WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈
Chapter 100: How to Inscribe a Spell Formula with Letters
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This world had to remain hidden.
It was the first unwritten rule learned by anyone who had so much as dipped a toe into the Occult World.
The reason was simple.
Evil spirits and cursed spirits usually fed on human malice and fear.
What if ordinary people learned that this world existed?
Society would fall into chaos in an instant.
Worries they would never have had if they didn't know.
Fear and malice they would never have felt if they didn't know.
Those emotions would become food for evil spirits.
They would worm their way into the cracks in people's hearts, whispering, tempting, and using those feelings to grow their influence.
And so, an endless vicious cycle would repeat.
That was why, after modernization, traces of this world had been erased one by one under the label of superstition.
Ghosts, curses, sorcery.
They had all become absurd stories only people in the old days believed.
And so, this world had remained thoroughly hidden until now.
But then...
"Before long, a day will come when this world can no longer be hidden."
"...!"
Lin, standing behind, flinched and looked at Wei Ja-gang.
She looked as though she had never expected her master to bring this up.
It was shocking.
A day when this world could no longer be hidden?
Did that mean the existence of the Occult World would be exposed to ordinary people in its entirety?
If that happened...
"Oh? Even a fine young man like you, with no curiosity to speak of, seems quite interested in this."
Wei Ja-gang picked up the tea on the table and took a sip.
"Huh... Is that so? Does it bother you?"
Holding the teacup, they nodded to themself.
"Of course it does. It must bother you."
Nod, nod.
Nod, nod.
"Naturally. Even I'd be bothered by it."
Nod, nod.
Whoops. I almost nodded along without thinking.
No doubt they were planning to tell me to join the Tianshan Sect if I wanted to know...
"Hm? Staring at me like that won't do any good."
Wei Ja-gang shook their head with a deliberately regretful expression.
"That's all I can tell you."
Huh?
So that wasn't it.
"...Why are you telling me this?"
Wei Ja-gang silently watched me.
"..."
"In troubled times, those who hone swords become more precious than those who wield them."
Clink.
They set the teacup down on its saucer.
"When that day comes, those standing before you will be very different from those you face now. You should prepare yourself in advance."
Then, as if they had never said any of that, they went back to chuckling.
"If you're curious, then joining the Tianshan Sect really is..."
"...No, thanks."
I firmly cut them off and rose from my seat.
* * *
Even after leaving the VIP room, their words kept echoing in my ears.
A day when this world could no longer be hidden was coming soon...
But how?
Until now, entire shopping districts had burned down in the middle of the city, and even a baseball stadium packed with tens of thousands had been swallowed by a Barrier, yet the world had carried on peacefully without knowing a thing.
That was all thanks to the Occult Management Bureau and the clans' strict media control and memory manipulation.
But if it became impossible to hide things even then...
Wouldn't that mean either Isolation Zones would erupt everywhere at once, far beyond the Occult Management Bureau's ability to control...
Or that some overwhelming, massive catastrophe would happen, one so overwhelming and massive that it forced itself into ordinary people's awareness?
Was I getting ahead of myself?
Maybe it was just a bluff to lure me into the Tianshan Sect.
They were the sort of elderly person who made you feel like you'd get swept up just listening to them.
They said they couldn't tell me the details.
Getting people curious and then stopping there!!!
There are two things that make people angry!
The first is stopping in the middle of what you're saying, and the second is...
'Ugh.'
Then don't say anything in the first place.
Whatever!!
Why did I need to worry about it?
It wasn't like I'd find an answer by racking my brains here.
When I got back, I'd ask Ms. Ji-an or Noh Jin-hyeok.
So, for now!
The entire expo floor spread out beneath the railing.
Booths from countries all around the world. Ritual Implements I had never seen before.
Crowds gathered in front of them.
Thump. Thump.
I grinned.
'Should I start looking around properly now?'
And seriously, the Interpreter Implement's performance was insane.
Man.
For a moment, I had even forgotten I was talking to foreigners.
So that meant every booth down there had these things set up all over the place, right?
Good. Just wait.
'I'll start with America's Aether Link, the company that developed the Interpreter Implement...'
Just as I picked the American pavilion as my first target and was about to head over...
"Master Do!!"
Nadia came running over from the distance, high heels clicking urgently.
"Pant, pant... Th-there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"
"Is something wrong?"
"No, but it's already time...! Your session is about to begin, Master! You need to hurry!"
'...What?'
Already?
One of the conditions of my invitation to this expo was that I would hold a lecture session.
I hadn't even looked around because I'd been talking!
I hadn't seen a single awesome thing yet...!
"Please, hurry...!"
'Phew. What choice do I have?'
I'd have to get it over with quickly and come back to look around.
"All right. Let's go."
* * *
Rashid found the title entirely by chance.
They had been casually flipping through the session guidebook.
Among the flashy session titles from renowned workshops in Germany, the United States, Japan, and elsewhere, one plain title stood out.
〈Textualizing Spell Formula Engraving: A Study of Replacing Circuits with Letters〉 - Master Do (No's Corp)
At first, Rashid had almost passed it over.
It seemed like it would be about a method for organizing Spell Formulas into documents.
But then...
'...Wait.'
The hand that was about to turn the page stopped.
Replacing circuits... with letters?
Could this possibly mean...
Not recording Spell Formulas in writing, but engraving the Spell Formulas themselves as letters?
'Then wouldn't that mean you could engrave Spell Formulas without drawing complicated circuits?'
Yes.
Like ancient rune scripts...
If, instead of engraving thousands of lines with not even the slightest error, you could produce the same effect with only a few letters.
It was something any craftsman would have dreamed of at least once.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Rashid's heart began pounding wildly.
'Wait, this isn't the time for that!'
Rashid immediately rushed toward the session registration desk.
It might already be too late.
A session like this could have sold out long ago without being surprising.
"Your registration is complete!"
Rashid was lucky. There were still seats left.
With great effort, Rashid calmed their racing heart and entered the lecture hall.
But then...
...What was this?
For some reason, the lecture hall was nearly empty.
A hall that looked as though it could seat several hundred people had only scattered attendees.
No, honestly, there seemed to be far more empty seats.
Had Rashid come to the wrong lecture hall?
"Why are there only this many people...? Is it because it's still the first day of the expo...?"
"That's not it."
Apparently, the muttering had slipped out.
A middle-aged man in the next seat answered indifferently, arms folded.
He had graying blond hair and a stern-looking face.
"The Eisenberg Workshop has a session running at this time."
"Eisenberg...?"
"Yes, the German one."
One of Germany's representative workshops.
At every expo, it drew the largest audiences.
According to the man, their lecture hall was packed even with standing attendees, and a line had formed out in the corridor.
"Is this your first expo?"
"Ah, yes. It is, but..."
Rashid had only managed to get an expo ticket through a friend who worked at the Occult Heritage Administration.
'Still...'
Rashid cautiously spoke up.
Judging by the title, didn't it mean that Spell Formulas could be engraved using only letters, without circuits?
The response was a snort.
"You're rather naive. As if that could be true."
The man pointed at the empty stage.
"Once they open the lid, it'll be a lecture on notation. Something about shortening complicated circuits into a few letters in a diagram."
It was exactly what Rashid had thought upon first seeing the title.
Rashid was a little disappointed.
'So it wasn't that...?'
Then again, it was an absurd idea.
Engraving Spell Formulas without circuits.
If that were possible, someone would have done it long ago.
Ancient rune scripts were the same.
How many craftsmen had devoted their entire lives to restoring that lost technique?
Yet Rashid had never heard of anyone succeeding.
And some newcomer whose name Rashid had never even heard before had done it?
"They chose that title on purpose."
"Pardon...?"
"Isn't it obvious? This is Korea's first time participating."
The explanation that followed was somewhat shocking.
If their first appearance had an empty audience and terrible reviews, they would not be invited back.
It would damage the country's reputation as well.
So they deliberately chose an ambiguous title to attract attention first.
If they only called it letter substitution, it wouldn't be a lie even if they were teaching notation.
"...How do you know all that so well?"
"How many expos do you think I've attended? It's a regular routine. Otherwise, they'll rattle off a bunch of plausible theories, then wrap it up with something like, 'Theoretically, it may be possible.'"
The man held up two fingers.
"It's one of the two. I guarantee it."
Both possibilities sounded plausible.
But if he knew that much, why was he sitting here?
"Then why are you attending this session, sir? The Eisenberg session is happening too."
"I'm from Eisenberg."
The man yawned.
"I could recite what they're talking about there with my eyes closed. Though as always, they'll teach without giving away the important parts."
"Ah..."
"And."
The man looked at the stage with a bored expression.
"Our Meister told me to make sure I attended this session."
"The Meister did?"
"I don't know why. They're old enough now that maybe they've gone senile..."
The man trailed off casually.
"Or maybe there's something I don't know."
Click.
The lights in the lecture hall went out all at once, leaving only the screen behind the stage glowing white.
〈Textualizing Spell Formula Engraving: A Study of Replacing Circuits with Letters〉
Creak.
Then, the lecture hall doors opened.
A young man entered.
Black hair. Sharp eyes.
A mole beneath one eye. A flashy earring swaying from one ear.
'...An assistant?'
At most, he looked to be in his early twenties.
He looked far too young to be the craftsman leading the session.
But the young man walked up to the stage without hesitation and tapped the microphone.
Then he swept his gaze across the scattered audience and grinned.
"All right, let's begin. I'm Master Do, from Korea."
The young man's expression changed in an instant.
"Starting now, I'll teach you how to inscribe Spell Formulas with letters."
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