Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
42. Price of achieving a wish (7)
There were two people who appeared in the Gaecheon Myth, but didn’t appear in PMH game until the last moment.
Sinin, the son of Heavenly God, who led the Mythological Ho tribe members and ruled this land.
Cheong-ho, who wished to always serve that Sinin and asked Heavenly God for it, and was a close friend of other Mythological Ho tribe members.
Until the very end of every scenario of PMH, there was almost nothing revealed about the two, who only appeared in names and background descriptions.
However, it wasn’t that no clues couldn’t be found.
‘There is a high chance that Sinin and Cheong-ho are together.’
The sacred Tigers, who remained in the Gaecheon myth and were not erased from the myth like Jeok-ho in the game[1], all achieved their wishes.
Baek-ho was said to become a prisoner of divine realm, but when he passed through Heavenly God’s ordeal and lost his status of prisoner, and his power returned, the capability ‘to go anywhere’ was obtained again.
Before the time when Hwang-ho didn’t appear in the game, he fully displayed the capability ‘to exist anywhere’ by using alter-egos.
If so, there was a high chance that Cheong-ho’s wish, recorded in the myth, was still doing well.
‘Cheong-ho and Sinin, if you find the whereabouts of one of the two, you can find both of them. And from among the two, there was a clue…’
The existence of Sinin was mentioned in the game.
Because there were people in this world who in extreme hatred towards Heavenly God and Sinin carried out a plan to eternally vanquish them[2].
The name of that group was Ung Eight Immortals.
The Ung Eight Immortals were the best of the Ung tribe members who joined hands to solely eliminate Heavenly God and Sinin.
As their attempt ended in failure, two of them went crazy and three of them fell into deep sleep.
In other words, the fact they failed in eliminating Sinin, could be understood that they also had some way to contact Sinin.
So I was thinking that we could catch a clue about Cheong-ho and Sinin by confronting the Ung tribe.
But something bothered me.
‘Why is Baek Ho-gun moving like this?’
During the youth training camp, the ‘impostor’, who saw me use the power of Baek Ho-gun through the Player’s Trajectory, said this:
— Did the Heavenly God bestow a blessing to a human? Could it be? There is no way that Heavenly God has the energy to spare on something like that!… Wait, Jin? You were a human until a moment ago, how are you displaying the power of a Jin now!?
— … No, if ‘something like that’ happened, then there should be a way for ‘opposite of that’, right?
This conversation was passed to Hwang Jiho, Baek Ho-gun, Jeok-ho and Kim Sinrok.
But I couldn’t let go of the doubt that only Baek Ho-gun caught a clue about Cheong-ho and Sinin through the content of this conversation.
‘It seems that Hwang Jiho didn’t expect that at all… Supposing he knew about it beforehand, he wouldn’t be making such an expression, right?’
The things I was bothered by remained, but if thought through well, it wasn’t strange at all that my main Playable Character didn’t miss a small clue and revealed the whereabouts of his close friend.
Paaa…
While both Hwang Jiho and Baek Ho-gun closed their mouths.
The White Fang in Baek Ho-gun’s hands and the Bear Hunting Claw that fell beside the impostor disappeared as he withdrew his Gwangrim.
“Baek-ho, how did you realize that fact?”
“Do you remember the group that sought Sinin, who disappeared, more persistently than us?”
“Are you talking about Ung Eight Immortals?”
“We have a lot we have to protect. But they abandoned all of their duties and only sought Sinin’s whereabouts.”
“’Impostor’ was in close touch with the Ung Eight Immortals. You made a deal with him knowing that? But even so, how did you think that Cheong-ho became human…”
Hwang Jiho, who looked at Baek Ho-gun’s cold face, closed his mouth.
It seemed that his head was suddenly flooded with several thoughts and his mind became complicated.
“Baek-ho, even if you did it with the intention of finding Cheong-ho and Sinin, there was no need for you to make a deal with this ‘impostor’, while breaking your oath.”
“…”
“Even if the ‘impostor’ keeps his mouth shut now, when his mind collapses with time…”
“It’ll be too late then.”
Baek Ho-gun suddenly spoke to cut him off.
Did you say ‘too late’?
‘That’s a tone as if you know that there is a time limit…’
If I thought about the bad ending brought upon this world by Dark Mastermind, Baek Ho-gun’s judgment was right.
I didn’t know how much time would be needed for the ‘impostor’s’ mind to collapse, but I was bothered by Baek Ho-gun‘s attitude, who spoke as if he knew there existed a time limit.
“… I also want to find Cheong-ho and Sinin quickly. Even so, if you consulted with me…”
“Your opinion would be mixed just like now, right?”
Baek Ho-gun and Hwang Jiho stared at each other for a while.
Even though neither of them were using Brilliant Gaze skill, their eyes were shining sharply.
In the end, Hwang Jiho’s side was first to bend.
“… You kept ‘impostor’ alive?”
“Yeah. The thing I said I would accept was up to ‘crossing the swords with White Fang’.”
Baek Ho-gun looked down at the ‘impostor’, who was faintly breathing with the gaze that didn’t feel warm at all.
“I had no thoughts of giving him the glory of dying to White Fang.”
“Yet it seems that he already enjoyed an undeserved glory.”
Hwang Jiho spoke with a sharp voice.
It was the first time I saw Hwang Jiho speak to Baek Ho-gun with such a tone.
“Whatever the reason, it doesn’t change the fact that you attacked our descendant, and acted against my, the head, intentions. Put that thing back to its original place right now and wait in my mansion.”
At those words, Baek Ho-gun didn’t retort and replied with a short ‘got it’.
* * *
Eungwang School’s residential zone, school staff residential building, 1st floor staff lounge.
In the space with no humans and which was overly quiet, perhaps because it was a summer break, Gong Cheonghwon and Han Yi took a table and sat down facing each other.
Han Yi didn’t take even a sip of the hazelnut[3] ice tea full of syrup, which was personally made by Gong Cheonghwon.
“Do You want something else to drink?”
“… No.”
“Han Yi is going to just hold and look at the sweet drink? Looks like there is a very serious problem.”
Han Yi, who read Gong Cheonghwon’s mouth, flinched.
She grabbed the glass covered with water droplets late.
Han Yi hastily swallowed a sip of the drink, but couldn’t taste it.
“Your expression says You don’t know how it tastes. Even though I put more syrup than usual.”
At Gong Cheonghwon’s attitude, as if he clearly read her mind, Han Yi flinched and then put down the glass.
Gong Cheonghwon, who was no different from Han Yi’s father, always looked into her mind so clearly.
‘… As this matter is also related to teacher Gong Cheonghwon, it would to be good to talk about it.’
If Gong Cheongwon was caught into this, it was certain that he would be harmed in some kind of way.
Rather, if Han Yi reveals everything here, she may be able to convince Gong Cheonghwon to let her solve it alone.
Han Yi, who judged like this, turned on the device and spoke about the events she experienced.
Gong Cheonghwon, who heard the story, stood up.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Where are You going?”
“I’ll tell You when I get there.”
Han Yi, who realized that Gong Cheonghwon was going to meet the people from the service company, urgently spoke.
“Please don’t go! No, if You’re going, then I’m going with You…!”
“You can’t.”
After Gong Cheonghwon wrote a short message on the device, the lounge door burst opened.
The ones to appear outside the lounge door were Kwon Lena and Sawol Seeum.
“Teacher Gong Cheonghwon-nim, thank You for contacting us!”
“Can I leave Han Yi to You?”
“Yes! We absolutely won’t let her go anywhere!”
The two people stared at Han Yi with resolute expressions.
* * *
“He said that Sinin and Cheong-ho became humans…?”
Hwang Jiho, who got into the air shuttle, looked very confused.
When he had Baek Ho-gun in front of him, he was overtaken with rage, but as that subsided a bit, it seemed that he had some time to think about other things.
I recalled the words Hwang Jiho said in the 30s old Hwang-ho’s appearance during Kwon Jane’s home performance.
— Cheong-ho left the words ‘I want to grant Sinin’s wish’ and left without any warning or lingering attachments.
Baek Ho-gun said that Sinin’s real wish was to ‘become human’.
If so, even when Cheong-ho helped to grant the wish of Sinin, who wanted to become human, she would find a way to be by his side.
And as a result of it, it seemed that Cheong-ho chose a road to become a human with him.
“It may be simple for Sinin, who was a half-blood human, to become human, eh? However, Cheong-ho… What the hell was the price she paid? Humans and Jin people are fundamentally different.”
I also agreed with Hwang Jiho’s words.
It was a case if you thought about Yong Jegeon born from the cintamani cherished by Dragon King God, or Nabiryeong, who originated from the old saying ‘Butterfly Dream’ taken from Zhuāngzǐ’s On the Equality of Things.
It was difficult to think that Jin people, who were born from a different origin than humans, could become humans, and it was unimaginable what it would be like after they obtained human life.
‘… if they became human, their lifespan would be very short compared to Jin people.’
Barely 100 years passed since the Clash of Different Worlds happened, and the majority of the Players, who awaken in the first half, died in the line of duty during the dark age of insufficient preparations and knowledge to deal with Enemies and otherworlds.
Because of that, there was still very little statistic about Players’ lifespans.
When looking at the elders like Song Manseok, Tak Geosan and Hong Gyeongbok, who even after being over 70, looked healthy, there was a hypothesis that ‘The lifespan increased when one’s abilities reached their peak’.
But that was only a hypothesis for now.
Considering human’s lifespan, I carefully asked:
“… Are Cheong-ho and Sinin alive?”
If the two disappeared recently, there was a chance.
I asked with that in mind, but Hwang Jiho shook his head.
“The two disappeared in the very old days. If they became humans immediately after that, they would have already used up their lifetime. After using up the lifespan of the first human life, they would probably cross the Cycle of Reincarnation several times.”
“Cycle of Reincarnation?”
“Yeah. As Sinin has a deep connection to Heavenly God, he would be reincarnated on this land again several times. A human’s reincarnation can’t be promised[4], but if it’s Sinin and Cheongho’s souls, and they have Heavenly God’s blessing…”
Hwang Jiho didn’t look certain.
The things to investigate increased.
The Cycle of Reincarnation and whereabouts of Sinin and Cheong-ho, who became humans.
While Hwang Jiho fell into thoughts and the conversation was cut off, and I ruminated over the information I possessed one after one.
“Jo Uisin, you said that you can’t use my power, right? Besides Baek-ho’s power, can you use any other Ho tribe member’s power? Can you use Sinin’s power?”
“No.”
It seemed that Hwang Jiho suddenly mentioned Player’s Trajectory because of Cheong-ho.
‘If I could use Cheong-ho or Sinin’s power, we might be able to find some thread clues.’
But other Ho tribe members besides Baek-ho, the in-game Hwang Jiho and Jeok-ho were NPCs.
Among the Ho tribe members, Baek Ho-gun was the only character possible to play.
As nothing came out besides mere mentions of Sinin and Cheong-ho, there was no point to consider.
“It’s only Baek-ho among the Ho tribe members?”
While Hwang Jiho fell into thoughts again, the air shuttle reached the residential zone.
Before the air shuttle landed in front of the school staff residential building.
I spoke to Hwang Jiho, who was preparing to get off.
“I’ll go alone.”
I spoke in consideration of Hwang Jiho, but Hwang Jiho shook his head.
“… No. If I talk with Baek-ho right now, I won’t be able to keep a cool mindset. I’ll go with you. I want to deal with Namkung Group’s spies who are bothering Han Yi.”
Like this, in front of the school staff residential building, 1st floor staff lounge, which I arrived at with Hwang Jiho.
Clang! Bang! Wa-jang-jang!
Midst broken glass, pieces of furniture exploded.
After the window broke, the sound of an argument leaked out.
“… Please let go. I don’t want to hurt the two of you.”
“I hate it!”
“Can’t!”
It was the voices of Han Yi, Kwon Lena and Sawol Seeum.
Midst the sparse conversation, the superpower wave clashed and even something physical smashing against each other, and I heard the sound of breaking and crashing.
‘No way, this is…’
I received a shock equal to the moment when I heard about the existence of Cheong-ho and Sinin.
The first fight broke out among our kind class children in the school staff lounge.
*~*~*
[1] in the game — to be clear, it’s hard to tell if the ‘in the game’ refers to the entire sentence or for Jeok-ho specifically, because they’re side by side (Jeok-ho and in the game) and the Jeok-ho clause is separated by a very, EXTREMELY suspicious comma.
[2] vanquish them — to make them disappear.
[3] hazelnut — Corylus heterophylla, a different species of hazel tree than the one growing in Europe, which is much more suited for making tea from it. Also, the name ‘개암 (gaeam)’ was used here, but hazelnuts are also called ‘진자 (jin-ja)’.
[4] can’t be promised — or the promise can’t be broken? The word used here could either mean a promise to meet at a certain time or to break a promise (or to have a weak spirit or life force).
[?] Hwang-ho’s tone — So, while going crazy with conversations in this chapter, this translator realized that they might have misled you enormously dear readers. Before, I said that Hwang-ho is using a plain form towards people he is not close with, but uses a casual tone towards people he is (like Jo Uisin or his friends). That’s misleading, because Hwang-ho is using a mess of a tone towards those he is close with, and maybe others too, I’m very stupid sometimes.
Here is a simple explanation: Hwang-ho is using a mix of plain form and casual form. He seems to more often use casual form when speaking to people he likes, but that doesn’t seem to be a rule. For example, he is using plain form almost this entire chapter (or at least, that was a feeling I got. But I’m very bad at counting).
On that note. Baek-ho is also using plain form. But he is rather consistent with it and doesn’t switch in the middle of the explanation like Hwang-ho.
Translator’s note: No, Jo Uisin, with Hwang-ho throwing ambiguous statements around, you can’t dismiss the strangeness of Hwang-ho asking about Player’s Trajectory right now that easily.
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