Chapter 46
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Letter (1)
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If I had to sum up how I feel right now, it would be, "Gotcha, you bastard."
So, it really was you who threw me into this world, *hyeong*?
I was half-convinced, but you were even kind enough to send me an email, huh?
My teeth ground together loudly.
Nyaa?
It was so loud that Geumho, who had been sleeping, jolted awake.
Geumho ran over and curled up gently on my lap.
Oh. Sorry, Geumho. Did I wake you?
I gently stroked Geumho.
That trash of a brother woke Geumho up for no reason.
My anger toward him grew even stronger.
Alright. Let's see what you have to say.
I had more than just one or two questions.
Why he put me in this novel.
Why he only sent a message now.
Who this Kim Shin person is.
What the purpose of all this is.
How I can return to my original world, and so on.
The list of questions was endless.
He'll at least explain the reason, right?
I opened the email with a sense of anticipation.
[GORBX]
?
But the email contained nothing that would answer any of my questions.
Far from answering them, it only multiplied my questions.
What the hell is this?
Six characters made of letters and a special symbol. Is it a code?
Is this it?
There was nothing else.
I was dumbfounded.
My mind went blank.
It was then.
Zzzzt
Huh?
The computer screen started to flicker with static.
And the next moment.
...Its gone?
The email had vanished.
* * *
The next morning.
I was lying dazedly in bed.
This is driving me crazy.
The time was 7:23 AM on Sunday.
I hadn't slept a wink since receiving that mysterious email last night. My mind was too cluttered to fall asleep.
Why did the email just disappear like that?
The email was truly, completely gone. It wasn't in the trash, the inbox, or the spam folder.
It had vanished completely, as if I had just been daydreaming.
Agh.
The only saving grace was that I remembered the contents of the email perfectly.
I picked up the note I'd left by my bedside and checked it again.
[GORBX]
This code was as much of a mystery as the email's disappearance.
I'd thought about it all night, but it was a code I just couldn't crack.
What in the world is this?
He could have at least given me a hint.
Ughhhhh!!
I thrashed around in bed, scratching my head furiously.
Grrr?
Geumho, who had been curled up near me, slowly opened his eyes and tilted his head as if asking what was wrong.
It's nothing. Sorry. Go back to sleep.
I held Geumho in my arms and stroked his silky fur.
Geumho purred and snuggled deeper into my embrace.
Ah, so healing.
But that was only for a moment.
My mind was in such turmoil that even Geumho-therapy couldn't cure it.
Ah, this is so frustrating.
The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
I didn't think it was possible to be any more pissed off.
Ah, if he were in front of me, I'd want to rip out every single hair on his body.
This is just ridiculous.
After throwing me into this absurd situation.
Sending an email only now, after a month, is absurd enough.
But to just send six letters of code in the email?
And set it to disappear immediately?
Ah, so annoying.
I haven't felt this deflated in a long time. I mean, come on, couldn't he at least have explained the reason and his goal?
That way, I could, you know?
Act with a clearer sense of purpose.
...Hah.
In the end, all I learned from this email was
that my being in this novel was a supernatural phenomenon caused by a being named Kim Shin.
No, that's not right. I did get one clue.
If you can even call it a clue.
[GORBX]
A mysterious code.
Right. If I solve this, I'll figure something out.
I swear I'll solve this, no matter what.
I ground my teeth and stared daggers at the note.
* * *
Monday, 5:20 AM.
Waking up at dawn as usual, I headed to Pi Jinho's private training room.
Good morning.
Yeah. You're early again toda
Pi Jinho, who was warming up in the training room, looked at me and frowned.
You don't look so good. Did something happen?
He approached me and felt my arms and thighs.
You've accumulated a lot of fatigue. Your muscles haven't recovered properly because you haven't gotten enough rest.
A sharp glint appeared in Pi Jinho's eyes.
Lack of sleep? What have you been doing for the past two days?
What have I been doing, you ask?
I've been staring at that note until my eyes felt like they were going to pop out, trying to decipher the code.
Except for when I stopped by the Bihon Guild to drop off Geumho, I was cooped up in my room all day.
...I had a lot on my mind, so I didn't sleep well.
I answered vaguely.
Hmm.
Pi Jinho stroked his chin.
Worried about your future career?
...Something like that.
Worries about the path of my life.
Where is my life headed?
That kind of thing.
I understand. This is the time when you're flooded with all sorts of offers and have a lot to think about.
Pi Jinho nodded as if he understood.
Still, make sure you get enough sleep. Resting is part of the training.
Yes. I'm sorry.
Pi Jinho patted my shoulder.
Alright. Then let's just do a light warm-up today.
Yes.
First, lie down on the mat. Let's loosen up those tired muscles.
After that, we began some light stretching, which also served as a warm-up to relieve muscle fatigue.
Stretch your arms a little further. Feel the stretch in your back.
Yep.
It felt like every muscle in my body was being stretched out. A professional is definitely different; it felt incredibly refreshing.
Next. Lie on your side and... hmm?
Suddenly, the instructor bent down.
What's this?
He was picking something up.
When Instructor Pi Jinho straightened up, he was holding a familiar scrap of paper.
Oh!
It was the note with the six-character code.
I'd put it in my pocket, but it must have fallen out during the stretches.
A code?
I desperately tried to think of an excuse. What should I say? Ah, right.
Uh, it's this code-breaking game that's popular with my friends lately!
Code-breaking, huh. A strange trend. I used to do a lot of that myself back in the day.
Pi Jinho stroked his chin and stared intently at the note.
Come to think of it, Pi Jinho had spent about three years in the intelligence division back when he was on active duty.
Code-breaking must have been his specialty.
I asked with a glimmer of hope.
Do you think you can solve it?
Well. Without any other hints, it might be a little difficult.
Ah
He was right.
This was a code left for me by Shin *hyeong*. It would be nearly impossible for a third party, who knew nothing about Kim Shin or my situation, to solve it.
But I do have a possible solution in mind.
My eyes widened.
Really?
Yes.
Pi Jinho focused on the note again and said.
Here. The triangle between the letters. That's the hint.
A hint... you say?
I had focused on the triangle shape too. But why is it a hint?
You look like you don't get it.
Pi Jinho took a pen from his pocket and drew lines on the note.
Watch carefully. If you divide it into pairs like this
[GO/R/BX]
How about it?
...Huh?
He had just added two lines with a ballpoint pen, but it looked completely different.
Looks like you've caught on.
Pi Jinho chuckled.
Right. Considering its connection to the triangle in the middle, it's highly likely that the O and X are not letters, but a circle and an X mark.
Circle, triangle, X...
It was a blind spot.
I had only thought of them as letters.
The next part is even simpler. G is the circle. R is the triangle. B is the X.
Pi Jinho looked at me and continued.
If you consider the universal meaning of these three symbols, it would probably be something like G is good, R is so-so, and B is bad.
Pi Jinho folded the note and handed it back to me.
Well, they probably didn't just throw G, R, and B in there for no reason. There's a high chance that a hint about words starting with these letters exists in the conversations between you and your friend. Think carefully.
Between me... and my friend?
A rule for words starting with G, R, and B?
...Huh?
Looks like you've figured something out.
In that moment, a shock ran through me as if I'd been hit in the head with a hammer.
Words that start with those three initials.
Something only I know.
And something Shin *hyeong* would also know.
Something immediately came to mind.
Green.
Red.
Black.
It matches the order in which the color of the tattoos on my body changes.
In that case, the code means this.
Green=O
Green is safe.
Red=
Red is a warning.
Black=X
Black is dangerous.
...
I raised my left arm and gripped the World Tree tattoo on my right shoulder blade.
This code seemed to be a message telling me that the black tattoo is dangerous.
* * *
After all my Monday classes were over.
I barely touched my dinner and returned to my dorm room.
Now, I was lying spread-eagled on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
...Black is dangerous.
What Shin *hyeong*'s code was trying to tell me was clear.
This just means I shouldn't get a fourth trait, right?
Don't acquire any new traits after the black tattoo. That must be what it means.
I also considered if it meant my current black state was dangerous, but seeing as nothing has happened for a week, that doesn't seem to be the case.
Seeing how the danger level increases in the order of green (safe), red (warning), and black (danger), it wasn't hard to predict the danger of a fourth trait.
I grabbed my head with both hands and sighed.
...This is so unfair.
Just when I needed to start accelerating my growth, a new restriction was placed on my ability.
And a very critical one at that.
Only three traits per race.
It was a hard reality to accept.
No, in the first place, why is it dangerous?
He should at least explain the reason. Is he just going to say it's dangerous and leave it at that?
Ah, this is so annoying.
This is really too much.
I mean, if I could at least pick and choose, it would be a different story.
But to be stuck with the first three I get, like it or not, and that's it.
What kind of crappy situation is this?
In the worst-case scenario, I could have ended up with three traits like the therianthrope's sense of smell, hearing, and taste, and that would have been it, right?
Haaah.
I sighed as if the ground would collapse.
I was so frustrated that the desire to just ignore the warning and everything and get a fourth trait surged within me.
...Sigh. Get a grip.
I can't accept it, but anyway, it seems best to refrain from acquiring any more elven traits.
There must be a reason why someone who was silent for a whole month suddenly sent an email.
I have to be careful.
Ah, right.
I quickly opened my email.
First, I need to contact Elder Ail again before it's too late.
Now that I know it's dangerous to acquire more elven traits,
I had to request to change the two elven ancient artifacts I asked for to something else.
* * *
Tuesday morning.
As always, I woke up early in the morning.
The vigorous blood of the therianthrope was urging my body to move.
It was a sensation I was now used to.
Maybe because I pulled two all-nighters in a row, I had gone to bed early yesterday, so my body felt refreshed.
Sigh.
Of course, my mood was still gloomy.
I headed straight for the shower.
Normally I shower after my morning training, but to wash away this gloomy feeling, I felt like I needed to douse myself in cold water right away.
I quickly stripped and stood in front of the full-length mirror.
No matter how many times I look, it's a handsome face.
The only good things about becoming a novel protagonist seem to be getting a better body and a handsome face.
...So what? At this rate, I'll definitely be dead within five years.
Being handsome and in good shape is only good if you're alive.
What's the point if you're dead?
I smiled bitterly and stroked the World Tree tattoo on my right shoulder.
Through the mirror, the pitch-black World Tree tattoo caught my eye.
Ah. The more I think about it, the more unfair it feels.
A three-trait limit per race is just too much, no matter how I look at it.
Haaah.
So, the elven traits end with [Guardian of the Bow], [Path of the Wind], and [Wind Arrow (?)], huh.
Right. Let's think positively.
It's not like elves are the only race, and there are still plenty of traits I can acquire.
I examined the tattoos one by one.
Well, there wasn't much to examine, but I figured I'd check them for the first time in a while.
Angel, dragon, spirit... I have two left for each of them, right?
First, I saw the green angel tattoo on my chest.
I only have one angelic trait, [Heavenly Wings], so I can get two more.
The dragon tattoo on my back is also green. I've acquired one, [Guardian], so there are two left for that as well.
The spirit race tattoo on the back of my right hand is also green; I can get two more besides [Spirit's Flame].
As for the therianthropes.
Finally, I lowered my gaze to my left thigh.
The therianthrope traits I've acquired are [Boiling Blood of the Purebred] and [Predator's Killing Intent].
Therefore, that means I can only acquire one more therianthrope trait
...Huh?
It was then that my eyes widened.
...Why is this one green?
My left thigh.
The therianthrope tattoo, which had definitely been red until yesterday, was now glowing green.