WeTried Translations
Translator: Joy
Editor: Joy
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 24: An offer and a price
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Yuri wondered what Orca meant by asking what he thought of Elena.
He did not answer immediately, blinking as he tried to gauge Orca’s intentions.
The question did not seem entirely out of the blue. Most of what he and Orca had discussed since he entered this room had ultimately been about Elena, and the reason Orca had summoned him was likely connected to Elena as well.
‘Is that it?’
He recalled the conversation he had shared with Haryeong across a campfire on the first night after leaving Oldor. Only his conversation partner had changed. The subject remained the same.
To Orca, Elena was a cherished prospective disciple and an adopted daughter who had even inherited Orca’s original surname.
‘One day, I expect her to become my disciple. I also see her as someone fit to become the next Mage Tower Master.’
Great expectations rested on Elena. Orca had three prospective disciples, yet she had not even mentioned Arist. Arist was clinging on as a candidate solely because she had reached the fourth tier at a young age, but Orca’s heart was not with her.
Lacey, meanwhile, refused the position of Mage Tower Master. That meant Elena was the sole legitimate candidate to become the next Mage Tower Master.
The orphan Yuri’s childhood friend was far more remarkable than he had ever realized.
“I think she is remarkable.”
Yuri spoke his honest feelings aloud.
“Elena receives so much favor from you not only because of her innate talent, but because she has worked hard at the Mage Tower for ten years.”
“That is true.”
Orca gave a quiet laugh and nodded.
“Still, regardless of whether your answer is right or wrong, it is far from the answer I wanted.”
“The question was rather vague.”
“Do you see Elena as a woman?”
“Yes.”
Yuri answered without the slightest hesitation. Orca’s eyes widened, apparently not expecting him to admit it so readily.
“Elena is not a man, is she?”
“Ha...”
Orca let out an incredulous laugh at the addition. Slowly shaking her head, she stepped down from the desk.
“Are you clever, or merely shameless? You are remarkably good at slipping out of things.”
“I know what rumors are circulating in Rutlan. Even today, many mages came out to the first-floor lounge just to see my face.”
Yuri caught the teacup floating through the air and frowned.
“They are nonsense. I am neither Elena’s man nor her kept man. You know that better than anyone, Orca-nim.”
“Who knows?”
Was she serious? Yuri stared at Orca’s face in disbelief.
“Orca-nim. I lived like trash back in my hometown, and Elena saved me. If Elena had not come looking for me, would I have been fortunate enough to take an Azure Heaven Pill and learn proper martial arts?”
“That is impossible to know.”
Orca smiled and plopped down across from Yuri.
“I do not know what you were like before, but the Yuri I have seen is quite decent. You have talent, too.”
“And I have some decency.”
Yuri took a sip of water as he accepted Orca’s words.
“I cannot think of Elena as merely a childhood friend.”
“Then what do you think of her as?”
“My benefactor.”
It was not a lie. Yuri truly thought of her that way.
“I have received so much kindness from Elena. How could I look at her as a woman?”
Elena was beautiful. That was an undeniable fact.
But Yuri had received too much from her.
Was that really all there was to it?
‘I have some decency.’
Yuri was a transmigrator. Elena cared for him because she believed he was the childhood friend from the same orphanage, but that childhood friend, Yuri, had been stabbed to death several dozen days ago.
What sat here now was a monster, a transmigrator wearing the dead Yuri’s skin and imitating him. Whenever Elena clung to “her childhood friend Yuri” and devoted herself to him, black, twisted guilt could only pool deep within Yuri’s heart.
Now he knew clearly why so many transmigrators had failed to adapt to reality and chosen suicide.
“I know you cherish Elena, Orca-nim, but there is no need for you to worry. I have no intention of entering a relationship with Elena.”
He had reached that conclusion because he feared the ruin that might come one day. Elena did not know he was a transmigrator yet, but what if she learned the truth someday? What if she believed that a transmigrator had pretended to be Yuri, used her, and toyed with her feelings?
‘Could I honestly say that would be an unfair misunderstanding?’
No.
That was why he did not want to be discovered. He was afraid that all the feelings and relationships they had built would come crashing down. He did not want to face Elena screaming in contempt at him.
“So it is not a lie.”
After a moment of silence, Orca spoke while staring at Yuri. She rested both arms on the back of the sofa and studied his face.
“But do Elena’s feelings match yours?”
“...”
“I understand that you see Elena as your benefactor and cherish her. But does Elena not want more from you than a childhood friend?”
“Perhaps she does, but I do not understand why you are telling me this.”
Yuri set down the teacup he was still holding.
“Are you hoping I will deliberately make Elena hate me?”
“I am not that terrible a person.”
Orca shook her head with a bitter smile.
“Feelings and circumstances change people. You said your values changed after you nearly died in your hometown, did you not?”
“Yes.”
“I have experienced that as well. Did Elena’s assassin bodyguard not tell you about me? Until just fifteen years ago, I despised assassins. I especially hated the Salhomun.”
“...”
“I suppose I am somewhat like you. Fifteen years ago, I was caught in a trap and nearly died. The one who saved me then was the current leader of the Salhomun, the Faceless Killer.”
Yuri could not help looking surprised.
“Is it alright to tell me that?”
Haryeong, an assassin of the Salhomun herself, did not know that story. Why was Orca telling Yuri about it?
“Is there any reason it would not be?”
Orca tilted her head instead.
“It is not something I would call a secret.”
“Haryeong-nim did not know about this.”
“First, ask that assassin whether she ever demanded that your sect leader answer her about this incident. I have never received such a question from her.”
That was the reason? It was absurd, but Orca did not seem to have any reason to lie.
“Who could have trapped you and tried to kill you, Orca-nim?”
That was the truly surprising part. Orca had been caught in a trap and nearly died fifteen years ago.
“That story falls within the bounds of secrecy.”
Orca spoke with a faint laugh.
“I have never forgotten it, but it is unpleasant to bring up.”
For now, Orca seemed unwilling to explain, but Yuri privately wondered whether the culprit had been a transmigrator.
The first transmigrators had begun arriving in this world thirty years ago. Fifteen years after transmigrating would have been enough time to grow powerful, and if someone had used a trap rather than confronting Orca head-on, it might have been possible to threaten her.
‘Or perhaps they were among those who joined the Evil God.’
They were the worst of the transmigrators, those who murdered priests of Order, completely abandoned any hope of returning to their original world, and joined the God of Chaos.
“Even I, who have lived several times longer than you or Elena, could not help changing after a single incident. It sounds ridiculous coming from me, but I think nearly dying changed me in a fairly positive direction. You must be the same.”
“Yes.”
“But I do not know whether the changes Elena will undergo from now on will be entirely positive.”
“You think reuniting with me might have a negative effect on Elena.”
“Not only Elena. You as well.”
Her golden eyes narrowed.
“Elena wants to keep you within reach. The greenhouse Elena has created is too peaceful for someone like you, whose potential is just beginning to bloom.”
“...”
“The same is true for Elena. Since you have been by her side, she has no longer been as obsessed with magic as before. Once she focused on something, she would shut herself in the Mage Tower’s laboratory and work until late at night. These days, she returns at the same time every day.”
Yuri had lived in Elena’s mansion for more than a month now. Just as Yuri passed each day in a similar routine without straying too far from it, so did Elena. She left the mansion at similar times each day and returned at similar times.
She ate breakfast and dinner with Yuri.
“I do not intend to keep relying on Elena.”
Yuri spoke with a short sigh.
“Once Bakerd-nim’s instruction ends, I plan to leave the mansion.”
Over the month he had spent practicing the Fist of the Rending Cloud and martial arts, Yuri had felt one thing keenly.
He needed actual combat.
He kept recalling the sensation he had felt when he first transmigrated and killed the Oh brothers. He could not feel it while sparring with Bakerd. No matter how much he formed images in meditation, he could not gain that sense of reality.
It might be possible to attain achievements and advance in tier through solitary training without combat. But that was impossible in Yuri’s current environment. Elena’s mansion. By Elena’s side, there were too many things he had to be mindful of. He had to hide his internal energy and conceal his achievements. It was an environment where he could not even train freely.
“Elena might try to stop me, but I have already made up my mind.”
He did not intend to sever their ties completely. He would need to send letters from time to time to let Elena know he was alive, so she would not worry.
“Where do you intend to go if you leave?”
“I heard that you wanted to become an adventurer as a child. Are you planning to become an adventurer?”
“I have not decided that much yet.”
“Then how about joining the Righteous Heavenly Alliance? I have connections with the Adventurer’s Guild and the Righteous Heavenly Alliance as well. If you wish, I will put you in touch with them. This is a gift from me to you.”
Orca smiled as she rested her chin on one hand.
“You need not feel burdened. I know it is nothing to be proud of, calling Elena’s close childhood friend here and subjecting you to interrogation and pressure disguised as conversation. It is merely an uncomfortable bit of meddling.”
“I am glad you know.”
“It is true that I meddled, but you have remarkable nerve to openly rebuke the Dersia Mage Tower Master. Considering your past and temperament, perhaps the Black Dragon Society would suit you better than the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.”
“You have connections with the Black Dragon Society as well?”
“The Faceless Killer of the Salhomun saved my life fifteen years ago. How could I not have connections?”
“I do not want to become an assassin.”
“I do not want to make my prospective disciple’s prospective husband into an assassin either.”
“Cough!”
Yuri spat out the water he had been drinking. But the water he sprayed could not reach Orca. It stopped in midair.
“You do not stop at rebuking me. You even attack me. Excellent initiative.”
“What do you mean, prospective husband...!”
“What does it matter if he is prospective? It is true that I wanted to separate you from Elena, but that does not mean I intend to erase Elena’s feelings. If you want to live as a human, you will need such feelings and bonds as well.”
Orca chuckled and waved a finger. The droplets suspended in the air all evaporated and vanished.
“The Black Dragon Society is a dark-path alliance, but not everyone in it is filthy trash. Several joined simply because they dislike the organization called the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, or find the righteousness, chivalry, and human sentiment it speaks of old-fashioned and troublesome.”
“You do not have connections with the Demonic Cult too, do you?”
“You really are saying something properly insane.”
Orca let out a dry laugh and shook her head.
“I would not say I have none, but I have no intention of sending you there.”
“Why?”
“The Demonic Cult is a religious group of madmen who seek the divinity of the tenth tier and gather in the hope of becoming gods. They worship the Heavenly Demon, who is closest to divinity, as their cult leader. To become a member of the Demonic Cult, regardless of your skill, you must be mad enough to place the cult above your own life without question. Do you want to become a madman?”
“No.”
“Then do not even go near the Demon Subjugation Palace where the Demonic Cult resides.”
Orca held the same negative opinion of the Demonic Cult that Yuri did.
“If you wish to become an adventurer, I can introduce you to several clans. If you want to join the Righteous Heavenly Alliance or the Black Dragon Society, I can arrange a position as a rank-and-file warrior.”
Yuri paused to think.
In a way, it was like a class-change quest through Orca. Would he become an adventurer affiliated with a clan, or a warrior of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance or the Black Dragon Society?
To be honest, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance and the Black Dragon Society appealed to him more than becoming an adventurer. He would be rank and file, but he would be entering through Orca’s introduction. Depending on his future ability, he might even advance to the core of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance or the Black Dragon Society.
‘And it would be freer than becoming a sect disciple.’
But whichever he chose, he would remain within Orca’s sight. That was the biggest obstacle. He wanted to leave the mansion to escape Elena’s sight, but if he instead came under Orca’s gaze, there would only be more things to worry about.
“Thank you for the offer, but...”
“You do not want it? Why?”
Orca looked surprised, as if she had not expected the offer to be refused.
“I lived in Oldor all my life and only left it for the first time to come to this great city. I have not decided what I will do after leaving Elena, but for now, I want to travel the world.”
“You have no intention of settling into any group yet?”
“Yes. And if I joined through your introduction, I would not even be able to slack off. I would have to work hard. If I made a mistake, it would be like smearing shit on your face.”
“Ha ha ha. Are you saying you are refusing for the sake of my reputation?”
“Yes.”
Yuri nodded with a faint smile.
“If you truly want to give me something, please give me something else instead.”
“Something else?”
“Do you have any spiritual medicines, or something like that?”
“Ha ha ha!”
It was Orca’s loudest laugh since the conversation had begun.
“So you want compensation for the meddling I subjected you to?”
“Was that not why you were trying to introduce me to a position?”
“That is true. But I did not expect you to make a specific demand yourself.”
“I was there when you taught Elena over Namgung Jin’s matter. Of course, I am not the Dersia Mage Tower Master, so I will only covet something appropriate to my station.”
“Ha ha ha!”
Orca laughed loudly again.
“I like your shamelessness. I like your greed as well. Yes, when you are in a position to make demands, you should. I was the one who first called it a gift and said you need not feel burdened.”
“Thank you for not getting angry.”
“Are you going so far as to say that? If I become angry now, I will become a narrow-minded person. Fine, that will not do. The Dersia Mage Tower Master is broad-minded.”
Still chuckling, Orca tapped the table with her fingers.
“Let us see. Spiritual medicine, spiritual medicine... Unfortunately, I do not have any that would be suitable for you.”
After murmuring that, Orca fell into thought for a moment. Yuri did not hurry her and quietly waited for her closed lips to open.
“I do not know whether you will ever be able to enter the Dersia Mage Tower, but Elena said she would like to teach you magic later. Thinking of that future, it would be good for you to learn this.”
Orca’s deliberation ended. When her long finger sliced vertically through the air, space opened as though a zipper had been pulled apart. Orca reached inside and pulled out a book.
“This should suit your station as well. I will not accept a refusal, so take it.”
Yuri quickly stretched out both hands and accepted the book.
[Art of the Violet Lightning Flash.]
“It is a peak-level martial art that uses lightning qi. It will be difficult for you to learn immediately, but once you reach the fourth tier and can give your internal energy an attribute, try combining it with your techniques.”
“Why do you possess a martial art like this?”
“The Dersia Mage Tower is a tower of learning for lightning-aspected magic. Martial arts and magic follow different paths, but martial arts provide much to learn from when it comes to handling lightning qi.”
Orca grinned and raised a finger.
Crackle!
Violet current circled Orca’s finger.
“As its name suggests, that martial art manifests lightning qi as violet lightning. The Art of the Violet Lightning Flash was one of several components used in my unique magic. I no longer need it, so you may have it.”
Yuri swallowed.
He had already experienced at the Le Seyun auction house how expensive a peak-level martial art could be. This was even a martial art of such high quality that Orca had used it as one of the components of her unique magic.
As Orca said, it would be difficult to learn right away. Learning a martial art that fixed an attribute to internal energy from a low tier required mana affinity and understanding rather than martial talent.
In other words, it was not much of a problem for Yuri.
A fourth-tier martial artist could naturally alter the attributes of internal energy. Intentionally giving internal energy heat or cold, or freely wielding sword qi whose cutting power had been maximized, was the qualification of the fourth tier.
But changing the attributes of internal energy within an existing martial art and learning a martial art of a completely different attribute were different in power and depth. Even if Yuri reached the fourth tier, performed the Fist of the Rending Cloud, and mixed lightning qi into his internal energy, he would certainly lose if he faced a true lightning qi martial art.
“Thank you.”
Suppressing the urge to open it and look through its contents immediately, Yuri cradled the Art of the Violet Lightning Flash manual against his chest. Orca giggled at the sight and withdrew the current.
“If you learn that martial art in advance, it will help when you later learn lightning magic from Elena...”
Orca stopped speaking and blinked several times. She tilted her head for a moment, then gently closed her eyes and concentrated on something.
“Orca-nim?”
Yuri called her name in surprise, but there was no answer. About a minute passed. Orca clicked her tongue and opened her eyes.
“That lunatic really is insane.”
“What is it?”
“The Moonlit Reveller has arrived.”
Orca grimaced and sharply waved a hand. Space opened in a different form from before, revealing a different scene.
Thud. Thud. Thud...
The scene showed the area outside Rutlan’s gate that Yuri had passed by carriage a month earlier.
A bronze-skinned man was walking through the sky while using both feet to keep a metal sphere aloft. Not content with that, the man kicked the sphere up to his head and received it with his forehead. Then he headed it in place several times before passing it behind his head.
He tapped the sphere once with his heel, brought it back to the instep, and tapped it several more times.
Boom!
With a powerful kick, the metal sphere shot forward. The furiously charging sphere flew toward the center of the huge open gate.
“Gasp...”
A metal sphere fired at that speed would surely make a person burst if it struck them and collapse a building on the spot if it hit one.
Yet the sphere stopped dead just beyond the gate, then returned to the man.
With a highly satisfied expression, the man brought both arms together above his head and forcefully lowered them.
[Siu.]
A low voice rang through the room.
A real lunatic had arrived.
“W-what the hell is he doing?”
Yuri asked haltingly. Orca, whose expression looked as though she had chewed on shit, rose from her seat.
“I do not know.”
“...”
“But that lunatic occasionally acts like that after kicking the Madorido.”
“What?”
“That is the name of that metal sphere. The Moonlit Reveller’s signature weapon. He has smashed the heads of Demonic Cult fiends with that metal sphere many times. That is why the Righteous Heavenly Alliance treats him as an honoured guest despite his being a transmigrator.”
Orca put on the vest she had taken off and glared at the opening in space. The Moonlit Reveller was once again performing tricks with the Madorido as he slowly walked through the sky and crossed the city wall.
“Our conversation ends here. I must go welcome that lunatic.”
“Yes, yes...”
Yuri rose awkwardly as well.
‘How has that bastard survived this long?’
Watching that bastard made Yuri wonder whether he was the strange one for desperately trying to hide that he was a transmigrator.
Footnotes:
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