Chapter 3
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 3
Became an Ability User
A woman was intently watching Saklasi as he ran off. Serin Valenov, 22 years old. The girl Saklasi simply recognized as having silver hair.
She was thrown away into the Empire as soon as she was born. She lived in an orphanage from infancy, manifested her ability as soon as she turned twenty, and was already a Lieutenant-rank ability user. In a word, a genius.
No matter how fast the hierarchy ascent is for Sois, becoming a Lieutenant-rank ability user at barely 22 was a shocking level of talent.
Due to that talent, she was bestowed the surname Valenov and became a Baron of the Empire. Her duty as a noble was to ferret out hiding demons.
Alone in her dormitory room, she pondered deeply over Saklasi.
“Why is every single one of his actions so suspicious?”
Black hair, and a reaction that seemed not to even know this year was 2026.
“Does he stand out so much simply because he has black hair?”
It was her first time seeing black hair. She suspected a demon. That was why she told him to sit next to her and spoke to him, but his answer was argumentative.
Seeing as his first word was ‘Huh?’, she felt it meant something like ‘Why is some kid talking to me?’
“Ah, seriously! He got on the bus coming here because he couldn't awaken an ability! That means he's at least 21 years old! His personality is annoying!”
Serin had been treated like a child since she was young. She steadfastly dreamed that one day she would become a slender beauty, but she gave up that dream when she turned 20. But this was the first time she had seen a guy openly treat her like a child and tease her like this.
He didn't even answer when she said black hair was unique, and instead asked ‘Did you manifest an ability?’, so thinking his personality was bad was definitely not just her imagination.
Even asking “We are all 21 years old, right?” just a moment ago must have meant ‘You look like a kid, are we really the same age?’
“Ah, so annoying. I'm actually the older sister!”
Serin filled the report to be sent up with plenty of personal feelings.
[Report]
Subject: Demon-Suspected Soi.
Features: Black hair. Does not even know this year is 2026. Asked about his orphanage days, but he did not answer whether it was good or bad. Also asked about his black hair, but he did not answer. Suspect possibility of a demon having turned into a Doppelganger. Requesting confirmation from headquarters.
***
I stripped completely in the shower room. First, the face. It was certain. The mole in the private area. Certain. Thinking about it properly alone, it became increasingly certain.
This place is also the same year 2026. January 1st. I am not a possession or a reincarnation case. I have no memories of living inside the novel. I just went to the restroom and ended up here. So, I am 20 years old here too.
I suddenly dropped here in my original body. This was also the reason why there was one extra person during the headcount.
“Unless I was summoned to die, there must be a chance for ability manifestation.”
In the novel Living as a Soi, the protagonist was an incompetent person.
“I can't live like that!”
I left the room and went to the lobby. The silver-haired girl from earlier was also out in the lobby. Feeling urgent, I spoke to her blindly.
“How do I get a sword for ability manifestation?”
“…What are you trying to do now?”
Even though she accepted my apology earlier, her expression was bad again.
“Uh, actually I'm 20 years old this year. So ability manifestation might be possible.”
“Hmm~mm?”
The girl, who had bluish tints in her hair, looked like she found it ridiculous.
“The Empire established orphanages to support abandoned Sois, you know? Even the Sois thrown away by the United Kingdom.”
This is a setting I haven't heard. I probably didn't hear all 400 chapters in the barely 30 minutes we were drinking.
“They overlooked the abandonment of orphans but placed just one condition. They declared strictly that any Soi without this condition would be sent to prison. Do you know what that is?”
“Uh… What is it?”
“Hmm~mm? You re~ally don't know much, do you?”
What do I do? Can I explain this? I'm not from an orphanage. My parents are alive? I was summoned into a novel? Ah, none of that works. She'll think I'm a crazy person!
“You know the Imperial Family consists only of High Elves, right?”
“Yeah, I know that.”
I heard this. In a world where most are Beastkin, the strongest Emperor and a few Imperial family members monopolized the Empire. Especially the Emperor—
“Aha! So you really only know exactly what is necessary~?”
Contempt briefly flashed across the girl's expression as she asked.
“Which orphanage are you from?”
Ah, I asked her for nothing. I thought she coolly accepted my apology, but was she still holding a grudge?
“Never mind, forget it. I'll find out by myself.”
“…Hmph!”
She spun around with a huff and left. Was what I said earlier that offensive? I thought it was okay since she accepted the apology, but I don't know why she's acting like that.
***
Beep—
Ah, ah, announcing from the broadcasting room. Current time is 8:00 AM. Campers of the year 2026 are requested to come to the Helper Office by 9 o'clock. I repeat. Current time—
I practically stayed up all night in this cramped space. If I sleep and wake up, will I be back? What if, purely hypothetically, I have to live here for the rest of my life? If I can't become an ability user? Do loading and unloading for 40 years?
Still, the vague expectation that things would work out. The anxiety that I might live a struggling life like the protagonist in the original novel. Unable to sleep a wink due to various thoughts, I saw the dawn light coming through the small window, and perhaps finding relief in that, I briefly fell asleep.
And I was still here.
“Sigh, if I'm not going to die, let's try to live. There's no good in holding out and not working. Let's try to get a sword as soon as possible, even a day sooner.”
***
I can never say ‘the day went by quickly.’ There was not enough time to drink a sip of water amidst the endlessly flooding loading and unloading work, and while meals were thankfully provided for free, my arms were so numb it was a struggle to even lift a spoonful of rice.
“I feel like my back is going to break. What if I can't become an ability user? Can I endure this place?”
After the day, grueling enough to feel like death, passed, I was given a card containing my daily wage with a ‘good job’. Forgetting my sweat-soaked body, I immediately headed to the computer room.
Welcome to the Gallery.
Ah, shit. This retarded novel! My friend. What on earth were you thinking when you made this place?
When I turned on the internet, the only thing there was the Gallery.
What a truly shitty place!
I feel like my mental state is shattering on just the second day in this other world. Rough curses are pouring out uncontrollably.
I clicked anywhere.
Water Ability User Gallery
Title: How do I buy a sword? What's the minimum price?
Author: WaterGalller
Content: N/A
I wrote a post without signing up and was looking at other posts until a comment appeared.
Water Ability User Gallery
Title: There's a reason there are no High-Rank Water Ability Users
Author: ElectricityGod
Content: You find out your ability, but it's water?
The first thing you do is wet your palm. Is this fun?
At least with fire, you can raise it to a candle level, right?
The flame shimmers on the sword, right?
To train your ability, you have to hold a sword, but for water users, their hands just slip?
You have to swing a sword for decades in this dog-shit situation.
Only then do you graduate from the Academy lolol
WaterGalller1: Is it that bad?
ElectricityGod: When Fire Users swing a sword blazing with fire, Water Users have water condense on the sword so they have to wipe it so the wet blade doesn't rust.
WaterGalller1: Ah, seriously a lunatic.
WaterGalller2: What about High-Rank Water?
WaterGalller3: Know this. There has never been a High-Rank Water Ability User.
ElectricityGod: I'll explain the Lieutenant-Rank, the highest realm for Water Users. OK? At this level, you can create water about the size of a house. OK? But since the nature of water itself is slow, it takes some time. OK?
WaterGalller2: How long?
ElectricityGod: Fire is 1 second, Water is about 1 minute?
WaterGalller2: Wow, is it trash?
ElectricityGod: Are you a Water User?
WaterGalller2: Yep.
ElectricityGod: Oops~ Oh dear!!! Hahahaha
Water Ability User Gallery
Title: There's a reason there are no High-Rank Water Ability Users 2
Author: ElectricityGod
Content: To raise your hierarchy, you have to train ability manifestation endless times.
Fortunately, electricity is also fast, right?
100 seconds means 100 practices.
So if you have talent, High-Rank is possible quickly in just 100 years, but for water, even 2 times in 100 seconds is hard.
Predicting that for Water to become High-Rank, it needs thousands of years.
WaterGalller1: Why is it a prediction?
ElectricityGod: Who would do that kind of crap for thousands of years? Lolol
WaterGalller1: Ah, fuck.
I absolutely must not become a Water Ability User! They sent me, who was living perfectly fine, to this place! Surely they wouldn't give me that kind of ability, right?
“What are you looking at so intently?”
The person who spoke was yesterday's silver-haired girl. Wondering if she came to pick a fight again, I looked at her, and she held something out to me.
“You said you were looking for a sword? If it's in front of me, I'll let you use it.”
I can't believe how grateful I am! I didn't know that silver-haired girl would have a sword. And she had one more at her waist.
“Thank you so much! I will definitely repay this favor!”
It was my first time holding a real sword. Calming my trembling heart, I drew the sword, and I witnessed a shocking scene.
Drip. Drip.
Water droplets fell and wet the floor. They had fallen from my hand holding the sword.
“…An ability is fixed as just one for life, right?”
“You were really 20 years old? Why did you cheekily speak informally!”
“Ugh!?”
She struck my head with a knife-hand chop, but I don't know how such power came out of that small frame. Whether she just pushed with force, it didn't hurt that much.
“Ah! I think I hit too hard. Are you okay?”
The silver-haired girl grabbed my face and checked my complexion, seemingly genuinely sorry. The face of the incredibly cute girl was a span away, but I was distracted by something completely different.
I'm totally screwed! Totally screwed! I became a Water Ability User!!! An orphan, a Soi, and a Water Ability User? Shit, how am I supposed to live?
“Uh… I'm okay. I have something to think about so I'll go first.”
“Oh, yeah. If it hurts too much later, tell me.”
I didn't even have the energy to answer. Harboring a depressed heart, I went up to the roof. A fence was blocking the way so I couldn't even jump off.
The sea is visible in the distance. It was a moment where I thought it would be nice if a huge tsunami covered everything and swept me away.
Even though it was a place not visible to the eye, I knew.
The center of that distant sea.
A tsunami soared as if to touch the sky.
…….
I did that?!?!
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