WeTried Translations
Translator: Joy
Editor & TLC: ZEROSUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 2: Manual (2)
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The next page listed the personal details of people around him. Strangely, the moment he saw each name, a face immediately came to mind.
‘Childhood friend?’
Elena.
An orphan Yuri’s age, with whom he had remained in regular contact even after leaving the orphanage. Even from the profile written on the page, Elena was completely unlike Yuri.
Born with a talent for magic, Elena had known how to handle mana since the age of ten despite never receiving instruction from anyone.
The director of the Oldor orphanage had written about Elena in letters sent to several mage towers, hoping something might come of it. The Tower Master of the Dersia Mage Tower took an interest and came in person.
Elena’s talent was personally acknowledged by the Tower Master, and she entered the Dersia Mage Tower. Ten years had passed since then. They had not met in person during those ten years, but Yuri and Elena still exchanged letters.
Jang-sam.
A senior from the Black Snake Gang, where Yuri belonged. He was practically Yuri’s mentor, the bastard who had shown Yuri, after he left the orphanage, the path of becoming trash.
Lee Su-hyeok crammed several other names and personal details into his memory before turning the page again. It contained precautions for after transmigration. In short, they were as follows.
1. Never rely blindly on knowledge gained from the game.
More precisely, he should not casually try to make use of his knowledge of the game. He must never rely on the “settings” of living beings in particular.
The game and reality were different. Time flowed differently in this world than on Earth, and thirty years had already passed since the first Transmigrator arrived.
Some of the NPCs Lee Su-hyeok knew from the game were dead. Others were still alive.
Naturally, living humans differed from NPCs that repeated predetermined dialogue and attack patterns in the game.
The warning never to rely on the “settings” of living beings came from mistakes made by the many Transmigrators kidnapped before Lee Su-hyeok.
Several Transmigrators had deliberately approached NPCs based on game information, or tried to hunt according to the same “strategies” they had used in the game.
Most of them had died or suffered harm.
2. He must hide the fact that he was a Transmigrator.
That was only natural in a world where Transmigrators were not viewed favorably.
3. He must not trust other Transmigrators.
He should not feel kinship just because they had all been dragged here while playing the same shitty game. Being rivals for a wish was the most obvious reason, but some Transmigrators exploited or sold out others. There were even Transmigrators who ate other Transmigrators.
The ones he especially needed to watch out for were Transmigrators who had gotten into bed with the Evil God, the root of all evil.
“Why are people this dangerous still alive?”
“Who are you referring to?”
“The Transmigrators listed here, the ones working with the Evil God.”
“Ah! You mean the bastards who betrayed the mercy bestowed by the Goddess of Order, gave up on returning to their original world, and actively spread chaos through the world according to the Evil God’s will!”
Lee Su-hyeok flinched briefly at the harsh language, which did not suit a priestess, but continued questioning her.
“Yes. If they’re like that, can’t you at least tell me who they are? So I can be careful.”
“Lee Su-hyeok...! Let me first assure you that I’m not lying. I truly want to tell you, but I cannot.”
“Why the hell not? Is the Goddess of Order such a sucker that she’d protect even Transmigrators who joined the Evil God?”
“How dare you!”
Lorelia sprang to her feet.
“No matter if you are Lee Su-hyeok, UrMumSpammer himself! To commit blasphemy before me, a priestess of Order! I, Lorelia, demand that you retract that statement!”
“But that’s how it looks. Why can’t you tell me about those assholes?”
“Because we do not know!”
Lorelia struck her chest several times as if she were frustrated herself. Then she threw her arms wide, turned both palms upward, and looked at the ceiling.
“We priests are each assigned only one Transmigrator! The assignment is made the instant an observed soul crosses into this world!”
“So what? If you’re observing the game, you can make a rough guess. And just from my profile, you must already know where I’ll transmigrate into.”
“Knowing in advance which body a soul will transmigrate into, a fact determined the moment that soul crosses over, is the Goddess’s miracle.”
Lorelia answered through clenched breaths.
“As you say, if we observe the Evil God’s traps, we can roughly guess who might cross over. But more important than that is who they transmigrate into.”
“That makes sense.”
“What is forbidden to us priests is information about the body being transmigrated into. We can never reveal information about the transmigration assigned to us to anyone else!”
“Still, if the Transmigrator you were assigned turns into a total fucking bastard, wouldn’t the Goddess of Order lift the restriction with a little flexibility?”
“You can only say that because you do not understand the circumstances, Lee Su-hyeok!”
Still breathing hard, Lorelia explained.
The instant a soul from Earth crossed into this world, the body it would transmigrate into was determined.
Knowing that body in advance was the Goddess’s miracle. Through that miracle, the body’s memories were read and received as revelation in the form of a sealed Profile.
The priest assigned to that transmigration entered this place, the waiting room where minds met minds, carrying the Profile and the Manual.
The Goddess of Order was in a deep sleep after expending too much divine power and could not be contacted.
“That is why we cannot even give hints about other Transmigrators. I, Lorelia, do not know how many Transmigrators there are besides Lee Su-hyeok, nor do I know who they are. Even if I did know, I could not tell you. This restriction also exists to protect Transmigrators.”
Furthermore, some Transmigrators who had joined the Evil God and received Baptism had murdered the priests assigned to them. As a result, the clergy of Order had no way of knowing which Transmigrators had joined the Evil God.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes...”
“Retract your blasphemy!”
She did seem like a sucker, but Lee Su-hyeok did not want to argue with Lorelia over something pointless.
“I retract it. The Goddess of Order is not a sucker.”
“Do you repent?”
“Yes, I repent.”
“I forgive you.”
Lorelia, who had been raising her voice in anger just moments ago, sat back down with a bright smile as though nothing had happened.
Lee Su-hyeok let out several deep sighs and closed the book.
The biggest problem was the Transmigrators who had come before him and the thirty years that had passed. There was a warning not to rely too heavily on game knowledge, but after that much time, most worthwhile skills and items would already have been farmed.
“Have you finished reading?”
“Yes. So what am I supposed to do?”
Lee Su-hyeok asked with a sullen expression.
“I understand all the precautions. But I don’t know what I’m supposed to do beyond that. I can’t use game knowledge, and I can’t find skills or items. Then what advantage do I or the other Transmigrators even have?”
Lee Su-hyeok was far too insignificant to suddenly enter the game world and kill the Evil God. If he could have put his game knowledge to use in various ways, that would have been one thing. But if most of it was unusable, what was he supposed to do?
“As expected of Lee Su-hyeok, UrMumSpammer himself! What a sharp question!”
“I’m asking because I really don’t know, but when you sometimes add UrMumSpammer before my name... are you trying to feed me a line?”
“What does ‘feed me a line’ mean? Feed you? What has Lorelia fed you?”
“Never mind.”
It felt like she was doing this on purpose. Lee Su-hyeok clicked his tongue against his lower lip.
“As I told you earlier, souls from other worlds are very special. When every Transmigrator crosses into our world, the potential inherent in their soul blooms wide open.”
Lorelia pressed her hands together, then spread them wide like a flower blooming.
“It is difficult to explain the exact reason, but souls from other worlds basically possess great affinity with, and understanding of, mana! Most Transmigrators are guaranteed rapid progress once they take up magic, martial arts, and the like!”
Her outspread hands clenched into fists.
“However! I, Lorelia, deeply understand that it is terribly harsh for Transmigrators, who have lived in entirely different worlds, to adapt to ours with only such privileges, survive other Transmigrators and enemies, and defeat the Evil God in the distant future!”
Whoosh...
The chair Lorelia sat on, the desk, and the book all vanished.
“The many Transmigrators who came first received no explanation whatsoever about the privileges they had gained! Even some who understood them instinctively suffered greatly until they adapted!”
“Well... yes... I suppose they did.”
“Therefore, I, Lorelia, shall give Lee Su-hyeok special training! Now, Lee Su-hyeok! Please stand up.”
He had no idea why she wanted him to stand, but he rose from his chair as instructed.
Whoosh...
Lee Su-hyeok’s chair disappeared.
“Lee Su-hyeok, UrMumSpammer himself!”
Lorelia smiled brilliantly and raised a clenched fist.
“This is a fist!”
“Yes... that’s a fist.”
“And this is a punch!”
Her fist moved with that shout.
Thwack!
Lee Su-hyeok’s head snapped back.
“Urgh!”
Something popped! before his eyes. As he staggered backward, a riiiing... sound filled his ears.
“This is a guard!”
At the center of his swaying vision, Lorelia smiled brightly and raised both arms before her head.
“Put your guard up!”
Why was she suddenly throwing punches? First of all, he could not understand that. She had called this a curriculum for a Transmigrator’s quick adaptation and survival, so why was she suddenly punching him?
“W-wait, what are you even...”
Thwack!
Lorelia’s punch landed before he could finish. It was a vicious blow that did not seem possible from such a pretty little hand.
It was not a straight punch but a hook that cut through the air. Lee Su-hyeok could not think at all. It felt as if the thoughts he had been fumbling together had been chopped clean in half. Half-conscious, he collapsed where he stood.
“That will not do!”
Lorelia warned him in a high voice.
“Opening your mouth to speak during battle is extremely unwise! Your tongue may be bitten off! You must refrain from battle cries and shouts as much as possible!”
His half-severed consciousness connected again. He could not feel pain in his face after the successive blows. Still, Lee Su-hyeok could not bring himself to stand and only stared blankly at Lorelia.
“Losing control of your body and collapsing is also something you deserve to be criticized for! That posture severely limits your movements! The best thing is not to get hit, and the next best thing is to block! If you cannot do either, endure through sheer grit!”
“W-wait. Just wait a second.”
Lee Su-hyeok spoke haltingly through the words that continued like a rebuke.
“Why are you hitting me...?”
“As I said before, it is for Transmigrators’ quick adaptation and survival!”
“What does that have to do with hitting me...?”
“Lee Su-hyeok! Transmigrators have many enemies! The finest form of self-defense may be never encountering an enemy, but no matter how well you prepare or avoid them, unexpected encounters may still occur!”
Thud!
Lorelia’s two fists collided. The booming sound from such small fists shook Lee Su-hyeok’s body.
“This is what I believe, Lee Su-hyeok! The most perfect self-defense is possessing the strength never to die, no matter the situation! Teaching an enemy who has come to kill me, with my own body, why mortals are mortal! Crushing my potential enemies before they can act! That is the most perfect self-defense!”
It was an incredibly violent statement for a priestess.
“In our world, where order has collapsed, the law does not fully protect the weak! It is no exaggeration to say that no laws exist to protect Transmigrators in particular! That is why you must build strength!”
Lorelia raised her fist for him to see.
“Violence is an excellent means of negotiation and communication, one that works in most situations! Petty violence is not worth discussing, but sufficient violence can hold more value than immeasurable wealth in certain circumstances!”
Lee Su-hyeok still did not have a real grasp of what it meant for her to be a priestess of the Goddess of Order, but by his common sense, she was something like a religious figure.
He looked blankly up at the religious figure, Lorelia. As she preached about violence and strength, Lorelia looked happier than at any other moment he had seen today.
“Lee Su-hyeok! I, Lorelia, will do my utmost to train you so that you do not die a meaningless death!”
Lorelia suddenly reached out and grasped empty air before Lee Su-hyeok could answer. Whoosh! It felt as if an invisible hand had seized him by the collar. Forced upright, Lee Su-hyeok could only move his lips as he still failed to understand the situation.
“Lee Su-hyeok! The enemies you meet will not be as merciful as I am! They will not warn you in advance, they will not merely knock you out cleanly, and they will not personally help you back to your feet after you fall!”
“...”
“Remember that! Now, Lee Su-hyeok! I have just taught you how to make a fist, how to punch, and how to guard!”
“So... what am I supposed to do with that...?”
“Attack me!”
Lorelia said with a bright smile.
“Turn your hand into a fist, Lee Su-hyeok! Then throw a punch at me!”
His thoughts were beginning to settle. But he did not feel calm. Anger rose toward Lorelia, who had given him a mountain of explanations, skipped over the information he actually needed, and then punched him.
That anger also contained all the resentment he felt about this situation. The resentment of being dragged into another world because he had played a fucking garbage game!
He clenched his fist.
“Fuuuck!”
He shouted the curse like a battle cry and swung his fist. But he misjudged the distance, and the fist stuffed full of rage did not hit Lorelia. Watching the punch miss near her face and Lee Su-hyeok stumble wildly from the force of his own swing, Lorelia let out a sigh.
“Ahh! Lee Su-hyeok...! That... that is not a punch!”
“You fucking bitch...!”
“Lee Su-hyeok! Was that profanity directed at me, Lorelia? I fully understand that your emotions are heightened, but please refrain from using such language!”
It was a polite request, but Lee Su-hyeok ignored it. The explosion of emotions he had repeatedly calmed and suppressed had blown his reason far away.
“Why the fuck am I dealing with this?!”
“Lee Su-hyeok! Please follow my advice! Opening your mouth and shouting during battle is extremely dangerous!”
“You’re the one who keeps talking!”
“Ah, I see! Lee Su-hyeok, you have misunderstood something! I am fine! This is not battle for me, Lorelia!”
Lorelia shouted with a refreshing smile. Her expression and the tone of her voice were so cheerful that it took Lee Su-hyeok a moment to realize she was openly looking down on him.
“You fucking bitch!”
Understanding that he had been dismissed, Lee Su-hyeok shouted another curse and swung again. He had not fought much in his twenty-seven years, but the baseless confidence that he could not possibly lose after attacking a woman with all his strength pushed him forward.
Thwack!
Lights flashed repeatedly before his eyes.
“This is a counter!”
Lee Su-hyeok crumpled to the floor, his head feeling half-exploded.
“That punch just now was quite good! But please attack with a little more finesse next time! Keep your heart hot, your head cool, your fists heavy, and your feet light!”
His exploded head started working again. Lee Su-hyeok did not understand what had happened to him, but he did understand that no matter what desperate struggle he made, he would never beat Lorelia.
“...You told me to attack... so why did you counter...?”
“I, Lorelia, never said I would let you hit me! Even if I had said I would let you hit me, Lee Su-hyeok, you must not believe those words! There are many snakes in the world with silver tongues!”
It was a reasonable point. Lee Su-hyeok blinked blankly, then made a decision and opened his mouth.
“Um, Lady Lorelia, may I ask you a favor?”
“Of course!”
“Could you let me hit you just once?”
For an instant, Lorelia’s smile wavered.
“Ur... Lee Su-hyeok, I am sorry! That request would be difficult to grant.”
“Why did you start to say my username just now?”
“This is training for your survival, Lee Su-hyeok! If I simply let your utterly un-punch-like punch hit me, when you later have to throw a real punch, you may despair at the gap between your expectations and reality! Therefore, I, Lorelia, cannot simply let you punch me, even for your sake...”
Her words came in a rush. The conclusion was that she could not let him hit her because his punch was pathetic, but that did not seem like the only reason. She just did not want to get hit, did she? Lee Su-hyeok twisted his mouth and glared, but Lorelia calmly met his gaze with her usual smile.
“Do other Transmigrators receive training like this too?”
“No! This is special training I, Lorelia, am giving specifically to Lee Su-hyeok!”
“I’m honestly curious because I really don’t know. Why are you specifically assigned to me, Lady Lorelia...?”
“Goodness, Lee Su-hyeok! Are you dissatisfied that I, Lorelia, have been assigned to Lee Su-hyeok, UrMumSpammer himself?!”
“No... Uh... It’s not that. I was just wondering.”
“That is a relief. I, Lorelia, was not originally a priestess preparing to handle Transmigrators here. I worried that perhaps I had made a mistake and caused Lee Su-hyeok to feel dissatisfied.”
Lee Su-hyeok could not help feeling uneasy at that answer. She had not originally handled Transmigrators? Did that not mean this damned transmigration had gone wrong from the very first step?
“You were not assigned to Transmigrators?”
“Yes! The Church of Order had various problems, and that is how it came to be. But do not worry, Lee Su-hyeok. I, Lorelia, have no less motivation and passion than priests who went through the formal assignment process!”
“Then may I ask what you were originally assigned to?”
“Violence!”
Lorelia answered with a bright smile.
“I see. Of course.”
A praise of violence, founded on the belief that the fist was closer than the law and the blade mightier than the pen.
Only now did Lee Su-hyeok understand why Lorelia had stressed the need for violence so fiercely.
“Now, let us continue the training!”
At the sight of Lorelia raising both fists with overflowing enthusiasm, his eyes shook on their own.
“When exactly does this training end?”
“Hmm...”
Her answer did not come at once. Lorelia stopped clenching her fists and sat down. Folding her knees beneath herself in a demure posture, she looked at Lee Su-hyeok with a serious expression.
“When Lee Su-hyeok can throw a fist with all his strength, accurately, without hesitation or fear, against a living person, filled with the murderous intent to kill them without fail. When you can do that, this training will end.”
That would be difficult.
That was his first thought upon hearing Lorelia’s words. How many people in the world had ever thrown a fist with all their strength, determined to kill another person without fail? Lee Su-hyeok was not one of them. He had never done it, nor had he ever imagined doing it.
“Does it have to be a fist?”
Lee Su-hyeok hesitated briefly before asking.
“A weapon or magic... Um, I think I could do it with something like that.”
“A weapon?”
Lorelia’s eyebrow twitched, and an ominous light shone from her red eyes.
“Lee Su-hyeok, UrMumSpammer himself! You did not use weapons, did you?”
“What?”
“In that Evil God’s trap, the game called Seronis! UrMumSpammer never wielded a weapon or wore armor before any enemy!”
Lee Su-hyeok was left speechless by that shout. It was true. In Seronis, his character had worn neither weapons nor armor.
His build had been centered on a skill that granted additional stats based on his total stats every time he sealed an equipment slot. The seals increased as the game progressed, and by the end, UrMumSpammer had become an underwear-clad character with no equipment at all.
Stacking bonus stats. Blessings granted according to the flow of battle.
An evasion rate that broke through even the system’s limits.
High-powered skills that consumed health.
As his health decreased, his stats were boosted further. The bonus stats based on his total were recalculated, berserk status activated when he was near death and amplified his stats again, and he endured through life steal...
He compensated for the defense he would have gained from equipment with inflated health, maintained his HP threshold through delicate control, and fought on the vast bonus stats gained in the process. That was UrMumSpammer’s concept.
“But that was a game...”
“UrMumSpammer is Lee Su-hyeok himself!”
“No... Come on. You said I can’t even gain skills using the exact same methods as the game. Why are you forcing my game concept on me...?”
“You can create skills yourself!”
It sounded as if she were saying that was the obvious thing to do, leaving Lee Su-hyeok unable to answer.
“I told you already! Transmigrators fundamentally possess a great affinity with mana. Affinity means freely handling mana, and depending on the direction of your efforts, you can create as much new magic and martial arts as you wish!”
“That makes no sense...”
“It is not a lie! The powerful people in our world who survived even after being exposed as Transmigrators developed for themselves combat methods that had already been proven in the games they played!”
Even so, it would be impossible to recreate in reality, rather than in a game, the concept of walking around in underwear without wearing a single weapon or piece of armor.
“In reality, not wielding a weapon will not raise my stats.”
“There is not absolutely no way to do that, but ordinarily, no.”
What did she mean, there was not absolutely no way? It was an absurd answer.
“Maybe other Transmigrators can do it, but it would be difficult to recreate my character’s concept.”
“That may be so, but I, Lorelia, do not recommend wielding weapons.”
Rather than smile, Lorelia pursed her lips.
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