《Genius of a Unique Lineage》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 ¨C Confession TL note: Hey guys, this is my first time translating webnovels so I would like to see some comments if you want to see more¡­ I am picking up this novel cause I saw no one else seemed to be doing it. For reference the most I have translated are Korean children¡¯s books so I¡¯m honestly scared. I¡¯ll post the first few chapters in the coming days, see how reception is, then I¡¯ll decide if I want to continue this¡­ there¡¯s 409 chapters and the max I can bring out is 3 a week if 1 at all. I really care about the quality and prefer not to just publish a edited mtl of chapters. Of course issues do pop up since I am a American raised Korean so culture wise I am ignorant. That being said if interest picks up considerably in this series I can try doing a mass release to surpass the webtoon. Enjoy and let me know in the comments if I should continue. ####### On the day of my 20th birthday, my dad told me: ¡°I have something to tell you, don¡¯t be surprised about this and listen.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°You¡¯re actually an immortal¡± ¡°¡­ what?¡± ¡°Since I am an immortal, my blood must have passed down to you¡± (1) What kind of bullshit was this? I wanted to say that, but didn¡¯t as I would have soap shoved in my mouth. (2) So I just responded with another ¡°what?¡± ¡°Anyways you¡¯re not going to die¡± Why are you telling me this while buying green onions? My dad, who was still picking out green onions, glanced at me ¡°Don¡¯t tell this to anyone¡± Dad, we¡¯re literally in the middle of the grocery store. As I was looking around the store, my dad added ¡°I said it quietly, you don¡¯t have to be so worried¡± As if saying it quietly will change anything. ¡°Also, your mom doesn¡¯t know about this, you know¡± Men¡¯s bonds are stronger than a woman¡¯s grasp. (3) Or so the saying goes. *** This world, in addition to humans, has been introduced to 3 other special species of humans, one of them being immortals. It didn¡¯t matter if you were black, white, or Asian, you could be born as an irregular and you wouldn¡¯t be forced to keep it as a secret. For immortals, they can be recognized by their pale skin and handsome face, as well as their inability to die. For most immortals, they would be given training from government departments and be sent out to do special work. However despite this, being a immortal is not something anyone would reveal easily. Pseudo-religion group, crazy scientific groups, and many others sought after immortality. Because of this, there are many immortals living in hiding, and if not, working as civil servants or soldiers, with the government¡¯s list on immortals being said to be highly classified and confidential. My dad says that he works as an level 5 administrative officer but I don¡¯t even know what work he does. But since the salary and welfare is good I can¡¯t complain. For example, the apartment I live in right now is provided by the government. *** ¡°Are you sure I¡¯m an immortal?¡± ¡°Are you saying that because you don¡¯t look as handsome as your father?¡± Honestly, yeah. That was the main reason why I didn¡¯t think I was an immortal. ¡°But you are definitely an immortal regardless of how ugly you look¡± With my dad continuing to talk, it finally set upon me. I am an immortal. But no matter how you look at it though, I¡¯m far from being called a pretty boy. I still have a nice face though¡­ It¡¯s not the kind of face you would see on an idol, but it is the kind of face you would glance over and think ¡°that guy looks handsome¡± The best way to describe my face would be a ¡°moderately handsome face¡± ¡°You awaken as an immortal when you turn exactly twenty, so it should be around 11 pm tonight?¡± You¡¯re making it seem like it¡¯s not a big deal. My father kept talking ¡°Oh, your mother also said to buy garlic yeah?¡± ¡°Yup, she didn¡¯t show up ¡¯cause she said she was going to be the one mincing them¡± ¡°Then we should buy peeled garlic?¡± ¡°No, she said to buy the ones that were still in the shell¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to peel these¡­¡± ¡°Yup¡± ¡°I want to buy peeled ones¡­¡± Even with that said, my father still chose the unpeeled ones and we headed to a cashier to purchase our groceries. ¡°Just to reiterate, don¡¯t tell you mother about me, she doesn¡¯t know what kind of person I am¡± The cashier glanced a peek at us. ¡°I might get divorced by her if she finds out¡± As my dad spoke with a very depressed face, the cashier¡¯s eyes lit up and turned towards me. Don¡¯t look at me like that. It¡¯s not like what you think. I¡¯m not a son who found out about his father¡¯s affair! Oblivious to the cashier¡¯s gaze, my dad paid for our groceries before muttering a ¡°lets go¡± to me Putting all of the items in the shopping bag, from drinks to beer, meat to vegetables, made the bag quite heavy, but it wasn¡¯t hard for me to pick it up with one hand. As I was picking it up, my father brightened up ¡°Oh, my son is quite strong¡± Aside from having a pretty face and pale skin, it is said that immortals are naturally weak in physical strength. With a immortal¡¯s awakening at age 20 comes heightened senses of both sight and smell but even before awakening immortals are known to be physically weak. Despite this, I was quite strong. Seeing me carry the items with ease, my father asked ¡°Do you exercise a lot these days?¡± ¡°Not really¡± Even if I exercise in moderation I still end up like this. It¡¯s because of my second secret, actually this secret came first. Thanks to my dad, I have two secrets now. And this secret has to do with my mom. Beep Beep Beep Beep *click* While pressing the door code and going up the elevator, my dad kept asking me to keep his confession a secret. Oh, now that I remember, so did my mom. However unlike my father, she told me backon my 18th birthday. ¡°I¡¯m here¡± ¡°Oh, you came back?¡± My mom put on apron and greeted us. At first glance, she looks very beautiful, as if she was the personification of beauty itself. However, she would also perfectly match the definition of a fit person, in fact she was very strong. Her hobbies include weight training, marathon, swimming, etc. If I were to go to a triathlon right now to race her, I would be eating her dust. On top of that, she looks like the complete opposite of my dad, as my dad looks like he had never seen the sun in his life while my mom had a nice tan and forearms larger than my dad¡¯s. ¡°Did you buy the right type of garlic?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± My parents are a very sweet married couple. Even though my dad went out to the mart for just a bit they are hugging like they met after being separated for an eternity. But your son is watching you, you know¡­ After 2 minutes of painfully staring. ¡°Organize the groceries please~.¡± My mother said while smiling. So I dumped the shopping bag and organized them. And as I was thinking about moving the meat and vegetables to one side I remembered what happened on my 18th birthday, as I heard a similar confession from my mom *** ¡°Kwangik, mommy has something to tell you today.¡± I still remember that day in my memories. Putting down the kettlebell, my mother added ¡°I have something to give you in advance, but you must never tell your father what I¡¯m about to say now.¡± Knowing that I was going to receive the game console PL4 as a present for my 18th birthday, I was confident that I could keep any secrets from my mom. ¡°Sure go ahead.¡± My father then was on a business trip. He was very sad to be away on the birthday of his one and only son. ¡°Mom is actually, um, I mean.¡± My mom was choosing her words carefully. But I didn¡¯t care about it, I just wanted to hear it. Because the PL4 was waiting for me. ¡°So, mommy is actually a special species.¡± ¡°Ah, okay.¡± After giving a soulless answer and turning to my love PL4, the words of my mom began to sink in. Leaving my body still, I bent my head back and I opened my mouth. ¡°Special species?¡± Until then, I wondered what this was. Three special species, the first of which are ¡°immortals¡±. The second species are known as ¡°transformers¡± Unlike immortals who are highly resistant to death, transformers can change from a human form. (4) ¡°Mommy can transform.¡± At my mom¡¯s statement, I had my brain stop for 3 seconds. ¡°To become Sailor Moon?¡± (5) Although she was a bit too old, she still had excellent looks, so she wouldn¡¯t look that ugly. ¡°If you want, I can be the Saint Tail.¡± (6) Mother was quite witty. She managed to find a connection between Sailor Moon and Saint Tail. Since then, my mother has told me information relating to special species. Most immortals are united by the characteristic that they do not die easily. Therefore, they are considered a single special species. Transformers, however, are different. Each transformer changes with the characteristics of wolves, bears, and mice based on their body. To put it simply, werewolves, yes, that¡¯s it. Once upon a time, when the existence of transformers was unknown, people at night saw them and imagined them to be a werewolf or a vampire. Since they couldn¡¯t bury the rumors that had already spread, so it became a part of the world¡¯s folklore. After all, that¡¯s what transformation was: a mystical change of form. Thus concluded my mother¡¯s confession. *** ¡°What do you want for your present son?¡± The voice of my dad pulled me out of my recollection. ¡°Huh, what do I want.¡± Nothing really comes to mind Since we were a rich household, my family had given me everything I could¡¯ve wanted since I was the only child. Sometimes my maternal grandfather, whose face I haven¡¯t even seen, would send me a million won as a allowance. (700 USD, keep in mind that costs in SK are generally lower than the US though) ¡°Nah I¡¯m fine.¡± Rather than worrying about a present, it was more urgent for me to organize my current situation. If one side of my body is an immortal, and the other is a transformer, then what the hell was I going to become? With transformers awakening at age 18, I was all too familiar with the pain that came with awakening. *** Back when I turned 18, my father went on a business trip while I awakened as a transformer. I was covered in blood. I vomited several bowls of blood, all of my the muscles felt like they were cut off, and all my nails and hair fell out and quickly grew back. The experience of almost going bald at 18 by itself was enough of a hellish pain. However with pain came gain, my hair grew thicker than before, my muscles solidified like steel, and my body, which had barely managed to do 2 pull-ups, wasn¡¯t even tired with 15. It was after then that the words of my mother finally reached my heart. ¡°Mommy is actually a special species¡± What I went through was a transformation. *** ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t need anything?¡± My mother asked Yup, I have to thank you for giving birth to me. You take after your father you smooth talker~ Nah, hehas a good personality because he takes after his mother People do say he takes after the both of us~ Don¡¯t act like this near me, I have only held a woman¡¯s wrist once in my 20 years alive. (8) Did they really need to flirt in front of me? By the way, come to think of it, I did have something urgent to ask my dad. ¡°Hey dad.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Could I talk to you for a minute in private?¡± My mother¡¯s eyes lit up at my request. ¡°Did you get a girlfriend~?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Okay, shall we go out and talk? Honey, I¡¯ll go out with our son for a bit.¡± ¡°Okay~ Kwangik-ah, pregnancy is not good, you know? Use contraception~¡± ¡°Agh, I don¡¯t have a girlfriend.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you get a girlfriend with that face~?¡± Well, it¡¯s not that easy get one mom. Dad laughed and walked with me. As soon as we went outside, I told my dad ¡°No, um, let¡¯s go downstairs and talk.¡± Would our conversation be unheard here? After awakening, my hearing became a little more sensitive than before, so I assumed that my mom¡¯s hearing was the same if not better, and apartment fire doors aren¡¯t exactly soundproof walls, so to protect my dad¡¯s secret I would have to go away from them. Ding The elevators stopped by and then went down. When I came out on the first floor, the muggy summer night weather greeted my dad and I. The rainy season has passed for a month and a half now, so it seemed that the humid air is still everywhere. ¡°Son?¡± ¡°Dad, does it hurt when you awaken?¡± I¡¯ll be honest. I don¡¯t want to go through that pain ever again. I don¡¯t know anyone who hasn¡¯t been through this, but it hurts, it hurts really fucking badly. My mom even said it was easier to have children than going through an awakening. ¡°Hm? Did it hurt?¡± Since I had already awakened as a transforming race, I might not be awakened as an immortal. I didn¡¯t really know. I should be mentally prepared regardless. ¡°It was painless for me. Suddenly, my blood felt hot, and then it seemed to cool off. As soon as I thought it was a little cold, my five senses became more sensitive than ever before.¡± Immortals have sensitive five senses while transformers had innate strength. Of course, transformers are also more sensitive than normal humans, but immortals are said to be even more sensitive, apparently at a level that goes beyond the five senses to the realm of the sixth sense and intuition. ¡°So it didn¡¯t hurt?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Thank god then. ¡°Well, since mom is a human, will I really awaken?¡± I wanted to know if it was possible to mix human and immortal blood. ¡°You will.¡± My dad said firmly. ¡°Because the blood of immortals is thicker.¡± (9) The immortal lineage runs stronger and thicker than ordinary human blood. Even though he didn¡¯t know anything about genetics, my father believed it to be the case. Maybe not for me though, since my mother said that the blood of the transformation race has a very direct line. ¡°And dad, um, never mind. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± I wanted to ask about what a mixed-blood like me would eventually become. But I couldn¡¯t bear to continue asking after seeing his face. After living together for 20 years now, I could tell what he feeling from his expressions. He had that look on his face. A look of ¡°you wouldn¡¯t get it¡± He didn¡¯t want to delve into the subject any further, he probably thought that I was still too young to learn about it. So even though it was my birthday. I had to be a considerate person. ¡°Let¡¯s go back up.¡± As long as the awakening didn¡¯t hurt, I was fine. Well, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll even awaken in the first place. Rather, it would be more of a problem if I didn¡¯t awaken. What kind of excuse would I be able to give to my dad? *** My birthday party was small in scale. However the setup was far from simple. Seaweed soup, 9 kg of grilled Korean beef, multiple bowls of rice, and numerous side dishes that were all amazing. I simply had to eat everything. After all, that is how you make your stomach full and happy. Even though the amount seemed to be way too much to anyone normal, I was able to consume everything. After my awakening, my body changes itself due to the change in the density of muscle fibers, so the energy desired by the body increases. And this wasn¡¯t only limited to transformers, in fact one common trait between the three special species is being able to eat astronomical amounts of food. So not only am I eating a lot, but so are my parents. In fact, all three of us are gluttons. But now when I think about it, my parents never seemed to have suspected each other from the amount they ate. After all, it is considered to be a reasonable speculation to ask, Are you a special species?¡¯ just because someone ate a lot of food. Regardless, after we eat, we light candles on the cake and sing happy birthday. ¡°Good night, son. Happy birthday.¡± I was congratulated by my parents and then I headed towards my room and laid myself down on my bed. Was I going to awaken as an immortal too? I¡¯m curious, I wasn¡¯t tired, but I¡¯m the type to be able to sleep with just my inner thoughts, so I fell asleep quickly. But when I opened my eyes, I felt all the blood in my body become hot and then cold. ¡°Ughhhhh.¡± You mean this wasn¡¯t supposed to hurt? It really didn¡¯t hurt when all the blood in your body heated up and then cooled down? Dad, you son of a bitch, you lied to me. An indescribable pain engulfed my entire body, like a swarm of ants were biting my entire body. It felt terrible yet no sound came out of my bulging mouth. My body simply didn¡¯t listen to me. And as I endured and endured, I felt as if my body was trapped in ice. Is there something wrong with me? Wasn¡¯t it supposed to stop after cooling down? Did he also lie about this? As soon as I thought that. The freedom of my body returned and the pain was gone. It didn¡¯t hurt anymore. Instead, the scene of the dark room began to appear before me. ¡°Ah.¡± The first thing I noticed was a change in my eyesight. ####### TL notes: 1. It should be lineage to be less confusing, but raw said blood so blood it is 2. Actual translation ¡°prevented from saying that because of my education from the eastern court of courtesy¡± you can learn more about ithere Tl;dr asian countries have etiquette you learn from your family which is a society given expectation you learn. Like bowing to elders, speaking honorably, so on. Soap in the mouth is the best translation I could go for 3. Alternative more direct translation ¡°A mother kept in secret between the bond of men¡± 4. Not stated in raw what they change into 5. Sailor Moon is known for being a series about a girl that transform into a hero that fights villians with magic 6. Originally it was ¡°Netty¡± but I had no idea who that was so I just followed Asura Scan¡¯s interpretation and went with Saint Tail, another old transforming magical girl 8. You grab potential dates/blind dates/early dates by the wrist, once it blossoms into a relationship and have consent you do handholding. Poor MC seemed to never have gone past the wrist holding¡­. 9. There is a Korean saying ¡°blood is thicker than water¡±interesting read hereabout it, basically family ties are above everything else so not a lot of orphans are adopted as a result. Other notes: Immortals are known in the webtoon to be able to die(?) so it¡¯s rather that they are unable to die but they are very hard to kill so it¡¯s most through mental means to take them down. I put a (?) since being a vegetable permanently is basically being in a state of death Sorry if you don¡¯t know what awakening is¡­ the chapter didn¡¯t mention anything about what awakening is other than you gain some powers. It¡¯s basically just that with transformers awakening at age 18 and immortals at age 20 exactly on the second you were born. Keep in mind this is not a word-for-word translation. I just typed my interpretation of the raw so the overall flow and structure of the chapter didn¡¯t seem off or mtl¡¯d. i.e. ¡°Men¡¯s bonds are stronger than a women¡¯s grasp¡± is my interpretation of ¡°It is a secret to mother, and a secret amongst men¡± Changed father/mother from mc to parents talk to dad/mom to be more casual, usually Asian etiquette doesn¡¯t well translate into western language, I might change this however if people are uncomfortable. Next chapter maybe Monday or Tuesday before I fully decide to start devoting to translating. Then it¡¯s a mass release arc albeit no more footnotes as long as this ones Chapter 2 Chapter 2 ¨C Tutoring TL note: Sorry for the late tl, I was watching LoL Worlds, my cousin¡¯s friend plays on one of the teams so it was pretty cool to see him win. Additionally I was reading Pokemon Adventures which isn¡¯t as bad as I thought compared to the TV anime. I might do a mass release but it might be low quality (as in skimming over chapters and doing the bare quality check), and once I catch up with the webtoon transition back into higher quality translations. Let me know, enjoy! ####### The next morning, when I sat down at the table. ¡°I want you to prepare for the civil service exam.¡± (1) My dad said ¡°¡­you want him to become a civil servant? And why all of a sudden?¡± Seeing that my mom was surprised, he didn¡¯t seem to have talked to her about it. Why a civil servant all of a sudden? It¡¯s because a good opportunity for him showed up recently. ¡°What opportunity ?¡± My mom was perplexed, which was understandable. For immortals, most went to work as civil servants. However, transformers were a bit different. They were part of the corporate world. So mom had told me that all I had to do was get into a good college and my future career would be set for life. It seemed like she wanted her son to become an intern at a big company and later work there as a job. I think it¡¯s my grandfather¡¯s company, but since she didn¡¯t go into detail, I have no way of knowing. So why do transformers work in the corporate world? Like immortals, transformers have heightened instincts, however unlike immortals, it¡¯s really hard for transformers to live amongst normal humans. Since many transformers work in large companies, working under them gives other transformers training to suppress their instincts to live normally. So When Gwangik is 20, he has to go to college¡± She would have already said something like this to dad beforehand. ¡°No, is college even important? What¡¯s more important is a person¡¯s ability to contribute to society, and there¡¯s nothing wrong with civil servants.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that civil servants are bad, it¡¯s because I don¡¯t want to see Gwangik living in a gosiwon.¡± (2) ¡°He doesn¡¯t even need to go to a gosiwon. Gwangikhas a good brain.¡± Well, I can¡¯t deny that. I¡¯m not ranked 1st in the whole school academia wise, but I¡¯ve never been below the 30th rank. There is a saying that studying should be supported by physical strength. I agree with that. After awakening as a transformer at the age of 18, my stamina drastically increased. My willpower to stay sitting at my desk and my concentration to study both increased. Apparently, transformers have something called ¡°blood instinct¡± which cause unbearable desires that transformers have hardships dealing with after they awaken. Since my mom was worried about this happening to me, I studied in moderation. I played games the rest of the time. The PC bang was like a second hometown to me. (3) By the way, they didn¡¯t ask anything about my awakening and gave me career counseling. ¡°A salaryman¡¯s paycheck and provided welfare is also really good.¡± You should ask what kind of work Gwangikwants to do. Dad and mom never get into fights. As a transformer, my mom is three to four times stronger than normal people. So if they actually fight, I¡¯m afraid that my dad¡¯s body will explode since my mom is quite literally a human weapon. Even though people say immortals don¡¯t die, it doesn¡¯t mean they can¡¯t get hurt. I have already experimented when I was washing my face in the bathroom in the morning. Pinching my cheeks still fucking hurts. It seemed to hurt even more, maybe because of my new heightened immortal senses. ¡°Then ask Gwangik.¡± Yes, Gwangik, do you want to be a civil servant? ¡°Um. Do I want to?¡± I had never told them what I wanted to do. However, when I was 18, I had a dream I had been hoping to pursue, and this was before I found out that I was a transformer. Looking into their eyes, I opened my mouth. ¡°I want to go to the UDT.¡± Underwater Demolition Team. Abbreviation for the Navy Special Forces. I was intrigued while watching a show about them. A group of soldiers who have trained their bodies to the limit. That seemed pretty awesome. I¡¯m moderately patriotic for my country and I¡¯m also good at studies, not to mention my tough body. It¡¯s just too easy with my transformer body amongst normal people. (4) ¡°Conscience.¡± (5) my mom muttered Do you want to join the general army and do that? Are you asking if I was going to do that? Of course not, why go the harder path when the easier one is right in front of me. I will enlist as an officer immediately after receiving the basic training my mom told me she was going to provide. So, after training and doing everything I want to do, I will come back and walk around with my shoulders straight. (6) I have no intention of retiring from the military, but what I want to do right now is this. (7) ¡°Soldier?¡± My dad furrowed his eyebrows. That¡¯s the expression he makes when he¡¯s in trouble. He probably hasn¡¯t thought about it too deeply. My mom said while giving me a side glance. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m already twenty. My hair has grown thick enough.¡± (8) ¡°It looks like it¡¯s both swollen and thick son.¡± (9) Mother said this with a smile, but I felt something else. The sixth sense that was born from my awakening as a immortal was warning me, This is dangerous! Oh, then this won¡¯t work out for me. I can¡¯t ever beat my mom. Didn¡¯t she say yesterday that no parent can beat their children? Well here we are. My mom always wins over me both in strength and in words. There is only one person who can break such a parent. ¡°Well, being a solider isn¡¯t a bad idea either.¡± My dad patted his chin and held up his hand. ¡°You¡¯re not doing it just because you want to look cool right?¡± ¡°Um, well, a little bit.¡± In this case, it is better to be honest since my dad hates lies. ¡°That¡¯s good too. If a twenty-year-old man already wants to fight for his country, it¡¯s even weirder.¡± Not a bad answer, I might get away with this. ¡°Still, a solider is¡­¡± C¡¯mon mom. I know you hate the military, but why do you hate it so much? ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not all about going to Somalia and fighting pirates just because you¡¯re in the army. It¡¯s all about getting trained and assigned to your own squad, so you can do well in the military. Since he needs to go to the military anyways, it¡¯s good to start now.¡± (10) Dad responded softly. Holy shit, my respect for him just rose even further. Yes, well, if you say so. Mom had backed away and stared at me intensely, but the worst was over. So, can I do as I please? You can, but not right now. ¡°Yes, I know. I have to go to college first¡­¡± ¡°No, first do the civil service exam.¡± Dad, are you a advertiser for Eduville or something? (11) Why are you stressing about the exam so hard? ¡°If you pass this exam, you can delay your position and go to the military. And if you don¡¯t like it, you can just go to a company in the defense industry. You¡¯ll probably also get bonus points for being a officer too¡± ¡°Does it work like that?¡± My mom interjected before I could say anything. Yeah, it doesn¡¯t make any sense. If life was that easy, then why doesn¡¯t everyone work for the military? ¡°Yup.¡± However since my dad said it was possible it definitely was. Since he works for the government in a pretty important position. He has all the means possible. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take the exam¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say the exam is difficult, but it¡¯s not easy either¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a problem for me¡± Studying is nothing for me. ¡°There is someone who can give you an accelerated class as a private tutor. It should be two days a week.¡± ¡°Two days?¡± I wondered what kind of classes he was talking about. Yeah, leave your weekends free, your dad knows a guy that¡¯ll help you in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do. ¡°Why is he studying all the way over there?¡± Mom asks. ¡°He¡¯s a good person. Also, the air there is clean and nice. He lives near a rice paddy field and works there, but he doesn¡¯t want to come to the city. My mom nodded her head reluctantly. Let¡¯s eat first, what I ate yesterday was already digested and disposed of this morning, so I was ravenously hungry. It¡¯s time to refill my stomach on more food. I started inhaling pork belly that was prepared for breakfast. Eat, rest and sleep. That¡¯s how I define a good life. Since I was a special species, I have a different body with unique motor skills. When I was in school, I had to hide these things. ¡°I want my son to live a normal life.¡± My mom said so on the day I awakened as a transformer. Most transformers become combat agents, who were nothing more than soldiers on the front lines of a ghastly war. My mother was heavily against me being sent there. The world I live in now can¡¯t be described as a ¡°peaceful¡± one after all. And I¡¯m not talking about pollution or epidemics. We are still facing a real threat, one called the ¡®Earth Black Hole¡¯. *** It refers to black holes that appeared about twenty years ago. The situation made me think that Nostradamus¡¯ prophecy was correct this time too. (12) Holes were seemingly punched into the air. Above land, sea, and even above the sky itself. Holes appeared everywhere. And within it, living things resembling monsters began to emerge. Historians called the year the holes first formed, the ¡°Year of Terror¡±. A year full of terror, where monsters came out and killed people at random. Even though police fired back with pistols, more died. It didn¡¯t take long for the army to get involved. Soon, tanks crossed the within city boundaries. ¡°It was terrible back then, you don¡¯t know because you haven¡¯t lived through those days, do you?¡± My history teacher¡¯s words came to mind. I don¡¯t know how, but there are still a lot of historical materials from that era. For example, according to past reports, black holes that formed between the forests of buildings were difficult to subjugate since they couldn¡¯t just bombard it with mortars. The building will just block the mortar shells rendering them to be practically useless. And during those difficult times, ¡°That¡¯s when special species were first discovered¡± A part of the history class suddenly came to mind. In my situation, I spoke of the immortals and the transformers first. Historically though, the first special species to be discovered was a psychic, a person with superpowers. They weren¡¯t the kind of person who just bent a spoon. Telekinesis, ignition, freezing, and lightning. A psychic using various powers came forward and fought the monsters from the black hole. It is then said that an immortal, who did not die even if his arm was cut off and his intestines burst, came from behind him. Next up were the transformers. The morale of humans rose up as people who could transform into bears and wolves rushed in, drastically lowering the size of the army of monsters. Superpowers, immortality, transformation, and then finally magic. One special skill for each of the three special species. But magic was special. At that time, magic was known for being about tricks and foolery. But this magic was real, and was a power different from superpowers. The mystery power that only a few talented people could practice struck down the monsters as well. Up to this point, it would¡¯ve been considered something out of a fantasy novel. But the human race being saved was no fantasy. So why is my dad hiding his immortality? Why does my mom want me to live a normal life? What could possibly be the reason? Just when all black holes seemed to eradicated, just when everyone could catch their breath. A civil war broke out. People asked How does one become immortal? Could you teach magic to us? How did you awaken your superpowers? How do I know if I¡¯m a transformer? ¡°After a era of hopelessness seemingly came to a end, an era of strife started as yesterday¡¯s comrades became today¡¯s enemies.¡± My history teacher said. Humans were very greedy. And a period of persecution followed. Society became ruled by the law of the jungle. After much fighting, it ceased down but not without causing huge effects. The government now controlled immortals. A global company collaborated with transformers. Psychics established the group on their own. And magicians were hidden away, and never seen even to this day. At that moment, a second type of hole appeared. This time, the Earth White Hole formed. If the black hole is the exit hole for the monsters, the white hole is the entry hole to the monsters. In other words, we could invade the monster¡¯s world. And the world had new resources that this planet did not have. Everything was a new resource. New metals, new plants, and new animals. So complicated names such as Eternal Terralight were made to identify them. There were stones that could emit light alone in the dark. There was also a stone containing a type of mana that the magicians saw for the first time. What was the effect of these resources? They solved problems humans faced since the dawn of time: Hair loss and premature ejaculation. It seems funny, but the first products that were made with these new resources solved these problems. A new drug that anyone can use to relieve symptoms of hair loss by simply applying it to their hair. The price? A very large sum of money. Even I couldn¡¯t buy it even if I wanted to. The first to sell these drugs was a coalition of governments known as the Old Forces. Some of these governments included the United States, Europe, Russia, China, Japan, and Korea, and they expanded their power through the money they made off of this miraculous drug. And after some time, a drug that solved the symptoms of premature ejaculation, if anyone took it for a month, was made by the world¡¯s largest company known as Excuracy and sold. Since then, cancer cell inhibitors, anti-aging drugs, drugs to eliminate rejection after liver transplantation, etc. flooded the market and shook the world. So is the world a better place to live now? Not necessarily, people say that daily life hasn¡¯t changed much. I wouldn¡¯t know since I was born during the last stages of the ¡®Year of Terror¡¯. The world I was born into had already begun to change while I was growing up. So, in my eyes, this is just everyday life. Even though it has been years since the end of the civil war, the relationship between the Old Forces and Excuracy is still very bad. The psychic group, Psionic, is in an ambiguous position since no one know what¡¯s happening over there. And magicians are still hiding within the shadows. Regardless of all this, people are still living their daily lives as if nothing happened. Earth¡¯s black hole invasion now is a thing of the past, something you¡¯ll only hear in history classes. However there is still fighting at the white holes. People had to once fight for survival, but now it¡¯s for more resources. In that respect, the transformers had an advantage. Their innate physical strength and athletic ability make them unstoppable combat talents. And there are some people who awaken without knowing that they are a transformer, and they are taken by the government. So now is the era where transformers work in government institutions, and immortals can be employed by Excuracy. Anyways where was I. Oh yeah, my mom. My mom didn¡¯t want me to fight as a mere grunt for precious resources. Becoming a solider was a compromise between my mother¡¯s preferences and my desire. But originally, I didn¡¯t want to be a soldier. I wanted to become something better than that. *** During the following weekend, following my father¡¯s instructions, I arrived in an area near the mountains. ¡°Are you really a immortal? Why do you look so strong?¡± A uncle who looked like something from I am a natural person looked me up and down and asked. (13) Despite this and the fact that he talked like a middle aged man, he had perfect clear skin. (14) So he must be another immortal. ¡°Yeah, I guess it¡¯s because I¡¯m a mixed race.¡± ¡°Mixed blood? Immortal blood is thick, especially your father¡¯s, how could something like that happen?¡± In times of persecution, as I recall from history class, wars between special species also lead to people becoming blood supremacists. The uncle seemed to be one. Of course I¡¯m not one, since I believe all people are human regardless of their appearance or powers. ¡°My mother¡¯s blood is also very thick.¡± I wanted to tell him honestly, but I couldn¡¯t since I promised to keep it a secret. If anything, I rather not die at the hands of my parents if I could. ¡°You¡¯re quite strange, whatever lets go.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°What, did you not hear anything from Yeon ho-hyung?¡± Yoo Yeon-ho, my dad¡¯s name. ¡°I was to come here to get tutoring from someone¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m the tutor.¡± Wait a minute, something is terribly wrong. Even though you don¡¯t need a fancy building to study, shouldn¡¯t there be at least a desk and a pen? And why are we going deeper into the mountains? Oh, are we going to study at a temple? Nope. ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± What the hell am I supposed to be studying. Dad, what the fuck are you trying to teach your son? I had no choice but to ask myself. ##### (1)Public service exam details (2)Goshiwon (3) PC Bang is a internet caf but known more for gaming, there¡¯s not a good example in a western world, a Asian PC Bang is a one in a lifetime experience especially as a introvert. Why do we have PC Bangs? Since many Korean households live in apartments, and don¡¯t have a lot of money, many can¡¯t afford a PC let along use one for personal use. For the ones that can, studying is way more important so children would most likely not be allowed to play games at all until they go to college. So how does Korea still have a huge Esports industry? Well because of PC bangs, where children can stay up to 10pm and play at a rate of $1/hour and can buy food. They are normally given money to buy snacks, lunch, or go to a study school, but they can spend it on the PC Bang to have fun with friends and they might become the next pro. Oh yeah, even adults use the PC bang too, there¡¯s a whole culture around it. (4)Cold gamewas in the original raw, don¡¯t know how this applies so I switched it out (5) Conscience is the literal translation and the translation used in Asura Scans, searched the definition and tried finding something else that could fit but to no avail. (6) Shoulders straight is also a reference to not only being trained, but also being confident in what he wants to do the in the future. It was a double meaning in the raw (7)Check no.4, this is what he¡¯s talking abouthere, this is what the raw was trying to get at (8) Hair thick enough means that he is able to think for himself and do stuff for himself like he is able to ¡°cut off¡± the hair by himself. Also Koreans are known for their thick hair cuticles so it also means he is grown enough to be an adult. (9) Swollen hair also means ¡°swollen head¡±/arrogant + stupid (10) South Korea has mandatory military service for all men, even for Korean males born outside South Korea you are required to come back and serve or give up your citizenship. (11) Eduville in Korea is a well known (?)hagwon, I saw a couple of their ads before and they were kind of a meme amongst my friends, I don¡¯t about the general populace though. (12)Nostradamus Prophecies have predicted 9/11, Hitler, Napolon Bonaparte, and more (13)I am a natural person is a popular Korean TV show about looking for people living in the wild (14) Clear skin/glass skin is basically the type of pale skin tone Koreans are known to be crazy over Personally I have a darker skin tone as even a ethnic Korean and I stand out a lot.