WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Alliance Rulebook Archives ◈
Chapter 13: Newcomer Welcome Banquet (3)
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“…Huh.”
Peng Juhyeok let out a quiet exclamation of admiration. It seemed my deduction had been correct.
“Byeolui said you were sharp, but I see it’s true.”
“A wandering martial artist without good instincts dies young.”
Peng Juhyeok abruptly turned toward the figures at the end of the corridor and shouted.
“It’s already over! Go prepare a proper welcome banquet!”
I slowly stepped out of the passage leading to the latrine. Now I could finally move about at ease.
* * *
“Then I’d like to hear about the other senior Records Officers. Other than Records Officer Jade Scale, who are the rest of you?”
I was looking at the other three, who still had not removed their hoods.
Thanks to the mechanism formation painstakingly installed by the Martial Alliance, fresh air flowed into this basement at regular intervals, so breathing was not difficult.
Still, a basement was a basement. Nothing could be done about its odd, stale, musty smell.
Having one’s entire face covered by such a thick hood in an already claustrophobic place had to feel quite stifling.
“…Just as the old man said.”
Jade Scale’s jade-green eyes glimmered. She lightly snapped her fingers.
The hooded figures moved in unison. Their movements were so precise that it was as though they had copied a single person’s motions.
They raised their right hands and removed their hoods.
“Puppets?”
They were wooden dolls.
I blinked several times. It was hard to understand what was going on.
“What is this?”
“If the setup about an Anomaly infiltrating the Anomaly Records Office was meant to test your discernment, these dolls are meant to test your energy sense.”
Jade Scale began to explain in a gentle voice. Anyone whose martial arts had reached the latter stage of First-rate, or the beginning of the Peak realm, would have noticed that the hooded Records Officers, aside from Jade Scale, were not human.
“Of course, the Anomaly Records Office has people who have stepped partly beyond the human realm, like you and me. Even if they possess energy waves quite unlike those of ordinary people, it would be hard to conclude that they are Anomalies. You could say it made the test more difficult.”
“Wouldn’t it be obvious the moment you looked at their faces?”
It was a reasonable question. If someone were driven into a desperate situation, they would grit their teeth and try to lift the hoods. Yet Jade Scale shook her head.
“You can see them this clearly now because you completely saw through the Soul-Binding Art, and its influence naturally faded. If you had remained under the Soul-Binding Art’s effect, you would have perceived them as having the appearances I set.”
That was terrifying.
I knew the Soul-Binding Art was a broad term that included hypnosis and illusion techniques, but seeing it in action, couldn’t it give a hypnosis app a run for its money?
When Peng Juhyeok saw me swallow, he laughed heartily.
“You don’t need to be so afraid. Once you break free, it isn’t easy to fall under it again, and that crone needs all sorts of troublesome preparations to use the Soul-Binding Art. Though in a slightly different sense, you should be careful only around the Director.”
“…Records Officer Jade Scale is glaring at you from behind.”
“It’s fine. I won’t die.”
Peng Juhyeok casually waved a hand as he said something that made it sound as though he might die at any moment.
“Then I’ll introduce myself for real. Peng Juhyeok, from a collateral branch of the Peng Clan. Among the Records Officers, I’m the next youngest after you. I’m your immediate senior.”
He poked Jade Scale in the side. Jade Scale shoved Peng Juhyeok away irritably before introducing herself as well.
“That little brat, Byeolui, has me stuck here. In terms of experience as a Records Officer, I’m directly above that wild Peng brat.”
I calculated the Records Officers’ experience in my head. The White-Robed Miracle Physician, Jade Scale, Peng Juhyeok, and then me, the junior...
“Wait. Aren’t there too few people?”
Even if it was a secret organization, there was no way it had this few members. I recalled the countless rulebooks being written through remote object manipulation on the first day I had been brought here by the White-Robed Miracle Physician.
‘Shouldn’t there be at least twenty?’
“Ah. There are a few more besides the people gathered here. Still, even counting everyone active, we don’t have ten.”
“Then how do you handle strange incidents across the entire martial world?”
“Our Elder Jade’s dolls do their part, but most of it comes down to the Director’s Divine Ability.”
“Divine Ability?”
Jade Scale stepped firmly on Peng Juhyeok’s foot with an unhappy look.
“Argh!”
Peng Juhyeok sprang into the air and clicked his tongue.
“That’s all I’ll say. Our Elder Jade dislikes people who talk too much.”
“Watch your mouth.”
Jade Scale curled a finger. The three wooden dolls that had been seated rose and began tidying the area.
Then she took out an old book. Unlike the notebook that held rulebook drafts, the pages of the book were already densely filled with writing.
At a glance, it seemed to contain names and personal details. Yet for some reason, I could not get my eyes to focus no matter how hard I tried to look closely.
It seemed some special measure had been taken, much like the one that diluted the rulebook’s presence. Without paying any attention to my gaze, Jade Scale turned the pages until she found a blank one.
“Now, sign it. Then you too will be able to hear the Anomaly Records Office’s voice.”
“Don’t you need blood?”
“Just write with the brush. The Anomaly Records Office is smart, so it doesn’t need blood to know you exist.”
The Anomaly Records Office was smart. That was another strange thing to say.
I wrote the three characters of my name, Yeok Cheonmyeong, in the blank space. The moment I set down the brush, Jade Scale snapped the Records Officer Registry shut.
“There. You’re a real Records Officer now. Welcome.”
Peng Juhyeok clapped with exaggerated gestures, crying, “Ooh!”
After looking between the two of them, I cautiously spoke.
“But are we eating lunch in this musty basement?”
Following Byeolui’s advice, I had come with an empty stomach. Yet the underground Anomaly Records Office building smelled only of the dampness unique to basements. There was not even a trace of food.
I was already hungry, and all the thinking had made it worse.
“Of course not. We’re going to Moon-Forgetting Pavilion.”
“What are you talking about, Elder Jade? Where are we supposed to get the money for a place that expensive?”
I had heard of Moon-Forgetting Pavilion before. It was an expensive pleasure house the Martial Alliance occasionally visited to entertain high-ranking government officials.
“The Director left behind a pouch of silver and told us to make sure the newcomer eats well.”
“Oh.”
I nodded. Whatever else might be true, seeing how much the Director cared about subordinates’ meals, it seemed I would not go hungry here.
I had no idea who the Director was, but I liked him.
“Huh. I didn’t know our Director cared about things like this... Wait. Why did I get by with just a bowl of noodles?”
“Because you realized everyone around you was a doll, burst into tears, and ran sobbing to Byeolui. This person saw through every layer of the test.”
“That benevolent person would never discriminate so severely just because someone failed to meet expectations in a test. Some old woman must have embezzled the money.”
The two continued bickering as they cleaned up. It finally felt like the test was truly over.
I thought about what dishes I could order at the pleasure house. Perhaps I should start with Dongpo pork.
In my original world, the tradition that Su Dongpo had created it was well known, but I wasn’t sure whether that was still true in this world, where Historical Dilution had taken effect.
What was certain was that Dongpo pork existed. I had heard wandering martial artists boast several times about how incredible it tasted.
Making a list of meat dishes in my head, I climbed the stairs.
* * *
Tap.
A white stone landed on the torreya Go board. The battle on the board was evenly matched.
“So, what did you think?”
Martial Alliance Leader Heo Yu asked the Director of the Records Office. The Director smiled and replied with a question.
“Oh, come now. I haven’t even met them face-to-face yet. How could I possibly evaluate them?”
Tap.
A black stone landed on the board. Yet no hand had touched either stone. They had moved solely through will and internal energy.
Heo Yu looked at the Director of the Records Office, an old friend. Mischief could not be hidden from the Director’s weathered face.
“They must be quite an interesting person.”
“Of course they are. How could someone who tore an Anomaly apart and ate it not be interesting?”
The unbelievable report said that, rather than taking provisional measures such as sealing it away, a Second-rate wandering martial artist had completely destroyed an Anomaly. It was a feat normally impossible unless the Director or the Martial Alliance Leader intervened.
Yeok Cheonmyeong was an ideal talent for the Anomaly Records Office.
“What is the chance of them falling to the Demonic Path?”
The Director of the Records Office understood what the Martial Alliance Leader meant. There was a reason the number of Records Officers had become so small.
There was a being that approached martial artists at critical moments, asked, “Do you need power?” and granted them strength.
Yet the power it granted belonged neither to the Orthodox Path nor the Unorthodox Path. It was the Demonic Path, a road no person should tread.
Many Records Officers had encountered it, and many had accepted their fall into the Demonic Path.
That was why the Anomaly Records Office had been reduced to a fraction of its former size and had become cautious about dispatching Records Officers.
“Who knows? It comes when it wishes and leaves when it wishes. There is no telling whether it will visit Yeok Cheonmyeong as well.”
“It will. It resents those who seek to expose the secrets of the Demonic Path.”
The Director shook his head. In his view, that entity would resent nothing in this world. The whole world lay as though beneath its shadow.
It had only shown a little interest in the Records Officers. The human mind simply could not fully bear that interest and had been warped by it.
The Director denied that it bore hostility, yet also acknowledged the Martial Alliance Leader’s concern. The existence of an unusual wandering martial artist named Yeok Cheonmyeong would surely stir its interest.
“Be careful. Do not let the talent who may drive out the Demonic Path fall into that one’s hands.”
Into the clutches of the Heavenly Demon.
Author’s Note
The description of Jade Scale’s appearance in Chapter 11 has been revised.
“Only her eyes were blue.” → “Only her eyes were green, reminiscent of fresh foliage.”
Since she is Jade Scale, her eyes are jade-toned green. I revised it because describing them simply as blue could cause confusion.
Footnotes:
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