WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈
Chapter 85: Open Sesame
──────
“Eeeek!”
At last, someone screamed.
And then.
[Screeeech!!]
[Emergency Broadcast] Myeongjin District Isolation Zone, On-Site - 9,241 viewers
- What the fuck are those guys???
- Ah, shit;;
- Why the fuck did they trigger the alarm, goddammit
- We’re fucked, we’re fucked, we’re fucked
“Eek!”
“Aaah!”
Before long, the screams spread like a disease.
And then.
[Screeeech!!]
Beyond the glass dome.
The enormous belly was visibly swelling. Black things swarmed wildly beneath its skin.
Riiip!
One spot on its belly split open as though it had festered, and black things poured out through the gap.
Just as the fire shutters began lowering across every corridor in response to the alarm, one corner of the ceiling came crashing down.
Crunch. Boom.
Debris poured down with a deafening crash, and pale dust swallowed the hall.
All the lights went out at once.
The screen went black.
* * *
- ???
- Ahhh the screen died
- Fuck, I can’t see anything
- It collapsed, it collapsed
- There are still people inside;;;
- What are those assholes? Who called them??
- Fucking troll bastards, what the hell are they even doing?
- Looks like they came here to shop?
- No, when something like this happens, you turn on Goblin Fire first;;
- For real
- That’s what it was made for
- We’re seriously fucked
Ding. Ding-ding.
One emergency light after another came on, and the screen brightened again.
- Ah, it’s back
- What do we do now?
- Wait
- Something’s crawling out of that belly??
- It’s over
[Emergency Broadcast] Myeongjin District Collapse Site - 13,406 viewers
‘Seriously.’
Kang Ha-na pushed herself upright through the thick dust.
Fortunately, the collapsed area had already been evacuated.
The large debris that had been about to fall toward the people had each been held in midair by Talismans.
She took out her phone and glanced at the screen.
The Goblin Fire broadcast.
The Observer’s view kept shifting angles, showing different parts of the building.
Around the collapsed debris. In front of the lowered shutters. Inside dust-filled stores.
‘...Doesn’t look like anyone’s trapped underneath.’
There was nothing better for checking blind spots.
The problem was upstairs.
The advance team on the roof seemed to be barely holding the thing down to keep it from bursting completely.
But the things leaking from its split belly were crawling down into the hall through the broken ceiling.
Stray cursed spirits that had just spilled out.
Upstairs, the Occult Management Bureau personnel who had arrived were already flashing Spell Formulas, while the two idiots who had caused the trouble had gone pale and started fighting back in a panic.
[Screech!]
One small cursed spirit slipped through the gap and shot straight down toward the crowd below.
Ping.
A Talisman flicked from Kang Ha-na’s fingertips.
Smack.
The Talisman stuck squarely to the thing’s forehead.
Whoosh!
It burst into flames.
The cursed spirit could not even scream before it scattered into a handful of ash.
Meanwhile, the lower floor was chaos.
“Eeeek!”
“Is it, is it an earthquake?! There’s an earthquake!”
Startled by the crash, people screamed and rushed toward the exits.
But.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The lowered fire shutters had bent out of shape, blocking the corridors along with the rubble.
“The door! The door won’t open!”
“This way is blocked too!”
The louder the screams grew, the more the belly above them swelled.
[Screeeech!]
‘...I’d better get moving.’
“P-Please save me! Over here!”
A young man was waving from a gap in the collapsed debris.
He did not look injured, but the rubble had blocked his path completely.
Ping.
A Talisman flew over and stuck to his chest.
Float.
“Uwaaaah?!”
The young man’s body rose into the air, gently cleared the debris, and landed on the floor beside her.
“Th-thank you...”
As the young man bowed, Kang Ha-na smiled with her eyes.
Then.
Smack.
A Talisman landed on his forehead.
His gaze went unfocused. He quietly turned around and began walking toward the emergency exit.
- LOL She won’t even let him finish thanking her
- Damn... That’s seriously broken
- Noona, you’re so coollll
‘Next...’
Kang Ha-na reached into her clothes for another Talisman.
Her fingers found nothing.
‘...Huh?’
They were gone.
She had burned through them holding up falling debris, burning the incoming spirits, and sticking them on people all over the area.
She must have used more than she thought.
Even if she wanted to retrieve them, there was no one nearby at the moment, and calling them back in this mess would be difficult.
‘Resupply is... impossible.’
She glanced down at her phone.
On the screen, the shutter on the first floor was surrounded by people pounding on it.
‘Let’s start there.’
* * *
- Whoa...
- Why does she keep reaching in there for Talismans?
- Maybe qipaos don’t have pockets LOL
- ?? Then why did she come up empty-handed?
- Did she run out of Talismans?
- Maybe she just wanted to reach in there once
- No, I’m serious, I think she ran out;; She’s been using a ton since earlier
- Fuck, now of all times?
Then the woman turned and began striding away.
- Where’s she going?
- Going to get more Talismans?
- Well, a talisman sorcerer can’t do much without Talismans.
The woman headed toward the corridor on the first floor where the most people had gathered.
The other side of the collapsed fire shutter.
Inside the empty corridor.
Click. Click.
Her heels stopped in front of the shutter.
- ?? It’s blocked on that side too?
- She has no Talismans. What’s she going to do there?
- Is she seriously going to open it with her bare hands?
Then.
The woman grinned and pulled something from her clothes.
A thin black brush.
Click.
She pulled off the cap.
Swipe. Swish.
The brush tip slid over the shutter.
- ?? A brush??
- What is she doing right now?
- Where’s the paper??
- She’s just drawing on it?
- ?????
- Is drawing on that supposed to do anything?
Black strokes appeared.
At the center, one large character.
The Hanja character for “open.”
- ?? Didn’t she just draw a Talisman?
- That’s a Gate-Opening Talisman, written with the Hanja for open, gate, and talisman, right?
- She drew a Talisman directly on the shutter?
- No way that works;;
As she drew the final stroke, the woman quietly recited.
“...Open sesame.”
Hummm.
The ink marks soaked into the shutter’s surface.
Clank. Creak.
Rumble!
The bent shutter twisted on its own and rolled upward.
- ??????
- It really was a Gate-Opening Talisman??
- That works without paper???
“It opened!”
“It’s open!!!”
Waaaah!
People poured out like a flood.
The woman calmly moved against the crowd toward the next corridor.
In front of a collapsed pillar.
Swipe. One stroke.
Rumble. Roll, roll.
A house-sized chunk of concrete rolled away on its own, clearing the path.
- Why is that thing rolling by itself??
- Holy shit
- What the hell is that brush?
In front of a locked disaster-prevention door.
Swipe.
The Hanja character for “open.”
Click. Swing.
The door opened by itself.
Everywhere the woman passed, paths opened.
The people who had been screaming and panicking flowed out of the building along those paths, like water draining away.
The woman watched the sight quietly.
Then she looked down at the brush in her hand.
A faint smile touched her lips.
* * *
Some time later.
The final person crossed the threshold of the main entrance.
Kang Ha-na stood in the middle of the empty hall and curled a finger.
Shhhh.
The Talismans holding the debris flew in from every direction like a flock of birds, gathering in her hand.
Smack, smack, smack.
Thud. Rumble.
The debris suspended in the air settled onto the floor of the empty hall.
“Uh...? Where am I...?”
A young man at the entrance blinked around in confusion as the control over him faded.
“You can go now. Just head outside.”
“Ah, yes... Yes!”
The young man bowed and hurried outside.
‘Now... is it almost over?’
The commotion upstairs had died down as well.
It seemed the Occult Management Bureau was finishing up.
The belly beyond the ceiling was no longer swelling.
Bzzz. Bzzz.
Just then, the phone in her clothes vibrated.
“Hey, good work.”
It was Noh Jin-hyeok.
“I’ve arrived. We’ll take care of the rest from here, so go get some rest. Good job.”
Click.
‘...You sure took your time.’
Kang Ha-na snickered and put her phone away.
* * *
[Emergency Broadcast] Myeongjin District Collapse Site - 24,159 viewers
On screen.
The woman in the qipao stood alone in the empty hall after everyone had left.
She put away her phone, then looked up once toward the enormous thing beyond the ceiling.
Then.
Click. Click.
As though nothing had happened, she calmly walked toward the main entrance.
- Oh, she’s leaving
- Noona, where are you going?? Are you clocking out already?
- Well, she did everything she needed to do... How many people did she evacuate by herself?
- But who the hell is that noona???
* * *
The next day.
After the Myeongjin Mega Field Fetal Ghost incident, Goblin Fire was completely flooded with posts about it.
[HOT] Summary of Yesterday’s Myeongjin Isolation Zone Incident (Long Post Warning)
[HOT] Complete Roundup of Theories About Qipao Noona’s Identity
[HOT] Yesterday’s Highlights.gif
And at the very top of the board was a breaking-news post that had been pinned since morning.
[Breaking News] Occult Management Bureau: “Myeongjin Mega Field Incident Was Deliberate... Classified as Terrorism, We Will Pursue Those Responsible to the End”
└ Deliberate??
└ Holy shit, who would even do that and why?
└ Then did someone raise that Fetal Ghost on purpose too??
└ Could the Isolation Zone incidents that keep going off lately be connected to this too?;;
[HOT] ???: Open.
(A video of a woman drawing on a collapsed fire shutter and reciting a phrase, causing it to open by itself.)
└ Damn.... Chills.
└ That’s so cool. Seriously T_T
└ Noona... You’ve opened my heart too.
└ That Spell Formula is so badass LOL
└ Does it even make sense that there’s a secret art that lets you draw anywhere without paper?
└ Could that brush just be insanely good???
└ Where’s it from?
└ Come on, there’s no way such an overpowered Ritual Implement exists...
└ Yeah, that makes no sense LOL
└ The troll duo posted an apology just now LOL
[Apology] We Bow Our Heads in Apology Regarding the Myeongjin Mega Field Incident.
.
.
.
- Entering the scene without properly understanding the situation and rashly triggering the fire alarm were clearly and undeniably mistakes made by both of us. We are cooperating fully with the Occult Management Bureau’s investigation, and we will reflect deeply on our actions and take time away from public activity.
└ Fuck, does apologizing make it okay?
└ Weren’t they in on it?
└ I don’t see them that negatively. They were trying to save people, at least.
└ Save people, my ass.
└ Seriously. What if even one person had died?
└ Ignorance is a sin.
└ Did you know what a Fetal Ghost was? I’d bet 90 percent of the people who didn’t read the explanation post had no clue.
└ Next time, please turn on a livestream first;;
└ Someone found out where their office is.
└ Where?
└ (This comment has been deleted.)
[HOT] Qipao Noona Smiling After Saving Everyone.gif
(A video of people leaving through the opened corridor while the woman smiles faintly.)
└ Damn... Is she smiling because she saved everyone?
└ Angel noona T_T
└ I’ve watched this scene a hundred times
└ Looking closely, I think she smiled at the brush?
└ No, no, from that angle she was definitely looking at the people.
└ Look at noona’s eye smile T_T
└ Please control me too, noonaaaaa
‘Seriously.’
Everyone was making such a huge fuss over Ms. Ha-na.
The video of Kang Ha-na looking down at the brush and smiling played endlessly on the screen.
Seeing how much she liked something I had made, I could not help feeling proud.
Besides, she had saved all those people.
‘Ahem. I didn’t do it myself, but... I do feel a little pumped up.’
└ Does anyone know where that brush is from?
└ For real, that black thing looked insanely high-end
└ Maybe it only looks special because noona was holding it
└ Does anyone know which workshop made it??
Ahem.
Well, it was pretty nice for my first try. Of course it was. It was nice, all right.
“Mr. Do-hyeon, get ready. You’re up next.”
Seo Ji-an, who had been waiting beside me, whispered as she straightened my tie.
We were in the waiting area behind the stage.
Beyond the partition blocking the stage, flashes kept going off, and Noh Jin-hyeok’s voice carried over without pause.
[Noh Jin-hyeok Corporation Launch Ceremony]
That’s right!
Today was the day No Corp officially announced its launch!
Maybe because of what had happened yesterday, they said there was barely room to stand in the press section.
“...With incidents like yesterday’s continuing, we cannot rely forever on responses centered around the Houses. That is why we have established an organization made up solely of people from non-House backgrounds...”
Then.
“...At this time, I would like to formally introduce the person you have all been curious about. The heart of No Corp and a master craftsman of this era. Master Do, chief artisan of the workshop under Noh Jin-hyeok Corporation.”
‘My turn.’
I put my phone away and walked out from behind the partition.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
I stood before the microphone and bowed.
“Hello. I am Master Do, affiliated with Noh Jin-hyeok Corporation.”
Flashes poured down so brightly that my vision turned white.
.
.
.
After finishing the greeting I had prepared and answering questions for a while, as the event began to wrap up, I subtly checked my wristwatch.
‘...It’s about time.’
A grin crept onto my face.
Then the host took the microphone.
“We will conclude the question-and-answer session here. Finally, we have one special announcement.”
Murmur. Murmur.
As the reporters stirred.
Click. Click.
A woman in a black qipao embroidered with plum blossoms walked out from beside the stage.
“...!”
“T-That person...!”
Every camera in the venue turned toward her at once.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
“The first sorcerer signed to Noh Jin-hyeok Corporation.”
“I’m Kang Ha-na.”
Footnotes:
1. 開 means “open.” 開門符 is a Gate-Opening Talisman.
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