it.
A corridor, which was quiet because it wasn’t yet quite the time for the students to come to school.
I didn’t see any traces of Bang Yunseop.
‘It’s possible to use Exclusive Menu’s ‘Open the map of surrounding area’, but it won’t be of help besides double-checking the terrain or identifying allies and foes.’
Only looking at the points marked on the map, it was difficult to know straight away where Bang Yunseop was.
But there was a way to find him.
⟨Using Gwangrim ‘Player’s Trajectory’.⟩
I heard the system voice, and a card materialized with the superpower that wave rose up, and then disappeared.
The character I used was the 2nd year Guideline Club member, who possessed clairvoyance skill, ‘World in the Eye Cheon Dongha’.
Using his Gwangrim, it wouldn’t be difficult to look through the entire 1st year zone.
⟨Using active character’s Gwangrim ‘Eyes embracing Heaven and Earth’[3].⟩
The instant I activated ‘Eyes embracing Heaven and Earth’, I felt as if my mind has expanded.
To compare, I had a feeling of a thousand or tens of thousands of cameras activate at the same time and push their information directly into my brain rather than my eyes.
‘Found.’
I canceled the Gwangrim straight away and moved towards the place where Bang Yunseop was.
The place I found him was at a side of a remote stone road in the 1st year zone.
The road, leading to nothing but the warehouse where the automatic cleaning machines were kept, was rough and avoided by students.
Bang Yunseop’s appearance, as he crouched down in front of the warehouse’s wall stretching out beyond the road, and smoking a cigarette, was truly pitiful and pathetic.
“Hey.”
“Fuss! Cough!”
Bang Yunseop, who was swallowing the smoke with a face full of wrinkles, perhaps worrying about his growth if luckily, was startled and started to cough like crazy.
The pitiful bastard, who couldn’t smoke even one cigarette properly like before, looked at me with wariness, and then took another puff of smoke as he didn’t want to say anything in particular.
“Why are you smoking so often when you can’t even do it well?”
“You- You mind your own business, cough, ugh!”
Bang Yunseop couldn’t swallow the puff of cigarette smoke properly again and started coughing.
“Hey, teacher Tak Geosan-nim is waiting for you.”
“… what does it have to do with me whether that grandpa is waiting or not?”
“Whatever the trigger, when opportunity comes, don’t you have to grab it?”
Bang Yunseop had nothing to say.
As that fool was also a Player worthy of joining Eungwang School, he would know how good of an opportunity was becoming Tak Geosan’s disciple.
“Think again, when your head cools down. If you change your mind later, don’t think it’s too late and go to see him straight away.”
It was highly possible that a type with a uselessly high pride, like Bang Yunseop, will only worry what he should do and won’t go search for Tak Geosan later, even if he changes his mind later.
I had no thoughts of forcibly dragging him to go, but I wanted to at least inform that bastard that the door will be open if he knocks on his own.
Even after I finished my words, Bang Yunseop just opened and closed his mouth, and stared at the stub of a cigarette that was burning out.
It seemed that he had no more thoughts of smoking as he didn’t put it in his mouth and just held it between his fingers.
As it seemed that Bang Yunseop finished smoking, I decided to pass my goodbyes.
“Run to go buy bread before the start-of-day meeting starts. Special ice cream bread with summer fruits, 12 portion set, from ‘MITRON’ in front of the west gates. Pick up some with cool danish pastries.”
“That dog fucker…”
“I also heard that potato bread and corn bread from Gangwon Province is delicious…”
“Ah, really!”
Bang Yunseop, who was swearing, stopped his curses at the word Gangwon Province and started to hurriedly run towards the west gates.
I felt pleased at the thought I’ll be able to feed the class children a cool snack on a hot day starting from the morning.
When running Bang Yunseop completely disappeared from my vision.
“Uisin.”
Someone suddenly spoke up to me.
“It’s because I suddenly felt Dongha’s energy in the 1st year building. Accidentally, I witnessed you using that ability again.”
The words came from the sky.
Yong Jegeon was floating in the sky.
I guess he hid his body by unfolding his Space Art in the air surrounding his body and followed me with a Flight skill.
I let down my guard about the surrounding, because I thought all kinds of strange things would happen in the school, but it seemed that he dug into my weakness.
I was a bit upset I couldn’t read his traces.
“Then, if You’re done witnessing, let’s head to the classroom.”
“Haha! There is still time until the start-of-day meeting starts, you know?”
Yong Jegeon canceled the usage of the Flight skill and landed right in front of me.
In the middle of landing, his loosely tied long hair drew a line in the air.
It was said that when Yong Jegeon made a teacher contract, his long jade hair became a problem because it wasn’t yet a period when hair code liberalization became common.
I heard that in the end, one of the conditions of his employment at Eungwang School was that he would either dye his jade hair black or cut it short, and Yong Jegeon, who was forced to choose between two, chose to dye it.
‘If it was me, I think I would just cut it.’
Perhaps because it was loosely tied, but as even tied Yong Jegeon’s hair reached his waist, it seemed that it was extremely long.
“Isn’t it hot?”
“I’m accustomed to it, so it’s fine. Do you have anything else to ask? I also have something to ask you.”
Yong Jegeon’s squinted eyes turned in this direction.
I nodded my head with the meaning that he can speak.
“It seems that you have a certain understanding about the ‘opponent’ of the Ho tribe, which you’re fighting with them, and move accordingly. Is that right?”
“… Yes.”
“How do you think it would turn out if I faced that opponent directly? Would I win?”
I was quite baffled by the abrupt question, but the answer was clear.
It wouldn’t work out with Yong Jegeon’s power alone.
It seemed difficult even with Yong Jegeon, whose limitations of the teacher contract were lifted.
Yong Jegeon, who saw me not answer, asked again.
“What if we add the power of the whole Yong tribe?”
Adding the power of the whole Yong tribe to Yong Jegeon.
There was no need to think deeply about it.
‘It won’t work even with the power of the whole Yong tribe.’
When the 3rd year Yeom Junyeol died and the Red Lion, together with ally teams and even the Yong tribe rose up.
At the end of the fierce battle, after Dragon King’s godly maidens betrayed him, Yeom Bangyeol, who lost the Dragon King’s blessing, was burnt down by his own red flame[4], and Cheongryong fell into a deep sleep.
‘If Dragon King held the hand of Cheongryong until the end, the story may have been different. However, Dragon King took the side of godly maidens.’
The surviving Red Lion team members and Yong tribe members staged the guerilla warfare and resisted until the end, but in the end they couldn’t achieve anything meaningful.
‘Let alone deal with the Dark Mastermind, they couldn’t even take revenge for Yeom Junyeol.’
After the concrete collapse incident and after Ju Su-hyeok became a 2nd year, Yeom Junyeol returned from studying abroad and appeared in Eungwang School,
Yeom Junyeol’s colorful character animations, illustrations and character setting revealed in the new PV, charmed and lead to the influx of new users.
After Yeom Junyeol died, the majority of people refunded the game because of the complete mental breakdown.
However, there were a handful of fans who endured while shouting ‘We have to take revenge for our Hongryong!’ and ‘Those who endure will win in the end!’.
But in the end, they cursed the horrible conclusion and after throwing the dozens of pages with their declaration of quitting, they left.
‘And the PMH game app, that had above 1 star review in the application store, with that incident as a trigger fell below 0 points.’
The PMH’s star points, which were roasted as ‘not star points but a vision test’, couldn’t even be a vision test as they fell to the thick pencil lead units. [5]
“I guess it won’t work out, huh?”
“… Why are You suddenly asking something like this?”
“Nothing, nothing[6]. And there was something I was bothered by.”
I didn’t say even one word of an answer to any of his questions until now, but Yong Jegeon guessed my thoughts on his own and asked me again.
“Uisin, the crow mask you’re using, is there any special meaning to it?”
“Why?”
“Because there is a crow demon king, whose taste very very much doesn’t match with mine and recently I noticed someone related to him.”
“… Not that demon king’s whereabouts?”
“No. Hm, there is some kind of connection between the mask you’re wearing and that demon king, huh?”
He read my thoughts again.
Yong Jegeon, who was keeping a serious expression before, spoke with a mischievous face.
“Though I don’t know that demon king’s whereabouts, I know where is a human he bestowed a powerful blessing and what is that human doing right now. Ask if you’re curious. How about you will ‘answer with all what you know’ to my questions as a price?”
Demon king of silence and bystanders, Sillentium.
Human, who received his blessing.
I was curious, but considering the in-game scenarios and the current situation, I came to the conclusion.
“I’m not yet curious. Can I ask You next time, when necessary?”
Yong Jegeon made a face like it was not fun, but as if he didn’t have thoughts of digging quite deeper, he stepped back without making a fuss.
His expression also didn’t show exact dissatisfaction.
As expected, my Playable Character was a dragon with a broad mind, who knew when to step back without bad feelings, unlike Hwang Jiho.
***
Inside the classroom, I entered after finishing the conversation with Yong Jegeon.
Perhaps because the conversation prolonged a bit, all children already came to school.
However, the scene in the classroom today was somewhat a bit strange.
“What are you doing?”
In front of the mirror hanging in the back of the classroom.
Kwon Lena was standing, holding hair thinning scissors.
In front of her, I saw Song Daeseok sitting on the chair with a subtle expression.
And…
‘Why is that bastard again…’
Hwang Jiho was also sitting on Song Daeseok’s side.
*~*~*
[1] dobok — martial art uniform
[2] If it’s okay with you, can you pass to the two of them that I’m sorry? — Tak Geosan used an ending that is slightly more polite when addressing Jo Uisin. Consider it him softening the tone, so it doesn’t sound like a command that Jo Uisin has to follow.
[3] ‘Eyes embracing Heaven and Earth’ — ‘embracing’ in the meaning of containing, being able to see whole. Also, the raws use singular ‘eye’, but as Korean is a language that generally often drops plural affixes, I’m assuming it’s meant as both eyes.
[4] red flame — could also mean solar prominence.
[5] vision test and thick pencil lead units — I might be missing on some slang, but that’s my current understanding. Vision test chart usually has singular numbers like 1, 2, 3… But pencil units are usually something like 0.1, 0.2, 0.3…
[6] Nothing, nothing — crazy… how do I even start this one… Okay, so translating it word after word, literally, ignoring all grammar and sentence as a whole, it’s “Just, silver no(+and grammar particle”. Now, silver (은 eun) is also a topic particle so ‘silver no’ could be interpreted as ‘nothing, there is no meaning to it’. But if you remove that damn comma, and use topic particle as it should be grammatically used (together with a noun, not alone like now), the sentence turns into “It’s not nothing” or “It’s not without meaning”. And then you could also go with interpreting 은 (eun) as silver and interpret ‘just (그냥 geunyang)’ as ‘continuing without changes’, so it would be “Just like before, there is no silver”. Let me not get into how that ‘and grammar particle’ could also be a quote particle.
Translator’s note: Jas (aka. Personal Ghost) is looking at my last note and politely nodding their head with awe and incomprehension in their eyes. I was never closer to perfectly understanding another person’s feelings than right now.
Did you see a mistake? 🐞
Leave a Reply