WeTried Translations
Translator: Joy
Editor: Joy
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 31: Explanations
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“So... um... well...”
Lacey hesitated as she searched for an explanation. The term “your-mom insult” had not existed in the country where she had lived before transmigrating, but insults were much the same everywhere. Her country had plenty of similar insults, even if it did not have that particular term.
“Um... so... hmm...”
Lacey continued to hesitate as she made coffee. It would have been easy enough to just say it plainly, but Lacey had always considered dignity important.
“It’s a kind of insult.”
“An insult? What kind of insult?”
Orca tilted her head as she took off her waistcoat and unbuttoned her shirt.
“There are all kinds of insults. What sort of insult requires immunity?”
“Hmm...”
“I thought immunity referred to some kind of attribute, like lightning or fire. But your world has no magic or martial arts, does it?”
“Well... it is an insult categorized by attribute.”
“I have no idea what you mean. Why not just say it plainly?”
Having unbuttoned all the buttons on her shirt, Orca grumbled as she sank into the sofa.
“Parents... It insults someone’s parents.”
“...?”
“I mean exactly what it sounds like. Your-mom insults are insults aimed at someone’s parents.”
Orca blinked a few times, staring blankly at Lacey before honestly nodding.
“That’s bewildering.”
“Mm.”
“So this UrMumSpammer is immune to your-mom insults?”
“That’s right.”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know the details.”
Lacey let out a deep sigh and poured strongly brewed coffee into a cup.
“He was an unpleasant person.”
“The name makes that clear. Or should I call it a nickname rather than a name?”
“It wasn’t his real name. Though after crossing over here, a nickname is no different from a name.”
“What else did he do that made him so unpleasant?”
“He was aggressive.”
Lacey recalled the past. The days before she became Lacey Yuzha, when she had enjoyed playing games on Earth. It had already been fifteen years.
“His daily routine was targeting, one by one, people who sincerely enjoyed the game and shared their knowledge for others.”
“You seem to hold quite a grudge. Did he target you too?”
“Of course. He openly called me trash and nitpicked the information I had carefully put together.”
Even after fifteen years, Lacey could not forget the humiliation. What UrMumSpammer had pointed out had not been entirely wrong, but Lacey had been full of pride at the time. She had been furious that someone dared criticize her opinion.
“I tried several times to have a dignified discussion with him. I wanted us to respect each other’s character and opinions and exchange feedback. But every time I refuted him, he killed my mother.”
“He killed your mother...?”
“Ah, he didn’t actually kill her. He just made those kinds of insults.”
Lacey sighed and sat opposite Orca. She placed the coffee in front of Orca, then folded her arms.
“I don’t think he has crossed over to this world yet.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. His personality was trash, and the way he spoke was deeply wrong, but he understood the game very well.”
Lacey had never openly admitted it, but she had referred to UrMumSpammer’s posts often in the past.
“If he had crossed over, he would have stood out somehow. And according to the latest information from my world, UrMumSpammer still hadn’t taken first place.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Did the kid at the Habert Mage Tower confirm it?”
Orca smiled and took a sip of coffee. The Habert Mage Tower, which cooperated with the Sect of Earth, carefully raised its transmigrator like a flower in a greenhouse. Only a very few people knew that the seed being cherished away from the outside world was a transmigrator.
“As far as I know, that person is the most recent transmigrator to cross over.”
Recent still meant several years ago, but time flowed differently in this world and on Earth.
“Until just before that person crossed over, UrMumSpammer was said to have remained in the lower ranks, nowhere near the top of the Hall.”
“Then perhaps he was just good at theory?”
“I don’t think so. He could have taken first place whenever he wanted, but chose not to.”
“Are you sure?”
“UrMumSpammer said so himself.”
In any world, someone whose words exceeded their ability was bound to be attacked. When the Hall of Fame opened and many longtime community members challenged it, UrMumSpammer received plenty of mockery for constantly lingering on the forum without improving the Hall record.
UrMumSpammer: I could get first place, but I choose not to.
Newcomers saw that as an ugly excuse, but Lacey did not.
“The flower at the Habert Mage Tower also said they received a great deal of help from UrMumSpammer. They had nearly given up on reaching first place because their record wouldn’t improve, but after revising their build according to UrMumSpammer’s advice, they were able to improve their record.”
“What a ridiculous bastard.”
“And suspicious too. The flower at the Habert Mage Tower wasn’t the only one UrMumSpammer helped. Several users who had reached first place before also received advice from him.”
Lacey frowned.
“The number of users who reached first place because of him increased greatly.”
“From what you’re saying, he doesn’t sound like someone to be grateful to.”
Orca took another sip of coffee and chuckled.
“Once you know the truth, reaching first place isn’t exactly glorious. If someone hadn’t taken first place in that damned game, they wouldn’t have crossed over to this world.”
“That’s true. The flower at the Habert Mage Tower even suspects that UrMumSpammer was an agent of the Evil God. They hate him too.”
“It’s a fairly credible theory. From what you’ve told me, UrMumSpammer deliberately increased the number of transmigrators.”
“I don’t think he was an agent of the Evil God, but... if he really was, that’s frightening. To be honest, accepting UrMumSpammer’s advice also contributed to me reaching first place.”
“So you thought Yuri might be UrMumSpammer?”
Orca narrowed her eyes. Lacey did not answer immediately.
Tap, tap, tap...
As she tapped her fingers on the table and considered it, Lacey let out a short sigh and shook her head.
“I thought it was possible if he were a transmigrator, but... now I don’t know.”
“Is that so?”
“Orca-nim, I observed him as you asked, but I didn’t have a deep conversation with him. For now, he seems very... rational. Sensible. The UrMumSpammer I knew wasn’t like that.”
“Could the person shown in that community and the real person be different?”
“In Moonlit Reveller’s case, the community and reality were the same. Though that may simply be because Moonlit Reveller is a lunatic.”
Lacey stopped tapping the table and looked at Orca.
“Wouldn’t Orca-nim’s impression be more important than mine?”
“He didn’t seem to have any affinity for mana. I checked when we first met, and there was no internal energy. I checked again just before I used Thunder God’s Mirage... his internal energy was simply ordinary.”
“He could be concealing his internal energy.”
“That’s impossible.”
Orca shook her head and spoke with certainty.
“There is a realm in martial arts called returning to simplicity. It is a realm where no internal energy can be felt from the outside, but it cannot be attained before the seventh tier.”
“What if he used an artifact?”
“I directly examined his dantian. No artifact can perfectly conceal internal energy under those circumstances.”
“There is an item in the game called the Veil of Deception.”
“You told me about it before. I know what the Veil of Deception is. I even have one.”
Orca drew a line through the air with a finger, and a small bracelet emerged from the split in space.
“This artificially blocks one’s presence and internal energy. But it can’t block internal energy or mana when someone checks through direct contact. It’s an interesting artifact, but it would not be an exaggeration to call it an item exclusively for demonic practitioners. The Demonic Cult’s craftsmen made it to block the demonic energy their practitioners constantly leak.”
“Then Yuri-nim isn’t a transmigrator.”
Lacey clicked her tongue softly and rested her chin on her hand.
“It’s been a month since he began learning martial arts. He was said to receive instruction from the Fist Wolf almost every day and not neglect his internal energy training. If he were a transmigrator, he would have made great progress with his internal energy in a month.”
“His talent for mana is ordinary. But his talent for martial arts is real.”
“That makes it even more ambiguous.”
A transmigrator with talent for mana was better suited to magic than martial arts. That did not mean they would never choose martial arts. Transmigrators were people who had crossed over through a game, so they preferred the skills and familiar things they had learned in that game.
In that case, they focused on cultivating internal energy and raised their tier first. Once they reached the third tier by concentrating on internal energy cultivation, even ordinary martial arts could display sufficient power. From there, they added various martial arts techniques and developed their martial might. That was the standard path.
“If Yuri-nim is a transmigrator, I thought he might be UrMumSpammer because of the timing, but...”
“You say he isn’t, yet you continue to speak ambiguously.”
“I do have suspicions. Orca-nim, you heard it too. Yuri-nim reacted when he heard Moonlit Reveller’s Heavenly Downpour. His reaction was very, very ambiguous, but still.”
At first, Lacey thought Yuri had laughed. But she immediately saw him vomit blood. He had suffered internal injuries from seeing the Fist Wolf’s desperate state.
“And Yuri-nim helped the Fist Wolf up at the end. Right in front of Moonlit Reveller.”
“I believe Yuri genuinely cares about the Fist Wolf. While everyone else chanted Moonlit Reveller’s name, Yuri alone called the Fist Wolf’s name. And as you said, it isn’t something just anyone can do, to step forward before the Martial Apex Venerable when one has only just begun learning martial arts.”
“Besides, Yuri-nim didn’t act familiar with Moonlit Reveller.”
“Act familiar?”
“They were very close in our world.”
“Being close then doesn’t mean they can display their friendship in this world too. It’s only natural to be wary of another transmigrator.”
“If, if Yuri-nim is a transmigrator, what will Orca-nim do?”
Lacey asked with shining eyes. Orca snorted at that gaze and shrugged.
“Why? Do you think I’ll fry him to death?”
“I thought you might, for Elena’s sake.”
“No. I’d leave him alone for Elena’s sake too.”
“If Yuri-nim is a transmigrator and Elena learns the truth, that child will be deeply hurt.”
“That’s why I’d leave him alone.”
Orca answered with a smile. Lacey could only let out a hollow laugh.
“You truly are unpleasant.”
“It’s not only for Elena’s sake that I’d leave him alone. The fact that a transmigrator escaped my notice, and that Moonlit Reveller acknowledged his talent. Those two things alone make him valuable. You know this too, Lacey. Thirty years have passed since transmigrators began crossing over to this world. Thirty years isn’t a short time.”
“...”
“Many still say transmigrators are dangerous and should not exist in this world, and try to kill them. But some recognize the potential of transmigrators. I’m raising you, a transmigrator, myself...”
Orca paused, staring at the neatly emptied cup as she muttered, “The Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult is also very interested in transmigrators.”
“Really?”
“There are suspicions that the Young Cult Leader is a transmigrator.”
“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“It hasn’t been confirmed. The Habert Mage Tower and the Sect of Earth are already diligently raising a transmigrator, aren’t they? They believe it’s better to raise a transmigrator with proven talent than a native of this world with mediocre talent, provided they have no problems with their character.”
Problems with character. At those words, Lacey burst out laughing.
More than a decade ago, Lacey had personally come to the Dersia Mage Tower and knocked on its door. Orca recognized Lacey’s talent and permitted her to become a mage of the tower.
A year later, in this very room, Orca subdued Lacey and interrogated her about whether she was a transmigrator. If Lacey had made a mistake in that conversation, Lacey would not have survived until now.
“What happened with the Ascard Family?”
This topic remained uncomfortable for Lacey, even as a transmigrator. Even after her identity was exposed, Lacey had remained a mage of the Dersia Mage Tower and enjoyed the benefits of being one of Orca’s prospective disciples because her interests aligned with Orca’s.
Lacey had become deeply fascinated by this world’s magic, which was entirely different from the magic used in games. Honestly, Lacey did not want to kill the Evil God and return to her original world, nor did she want to ask the Goddess of Order for a wish as a Reward. What Lacey wanted was to remain in this world and enjoy magic forever.
Lacey did not seek the position of master of the Dersia Mage Tower, and Orca had no intention of passing that position to Lacey. Still, Orca was interested in Lacey’s talent as a transmigrator and recognized Lacey’s pure desire for magic.
Lacey remained at the fifth tier for now, but given time, she would be able to raise her tier quickly. High-tier mages were the tower’s raw fighting power, and the broader knowledge gained through higher tiers would further develop the tower’s magic.
“I heard about Moonlit Reveller.”
“I heard that Moonlit Reveller resolved one of the Ascard Family’s problems in exchange for an Elixir.”
“Do you know the Blood Fiend Saber?”
“I heard about that too.”
Blood Fiend Saber was a sixth-tier wanderer of the Black Path who had raided an Ascard merchant branch a few months ago, plundered a large amount of wealth, and disappeared.
“It seems Blood Fiend Saber intended to join the Demonic Cult, but Moonlit Reveller accepted a request from the Ascard Family and killed Blood Fiend Saber.”
“There must have been many people besides Moonlit Reveller who could solve that problem. Isn’t an Elixir too much as payment?”
“I don’t know what changed the mind of someone who had never belonged anywhere, but Moonlit Reveller approached the Ascard Family first.”
“Ah. So the Elixir wasn’t simply payment for Blood Fiend Saber’s head?”
“The Death Realm of the Martial Apex Venerable approached them first and promised to become their problem-solver. The Ascard Family showed its own sincerity. Though it seems Moonlit Reveller wanted a different reward.”
“What reward? Is it something I’m allowed to hear?”
“It doesn’t seem to be a problem. That’s why Alfreon told me.”
Alfreon Ascard, the head of the Ascard Family, and Orca had been friends for a long time. But even close friends did not share sensitive secrets. Alfreon Ascard was that kind of person.
The fact that Alfreon had deliberately told Orca meant Moonlit Reveller’s desired reward was not truly secret. At the same time, it likely meant Alfreon was seeking Orca’s advice.
“Moonlit Reveller is searching for a Sacred Domain of the Sect of Order.”
“...What?”
“Even if not the Sacred Domain’s location, Moonlit Reveller is searching for a way to contact the Sect of Order.”
The Ascard Family was a major patron of the Sect of Earth and the Sect of Plenty. If the Ascard Family requested it, even the archbishops of those two sects could be summoned.
Those two sects were also among the few that had remained neutral during the persecution and expulsion of the Sect of Order in the religious federation city of Union several decades ago.
“Is Moonlit Reveller asking for an introduction to the Sect of Earth or the Sect of Plenty?”
“If that were the goal, it would be faster to go directly to those sects than to seek out the Ascard Family. Moonlit Reveller seems to believe the Ascard Family secretly supports the Sect of Order.”
“Is that true?”
“I don’t know who the Ascard Family supports, and I don’t want to investigate that deeply. But Moonlit Reveller must have some confidence. Alfreon denied having any connection to the Sect of Order, though.”
Orca chuckled and looked at Lacey’s face.
“What do you think? Why is Moonlit Reveller searching for the Sect of Order?”
“The Sect of Order’s most famous priestess, the Calamity Star Lorelia, is an elusive person. She’s not someone one can easily meet just because they want to.”
“That’s true. I’ve never seen her in person either.”
“I don’t think Moonlit Reveller has business with the Calamity Star... So why would a transmigrator like Moonlit Reveller seek the Sect of Order...”
The community.
UrMumSpammer.
Friendship...
Information came together in Lacey’s mind.
“Could Moonlit Reveller be looking for transmigrators?”
“The Sect of Order’s priests would never reveal information about transmigrators.”
“Of course, Moonlit Reveller would know that too. But perhaps the need is desperate enough to make Moonlit Reveller cling to that possibility anyway.”
Lacey remembered the people who had spent time with Moonlit Reveller.
They were madmen who could not be called normal, even if they were not as extreme as Moonlit Reveller.
But among them, only Moonlit Reveller had openly revealed and flaunted being a transmigrator.
There was no way to know whether the other four madmen had crossed over to this world or what masks they might be wearing.
“Well... it’s only a guess. Moonlit Reveller may be searching for the Sect of Order for an entirely different reason.”
If a priest of the Sect of Order could provide information about other transmigrators, there was something Lacey wanted to hear as well.
‘UrMumSpammer.’
Someone who might be an apostle of the Evil God.
Lacey wanted to know whether UrMumSpammer was living in this world too.
Footnotes:
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