Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
9. After the rain stops (1) [1]
“I’m indebted to Jo Uisin-gun once again. Thank you for your cooperation in purifying the Eungwang District.”
Be it the manner of speaking or the vibe of Kim Sinrok, they were completely different from the ones I knew.
He didn’t look like a friendly teacher who came to visit me in my room with Seong Siwan to give me blessings.
Kim Sinrok had an expression which was difficult to read.
‘It somehow isn’t like a human.’
Jeok-ho.
Kim Sinrok.
The intrusion of the demonic beast at the entrance exam incident.
The Ho tribe and Ung tribe.
This place right now.
I organized my thoughts one after one.
I arrived at the conclusion, but it was difficult to believe.
“You aren’t human.”
The chances of a child being born between two Jin people or between a Jin and a human are extremely low. And even if a child is born, they won’t belong to Jin people.
Baek-ho, Hwang-ho and Jeok-ho were Jin people, as they were mythical beings recorded in Gaecheon Myth as the sacred tigers.
Even Yong Jegeon was born from the Cintamani of the higher being, Dragon King.
‘Ha, I can’t believe it.’
Being in the Jeok-ho’s domain naturally means that he’s a Ho tribe’s member or their descendant.
But if he was simply a Ho tribe’s member or their descendant, he wouldn’t be so easily subdued by the Ung tribe during the entrance exam.
The descendants were weaker than the Jin people, but there was no way a descendant could be seriously injured in a short period of time, while dodging the eyes of other teachers on the practical exam.
However, it was a different story if he was also the Ung tribe’s descendant.
Because descendants cannot resist the Jin people connected by blood.
“You’re a descendant of the Ho and Ung tribes.”
Kim Sinrok was a descendant connected by blood to both the Ho and the Ung tribe.
To be precise, he was a descendant born between Jeok-ho and Ungnyeo of Grief.
“As expected from the Unknown Supernova. You’re smart.”
Kim Sinrok answered like this with a smile that didn’t look even a bit human.
Complete hypewreck.
The character which died in the tutorial without even a single specific line has such a setting?
“You know it very well already, but the descendants are beings restricted by their blood. I cannot attack members of the Ho or Ung tribe. So during that ambush, I couldn’t resist and was subdued by the Ung tribe.”
Kim Sinrok grinned and pointed at the end of the dark corridor.
“Let’s go. Jeokho-nim is waiting.”[2]
Jeok-ho wore black clothes until the day he died.
Perhaps they were mourning clothes to commemorate the death of Kim Sinrok, the descendant of the Ho tribe and his own son.
After we reached the end of the corridor following Kim Sinrok, I saw Jeok-ho.
“Baek-ho, Jo Uisin. The Ung was imprisoned, but he passed out.”
Inside of what Jeok-ho introduced as a laboratory…
I saw the Ung who lost both of his arms, and the struggling Choe Pyeondeuk.
“Te-Teacher Kim. You came just in time! Li-Listen to me. It seems there is a misunderstanding with those sirs! Let me, let me.”
“Don’t wag your tongue before Baekho-nim and Jeokho-nim.”
Kim Sinrok threw a thumbtack at Choe Pyeondeuk’s chin.
“Kuack!”
The thumbtack accurately stabbed Choe Pyeondeuk’s chin.
The blood continued to flow from the place where the thumbtack stabbed, and Choe Pyeondeuk let out suppressed sobs.
‘It’s only natural for Choe Pyeondeuk to be beaten up. But why…’
Why?
Why a thumbtack?
I looked at Kim Sinrok with eyes filled with questions.
“There are students and school staff members who prefer analog paper boards. I always have them with me.”
Chink–.
Kim Sinrok shook a small plastic container full of thumbtacks for me to see.
He took out two thumbtacks and repeatedly flicked them between his fingers, while staring at Choe Pyeondeuk.
“Do you want to ask something?”
I obviously thought Jeok-ho would do the interrogation.
Kim Sinrok spoke with an artificial smile, that didn’t look human just as before.
“I’m pretty good at this. Better than Jeokho-nim.”
“Leave it to him, Jo Uisin.”
At Jeok-ho’s words, the sobbing Choe Pyeondeuk gasped and sucked a breath as he looked at me.
“What? Jo Uisin? Th-Then Un-Unknown Supernova is Re….!”
“Only answer the questions.”
“Kuuaak!”
Kim Sinrok stabbed the two thumb tacks he was flicking into Choe Pyeondeuk’s forehead.
There is no doubt here.
Kim Sinrok truly seemed to be very good at this.
“I want to ask only one question.”
I had only one question.
Besides that one, all the information Choe Pyeondeuk had, I already knew or could find out in a simple investigation.
I had to find out the information, which was unclear even in the game.
“Who from the 12 Zodiac Alliance broke Eungwang School’s barrier?”
At my question, the eyes of Beak Ho-gun, Jeok-ho and Kim Sinrok narrowed.
Choe Pyeondeuk shrunk hearing my question.
“Th–That, there is no way I can say that!”
Chink-chink—.
Kim Sinrok poured out a brimful of writing supplies in front of the Choe Pyeondeuk.
Ball pen leads, pinking shears, box cutter, thumb tacks, pencil sharpener knife…
Kim Sinrok arranging what were surely common writing supplies felt gloomy.
Feeling my gaze, Kim Sinrok grinned again as he said:
“I have been a teacher for quite some time.”
Kim Sinrok picked up a 0.38mm long, red ink ballpen lead and brought it towards Choe Pyeondeuk’s eyeball as he said:
“I use a lot of analog paper supplies. A lot and very well.”
Soon I heard Choe Pyeondeuk’s morbid screams.
I could see the true character of the Jin’s descendant Kim Sinrok, who pretended to be an ordinary and nice teacher.
One more teacher I should absolutely never mess with.
After around 30 minutes.
Before Kim Sinrok tasted even ten types of the writing supplies, Choe Pyeondeuk proclaimed surrender through dripping tears.
“Kuu, keuk, I–I don’t know! When the barrier was broken, the shadow had a long tail, the long tail!”
Kim Sinrok checked the eyeball movement, heart rate, skin tension, etc and then nodded towards me.
It seemed to be true.
Because when breaking the barrier, as per the promise of the 12 Zodiac alliance, one needed to change into the animal incarnation.
‘A long tail. Among 12 Zodiacs the ones with long tails are the rats, cows, tigers, dragons, snakes, horses, monkeys and dogs. If we exclude the definitively innocent tigers and dragons, it’s six left.’
Rats, cows, snakes, horses, monkeys and dogs.
Seo tribe, Woo tribe, Sa tribe, Ma tribe, Won tribe, Gyeon tribe[3].
Among those six, someone betrayed the Ho tribe.
I can’t conclude it’s only one, but even if it’s more, it’s not a problem.
‘It’s still an early stage of the game. There are an infinite number of moves that still can be played.’
After my questioning finished, it was Kim Sinrok’s turn to start asking questions.
“Why did you aim for the positions of the 1st year class 1 homeroom teacher and Wings Club’s advisor? You refused positions of homeroom teacher or advisor before. What were you trying to do in the Eungwang School?”
“I–I don’t know… they told me to do it, so I did, sir…!”
Kim Sinrok lifted three colorful thumbtacks between his fingers.
Terrified Choe Pyeondeuk answered straight away.
“Keuk! Outstanding students, they said they need sacrifices!”
One thing comes to mind when outstanding students and sacrifices are mentioned.
After 1 year passed in the game, the Wings Club was completely wiped out.
But most of the 1st year class 1 survived thanks to the protection of Ju Su-hyeok and An Dain.
‘Kill the descendant, Kim Sinrok, to cut Eungwang School’s power and put Choe Pyeondeuk in his place to smoothly produce the sacrifices. You have worked hard from the very start!’
It was something I expected, but to hear it directly from the mouth of an active teacher of the Eungwang School…
Even after that, the interrogation and confessions continued.
‘… There is no end.’
Establish illegal adult entertainment business to disgrace the Ho tribe’s divine realm.
Kidnap talented students for the Fighting Club.
Sell students with rare abilities at an auction.
Sabotage excellent teachers from becoming full-time teachers…
The red sparks kept jumping around Jeok-ho, and Baek Ho-gun’s eyes gradually turned colder.
But those weren’t the only ones of the Choe Pyeondeuk wrongdoings.
‘Slapping students, taking gift money… Those aren’t directly related to the Ho tribe so they won’t press on it here.’
When Kim Sinrok judged he had all the information he needed, and Jeok-ho and I agreed, he pressed the cutter knife to Choe Pyeondeuk’s neck so he couldn’t let out even a scream.
Meanwhile, Jeok-ho brought a rack from a bright red wood with, tinted by blood, ropes tied to it.
‘What is that…?!’
Jeok-ho brought the Red Rack[4].
Indescribable thoughts and terrible curses emanated from the rack.
Just by looking at it, I had trouble breathing.
It was as if it held a small hell.
“……Ouu……Uuu…….!”
As if even Choe Pyeondeuk felt something, he started to struggle.
Kim Sinrok kindly and simply explained the hell Choe Pyeondeuk would go through in the future.
“After Jeokho-nim committed a mortal sin, he was tied here for around 4900 years as a punishment, until the Clash of Different Worlds occurred. Human lifetime is short, so the trash like you will live for at most 100 years. ”
Are you saying it’s the rack which Jeok-ho used to punish himself?
It’s truly a micro hell.
‘Choe Pyeondeuk will be in hell until his last breath.’
I guess this will be my eternal farewell for Choe Pyeondeuk.
I left him with my wishes.
“I felt like dogshit because I listened to your dog-barking that wasn’t even a lecture. Live long, Choe Pyeondeuk.”
Traditionally, you smash the birthday cake while wishing the other person longevity.
I left Choe Pyeondeuk, who couldn’t even scream and twist his body, alone and turned my back to him.
Excluding Kim Sinrok, who remained to clean up, Baek Ho-gun and Jeok-ho followed me and rode the elevator up to the Silver Shadow’s lobby.
‘Thanks to Baek Ho-gun’s presence, I still have some power remaining.’
It was good, because there was still work to do.
I looked back at Baek Ho-gun and Jeok-ho as I spoke:
“There are still buildings which had to be smashed. Do you want to go together?”
Choe Pyeondeuk ran five degenerate establishments in front of Eungwang School.
Only one was demolished.
I thought about demolishing them all before this rainstorm stops and squandering the bonus.
The Ho tribe was backed by the Hwang Myeong conglomerate and they didn’t need money, so in addition, I planned on monopolizing all byproducts we find there.
“I’m going”
“I would like to join, Jo Uisin.”
The two Ho tribe’s members who nodded their heads were truly reliable.
A top-notch free workforce here.
I saw the rain pour again after we came out of the Silver Shadow Building.
The research zone was illuminated by the all-night research laboratories and lights of the large greenhouses, but it was still dark as before.
Shaaa—.
‘I don’t think the rainstorm will stop.’
Even so, it was worth enough to go out and through this storm.
‘From the game days, I wished to smash the map whenever a dogshit event happened.’
In the game, without a special gimmick, a map or a building was impossible to break no matter how powerful a character was.
‘It’s different now.’
If I have power, I can smash however much I want.
The three of us pierced the storm and began the demolishing work of the illegal buildings.
The work was simple because we set the key breaking points beforehand, after checking the building’s general floor plans and blueprints.
We also soon finished robbing hidden safes everywhere.
Seeing item cards and ready cash pilling up in the inventory, I was filled with joy.
‘Such a simple and rewarding move to eat everything!’
It was past midnight, so it was currently Saturday dawn, but in the common sense it just meant Friday Night.
Through the entire Friday Night me, Baek Ho-gun and Jeok-ho happily demolished buildings.
***
After Friday Night, my wearable device’s address book increased by one.
The owner of the added contact information was amazingly Baek Ho-gun.
Me and Baek Ho-gun exchanged the device codes before I returned to the dormitory.
‘It’s weirdly easy to talk to Baek Ho-gun.’
Towards Hwang-ho and Jeok-ho I naturally spoke respectfully, but with Baek Ho-gun from the moment I saw him for the first time, I was using informal speech.
Was it because he was a Playable Character I used for 10 years?
Hwang-ho and Jeok-ho were NPCs, so Baek Ho-gun was a bit different.
‘Baek Ho-gun also doesn’t seem to mind and uses informal speech himself.’
Sometimes Jeok-ho sent us the gaze as if he couldn’t understand.
‘The weather is better.’
Outside the window, the rainstorm completely passed.
Currently, it was late Saturday.
I was in the best condition because I had a deep sleep without dreams as usual.
‘It’s about time for Ham Geun-hyeong’s message to arrive.’
As I expected, I heard the ding of the new message notification.
[Ham Geun-hyeong] Come to the teacher residence’s lounge after 2pm.
The moment Ham Geun-hyeong protected Maeng Hyodon he must have wanted to call me straight away.
He should have guessed what I was doing at night, so was considerate of me and let me get some sleep.
Then I should go.
I changed clothes and left the dormitory room.
***
The teacher residence’s lounge, which was empty because of the weekend…
“Hello.”
“Hello, sit down.”
I sat opposite of Ham Geun-hyeong.
He spoke calmly with a gloomy face.
“Maeng Hyodon is in the middle of a medical checkup at the central zone health facility no. 1. Precise result didn’t come out yet, but in the opinion of the doctor with Player specialization, he has traces of recovery items overuse.”
Traces of recovery items overuse.
Traces of sewing littering Maeng Hyodon’s school uniform.
Enemies following him.
Silence of PlayerSAT-K’s Enemy warning.
With just that, Ham Geun-hyeong would have a rough idea of what happened.
“You told me to protect Maeng Hyodon who will flee towards the Eungwang School’s main gate after midnight and only then report it to the Player’s Association. You didn’t say anything besides that.”
I told him the information that will likely be well known in the future.
I only completely explained what crimes Choe Pyeondeuk committed and what happened to Maeng Hyodon.
After my explanation ended, Ham Geun-hyeong stood up from his seat.
“… Okay. Then let’s go meet Maeng Hyodon together.”
What are you saying?
It was natural for him to inquire further, so I was organizing what answers I should give to him, but now I was dumbstruck.
Ham Geun-hyeong didn’t seem to plan to question me further.
“Are you not gonna ask me more questions?”
“I won’t be asking if you don’t want to tell me.”
I couldn’t understand.
It was a case where the teacher, Choe Pyeondeuk, and students, me and Maeng Hyodon, were deeply involved.
It was justifiable to wonder what happened and how it was dealt with and to ask questions.
Even so, you’re saying you won’t ask about it?
“I saw several righteous Player students with outstanding superpowers and personal information gathering channels. I know those types of guys’ will is unbreakable. A month hasn’t even passed since we met, but I think you’re that type of guy.”
Ham Geun-hyeong stood up from his seat as he spoke:
“If you mess up with it or try to dig into it, those kids will end up hurt as a result. I don’t want to hurt students.”
“Teacher Ham Geunhyeong-nim…”
This line. I heard and saw it before.
Ham Geun-hyeong said it to Ju Su-hyeok.
That line made me think ‘where is a teacher who says something like this?’ and ‘as expected, the game is a game’.
“If you can’t say it, don’t tell me, Jo Uisin. Rather, always tell me when you need help. I won’t ask about anything and will help.”
I thought I was very lucky he became my homeroom teacher.
***
Ham Geun-hyeong and I rode airboards and moved towards the central zone.
After climbing on the airboards, an unusually blue sky came into view.
‘Deep blue sky…!’
Though the rain stopped and it was a little chilly, the sky was blue and the wind was refreshing.
After the short flight, we landed in the central zone. Someone was waiting for us there.
The man with an eternal smile approached me and Ham Geun-hyeong.
“Long time no see, Uisin.”
That person stood there as he flapped the hem of his DRAW FIT[5] trench coat without even one wrinkle.
The team leader of the Korean branch of Player’s Association’s 1st media and PR team, Hong Gyubin.
*~*~*
[1] After the rain stops – this chapter’s title can be also translated as ‘Rain stops and then…’ or perhaps even ‘And then the rain stops…’
[2] Kim Sinrok’s conversations – I think I should point out that Sinrok is using an extremely polite and formal tone towards everyone here (besides prisoners of course). He was polite towards Jo Uisin before (though he used a casual tone), but now he is using a formal tone and honorific words. To explain for those who don’t know Korean, it’s like Sinrok switched from politeness you could use towards acquaintances at work, to the politeness the subordinate could use towards their lord or a king. That’s not to say Sinrok treats them like they’re kings, that’s just to say he is really polite. English just doesn’t really have a good distinction of those.
[3] Seo tribe, Woo tribe, etc. – Seo from hanja meaning ‘rat’, Woo from hanja meaning ‘cow’ (also, it would be romanized as ‘U’ according to the revised romanization), Sa for ‘snake, Ma for ‘horse’, Won for ‘monkey’, Gyeon for ‘dog’. Don’t worry if you can’t remember them all, I’ll be leaving reminders for them as they appear less often than the rest.
[4] Red Rack – I’m capitalizing it because Jo Uisin said it as if it was its name, but it isn’t clear if it’s really its name? It’s still called that later if I remember correctly, so maybe it’s its name or Jo Uisin just named it for himself?
[5] DRAW FIT – I believe DRAW FIT is a Korean clothing brand…. But I’m not exactly sure. This translator is really bad at fashion.
Translator’s note:
Jo Uisin: “Soo…Who wants to play ‘Destroy a shithole’ game with me?”
Baek-ho and Jeok-ho: *raise their hands*
Translator’s romanization correction note:
So, this translator had a long and very informative discussion about romanization, and learned about their shortcomings in this very art, so here are some things that we didn’t quite followed revised romanization on:
Gwangrim – 광림, so it should be Gwangnim. That’s actually closer to the correct pronunciation, it’s just that this translator forgot about some batchim rules… Sorry about that. We won’t be changing it though, because I think we all got used to calling it … well, I’m sure I never saw anyone call it gwangnim.
Sergeant Choi – the guy from chapter one is now Choe. Choi is a popular romanization of 최 but when I was romanizing Choe Pyeondeuk’s name, as you may have keenly noticed, I romanized it as Choe. Choe appeared more often, so we will go with Choe.
Kim – this one is a mindfuck, I forgot about it completely, but this name 김 is supposed to be Gim in revised romanization. That feels very unusual for English readers probably, so it will be left as Kim.
Thank you for reading this inexperienced translator’s work. I’m very sorry for this romanization mess ㅠㅠ
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