WeTried Translations

Translator: Joy

Editor: Joy

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◈ Damned Transmigration

Chapter 11

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Rutlan (3)

Yuri had been forced to move from the rural city of Oldor to the great metropolis of Rutlan.

He had enough savings from the orphanage for a room in a cheap inn, but he knew Elena would have raised a fuss.

‘She really seemed happy about it.’

And though she tried her best to hide it, her acting was anything but convincing. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed he would be imposing on her for the time being.

It certainly had nothing to do with the mansion’s pristine bathroom and kitchen, of course.

The first order of business was to determine just how much freedom he had in the mansion. Wary of any potential surveillance magic, Yuri quickly scanned the living room.

He could sense the flow of mana.

Just as Elena had mentioned, the mansion was equipped with basic lifestyle magic, including security spells. Reading the flow didn't allow him to identify the exact nature of each spell, but it was enough to confirm the simple presence of magic.

This world didn't have CCTV, of course, but that didn't mean there wasn't magic to serve the same purpose; here, magic simply replaced modern technology.

‘Wait.’

Yuri paused, his eyes landing on the study on the first floor.

The door was enchanted with a security spell, but Elena had already given him permission to go inside.

The study was spacious, but its bookshelves were surprisingly sparse, with more empty spots than books.

It made sense.

Elena couldn’t have been living in the mansion for long, and her truly important books would be kept at the Mage Tower.

‘She did mention some common magic books.’

Rummaging through the scant collection, he pulled out a series of fifteen thick grimoires.

<Easy and Quick Guide to Common Magic Vol. 1, by Arsen Lucionell>
.
.
<Easy and Quick Guide to Common Magic Vol. 15, by Arsen Lucionell>

‘So this is the old man who wrote them.’

The author was none other than Arsen Lucionell, the Tower Master of the Lucionell Mage Tower, also known as the Polar Point.

This Mage Tower stood out because it didn't focus on a single school of magic. Instead, it concentrated on what could be termed 'popular' magic, refining and reconstructing it to its absolute limit.

In the game, this approach had made Arsen Lucionell a more challenging opponent than other Tower Masters.

While a specialised master could be countered with targeted preparations, Lucionell's versatility made such strategies impossible.

He was an old man who had turned his lack of specialisation into a formidable strength, representing the peak of ordinary magic.

Among all the Tower Masters, Arsen Lucionell was the most adaptable and possessed the fewest discernible weaknesses.

For reference, Heavenly Thunder Orca Dersia was level 81, while Polar Point Arsen Lucionell was level 87.

'The sheer effort it took to defeat that old geezer...' he mused, recalling the fifteen books established by the notorious Polar Point Arsen Lucionell.

He remembered her saying that a 3rd-Circle mage should be proficient in most common magic.

Did that mean he had to memorise fifteen of these incredibly thick books? Were all mages gifted with prodigious memories?

Yuri opened the first book, unsure if he could truly learn them easily and quickly.

If you have reached a level where you can call yourself a mage, you should aim to perfectly understand and cast the spells compiled in this book.

You are all likely aware of the difference between common magic and the magic of Mage Towers and other schools. Common magic, as the name implies, is magic that ‘all’ mages can use.

First, you must perfectly memorise the formula, then guide your mana as the formula dictates…

He skimmed the preface, grateful to find a table of contents afterwards.

‘Security… warding… guarding…’

Yuri scanned the entries, thinking of related terms.

He finally located the relevant section in the third volume.

This section deals with basic warding magic. You should already know how important preparation is for a mage. Therefore, you must…

‘He really does talk a lot.’ Yuri recalled the character’s penchant for lengthy dialogue in the game.

‘Right… this is it.’

Security magic for a home. Alarms to signal unauthorised entry, detection, traps, interception…

‘Observation, surveillance.’

There are various types of magic for observing intruders in an area. While using a familiar is one method, this book does not cover such miscellaneous techniques and focuses purely on common magic…

‘For goodness sake, get to the point.’

Perhaps the sheer volume of the <Easy and Quick Guide to Common Magic> was simply because old man Arsen enjoyed hearing himself speak.

‘…Huh…’

As he stared intently at the magical formula, his head began to spin.

‘Am I experiencing a mental overload I never even felt during my exams?’

No, this felt different. The complex, dizzying formulas were being forcefully imprinted onto his mind. His eyes stung as if burning, and his head throbbed.

‘Understanding.’

A soul from another world. Something special. A blessing.

‘Wasn't it just limited to mana?’

This was entirely unlike his experience with the cookbook. His brain was absorbing the magical formulas on its own.

After a prolonged period of staring at the formula, Yuri’s legs weakened, and he slumped to the floor.

‘This isn’t easy.’

The mental fatigue was considerable.

‘The title isn’t a lie, though.’

Arsen Lucionell had provided detailed explanations for the complex formulas. Combined with his transmigrator's blessing, it had been effective.

Yuri took a deep breath and pushed himself up.

‘I can’t cast it myself just yet.’

What he had just achieved felt more like intuitive memorisation than perfect comprehension. To actually cast the spell, he would need to delve deeper and gain proficiency.

Yuri returned the grimoires to the bookshelf.

Back in the living room, the surroundings appeared different. The magical formulas he had only vaguely sensed before now felt somewhat comprehensible.

‘If someone enters the mansion without permission, the magic will activate immediately.’

This meant Yuri no longer needed to worry about surveillance and observation. Naturally, he had no intention of engaging in any suspicious activities in the middle of the living room.

He proceeded to the second floor.

The doors to his assigned room and the storage room were not enchanted.

He peeked into the storage room; it was not as cluttered as its name suggested. Unused furniture and various tools were neatly arranged on shelves.

“Is she a neat freak?”

The pristine white dress she had worn the day she arrived in Oldor flashed in his mind. Yuri shook his head and entered his own room.

‘Observation, surveillance…’

He scanned the room with his still-aching eyes but couldn't feel any magic of that sort.

‘Well, I suppose she wouldn't install security magic in an unused room.’

Once he was sure, the tension finally drained from his body. Yuri stood in the empty room and let out a hollow laugh.

‘This room is safe, at least.’

Still, he drew the curtains before flopping down in the middle of the floor.

His head was still throbbing and his eyes were sore. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep, but he couldn't afford to.

The Veil of Deception completely concealed the presence of his internal energy from the outside world, which was true even while he was Regulating Qi.

He hadn't performed the technique once during the week-long carriage ride with Elena, and after practising it daily for a month in Oldor, his body felt sluggish and stuffy from the break.

‘Veil of Deception, check.’

He touched his neck, which felt perfectly normal. The enchanted necklace was hidden there, and neither Elena nor Haryeong had noticed his internal energy.

‘This was a hard item to get even in the game.’

It was impossible to obtain before the last part, and even then, the drop rate was ridiculously low. The fact that Lorelia and the Sect of Order had sent it as a gift made it clear they were giving him special treatment.

Yuri steadied his breathing and began to Regulate his Qi.

As the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil circulated within him, the internal energy in his dantian stirred.

Thanks to his daily practice over the past month, his reserves had grown considerably. What had started as the size of a fingernail was now about as large as his fist.

He could almost hear Lorelia's voice in his head.

‘Be grateful, Lee Su-hyeok-nim. I, Lorelia, have never passed on the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil to anyone else. This is a martial art that belongs only to me.’

‘Like most heart techniques, the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil does not advance in realm simply by increasing your internal energy. So, do not just mindlessly accumulate it; meditate diligently and seek enlightenment.’

What is enlightenment?

‘If there is anyone who can perfectly explain what enlightenment is, they would be a God of War. I, Lorelia, am not a God of War, so I cannot explain what it is!’

How am I supposed to seek something you don't even know?

‘Regulating Qi is not simply about sitting and absorbing internal energy! The essence of it is filling your ignorance, contemplating what you have filled, understanding it, and adding to it! If you do that, you will naturally come to grasp things you did not know, new things, things that make you more complete. That is what enlightenment is.’

It sounds like you just explained enlightenment, Lorelia-nim. Does that make you a God of War now?

‘I, Lorelia, really did not want to do this. But since you keep being difficult, Su-hyeok-nim, I feel it is necessary to do something I do not wish to do. From now on, I shall raise my fist every time you spout bull... nonsense.’

Hey, I was just asking...

‘I was explaining how one should seek enlightenment! Enlightenment comes to everyone differently, so what each person gains is different!’

Lorelia, the Priestess of Order who had taught him the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, had taught him so much more than just martial arts.

The reason for his transmigration, the precautions he needed to take, how to fight…

‘What Circle is Lorelia?’ he wondered.

From the way she spoke, she couldn't be of a low rank. He had asked her before, but she’d never given him a straight answer.

‘My Circle is a secret,’ she had told him.

‘But I will tell you this. If you, Su-hyeok-nim, diligently practise the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil and steadily accumulate enlightenment, you will be able to reach a very high level.’

The classification of these ranks was a matter of self-assessment, not external judgment.

For a mage, being recognised as a proper practitioner marked the 2nd Circle. Mastery of all common magic signified the 3rd, while the ability to combine multiple spells and abbreviate their formulas was the benchmark for the 4th.

The path for a martial artist was similar.

The 2nd Circle was reached upon accumulating enough internal energy in the dantian to surpass the body's physical limits. The 3rd involved projecting that energy outward, and the 4th required imbuing that projected power with an attribute.

‘Am I barely at the 2nd-Circle, then?’

He had gathered internal energy and could use it to strengthen his body, but he was far from satisfied. He needed much more training.

As his complex thoughts swirled, his consciousness began to sink.

The tenets of the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, which had been drilled into him until his ears bled, mingled with the various spells from the grimoires he had skimmed and the warding magic he had studied properly.

‘Halt!’

From the depths of his fading awareness, he heard Lorelia’s shout.

The memory of her harsh training, the violence disguised as education, that he had endured in the waiting room became entangled with his thoughts.

He woke with a start.

Pulling back the curtain, he saw the sun was still high in the sky. A glance at the clock showed two hours had passed.

His headache was gone and his eyes no longer felt sore.

After just two hours of meditating while Regulating Qi, his body felt as refreshed as if he'd had a full night's sleep.

Sniff.

A foul odour made him look down.

He was drenched in the same black and yellow sweat that had appeared the first time he'd Regulated Qi back in Oldor, a sign that more murky energy had been expelled from his meridians.

"Shit."

The problem was, this wasn't the countryside. But fortunately, he hadn't soiled the floor.

Yuri shot up, threw open the window to air out the room, and grabbed a spare set of clothes from the corner.

He quickly calmed himself. It was nothing to panic about.

Elena wasn't back yet, so he had time to wash the clothes and himself. He already had an excuse ready.

‘I got something on me while cooking.’

Elena would probably just chide him for washing clothes destined for the bin, and that would be the end of it.

"Whoa…"

Swoosh…

The bathroom on the second floor had hot water. After a month of washing with icy well water, the sight of steam rising from the water was almost enough to bring a tear to his eye.

The room was even stocked with various soaps and lotions, and the towels were incredibly fluffy.

"Thank you," he murmured, offering a genuine thanks to the absent Elena, and picked up the shower head.

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang just as he finished washing himself, cleaning his clothes, and hanging them on the line in the garden.

‘What now?’

The owner of the house wouldn't ring the bell, so it couldn't be Elena. Was it Haryeong?

‘She said she was coming tomorrow morning, didn't she?’

That thought made him pause on his way to the gate.

Ding-dong.

The bell rang again. Yuri remained still, his eyes fixed on the gate.

"Who’s there?" a voice called from the other side.

"I can sense someone. Who are you, just standing there without answering?"

It was a man's voice.

Ding-dong.

The bell rang once more.

"Are you a thief? No, that can't be. Haryeong, is that you?"

If he stayed quiet, perhaps the man would leave.

Ding-dong.

The repeated ringing suggested otherwise.

"Answer me. Are you Haryeong? Why aren’t you saying anything?"

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

The bell rang in rapid succession.

‘She said she wasn't expecting any visitors…’

"It's no use pretending you're not there. I can sense your presence. What are you hiding that you can’t even speak? It doesn't seem like you're Haryeong. I don't know who you are, but if you continue to stay silent, I won't just stand by."

Yuri decided it was better not to complicate things.

"Who are you?"

"A man?" The voice was tinged with surprise.

"Who in the world are you? Why is a man in there?"

"I am a guest of the homeowner."

"A guest? Please call Lady Elena. I will hear it from her directly."

"Elena is not home right now."

"She’s not? Then why are you inside?"

"Because she went out and left me here."

"First... just open the door. We should at least see each other's faces to introduce ourselves, shouldn’t we?" the man said, his voice stammering slightly.

Yuri narrowed his eyes and glared at the door as it rang again.

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

"Why aren’t you opening it?"

"I don't know who you are, and this isn't my house. Why on earth should I trust you enough to open the door?"

"I am... Jin of the Namgung Family. I swear on my family's honour, I am not a suspicious person. And this is the residence of Lady Elena, the apple of the Dersia Mage Tower’s eye, the Marigold, is it not? A truly suspicious person would not come here in broad daylight, announce their name, and ask for the door to be opened."

Yuri let out a deep sigh at the man's long-winded introduction.

"I understand what you're saying, but Elena isn't home. Please come back another time."

"No! For all I know, you could have subdued Lady Elena and are now lying. I must confirm her safety with my own eyes."

"The 'apple of the Dersia Mage Tower's eye’, the 'Marigold'... does she sound like someone who can be so easily subdued?"

Yuri shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Your refusal to open the door only makes you more suspicious to me."

It was clear the man wasn't going to be convinced.

Yuri sighed again and turned away.

"Elena instructed me not to open the door for anyone while she was out, only to inform them that she wasn't home. So if you have business with her, you'll have to wait there."

"Are you really turning away a member of the Namgung Family?" the man asked, his voice laced with indignation.

"Does being from the Namgung Family give you the right to demand entry into a house when the owner isn't even present?"

"You…"

"Say what you will, I can't help you," Yuri said, his patience finally snapping.

"I'm just following orders."

Whether the man chose to give up and leave or wait at the gate was none of Yuri's concern. He had done as he was told and started to walk back toward the house.

"How dare you...!" a voice seethed from beyond the gate.

"You bastard!"

Yuri spun around at the furious roar.

Perched atop the wall was Namgung Jin, dressed in a dark blue robe that looked like it came straight out of a martial arts film.

He glared down at Yuri, but then his eyes landed on Yuri's still-damp hair, and they widened in shock and rage.

"You son of a bitch!" he bellowed and leaped from the wall, his fist flying directly at Yuri's face.

‘What the hell?’

Yuri thought there was no way he could dodge, but his body reacted on its own. He twisted aside an instant before impact, the punch whizzing past his head.

Namgung Jin landed on the ground, turning to look at Yuri with an expression of utter disbelief.

"You dodged?"

"Well, were you expecting me to just stand here and get hit, you fucker?" Yuri snapped, his own anger flaring after the unprovoked attack.

Beeep, beeep, beeep—

The mansion's security magic blared to life, announcing the presence of an unauthorised intruder.

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