Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
41. Outside of borders (4)
When Jeok-ho came back after his body was pierced by Zhu Ganglie’s Fork, Hwang Jiho said that:
— The current Hwang Myeong Foundation can recruit a Chinese Player, who uses the Gwangrim of the god of agriculture, medicine and herbs among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the ‘Flame Emperor Shennong’, but…
The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors was the title of eight rulers from China’s ancient times myths[1].
They were known as the founders of China civilization before the Xia dynasty, and later on were the origin of the new title of emperor[2] that Qin Shi Huang, who unified the country, used for himself.
Among those eight mythological people, Flame Emperor Shennong was pointed out as the progenitor of Chinese people, next to the Yellow Emperor Xuānyuán, who, if compared to the Greek mythology, was the king of gods, equivalent to Zeus.
‘In the game, there was a scenario in which Nüwa and Fuxi interfered….’
Because Flame Emperor Shennong was so rarely mentioned, there was naturally no information about Chinese Player, who borrowed the Gwangrim.
I was a bit worried about meeting the Player, who uses a powerful Gwangrim, in a situation where I have no particular information, but if Hwang Jiho is at my side, there will be no danger.
“I’ll go.”
After I replied like this, Hwang Jiho was satisfied and tilted his tea cup.
“Have you met that Player in person before?”
“No, I came out of Korean Peninsula a long time ago. But I figured out his existence[3] and got in touch with him.”
It seemed that Hwang Jiho almost never leaves the Korean Peninsula.
If the Ho tribe’s head left the Korean Peninsula often, it would be a problem.
“Considering the state of Jeok-ho’s body, it was a necessary connection, so this one was also bothered, right?”
Because Jeok-ho bore a heavy punishment, the methods to heal injures were limited.
There were only the owners of the Healing category Gwangrims, who borrowed the power of higher beings, that could counteract the punishment bestowed by Heavenly God.
So it was necessary that the Ho tribe established a connection with a being, who used the Gwangrim of Flame Emperor Shennong, who was also a god of herbal medicine.
Listening to Hwang Jiho’s words, my doubts grew.
Looking at the actions Hwang Jiho showed until now, I could guess how much he cherished his close friends.
But why in the game Hwang Jiho came out for a moment in the story after Jeok-ho died and then didn’t? [4]
‘Besides Hwang Jiho, the other Ho tribe members were also silent. Why didn’t they join Baek Ho-gun? Was it perhaps because at the point when Hwang Jiho disappeared, he died or couldn’t move?’
I tried to think how I would move if I was the Dark Mastermind and wanted to subdue the Ho tribe.
In addition to being a Myth category Ho tribe member, who had full power, Hwang Jiho could also move alter-egos when inside of the Korean Peninsula, so he would be very difficult to handle.
But even if it meant enduring numerous sacrifices, Hwang Jiho had value.
‘If Hwang Jiho was immobilized and fell into my hands, it would be easy to capture the Ho tribe and Eungwang School, right?’
The planted beforehand personnel could replace Hwang Jiho’s position, and Ho tribe’s movements could be tied to secure Hwang Jiho’s life.
Okay, if I was Dark Mastermind, I would aim at Hwang Jiho.
‘Hwang Jiho probably came out to take revenge on Dark Mastermind with Jeok-ho’s death as a trigger. By using that…’
However, I couldn’t easily come up with a move to capture Hwang Jiho.
If it was that time, it was still not a time when Dark Mastermind could move freely.
The moves they could play would be limited, so how the hell did they capture Hwang Jiho so quietly that it wasn’t revealed in the storyline?
If Hwang Jiho mobilized Heavenly God’s blessing and Power of Earth and started fighting, not even a city would be left, but there were completely no signs of Hwang Jiho’s disappearance before and after.
“You seem to be thinking a lot, eh? Is Flame Emperor Shennong that bothering?”
It was a moment ago, but I completely forgot about the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
Instead, I was thinking how to kill Hwang Jiho.
As I couldn’t openly say that, and no reply came for the current situation, I decided to change the topic.
“Because of the Player, who the Ho tribe’s head is taking out the main-self for and coming to personally meet, I’m worried what kind of person he is.”
“That guy’s abilities are outstanding, but rather than him being such a lofty and great Player that this one has to go in person, I should say it’s more in my personal interest. Ah, besides the contact, there is something I wanted to check.”
“Wanted to check?”
“China crossing borders procedure for Players is particularly complex, right? Do you know the reason?”
It was a story I knew about.
There were a few similar cases to Kim Yuri in China.
Just in China alone, the Gwangrim runaway incidents caused by Players, who received excessive love of higher beings happened several times.
Majority of it was with the Chinese Players in the center, but there were two times when the incident was caused by a foreigner, who crossed the border.
Because of the Gwangrim runaways caused by foreigners, the China entrance procedure became quite complex.
“You’re talking about the Gwangrim runaway incidents, right?”
“Right. People, who were in the center of the runaway incident, died or lost their superpowers. However, there is just one person, a Player who learned to perfectly control the Gwangrim during the runway.”
There was such a Player?
I thought about it carefully, but there were no such cases among the key otherworld incidents I investigated before coming to China.
“China is restricting information more strictly than Japan. The Player’s Association can’t even set a foot in China, right? As the Player information’s leakage is equal to the national power’s leakage, it’s natural that such information isn’t well known.”
Even in Korea, there were many reasons why the incidents related to superpowers weren’t known outside and covered up, but it seemed it was even more so in Japan and China.
“This one planned to try to secretly meet with that Player in person. If it goes well, we may be able to get advice on the Kim Yuri’s case.”
Hwang Jiho cared about our class children so much?
But it was natural to like my Playable Character and talented class president Kim Yuri.
“Hey, let’s go eat dinner together. On the way here I saw a place selling Kung Pao chicken[5] I wanted to eat, eh?”
“I heard that Chengdu is famous for the wu xiang fen or mala flavored rabbit meat.”
“It’s not that I can’t eat that, but I don’t want to put in my mouth any ingredients related to that damn Moon Rabbit.”
You won’t eat rabbit meat, while eating the rice cakes made by that damn Moon Rabbit so well?
As if reading my thoughts, Hwang Jiho spit out a word.
“There are many alternatives for the rabbit meat, but the rice cakes aren’t like that.”
After that, I ended up listening to the rice cakes fool Hwang Jiho’s delicacy theory.
I felt to the depths of my heart how different the Jin people’s values were from humans, and then joined the Newspaper Club’s members and the 2nd year class 0’s senior bastards.
***
Hwang Myeong-ho’s main mansion.
In the middle of the night, Baek-ho took the Divine Beast and came back to Silver Shadow (Eun-yeong) Building.
Jeok-ho, who sensed Baek-ho stinking with the fishy smell of blood, asked:
“Baek-ho, did you go to interrogate that impostor again?”
“Yeah.”
“You really went to interrogate again… That impostor annoyed You since the distant old days, correct? You have a relation with that thing?”
“No.”
Baek-ho replied so resolutely, but Jeok-ho’s doubts weren’t erased.
This year, with the opportunity of the April Fool’s Day’s incident, they succeeded in capturing the Ung tribe members.
Even during the long time of past hostility, it was not once or twice when the Ung tribe member was captured and interrogated.
Baek-ho would actively participate in the process of subjugating the Ung tribe, but after that, he almost never interfered.
‘There must be a reason why he is behaving like this.’
Even when he thought about it deeply, the answer didn’t come.
Sometimes it was unknown what this wordless close friend was thinking.
“Was the interrogation successful?”
“No.”
It seemed that Baek-ho’s mood was low.
When the Divine Beast scuttled to Baek-ho’s feet and showed off its charms, his expression loosened up a little bit, but his eyes were cold like before.
“That guy only said useless things again?”
“Right. How about you or that child?”
“He didn’t open his mouth even once before us. He didn’t even scream.”
Baek-ho, who heard Jeok-ho’s reply, was silent for a few seconds.
His face looked cold as usual, but as someone who was his close friend for a long time, Jeok-ho was able to read his emotions a little.
‘You’re hesitant about something?’
Baek-ho was reticent, but he spoke when he wanted.
Because he let many situations just flow, he was a very gentle Tiger, but if competing in crazy arrogance, Baek-ho didn’t lose to Hwang-ho.
Jeok-ho, who read subtle hesitance from his eyes, was surprised in the depths of his heart.
“Jeok-ho, I have a request.”
“Please speak.”
What kind of request it was for you to be like that?
Jeok-ho hid his nervousness and looked at Baek-ho.
“The moment the word ‘True Name’ comes out of that guy’s mouth.”
As if he threw away all the little hesitance he had and made up his mind, Baek-ho spoke without hesitation.
“Kill that guy.”
***
After eating dinner, a strange confrontation unfolded between overflowing with energy Newspaper Club’s members and 2nd year class 0’s bastards again.
The competition item was the team fighting game that the Newspaper Club 2nd year seniors spent the entire last night playing.
“Do not underestimate our Newspaper Club, who spent the last night doing a From Start Till Clear run!”
“Isn’t that a perfect line foreshadowing a defeat~?”
“It’s not even a line the boss monster would say, but a mob or extra, who then goes boom.”
“I agree with the class 0 bastards’ words. Just shut up, please, and set up a console~.”
The 2nd year class 0 rented a whole big hotel’s floor, and with the help of the Newspaper Club, they took the lounge and started to set it up as an enormous game room.
Majority of the Newspaper Club and 2nd year class 0’s members joined the game tournament, but there was a small number of people who opted out.
“Then I’ll go to rest first.”
“Me too! Seniors-nim, I’ll be cheering for you!”
Mun Saeron, who planned to do her best tomorrow during the news-gathering, and some people who were tired, because they played too much yesterday, were like this.
I still had energy left to spare, but considering that I felt the effects of staying up the whole night yesterday, and I promised to go out tonight with Hwang Jiho, I decided to get a wink of sleep.
“Hahahaha! Then I’ll watch.”
“Does Jiho like games?”
“I watched them a few times. Because I have punks at home, who like games.”
Are you talking about Eun-ho’s descendants and Mountain Spirit?
It seemed that Hwang Jiho was thinking of watching the game tournament as he was.
I left the noisy lounge behind and entered the 1 person high-end[6] room allocated to me.
‘I should go watch the game tournament after I sleep for a bit now and then come back from the outing with Hwang Jiho.’
When the short thought ended, I closed my eyes and fell into the sleep without dreams.
In my dim consciousness, I heard my Playable Character screaming.
— Aaaaaaaghr!
I abruptly jumped.
It was a voice of Mun Saeron, who had a room allocated beside mine.
As soon as I realized that, I ran out onto the corridor in the sweatsuit.
As if it wasn’t only me, who heard Mun Saeron’s scream, I saw Hwang Jiho and Jegal Jaegeol standing in front of Mun Saeron’s door.
“Saeron-ah? What happened?”
Jegal Jaegeol, who checked the traces behind the door, confirmed there was no danger and asked.
Soon the door opened together with a rustling sound.
As if she was sleeping, she had a disheveled appearance, but she didn’t seem hurt anywhere.
Mun Saeron spoke to the people gathered in front of the door with a somewhat red face.
“Ahaha… Apologies. I must have heard too many scary stories yesterday, and they came to me in a dream!”
“You had a nightmare, huh? Should I call a doctor?”
As if Jegal Jaegeol was worried about a student, who dreamed a scary dream, he asked gently.
“I’m okay! It wasn’t scary at all. Ah, I’m fully awake, so I want to play now. In a place with a lot of people if I can! The 2nd year class 0 are still all awake, right? The Newspaper Club is also alive, correct? Wow, it would be fun if everyone played together. I want to be with them until morning! Teacher-nim do You also want to play a game?”
I had no idea what kind of dream Mun Saeron had, but she was obviously deeply frightened by it.
As if she wanted to be in a place with a lot of people, she glanced at the lounge brimming with addicts wearing headgears and absorbed in the game.
“Alright. Is there nothing you want to drink?”
“Mineral water is enough! No, teach Jegal-nim, where are You going?! Let’s go together!”
After Mun Saeron’s dog-shit dream, commotion died down.
Thanks to being completely woken up, I also decided to join watching of the games.
As if because of the dog dream event, the topic of the watching people’s conversation were dreams.
“I had a scary dream about the day after I entered the otherworld for the first time!”
“Ah, if you’re a Player, everyone dreams about being chased by Enemy, right?”
“I don’t have any particularly scary dreams. I sometimes have a dream about eating a super rare item for an otherworld clear compensation.”
I didn’t have memories of dreaming, so I couldn’t say a word and just listened.
When the topic of dreams came up, it was always difficult because I had nothing to say.
There were people, who didn’t often dream, but the people who really didn’t dream even once were rare.
‘Seong-heon was the same as me.’
Cheon Seong-heon was the same case as me.
He wasn’t a case where he didn’t dream at all like me, but he said that he didn’t dream frequently, and he always dreamed the same dream.
“It’s time, Jo Uisin.”
About the time when everyone got fed up with talking about dreams and the conversation became about the game again, Hwang Jiho spoke with a low voice.
“Arm yourself and follow me.”
*~*~*
[1] The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors was the title of eight rulers from China’s ancient times myths. — This sentence is a bit longer in raws, because Korean uses the name based on hanja, aka Chinese name, so it translates the name to basically what we do in English, ‘Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors’.
[2] emperor — the word emperor (皇帝) is a combination of the ‘皇’ translated to English as Sovereigns, and ‘帝’ translated to English as Emperors.
[3] But I figured out his existence — Hwang-ho is doing that again! Strange statement! So it literally would translate to ‘figure out that existence/being’. We can only assume he is talking about our Chinese Player because that’s what the conversation is about. He should be talking about him, right? Right??? Hahahaahaah…. (I have no idea.)
[4] But why in the game Hwang Jiho came out for a moment in the story after Jeok-ho died and then didn’t? — There is a suspicious comma between ‘why’ and ‘in the game’.
[5] Kung Pao chicken — apparently its name translates to ‘Palace Guardians’. (Suiting for the chapter 4 – Emperor (in tarot), huh?)
[6] high-end — ‘superior’ in raws. (You can’t say it like this in English, right?)
Translator’s note: Uh… What a scary chapter…. Almost as scary as…
200 chapters thank you note
…As the fact that we hit another 50! And the chapters I have left aren’t decreasing! And you’re still here! Reading it! If you’re wondering why I’m shouting, it’s because I want to praise you for what a wonderful reader you are as you stuck with me for 200 chapters, but I’m very scared because the last time I got involved in praising I got (praise) bombed! And I still didn’t recover from that, so if I slip and accidentally say how thankful I am for the existence of such beautiful, kind and smart readers like you, please forgive me! By the way, did I say I’m thankful?
I also thank you for all comments (I smile every time I see them, and I do see and read every one of them, so even if I don’t reply to you, be confident I saw them), thanks for the discord messages (same as comments, I was a bit less active there recently, because I was busy, but I try to read everything you write there, so feel free to talk), and thanks for the donations that keep this site going without any ads (considering the situation around the world, I’m extremely grateful for them).
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Here are special thanks for them!
Nobody, please accept this bouquet Magnolia grandiflora as a token of my sincere gratitude.
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Thank you, dear reader. Have sweet dreams.
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