WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: WeTried

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◈ I Made a Tier List the Transcendents Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 25: Tats, Smokes, (Piercings), and Orphanhood

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Since the last tier list upload, public opinion about Oz had gradually turned him into something untouchable.

-I'm sorry for acting upI'm sorryI'm sorryI'm sorryI'm sorryI'm sorry

-I... what the hell... did I do...?

-I've had hiccups for a week now. How do I stop them?

-Day 8 of kneeling in apology before Oz.

The law of causality that no being in the Great Heavenly World could escape.

The one who ignored it and freely spoke of forgotten beings and the truth about them.

Fear of someone whose identity could not even be guessed had spread throughout the entire Gallery.

Rumors about Oz, before whom even a Dao Ancestor trembled and a Magic Emperor begged for mercy, grew more extravagant by the day.

As time passed, all manner of fuss and wild rumors were added to the mix, until it evolved into something like a ghost story.

-If Oz asks whether you want a red recommendation or a blue downvote, you have to run...... If you choose red, he cuts your head off. If you choose blue, he strangles you to death......

ㄴOkiyaaaah!!!

-They say if you write Oz in red on paper, Oz in red clothes comes to take your heart......

ㄴOkiyaaaah!!!

-They say Oz secretly visits the homes of registered users he doesn't like every night at midnight......

ㄴOkiyaaaah!!!

ㄴThis one's good, though?

ㄴ???

Of course, not many people genuinely treated him as taboo.

Still, there was clearly some distance between them now that had not existed before.

No matter how bold someone was, it was hard to treat another person comfortably when they knew there was an obvious gap in standing between them.

Especially when Oz's notoriety came from his apparent omniscience.

But then, the return post came earlier than expected.

Once the Transcendents of the Gallery saw its contents, they had no choice but to forget every ghost story they had been discussing.

-What the fuck does getting tattooed even mean?

-He blows up the Gallery, comes back half a year later, and the first thing he says is that he's getting tattooed? Lmao

-A really fucking strong tattooed big sis... ahh, lmao

ㄴCan't resist that, though.

ㄴFucked-up fetish, damn.

-But what does a tattoo mean? Don't tell me he's getting a soul engraving?

ㄴSomeone at Oz's level is getting a soul engraving now...?

ㄴI don't understand what the fuck "forced" means.

ㄴTattoo... forced... I get it! It's one of those corruption-into-a-female plots!

-My horns hurt, Oz......

-That thing about taking a year off, could it have meant...?

ㄴAh....................

ㄴAll the pieces fit together now.

I had been forced to get a tattoo.

That single sentence was so absurd that everyone could only stare.

A tattoo? What kind of tattoo?

Forced? By whom?

No answer came to the question everyone was asking.

Still, one thing was certain. That one post had wiped away every lingering sense of unease.

* * *

There was a saying in Korean: mundampigoa.

I remembered it coming from my old world, where it meant you should avoid people with tattoos, cigarettes, piercings, cats, or iPhones.

Then wasn't I getting close to that myself?

I'd always smoked, and now I was getting a tattoo.

And since I was a double orphan, counting both my past life and this one, I had completed mundamgoa.

If I only added the final puzzle piece, a piercing, I could achieve the glorious grand slam...

"...I can only say that you had an extraordinary run of good fortune."

"Ah, yes. That's right."

For a moment, I thought I had answered my own thoughts.

The senior mage's words pulled me out of that string of nonsense. He had been studying the documents for quite some time.

His name was Clinton. A 6-Star senior mage and the man responsible for guarding the original Winter Tree.

He was still looking at me doubtfully.

In truth, people did not usually raise their realm in half a year through mere luck, so it was understandable.

But I had already prepared all the evidence.

The key was the spiritual medicine I had put up for auction in Underveil, the black market.

I had submitted false documents to the mage tower claiming that, through an incredible stroke of luck, I had acquired the spiritual medicine that had once become a hot topic in the underworld of Hyeondeok City.

If I said I had raised my realm with that, there was nothing more to be said. It really was that good.

Of course, because Underveil kept the details of purchases and sales confidential, the documents in the senior mage's hands were nothing but my written statement.

The reason the tower had no choice but to believe me was the bottle of spiritual medicine I had sent along with it, claiming it was what I had left after using some.

That got me a free pass.

My realm had been adjusted to appear as 4-Star under any examination, so the mage tower did not press a "praiseworthy" mage who had offered up personal wealth for its continued growth.

"Of course, it cannot have been luck alone, but don't take my words the wrong way. Even for someone exceptionally talented, reaching this level at your age is truly a stroke of heaven's favor. That's why I said it."

"I understand. As my teacher once told me, I'm trying to remain humble."

"...Yes. Excellent."

A slight smile came to the senior mage's stiff face.

Was he also, unusually for a mage, a decent person?

If I had to judge the average moral character of mages, it would probably be around Ireine's level.

Vrrrmmm...!

A mana-powered elevator located in the fourth building of the Inner Tower.

Clinton and I were riding it deep underground.

"You must already know the process, seeing as you applied as soon as you reached 4-Star... but I'll explain it once more."

He spoke while twitching his right eyebrow several times. It seemed to be a habit of his.

"The Winter Tree earned its name because, during every season but winter, no one could withstand the heat near it. It constantly emits heat like a furnace."

"I see. I had thought it was the opposite."

Of course, that was a lie. There was no way I didn't know.

But Clinton merely nodded slightly.

"Many people make that mistake. That's why we place cold-aspect demon beast stones here. They suppress the heat."

Ding...!

The elevator chimed as he finished speaking.

Then its doors opened, and a chilling cold swept over us.

"...It's rather cold."

"What unnecessary fuss. You could easily cast a warming spell."

He snickered and walked ahead. I followed behind, matching his pace.

"Well, it isn't wrong to say that it's cold. But there's a reason we maintain the temperature so excessively low. The Winter Tree's heat can't be blocked by magic."

Whoooooosh...

There was a massive hollow.

At one point, the pervasive chill gradually faded away.

A tree stood there, identical in shape to the ones I had seen when I first entered the mage tower and again when I entered the Inner Tower.

...The difference was that it was several times larger.

And that it truly radiated scorching heat from all around it.

"Aside from that small secret, the method for using the Winter Tree for training is as well known as ever. The purity and affinity of the mana it emits are beyond compare, so simply accept all of it directly into your body. If you endure the full six hours allotted to you, you may truly reach 5-Star before long."

"...Isn't that nearly impossible?"

"Just because you raised your realm quickly doesn't mean you should think the whole world is easy. Of course it's difficult. I'd praise you if you lasted two hours. Even stopping then would benefit you greatly."

When I looked at him with a slight frown, Clinton patted my shoulder with a calm expression, pretending not to notice.

"It's your first time, so don't be too greedy. It's uncommon, but sometimes people force themselves to endure and have an accident."

As he spoke, he placed a gray, low-grade demon beast stone in my hand.

Looking closely, I saw some kind of pattern carved into it.

"When you feel you can't endure any longer, pour mana into the stone. I'll come down immediately."

With those words, he quickly headed back to the elevator.

I supposed it wasn't unusual for mages visiting this place for the first time to panic and complain.

"Like I care."

Still, the moment his back completely disappeared, I smiled.

Did he think I had come here without knowing that much?

I pointed toward the tree and swept my hand through the air.

Riiip!

With a tearing sound like leather being forcibly ripped apart, the heat pouring toward me was cut in half.

The Korean yuri in Glass Star School did not mean the material used in windowpanes.

It was yuri (遊離), meaning "separation."

The spell had originally been created to divide regions between the stars. Although my current level allowed me to bring out only this much power...

"...I can endure this."

It was certainly heat I could withstand with only that much.

The protagonist had taken the Winter Tree under circumstances far worse than this. I couldn't complain over such a minor hardship.

Crackle, crackle.

Ignoring the pain that felt as though my skin were burning, I moved forward.

The heat intensified with every step I took, but I gritted my teeth and endured it.

Answer me.

A soul-filled will directed toward the True Body of the Winter Tree.

In response, the tree cried out once.

Ruuumble...!

A pulse beyond comparison to the one I had felt in the Outer Tower.

But this was not the response I wanted, either.

Answer me!

At that second shout, the Winter Tree's violent heat finally began to subside.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Along with the sound, as if a heart were beating, familiar heat flowed up my arm.

"...Fuck."

With pain like all the blood in my body was flowing backward, the heat began to move into place.

The core hidden within this ancient tree called the Winter Tree.

This original soul possessed a will of its own as it sought a place to nest.

Crrrack!

This bastard.

Wasn't this taking way too long?

The pain in my upper body was so intense that I kept muttering, "Fuck, fuck," and sweating buckets.

In the original work, it had immediately settled into the shoulder of the protagonist's outstretched right arm.

"Ughhh..."

Even the anesthetic I had taken beforehand to lessen the pain had stopped working.

As the sensation of my insides being torn apart by an electric screwdriver dragged on, my consciousness gradually faded.

"You fucking bas..."

At the end of that pain, after writhing on the floor, I saw where the thing had settled and had no choice but to curse.

The right side of my neck.

If it had gone there from the start, it could have reached it in less than three seconds.

"......"

As my consciousness faded and my vision blurred, I saw a golden mane.

Rooaaar!

The roar of a lion echoed through the vast hollow.

Footnotes:

“Mundampigoa” is Korean online shorthand built from the first syllables of tattoo, cigarette, piercing, cat, and iPhone, a joking list of people to avoid. Jin leaves out the piercing syllable because he has not gotten one yet, while “goa” also means orphan.

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