Chapter 47
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: A Letter (2)
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After a quick, cold shower,
I headed to the private training room, where Instructor Pi Jinho would be waiting as usual.
My mind was a tangled mess the entire way there.
...What in the world?
Why had the red tattoo turned green?
At first, I thought one of the two traits had simply disappeared.
But both [Boiling Pure Blood] and [Predator's Bloodlust] were perfectly fine.
So why did the tattoo turn green?
...Could this tattoo just be some kind of cooldown timer?
Maybe the color changes each time I acquire a trait, and once the cooldown is over, it reverts to its previous color.
"No."
That can't be it.
If there were a cooldown, the beastman tattoo shouldn't have been the first to change.
The elf tattoo, which I acquired first, should have changed before it.
Therefore, this hypothesis is incorrect.
Then, the next possibility is...
Lost in thought, I walked on, and before I knew it, I had arrived at the private training facility.
"Good morning."
Instructor Pi Jinho's voice came from behind me.
"Good morning."
I gave a slight bow.
"Right. From the look on your face, you must have slept well last..."
The instructor's eyes, which had been staring intently at me, widened.
What's with him?
Is there something wrong with me?
"Is something wrong?"
I asked nonchalantly.
"Haha!"
The instructor suddenly burst out laughing. It was the second time I'd seen him smile so brightly.
"Judging by your expression, you haven't checked your status window since last night."
"...What?"
How can I check a status window I don't have?
"Congratulations."
Instructor Pi Jinho clapped me on the shoulder, laughing heartily.
"Your physical stats have all gone up by one rank."
"...What?"
My thoughts froze.
He said they went up a rank?
Just yesterday, he said I was growing somewhere around F-Rank 50 to 60. And now I've broken through 99 and reached E-Rank in a single day?
"It happens sometimes. A phenomenon where all the experience you've accumulated explodes after a night of rest."
Pi Jinho ruffled my hair, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Ugh."
It was a hearty gesture, filled with joy.
"Hmm. By the way, your blood vessels have become surprisingly tough. Did you happen to unlock some kind of trait?"
"...My blood vessels?"
A trait... for blood vessels?
"Yes. Your blood flow also seems twice as fast as usual. It's a circulation speed on a completely different level from an ordinary person. And yet, it's stable. I get the strong impression that your skeleton and muscles have evolved to match that blood flow."
"Evolved... to match my blood?"
His words reminded me of [Boiling Pure Blood].
"Interesting. I've never seen muscles with this kind of flexible quality. It makes me wonder if this is what the agile muscles of the beastmen from ten thousand years ago felt like."
"Ah!"
In that moment, it was like lightning struck inside my head.
Flexible muscles reminiscent of the beastmen.
Blood circulation.
Changes to my skeleton.
The resulting increase in physical ability.
And finally, the change in the tattoo's color.
All these factors pointed to only one conclusion.
[Boiling Pure Blood] had changed my body.
***
I had succeeded in forming a credible hypothesis about the rules governing the tattoo's color change.
First, the color change itself.
Until now, I thought one trait made it green.
Two made it red.
And three would turn it black.
But I was wrong.
The color change didn't represent the number of traits, but the [load] being placed on my body.
And over time, as a specific trait fully settled into my body, this load would decrease, and the color would revert.
The reason [Boiling Pure Blood] acclimated first was likely because it's a passive, always-active trait.
Thanks to that, my body must have adapted to it first.
This idea of my body acclimating led to another hypothesis.
[When a trait fully adapts to the body, the synchronization rate with the corresponding race increases.]
Instructor Pi Jinho had said it.
That my muscles reminded him of the agile muscles of the beastmen he'd only read about in books.
This wasn't an effect caused solely by [Boiling Pure Blood].
A change in one's blood doesn't just alter their skeleton and muscles.
Therefore, I could conclude that when a trait from a specific race fully settles into the body, additional changes occur.
"Heh heh."
A laugh escaped me. To think the tattoo had such a hidden effect.
Of course, this came with the restriction of not being able to acquire additional traits from that race until my body adapted, but it was a constraint I could easily live with.
Just by adapting one beastman trait, my physical stats had skyrocketed from F-Rank (50/99) to around E-Rank (30/99).
If I continue to adapt traits one by one like this, surpassing the original protagonist might not be just a dream.
"Hah~"
Could there be a more ridiculously overpowered ability?
I was the trash for calling this a trash ability yesterday.
Just as I was snickering to myself,
"Seoyul. Sorry to keep you waiting! I'm all ready. Let's go eat."
Ha Siyeon approached me, her face full of apology.
"Nothing to be sorry for. Let's go."
"Okay."
Normally, Jia would have been with us, but unfortunately, she wasn't here today.
"Jia must have it rough. Already dealing with company work, family matters..."
She didn't even come to school today.
Apparently, something came up at the company.
"It's not like you're in a different boat."
While not on the level of the Shinhwa or Soosung Groups, Ha Siyeon's family also ran a fairly large company.
"Me? I'm the youngest, so my older brother and sister take care of everything. What do I have to worry about?"
"True. You shouldn't run a company. You'd probably bankrupt it in a year."
I said with a playful laugh.
"That's not true! If I just learned how, I could run a company amazingly well! I'm smart, you know!"
Ha Siyeon puffed out her cheeks as if pouting. Her reactions were always great.
"What good is being smart? You're so nice you'd end up taking every loss possible. If someone started crying, you'd probably just give them everything, wouldn't you?"
"...Ugh."
"Besides, if you seriously got into running the company, there'd be many days you couldn't work out. Could you handle that? You, the severe workout addict, Ha Siyeon?"
"Ugh..."
Ha Siyeon shuddered, her expression one of utter horror.
"I guess I should just leave the company to my brother."
She nodded, her lips pressed tightly together. Her eyes were filled with resolve.
"Still, you never know. You should learn."
"Hmph. I don't care!"
She's actually pouting.
Did I tease her too much?
Well, I'm not too worried.
I have the magic words.
"Oh, right. I have a new technique to teach you tonight."
In that instant, Ha Siyeon's face blossomed.
"Really? What is it? What kind of technique?"
"It's a secret."
Her sulky expression melted away like snow, replaced by a pleading gaze.
It was quite the dramatic change.
"Seoyul~ Huh? Just give me a hint. It's going to bother me~"
"The technique I'm going to teach you today is..."
"Yeah, yeah!"
Light poured from Ha Siyeon's eyes.
It was the kind of look that just begged to be teased.
"I'll tell you later."
She instantly deflated.
"Aw, what the heck~ That's so cheap! What's wrong with just giving a hint!"
"It's no fun if I tell you beforehand."
"...You're mean."
Lately, I've been completely empathizing with why Kim Cheoljin always cackles while teasing Ha Siyeon.
"Ugh... I'm done for. There's no way I'll be able to focus in the afternoon classes now."
Her shoulders slumped.
Her reactions, from her facial expressions to everything else, are just so raw and genuine. It makes teasing her incredibly fun.
"Alright, I'll give you one hint. It's a technique you'll likely use as your main skill for the rest of your life."
"...Saying it like that just makes me more curious. Tell me~ Huh?"
***
That night.
I was humming to myself as I moved my pen.
[Revised Trait Acquisition Route]
I was revising my plan.
Since it was impossible to acquire multiple traits from the same race until the previous ones had adapted, revising the plan was unavoidable.
"Alright. Perfect."
The revision didn't take long.
In fact, when I actually sat down to revise it, there wasn't much to change.
"Now, for the next thing..."
I took out a new notebook.
And on the first page, I wrote:
[Record of Physical Changes by Race]
If my hypothesis was correct, then every time a racial trait adapted to my body, a special change would occur.
Just like how my body changed and my stats increased when the beastman trait adapted.
[Beastman Trait Adaptation Changes. Estimated Increase in Physical Stats.]
[F(50/99) -> E(30/99)]
As I was jotting down what I'd learned today, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
"...Will the changes be different for each trait?"
Or will they be the same for each race?
If that's the case, I need to quickly acquire and adapt more beastman traits.
It's the best way to overcome my weakness of low physical stats.
"No."
Raising my physical stats is important, but gathering information is more crucial.
I need to first understand the trend of changes, whether they're by race or by trait.
Therefore, my top priority right now isn't acquiring something new.
The most important thing is to have my body completely accept the [Racial Traits] I currently possess.
"...I should increase the ratio of practical training."
If [Boiling Pure Blood] adapted first because it's always active, it means I should be able to make other traits adapt perfectly by using them consistently.
Even if that's not the case.
Either way, there's no other method than to use them a lot.
I tapped my pen, lost in thought.
"...Then I'll go all-in on the bow for now."
Conveniently, I have two bow-related traits.
Adapting these to my body first would be the most efficient.
"Good."
I decided on a course of action: I would pour all my effort into adapting the elf traits, at least until the elf tattoo turned red.
"...Come to think of it."
Speaking of elves, I just remembered something.
I think she said her family has literature that records elf traits.
"I should ask her to show it to me."
That would be a great help in adapting the traits to my body.
I wonder if Jia handled her company business well today.
Knowing her personality, for her to skip class, it must have been something out of the ordinary.
***
The next morning, on the way to school.
Shin Jia was dozing off in the limousine.
"Young Lady, we're about to arrive."
Startled by her secretary's words, she opened her eyes.
"Yes..."
The fatigue was still etched on her face. An urgent matter had come up at the company yesterday, so she had skipped school and spent the entire day handling it without any sleep.
Having not slept, it was only natural she'd be tired.
"It would have been fine for you to rest today as well."
Beyond the rearview mirror, she could see the concerned face of her secretary, Kim Taejin.
"No. The exams aren't far off. I have to study."
A fire burned in Shin Jia's eyes.
"I can't let my number one spot be taken."
Ha Siyeon's momentum was extraordinary.
If I let my guard down, I could fall to second place in an instant.
She was shocked to see how much Ha Siyeon had changed during the group mock battle.
'I thought I'd be fine as long as I did well on the written exams.'
It was only a slight exaggeration to say she seemed like a completely different person.
Her growth rate was that steep.
For one, that ice magic of hers was just too overpowered. I mean, if it's called magic, shouldn't it have some kind of casting time? How could its activation time be so short?
She couldn't describe her astonishment watching Siyeon block a rain of incoming arrows one by one with chunks of ice.
'To break through that, my only option is to increase the power and piercing force of each individual arrow...'
But that would create openings.
It was a dilemma.
"Please don't overdo it. Your health is more important than being number one, Young Lady."
"Yes, I know."
Kim Taejin gave a bitter smile.
Her words and her expression were complete opposites.
Her face showed nothing but the strong will to not lose her top spot, regardless of her health.
"Oh! Come to think of it, Mister. A book has gone missing from the library at the main house. Have you seen it by any chance? It's a book called [The Chronicle of the Forest]."
"The Chronicle of the Forest... Wasn't that the book that recorded the story of the elven hero? The Chairman was quite fond of that book. I believe it might be in his personal study."
"Hmm."
"Do you need that book?"
"Well, it's not that I need the book itself, but I'm confused about its contents."
"Its contents, you say?"
"To be honest, I'm not even sure if it was in The Chronicle of the Forest..."
Shin Jia hesitated.
"That, um, wasn't there an elf who wielded transparent flames in The Chronicle of the Forest?"
When Kang Seoyul dealt with the Sun Lion, he had definitely used transparent flames.
At the time, she was too flustered to think much of it, but looking back, she felt like she'd read about an elf who used such flames in a book before.
"Transparent flames, you say. That brat... ahem. I heard Cadet Kang Seoyul's flames were of that nature. Is this related to him?"
Shin Jia flinched.
"No. It's just that watching him, something was on the tip of my tongue, if you will. It just keeps nagging at me."
"Like when you can only remember the lyrics of a song, but the title keeps eluding you?"
"Ah, yes! That's it."
Shin Jia nodded eagerly.
Kim Taejin stroked his chin.
"Unfortunately, I don't seem to recall seeing such a record in The Chronicle of the Forest."
"Oh. Is that so?"
Shin Jia's expression fell.
Kim Taejin spoke with a playful smile.
"However, I do have a guess regarding transparent flames."
"Really?"
"Yes. I believe it was in... The War of Sky and Forest."
A record of the war between the angel and elf races.
"There's a record in it of a half-elf who used translucent flames imbued with divinity."
"...A half... elf?"
"Yes. A half-breed of angel and elf."
Shin Jia's pupils dilated in shock.