WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈
Chapter 86: Enchanted Talisman for Sale
──────
[HOT] What?? Qipao Noona is with No Corp?
└ I was watching the live broadcast and seriously got shocked LOL
└ Damn... What an incredible debut stage.
└ The first member of the Occultvengers, holy shit.
└ No wonder it made no sense for a talisman sorcerer that good to stay unknown until now.
└ Has the Emperor been hiding her away this whole time?
[HOT] No Corp lineup so far
(Photo of the three standing side by side on the launch ceremony stage.)
―Noh Jin-hyeok
―Do Emperor
―Qipao Noona (NEW!)
└ Wow, seeing them together, that lineup is insane.
└ Look at all three of those faces.
└ Does No Corp recruit based on looks?
└ A special-grade sorcerer, an Eul-tier master craftsman, and next... a special-grade talisman sorcerer?
└ ?? She isn't special-grade, though, right?
└ Her talisman pouch is special-grade LOL
└ LMAOOOO You bastard.
└ No Corp's weight class is seriously crazy, literally T_T
(GIF of Kang Ha-na smiling after evacuating people.)
└ Look at Noona's smiling eyes T_T
└ When is this even ending...? It's already been an hour.
└ Same. I watch it every time it comes up.
[HOT] Then this has to be Do Emperor's work, right?
(Enlarged photo of Kang Ha-na's brush pen.)
A brush pen that draws talismans without paper LOL
Who else but Do Emperor would come up with something this crazy?
└ Agreed. It reeks of Do Emperor.
└ Isn't it still too soon to say she's just being carried by her Ritual Implement??
└ No, no, no. I've got a feeling. Do Emperor definitely made it.
└ But seriously, isn't it cool as hell? Lifting a shutter with one brush.
[Daily] Hmm... Should I try becoming a talisman sorcerer too?
That noona yesterday looked cool as hell.
I heard the barrier to becoming a talisman sorcerer is low?
└ ??? Who the hell told you that LOL
└ This newbie thinks you just scribble something on paper and call it a day.
└ Seriously, why are you looking down on talisman sorcerers? It's fucking hard.
└ Really? Aren't all talismans basically the same?
└ No, no, no. The quality of Spiritual Power infused into them differs by caster.
└ If even a little stray thought gets mixed in, the effect is almost nonexistent. It takes insane concentration.
└ That noona is just absurdly good. How did she open a shutter like that?
└ Exactly. Those things are fucking heavy.
└ Isn't picking a lock about the usual limit?
└ Yeah, that's right.
└ Drawing even one drains me dry. I can't do anything else that day.
└ Her Imprinted Intent is absurdly strong.
└ And honestly, you can't ignore how much talismans depend on materials.
└ Yeah, if you want to inscribe even a slightly strong Spell Formula, you need to use insanely expensive Gwaehwangji.
└ But that noona did it without Gwaehwangji.
└ Exactly. That's why it makes no sense.
[Question] Why aren't they selling more sealing key rings?
└ Seems like Do Emperor's busy lately.
└ Huh, don't tell me they've become limited editions?
└ LOL Haven't way too many been released for limited editions?
└ Check the resale market.
└ They've already got a markup LOL
└ No.... I only just saved enough money T_T
It had been quite a while since all the stock I had made was sold out, and I hadn't listed any new items for auction.
‘...It was about time I listed something.’
But making more key rings...
Hmm. It was kind of bothersome.
No. More than bothersome.
Yeah, I was sick of them!!
How many key rings had I even made? It was only natural that I was sick of them.
I wanted to make something new now.
I was learning talisman craft, so if possible, I wanted to make something using ink.
‘...What should I make next with this?’
Swoosh.
On the surface of the training pool.
Su-a lay on a board, drifting along.
Unlike usual, just floating there like a drained jellyfish.
“Su-a. It’s lunchtime. Let’s go eat.”
“...Okay.”
Step. Step.
* * *
Chew, chew.
Across from me, Su-a silently chewed rice.
Those puffed cheeks kept swelling and shrinking. Just like a squirrel.
‘Definitely pissed.’
Maybe it was because Ha-na noona had snatched the first debut spot.
“Su-a. Are you... upset about the debut order?”
“N-No, I’m not!”
Su-a said no, but those pupils were shaking!
‘Tragically cute.’
Well, what could I do?
The debut order could change depending on the situation.
Su-a needed water around to really shine, after all.
If we waited for the right moment, who knew how long we'd be waiting? It couldn't be helped.
Besides, Su-a would make a debut soon enough.
The kid was simple, so it would probably pass quickly.
Still, looking at those puffed cheeks...
“...”
Ahem. Maybe I should leave that adorably sulky expression alone for a while.
“...? What? Why are you looking at me?”
“Geez...”
I reached out and thoroughly ruffled Su-a's hair.
“...! W-What are you doing?!”
“Let’s go get more spicy pork.”
“No! Go by yourself!”
* * *
In the end, Su-a joined me in polishing off two bowls.
We left the cafeteria and parted ways in front of the training center.
“I’m heading out now.”
“...”
Su-a looked up at me with eyes dripping with reluctance.
“...What?”
“Ugh... Do Emperor is a traitor. A traitor.”
“??”
Leaving only that incomprehensible remark behind, Su-a trudged back into the training center.
‘...What was that traitor thing about?’
Well, that would pass after the debut too.
Ahem. Fucking adorable.
I should buy Su-a some ice cream afterward.
I started walking.
Today was talisman class day.
* * *
“...That’s all for today.”
After class, we'd sit on the sofa, drink tea, and chat.
Somehow, it had become part of our routine.
Kang Ha-na neatly sorted the stack of talismans on the table, then tucked several sheets back into her clothes.
‘...That, though.’
I thought about it every time I saw her do it.
All her talismans came out of there. Wasn't that uncomfortable no matter how I looked at it?
Even if qipaos didn't normally have pockets.
‘It would be better to pull them from her sleeves...’
I was unconsciously examining her qipao from every angle when...
“...Little brother.”
“Yes?”
“Where have you been staring so intently this whole time~?”
Kang Ha-na lightly covered her chest with one arm and narrowed her eyes.
“Oh my. Pervert.”
“No, it’s not that. I was just thinking that storage must be pretty inconvenient...”
“Hm~ Is that so? You were staring because you were worrying about that? Sure. Of course you were.”
She nodded as if she understood everything, her eyes smiling mischievously.
“...Forget it.”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I’ve worn this outfit ever since I was in Hong Kong, so wearing anything else feels too strange now.”
Hong Kong?
So that was where she had been before.
“Jiangshi sorcery lives and dies by concentration. If my clothes feel unfamiliar, I start paying attention to that instead.”
I could understand that.
When I engraved something, my work clothes were the most comfortable too.
“And there are more places to store things than you’d think. Want to see?”
“I’m good.”
“Pfft.”
“Our little brother is much more innocent than he looks.”
Even as she said that, Kang Ha-na began pulling things out from inside her clothes and arranging them on the table.
A bundle of talismans. A stack of yellow talismans. Lipstick. And...
Clunk.
A long, black chunk of metal.
‘...What’s that?’
“By the way, little brother, is something bothering you? You’ve been spacing out this whole time.”
“Ah, well. I’ve been thinking about what to make next.”
“Hm. Already?”
While we exchanged such trivial chatter, Kang Ha-na casually held out her empty hand.
Click.
Something flew in from the corner of the room and snugly landed in her hand.
It was a pistol.
A yellow talisman was attached to its grip.
Creak. Creak.
Ha-na noona screwed on the suppressor.
Her movements were remarkably natural.
“Why do you carry that around?”
“Well~ You never know when you might need to fire it.”
“...”
What kind of life had she lived?
Well, it was none of my business. Everyone had at least one story they kept hidden.
Me included.
I lifted my teacup again and returned to my earlier thoughts.
‘...So. What should I make with ink?’
Since I was learning talisman craft anyway.
Should I start by making a bunch of talismans?
Hmm, but...
I didn't think drawing and selling a bunch of talismans was the answer.
I was a blacksmith, not a talisman sorcerer.
And there were countless people in the world who could draw talismans better than me.
There was one sitting right in front of me, even.
‘Hmm. Is there nothing more unusual?’
Something new.
Something the world had never seen before.
Making things like that was the most fun.
Click. Slide.
After checking that it fit properly, Ha-na noona set it down on the table.
On the table.
A pistol with a suppressor attached, and a yellow talisman on its grip.
‘...’
A suppressor that could be attached and removed.
A talisman affixed to a weapon.
Grin.
Good. Very good.
“Ha-na noona.”
“Yeah...?”
“Let’s go into business together.”
.
.
.
Around that time, on Goblin Fire’s auction tab.
The official seller board of ‘Tianshan Sect Master Do (Not Tianshan Sect).’
[How long are you gonna stay Tianshan Sect? LOL]
└ Exactly, the official announcement was already made. Aren’t you changing the name?
[So, Do Emperor, are you really not selling key rings anymore? T_T]
[Then release something else, please T_T]
[Do Emperor has changed... We used to be good together....]
[Do you like No Corp that much T_T]
[Damn it, I hate Noh Jin-hyeok T_T]
[Come back, please....]
[Did you abandon us AAAAAH!!!]
[Day 30 of praying for a new Do Emperor product.]
It was another peaceful day on the auction tab, just like always.
Ding!
[Notification] Seller name changed. (Tianshan Sect Master Do → No Corp Master Do)
Ding!
[Notification] ‘No Corp Master Do’ has registered a new product.
└ Holy shit, the alert went off!!!!
└ Do Emperor listed something new!!!!
└ Holy shit, finally!!!!!!!!!!!
└ Let’s gooooooooo!!!!
[A new item is in stock.]
―Selling Enchant Talismans for Ritual Implements.
* * *
At the same time.
Somewhere underground.
Crackle. Crackle.
In the darkness, holograms thick with static faced one another around a round table.
Beyond one of the screens.
Pale cocoons hung in rows inside a dark underground space, slowly pulsating.
“Sleep... Sleep... My baby...”
A man walked between them.
His humming, as he caressed each cocoon one by one, was mixed with the sound of sobbing.
[...You’re still crying?]
A woman’s static-filled voice cut in from another screen.
[I really don’t understand. That Fetal Ghost was doomed to burst and die anyway. What are you crying and making a fuss about? It’s distracting.]
“Sniff... What do you know? My baby was growing so beautifully...”
[You really aren’t normal.]
On another screen.
A man with a bored expression flicked through the air.
Each movement of his fingertips sent recent news and posts from the Occult World flying past.
[The person everyone is talking about at Myeongjin Megafield... No Corp’s first sorcerer makes her debut.]
[Then that brush has to be Do Emperor’s work, right?]
└ I’ve got a feeling. Do Emperor definitely made it.
Tap.
[Drawing talismans directly on objects with a single brush, without paper. Is that even possible? ...Elder Cheongram?]
[...]
The screen with especially heavy static gave no answer.
Only incomprehensible, strange muttering could be heard.
The photo at the bottom of the article.
Noh Jin-hyeok and Master Do stood before the stage with their arms crossed, backs pressed together.
[...By the way, is it that blacksmith bastard again?]
[He’s a nuisance at every turn.]
Then.
[Enough.]
The sobbing and the scrolling screen both stopped at once.
[We have gained enough.]
Hummm.
A massive map appeared in the center of the table.
A map of the entire country, densely marked with pins.
Tap.
A shadowy hand pointed to one of them.
[We’ll make this our next exhibition site.]
Footnotes:
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