Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
24. 2 days without night (3)
The wind filled with Acea’s authority pounced on me.
Kwaa—!
Because the wind was filled with particles of light, my eyes were dazzled and I reflexively closed them.
Every time my eyes blinked, my vision gradually distorted and the noise grew terrible.
After I closed and opened my eyes three or four times, the surrounding scenery changed completely.
Swish—!
I was inside of a dark space.
The noise also stopped and I only heard the quiet sound of the wind.
‘What’s going on?’
To figure out the cause, I looked around.
Directly behind me, stood someone covered in a dim halo.
As the face was covered by a veil, it wasn’t visible, but the graceful lips were smiling slightly.
‘I feel a sense of deja vu.’
The person covered by white bearskin standing on the enormous scale I met when using the ‘Weight of Life and Fortune’ on April Fool’s Day.
I had the same feeling when I met that higher being.
[Hi.]
I heard a voice which was warm even though it was dignified.
“Hello.”
[Okay, the benefactor of my priest is a polite child, huh?]
That someone was satisfied with my greeting.
Considering the situation and that this higher being called me the benefactor of her priest, I could guess who she was.
‘It’s Acea who had bestowed a blessing on Yu Sang-hui.’
The goddess of healing, Acea, who originated from the word ‘Panacea’ meaning all-cure.
Activation of the Power of Fate and intertwining with Yu Sang-hui’s Gwangrim usage looked to be connected to Acea.
Acea, who was observing me from beyond the veil, spoke up:
[That’s strange. I don’t see the place which had to be healed.]
“Yes?”
[Did I sense it wrong? You[1] looked hurt[2], so I borrowed a lot of power from my priest, but it seemed to be in vain. What should I do?]
‘What do you expect me to do?’ words rose to my throat.
Even if you try to ask me like this, there is no way the answer will come.
It would be good if you cure Jeok-ho well, please.
[Ah, I was asked to pass on the words. The ‘change’ has an expiration date, so use it quickly.]
Change?
Hearing those words, I recalled one item straight away.
“Perhaps, the person who said that…”
[If you have a problem breathing, look for my priest without delay.]
Like during Hwang-ho’s ancient book interpretation, when the white shadow handed me ‘Unknown Fate’, it seems that there are many beings in this world that only throw what they have to say and disappear.
Immediately after I heard those words, my vision gradually blurred.
“Jo Uisin!”
Kwaa—!
Mixed with the sound of raging wind, I heard Hwang Jiho’s voice.
‘Did I come back?’
Chairman’s office.
I saw Yu Sang-hui and Jeok-ho encircled by the wind, and approaching close to me Hwang Jiho.
“You’re back to your senses. After you were swept up by the Gwangrim, you lost your senses for about five seconds while still standing.”
According to Hwang Jiho’s words, it looks like the body remains here, while only the mind is connected with Acea.
‘It couldn’t be only five seconds, right?’
The conversation was short, but there was no way it took only around 5 seconds.
If only the mind was connected, I guess the flow of time could feel different.
“What happened?”
Hwang Jiho lowered his voice and asked.
Yu Sang-hui was still healing Jeok-ho, so I also replied in a quiet voice to not disturb her.
“The higher being Acea spoke to me. She said I looked hurt.”
At my words, Hwang Jiho’s expression hardened.
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
“No. She said there is no place to heal.”
“What is that sound?”
“I also don’t know.”
Rather than relieving a hardened expression, Hwang Jiho looked at me with a disbelieving face.
I didn’t lie.
There were only unspoken facts.
Shuuu—.
At that time, the light and the wind which was filling the space inside the barrier, subsided.
The face of Hwang Jiho, who was looking at Jeok-ho through the shimmering vision, relaxed.
“I guess it’s finished.”
After the wild winds completely stopped.
Yu Sang-hui, who had beads of sweat dripping from her forehead, took a deep breath and turned towards me.
“Uisin, are you okay? Acea-nim never interfered like this before, sorry.”
Yu Sang-hui also sensed something strange, huh?
But it seemed she dealt with it while also healing Jeok-ho.
“It’s fine. Senior Yu Sanghui-nim’s Gwangrim is in the Healing category. It is just like getting a health check up from a higher being. How about his condition?”
Gazes of everyone in the chairman’s office turned to Jeok-ho.
Jeok-ho couldn’t open his eyes like before, but his face’s complexion definitely got better.
“This Person’s body was torn into nine pieces inside. In that state as a powerful superpower is continuously used, even the supernatural wave’s flow seems to be disturbed. If this Person wasn’t a Jin, He wouldn’t have made it out.”
Hwang Jiho stared at Jeok-ho with a grave face.
It looked like the anger soared as he recalled the sound Jeok-ho made when he came back injured like this.
‘Seems like Yu Sang-hui discovered that Jeok-ho is a Jin.’
But we attempted to heal him with the power borrowed from a higher being, so there is nothing we could do about it.
“Moreover, this Person’s body already has strong traces left by a different higher being, so… There is a limit to how much Acea-nim’s divinity can be added. From now on, it seems it would be good to leave it to the Jin’s body regeneration power.”
Does the other higher being mean Heavenly God?
Heavenly God put constraints on Jeok-ho two times.
I guess it was difficult to completely heal him in one fell swoop borrowing the power of a different higher being.
“Thank you. How long do you think it will take for him to heal?”
“It shouldn’t take more than a week. I had a few opportunities to heal other Jin people before and at those times, it also took around that much time.”
Yu Sang-hui replied to Hwang Jiho’s question after a bit of thinking.
Yu Sang-hui had an experience of healing other Jin people before?
‘A week she says. With this degree of injury we would be lucky if he fully recovers by the end of the week.’
When I was looking at Jeok-ho who was breathing regularly, while gathering my thoughts.
Yu Sang-hui smiled softly as she spoke up to me.
“Uisin, if something happens, don’t burden yourself and please call me again. I and our house’s foolish bastard will be happy to do what you ask.”
It seems that ‘foolish bastard’ referred to Yu Sang-hun.
This time I couldn’t help it, but if possible, I didn’t want to involve them.
I held back my words and said thanks.
“Thank you for coming today and helping us, senior Yu Sanghui-nim.”
“No, I really did nothing. And call me Sang-hui noona. Is it still difficult for you?”
Yu Sang-hui made a lonely face.
Even among juniors, Yu Sang-hui only let herself be called noona only by people that were close to her.
Yu Sang-hui is someone, who if a guy, who isn’t close to her, tries to call her that title, she would turn a deaf ear to him.
‘… It’s difficult.’
I was happy for Yu Sang-hui’s favor, but to call a highschool student hyung or noona, I wasn’t mentally prepared to do it yet.
In addition to it being seriously awkward, my conscience hurt.
However, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t know about the request of my Playable Character, who came on this late hour here to heal Jeok-ho.
“No, Sang-hui, noona.”
“Yes! Please call me like that in the future.”
I will try to put in the effort, but I may not always be able to call her noona.
After Yu Sang-hui exchanged device codes with Hwang Jiho, she left the chairman’s office with the secretary, who continued to wait.
It was said that the secretary will get her home like that.
Remaining in the chairman’s office were three; me, Hwang Jiho and Jeok-ho.
“Then let’s check the information Jeok-ho brought.”
After Jeok-ho stabilized, Hwang Jiho found some composure.
Hwang Jiho held up a finger which had turned red after pressing on Jeok-ho’s forehead and opened his power.
Paat!
Hwang Jiho’s surrounding was filled with golden light.
At his fingertips burning[3] red smoke rose up.
Hwang Jiho’s eyes narrowed like those of a beast and he stared at the red smoke.
“I guessed it when Yu Sang-hui said that Jeok-ho’s insides were split into nine parts, but… It’s confirmed, Jeok-ho was hurt by ‘Nine Iron Teeth Rake’[4].”
Daode Tianzun was one of the Three Purities among Tianzun, together with Yuanshi Tianzun and Lingbao Tianzun.
The Eight Trigram Furnace, which was said to even heat up the golden elixir[5], belong to Daode Tianzun, also called Taishang Laojun.
Inside of Eight Trigram Furnace, a weapon, nine-toothed rake – Nine Iron Teeth Rake – was made for Zhu Ganglie, the sole heavenly sailors commander, Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy.
“He was hurt by the Don tribe’s head, huh?”
“You know well. In the present world he uses the name Zhu Ganglie[6]. That pig bastard’s buddhist name is Zhu Wuneng, so that undeserved weapon, Nine Iron Teeth Rake, belongs to him.”
Zhu Ganglie also used the name Zhu Wuneng, but the Don tribe head was openly known as Zhu Bajie.
It was a Jin who during the 12 Zodiac Alliance meeting used the nickname [‘IAmZhuBajie’].
“Jeok-ho found out their next target.”
The red smoke filled with Jeok-ho’s superpower moved dizzily.
“The phenomena of otherworlds without warnings, Manchester, Ung tribe and then the Ung tribe joining hands with the Don tribe. It’s still not perfect, but everything connects.”
After the red smoke was completely buried and completely disappeared in the golden light, Hwang Jiho’s golden eyes sparkled as he stared at me.
“It seems that the clue Jeok-ho caught is connected to the Jamsil Baseball Stadium incident.”
I had no idea what Hwang Jiho found out, but when his power was opened like this, it seemed like beams were coming from his eyes.
“Looks like the Don tribe is aiming for the boat party next weekend. The clues lead to Ju-Oh and TC groups’ next heads. Won’t both of the heads be participating in the boat party after the Baseball Stadium incident?”
‘That Person’ was aiming for the two groups’ next heads again?
“Well, but you, Jo Uisin, would know more about it. Are you going to still insist it was a coincidence, even with this?”
I confidently replied.
“It’s a coincidence.”
Hwang Jiho had an expression saying he didn’t believe in it even a bit.
Involving myself into the Jamsil Baseball incident was my intention, but currently the connection to the boat party was a coincidence.
‘Boat party, it wasn’t in the game, but there was a similar key event.’
If the gimmicks of the future incidents won’t change very much from the game scenario, there are numerous countermeasures.
“Let’s find the evidence that can’t be overturned to tell the full truth next time. Aren’t there more important things now?”
Hwang Jiho’s eyes shined brightly.
“I’m going to rip apart the insides of the pig bastard who made Jeok-ho like this into nine parts, no, into even more parts.”
***
After returning to Hwang Myeong-ho’s mansion, Baek Ho-gun and Snare were waiting for us at the entrance.
The bloodstains left by Jeok-ho disappeared, Baek Ho-gun probably cleaned them.
‘Did the two of them continue to wait here?’
Baek-ho asked with a face and tone that seemed icy.
Holding Snare in his arms, he didn’t look even a bit overbearing.
“Hwang-ho. Jeok-ho?”
“Safe. He should be fine if he rests for a week.”
Hwang Jiho pointed at Jeok-ho, coiled with magic and floating in the air, as he spoke.
Staring at Jeok-ho, Baek Ho-gun’s eyes were indifferent like before, but they were less cold than usual.
Woof-woof…!
As if Snare was also worried about Jeok-ho, it barked with a voice overflowing with charms.
“That is wrong, huh? I’m going to move Jeok-ho. Jo Uisin, Baek-ho, wait in the living room. Let’s talk while drinking tea.”
At Hwang Jiho’s suggestion, I and Baek Ho-gun nodded.
The tea prepared by Hwang Jiho was second flush Dearjeeling tea harvested around May and the refreshments were cherry-almond tiramisu.
While talking about this incident and having tea time in the living room, the hour passed a sunrise.
In the end, it was a second day without a wink of sleep.
***
Sunday evening.
“I had a really good time. Thank you, Jo Uisin hyung!”
“Uisin oppa, come again!”
“We’ll be waiting!”
Eun-ho’s descendants came out to send me off.
The information about Jeok-ho’s injury and recuperating in the mansion was decided to be kept secret from those three.
Keuung….
Snare tried to select the leash to accompany me on my way back to the dormitory.
It seemed that because I gave it so many leashes, it was difficult to choose and it was at a loss.
In the end, worrying Snare asked me to choose while showing its charms.
Our Snare requested it, so I had to choose of course.
Woof-woof!
After choosing a pure-white leather leash and personally putting it on Snare, who was smiling brightly as it was loving it.
The fatigue accumulated overnight vanished.
As I was going on the walk with Snare, all my worries and obviously my fatigue were about to vanish, but my thinking continued diligently.
‘A lot happened in one night.’
Jeok-ho’s injury.
Activation of the Power of Fate mixed with Acea’s authority.
Acea’s mention of the expiration date of the change and breathing.
The Don tribe’s head, Zhu Bajie Zhu Ganglie.
The Don tribe’s next aim, the boat party.
Ju-Oh’s and TC’s groups’ next heads.
There was a lot I had to think about.
‘Among those there are two things that bother me the most.’
First, Hwang Jiho’s reaction.
Seeing Jeok-ho’s injury, Hwang Jiho was agitated enough that he called himself a fool.
When recalling Zhu Ganglie, he was giving off a terrifying, murderous aura.
‘Hwang Jiho was burning with sincere worry about Jeok-ho and desire for revenge.’
If his true feelings about Jeok-ho are like this, then why did he remain idle in the game even when Jeok-ho was dying?
‘Even if you’re indifferent to worldly affairs, would you do nothing when your close friend dies such a gruesome death? It’s strange.’
Hwang Jiho’s appearances became frequent when Ju Su-hyeok became a 2nd year.
To observe Ju Su-hyeok, he also became a 2nd year class 0 like him.
In other words, it happened following Jeok-ho’s death.
‘Even if he threw away the school, group and Ho tribe management before, he would have to at least attempt a revenge. He may not have started observing Ju Su-hyeok just out of curiosity.’
With just a little bit of investigation, he would know that Jeok-ho got along with the main character’s party and Ju Su-hyeok.
He would also be curious about Ju Su-hyeok, but he may have sent one of his alter-egos to catch a clue to take revenge for Jeok-ho.
If we assume it was like that, then there was still something strange.
‘Why Hwang Jiho, who was cooperating with Ju Su-hyeok, didn’t appear from a certain moment?’
Was it something I didn’t know?
The thoughts continued.
‘It may be something unrelated to the story, but… it just hangs in my mind.’
The second thing that bothered me.
Now was a perfect opportunity to resolve it.
“There is something I’m curious about.”
Baek Ho-gun, who was holding Snare’s leash and walking, looked down at me.
“I want to hear about the incident teacher Kim Sinrok-nim had in the past.”
*~*~*
[1] You – Acea uses polite ‘you’, though she speaks casually. In other words, she is an elder here, but she is respectful towards Jo Uisin. Jo Uisin is using a polite tone.
[2] hurt – 아프다 has a quite broad meaning, it could mean to be sick because of a disease, could mean hurt because of an injury, or just generally to be in pain.
[3] burning – burning red smoke rose up – actually burning and rose up are the same word in raws, but using two different meanings. Burning in the meaning of the smoke or fire to start rising and ‘rose up’ stands for something rising up. It could also mean a flower blooming.
[4] Nine Iron Teeth Rake – ‘Iron’ here refers to all kinds of metals. It usually would stand for gold, but as future chapters said it’s metallic in color, I’ll be calling it ‘Iron’.
[5] golden elixir – golden elixir, it’s your elixir of immortality in simple terms.
[6] Zhu Ganglie – this name is based on chinese, but as chinese symbols are the same as Korean hanja which in turn is changed into hangul, his actual name is: Jeo Gangryeop. He can pretend to be a perfectly ordinary Korean like this. Because Zhu Bajie (popular nickname) → Zhu Ganglie (his true name) → Jeo Gangryeop (his true name in korean) is probably a bit hard to wrap your head around without knowledge of chinese or korean, I’ll leave it as Zhu Ganglie.
Translator’s note: This translator also has no idea why the wind sounds like cries of crows. There is a high possibility that it only sounds like that for this translator’s ears. If someone else can lend me ears to help with the crow invasion…
Did you see a mistake? 🐞
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