WeTried Translations
Translator: Joy
Editor: Joy
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 9: Rutlan (1)
──────
Contrary to his worries, the journey was remarkably comfortable.
Haryeong handled the driving, and when it was time to eat, they either had preserved provisions from the travel bag inside the carriage or game Haryeong had hunted.
They slept outside. Elena said it was fine for Yuri to sleep inside the carriage, but he simply could not bring himself to do that.
In the end, Elena accepted Yuri’s stubbornness and let him use a large sleeping bag she took from the travel bag. It was clearly far too large to fit inside the bag, so Yuri assumed the bag was enchanted.
Haryeong, acting as their escort, naturally slept outside as well. Before night fell, she made various preparations around the carriage, then slept skillfully in the driver’s seat.
Yuri slept on the ground right beside the carriage, wrapped in his sleeping bag. There was the crackle of the campfire, the star-filled night sky, and the sounds of the forest, which could hardly be called quiet.
The first night, too many things bothered him for him to sleep. From the second night onward, he slept just fine.
“I heard you were childhood friends.”
Haryeong spoke suddenly on their third night. As she had the night before, she sat in the driver’s seat inspecting a dagger, then glanced at Yuri.
“You do not seem very close. Is that merely my impression?”
“That is how it is.”
Yuri used formal speech, since Haryeong did not seem like someone he could speak casually to.
“We only exchanged letters for ten years, after all.”
“And yet you followed her quite obediently.”
“I said I did not want to go, but she would not listen.”
“Stubbornness is one of Lady Elena’s many flaws.”
With her mask lowered, Haryeong still wore the same blunt expression. Turning the sharp dagger blade this way and that, she continued.
“I heard you were with the Black Snake Gang.”
“It was like a garbage bin full of neighborhood trash.”
“Does that mean you are trash as well, Yuri-nim?”
“More or less.”
Yuri answered with an indifferent expression.
“You have a rough idea of my circumstances too, do you not, Haryeong-nim?”
“Of course. When Lady Elena suddenly said she wished to go to Oldor, I had to properly understand why, as her escort. If she had a good reason to go, I would have no choice but to accompany her. If not, it was my position to advise her to reconsider.”
“Then, in your judgment, she had a reason worth going for?”
“Yes.”
Haryeong nodded as she set down her dagger.
“At most, ten days. At the earliest, a week. There was no real danger on the road, and she pleaded that she could not bear worrying over a childhood friend who had barely survived. That was enough for me to agree and accompany her.”
“Elena was that worried about me?”
“Strangely enough, yes.”
Though that was her answer, there was not a trace of amusement on Haryeong’s face.
“To be honest, I did not entirely understand it. If she was so worried about someone, she could have kept them by her side instead of merely exchanging letters.”
“...”
“Though it seems she intends to keep you by her side now.”
Muttering that, Haryeong glanced toward the carriage. No sound came from within, but Haryeong knew Elena was not asleep and was listening to their conversation outside.
“I am asking this as an escort.”
Haryeong tilted her head slightly and stared at Yuri.
“What do you think of Lady Elena, Yuri-nim?”
“I do not know what you mean by that question.”
“Lady Elena is more remarkable than you think. Becoming a fourth-tier mage at twenty is fast even in a mage tower full of geniuses. And as you heard yesterday, the Master of the Dersia Mage Tower has marked Lady Elena as one of her prospective disciples.”
Elena’s talent was that exceptional.
The game had levels up to 99, but this world did not divide realms by level. It used tiers.
It was the gods themselves who had established them. The slumbering Goddess of Order, the God of Chaos who kidnapped transmigrators and scattered them throughout the world, and various other gods. They divided the ranks of lesser beings who remained in the lower world, unable to escape the bounds of mortality, into tiers.
They said that one could shed the bounds of mortality and challenge divinity upon reaching the tenth tier, the end of the hierarchy. Yet no one in this world had reached the tenth tier. Perhaps someone had, but Yuri did not remember such information. What Yuri of the Black Snake Gang knew was limited to basic common sense.
“Is the fourth tier really that impressive?”
“That is a foolish question.”
Haryeong shook her head.
“This is about magic, but one is only recognized as a mage after reaching the second tier. It takes an ordinary person five years to reach the second tier, and around ten years in total to reach the third tier.”
“But Elena is not ordinary.”
“Of course not. Lady Elena reached the second tier as soon as she entered the mage tower and began studying magic in earnest. She reached the fourth tier in ten years. A genius is a genius.”
Yuri did not answer immediately. He glared at Haryeong.
The campfire burned brightly, and a round moon hung in the night sky. Yet he could not clearly see Haryeong sitting in the driver’s seat. It was as though she wore the darkness of the night around herself like a blanket.
“I am Lady Elena’s escort. An escort does not protect their charge only from the danger of death. We protect them from danger itself.”
“You are very loyal. Is everyone in Salhomun like that?”
“Once we receive payment and sign a contract, Salhomun gives absolute loyalty until the term ends.”
“So what you mean is that I am a danger to Elena?”
“A threat to her safety is out of the question. But I believe you could be a threat in terms of her dignity. And Lady Elena gave up more than you think to come here.”
“Gave up?”
“I cannot discuss my client’s circumstances in detail. It does not seem that Lady Elena wishes to reveal it either.”
Yuri furrowed his brow and glared at Haryeong. He did not know what Elena had given up, but Haryeong’s meaning was so obvious that it needed no interpretation.
In other words, she did not want someone like Yuri kept by Elena’s side.
‘Ugh.’
He suppressed the irritation rising within him.
‘You fucking bitch.’
He swallowed the insult too.
‘Did I beg her to take me with her? I said I was dragged here against my will, so why the fuck are you giving me shit?’
He kept swallowing it down.
‘Putting on such an act because she is an assassin. Fuck, I should just...’
There was nothing he could do. If Haryeong belonged to Salhomun and served as Elena’s escort, even ten Yuris could not defeat her.
“I think so too.”
Yuri answered with an indifferent expression.
“That is why I told her not to send letters, and why I tried to keep my distance. But Elena does not seem to want that. That is how I ended up being dragged here.”
Haryeong watched Yuri silently. Yuri continued under that emotionless gaze.
“So I will do my best from now on.”
“Do your best?”
Haryeong tilted her head slightly.
‘Yeah, you motherfucker. I’ll do my best.’
Yuri composed his expression.
“Yes. Elena is looking after me this much just because we are childhood friends. If I keep acting like trash, I will only be a burden to her. I will cause her trouble too.”
“Hmm...”
“I understand what concerns you, Haryeong-nim, but I will not tarnish Elena’s name.”
Of course he would not. At least until he could support himself, his goal was not to become an unnecessary blemish on Elena or those around her.
“If you say so.”
Haryeong did not issue any more warnings. She thought of Elena, who was surely still awake and listening.
‘If I force them apart, their relationship will only run wild.’
That would interfere with her escort mission. Having decided that, Haryeong nodded slightly.
“Please do not take it too badly.”
“I am not offended.”
“In return, I will tell you something amusing. Lady Elena currently has her ear pressed to the door, listening in on our conversation.”
Bang!
The carriage door immediately flew open. Unlike the white dress she had worn on the first day, Elena was dressed in a comfortable robe.
“Who is listening in?”
“You were listening in.”
“I heard it...!”
“By my standards, Yuri-nim’s answer was not particularly good. If I had to score it, perhaps sixty points. If you had said from the start that you were close with Lady Elena, she would have been satisfied.”
“Do not say useless things.”
Electrical currents crackled around Elena. Haryeong shook her head at the sight.
“It is not a good habit to show your emotions so openly.”
“I agree.”
Yuri nodded along. Elena’s shoulders trembled before she let out a long breath and sat on the carriage steps.
“If nobody is going to sleep, why not travel at this hour?”
“Even the Yang-restoring Pill has its limits. If we made the horses run all day, they need to rest at night.”
“Ugh.”
It was rather entertaining to see Elena, who had been so cold and unpleasant, pushed around by Haryeong. Yuri snickered, and Elena whipped her head toward him.
“What is funny?”
“I am just laughing because it is a nice night.”
He made up an excuse.
“What did you give up?”
Haryeong’s words still bothered him. Yuri asked, but Elena answered with a composed expression, without even the slightest flinch.
“I did not give up anything.”
That ended the conversation.
Afterward, they passed through several villages and cities, but they only used a proper inn once instead of camping. Even then, it was only because there happened to be a village nearby when night fell.
His greatest concern had been that he would have to spend all day in the same carriage as Elena for at least a week, but it was more tolerable than expected. Elena did not speak to him often and spent most of her time in the carriage reading.
“You should read too.”
Unable to circulate his inner energy and meditate, Yuri had been growing restless. Elena kept handing him books, which made it bearable.
<Basics of Magic>
Unlike the books Yuri already had, this was a proper magic book.
“There is no rule saying you cannot use magic just because you become a martial artist. Read it for the future.”
“You want me to do both when I am not even confident I can properly do one?”
“You might change your mind later.”
Yuri did not go out of his way to refuse her insistence.
‘Oh...’
It was much easier to read than the books that had been full of vague nonsense. As its title suggested, <Basics of Magic> did not teach magical formulas themselves. It taught the foundation required to use magic, how to understand mana, handle it, and guide it through the body.
Yuri intuitively understood mana, and he also possessed the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil. That made him feel his lack of basic knowledge all the more keenly, so he welcomed a book like this.
‘Though I cannot try it out.’
Even with the Veil of Deception, circulating his inner energy and meditating in front of Elena would be insane. So Yuri read <Basics of Magic> repeatedly.
The occasional conversations they had were more enjoyable than he expected.
“How many mages in the Dersia Mage Tower are at a higher tier than you?”
“A lot. But I am the only one who reached the fourth tier at twenty.”
“What about the other prospective disciples you are competing with?”
“One at the fifth tier and one at the fourth. Both are older than me. The fourth-tier mage is a senior named Arist. She is twenty-three and first reached the fourth tier at twenty-one.”
“You are a year ahead of her.”
Whenever he gave an appropriate response like that, it was amusing to watch the corner of Elena’s mouth twitch.
“To be honest, I do not see Senior Arist as competition. Her personality is awful, and, well, there is probably not much difference between us now.”
“What about the other senior?”
“Senior Lacey? That senior is worthy of respect. Which is why I have to be more wary. Reaching the fifth tier at twenty-seven was faster than the Tower Master. It does not make sense.”
After saying that, Elena glanced toward Haryeong in the driver’s seat.
“You may speak comfortably. Surely you do not think I would spread Lady Elena’s private conversation around.”
“Ahem...”
Elena cleared her throat softly, then leaned close to Yuri.
“Perhaps... Senior Lacey is a transmigrator.”
‘Fuck, that startled me.’
A bell rang in Yuri’s head, but he only furrowed his brow slightly.
“A transmigrator?”
“Yes. Reaching the fifth tier at twenty-seven is suspicious.”
“You reached the fourth tier at twenty.”
“That is...”
“Maybe Senior Lacey is as much of a genius as you.”
He did not want to dig deeper into this subject.
‘As much as me...’
Elena mulled over what she had just heard, then smoothed her expression and adjusted her posture.
“Well, perhaps. It is not as though transmigrators are common.”
“What tier is the Tower Master?”
“You really know nothing, do you?”
“I will know if someone tells me.”
“Actually, I do not know for certain either. Upper tiers themselves establish differences in status, so people rarely reveal them openly. But I do know this. The minimum requirement to become a Tower Master is reaching the seventh tier.”
Thirty years had passed. Perhaps Heavenly Thunder Orca had reached the eighth tier by now.
‘Her level in the game was 81.’
The minimum requirement for challenging the hidden boss, the Evil God, was level 99. Naturally, simply crushing it with levels would not work. Level was only the baseline. One had to build properly on top of it.
Then was level 99 equivalent to the tenth tier?
‘No.’
That sort of speculation was dangerous. Lorelia had advised him not to forcefully apply knowledge from the game to reality. In the first place, the God of Chaos, who appeared as a hidden boss in the game, did not even have a level.
“Should you not be curious about martial artists instead of mages, Yuri?”
“I know that the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult is at the eighth tier.”
“Perhaps higher than that. Haryeong, what do you think?”
“I also believe the Heavenly Demon is above the eighth tier.”
Haryeong answered from the driver’s seat.
“The Demonic Cult is a gathering of madmen whose goal is for humans to reach divinity through demonic power. The strongest among those madmen is the Heavenly Demon. He calls himself the cult leader because he is closest to divinity. That is why it is called the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
“Is Salhomun not part of the Black Dragon Society?”
“The Underworld and the Demonic Path are different. They are not merely similar with slightly different natures. They are simply different. In the Underworld, there are no madmen openly declaring, ‘I am the cult leader, and one day I will become a god, so worship me.’”
Yuri, Lee Su-hyeok, also knew the Heavenly Demon well.
The final boss of the game had been the Heavenly Demon. His level was 95. A bastard who dropped nothing no matter how many times he was defeated, immediately displayed GAME OVER, and sent the player back to the title screen.
“Do not get involved with the Demonic Path. That is the unwritten rule of the Black Dragon Society. The Righteous Heavenly Alliance also talks about eradicating the Demonic Path, but they do not even go near the Demon Subjugation Palace, the headquarters of the Demonic Cult.”
“But the Rudella Mage Tower is in the Demon Subjugation Palace.”
“Lady Elena, comparing martial artists and mages in that manner is one of your many flaws. Would you associate with a mage from the Rudella Mage Tower? I do not think you would even be in the same restaurant.”
Haryeong won this argument as well. Elena did not answer and merely pouted, while Haryeong continued as though she had expected it.
“I am also someone who does not wish to associate with the Rudella Mage Tower. Though if a request came in, I would have no choice.”
“Does Salhomun accept requests from the Rudella Mage Tower?”
“If they have money and meet the qualifications, we must accept. That is Salhomun’s value. But the Rudella Mage Tower will not entrust us with a request. Why would they, when they can use the Demonic Cult’s people?”
As they spoke, the carriage came to a stop.
“We have arrived.”
The week-long journey had ended.
Rutlan, a great city incomparable to Oldor.
They had arrived in the city Elena had described several times in her early letters.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
