Translator’s Ramblings:
Hey guys, this week’s chapter is online!
Ah, and another thing. You guys haven’t really been commenting on my translation quality-wise. If you feel anything can be worded better or could perhaps flow better leave a comment below.
I would also like to ask for your opinions on the SFXs on this chapter. I totally nailed that machine-gun sound!
Thanks for reading!
Coincidence, Destiny
(2)
Tuesday,
Seo Aran was sitting in a cafe in Yangpyeong’s downtown. Excluding the organization’s excursions, it was the first time in 2 years she was going out outside alone.
Until next week’s graduation ceremony the Knights candidates were able to go out during the week without restrictions. Although that period of time was to get in contact with the management companies, that didn’t specifically mean one needed to stay at home. Among all of them there was a lot of diversity, with some who indeed got in touch with the managements, others going out to eat food they enjoyed before to those who would go out and drink heavily. Once one was able to control their enhanced bodies, drinking alcohol without getting drunk wasn’t difficult.
Because of their lifestyle, which was more army-like than the army itself, there were many who went crazy, hopping around like a foal, when they were released from all that suppression. The vacation was still long and they had received their allowance, it wouldn’t be a big problem to meet the managements later.
However Aran held no special interest on that sort of thing. She was alone, once the vacation ends and the completion ceremony is held she will become a Templar, leave Korea, and join a Templar squad under the Union. In fact, it would be no different from being a soldier, the same controlled and austere lifestyle.
“We are thinking of starting with 8:2 ratio with US$ 80,000[1] as down-payment. If you look here at the contract…”
“Ah… Yes, that is indeed the case.
“I hope I am not being impolite, but has any other management…”
“Earlier Lescian proposed US$ 80,000 in 5 years, and an 8.5 : 1.5 ratio…”
“Ah, that… In that case, we at Cloud promise to lend you C-Class equipment free of charge.”
“Oh, that is good.”
Behind Aran sounds of a hushed conversation was heard. Behind her was the Temple’s first place, Kang Ju-Yeon, negotiating with a different Cloud’s official. The weight ‘the Knight Temple’s top graduate’ carried was enormous. However, Seo Aran aspired to become a Templar, and didn’t have any particular involvement with the Knights’ world.
That isn’t to say she looked down on it, she just had no interest on it from the start. Her objective wasn’t money, therefore, how much their down-payment was, or how good were their conditions, all of that was irrelevant.
Kang Ju-Yeon herself received many concessions and favours, and the recruitment competition for the top 30 was no different from war.
However, companies would never sufer losses intentionally. All of them understood that, from the moment a contract was signed, they would have to run without stop until they could earn more than their down-payment and make profit. Some candidates were charmed by the high deposit and there already those who were quick in signing the contract.
“Since it is like that, please think about it well and feel free to call me whenever you want.”
“Yes, I will think about it. Thank you for the hard work.”
“Ah, excuse me.”
The official departed from his seat, and Kang Ju-Yeon had a drink once the conversation ended. Then she slowly approached the place Aran was.
“Seo Aran, what you doing?”
Seo Aran listened silently while filling her cup. Aran was someone of few words, a soldier treasured his words if the situation didn’t make them necessary. Her voice too was as cold as the look in her eyes, and for that reason there were many people who misunderstood.
Kang Ju-Yeon was beautiful, and knew well how to make herself attractive, despite being somehow spiteful. The Knights candidates, regardless of ranking, were all a little cranky with the graduation being just up ahead, having to go through that terrible body modification process not long ago.
“Haa… This is seriously annoying, it is so difficult to search for a good place… I am scared of being swindled as well, you have it good. Everything will be all right as long as you just do as you are told.”
Hearing Kang Ju-Yeon’s words Aran stared at her motionless. Saying in a clear voice.
“Un, you too could become a Templar.”
“No way… The army isn’t my thing. How do I say… I want to decide my own life.”
“Then do so.”
Kang Seo-Yeon expression turned slightly stiff at Aran’s placid response. Aran always stayed expressionless like steel. Never displaying any emotions. They were admitted in the Knight Temple in the same period, Kang Ju-Yeon never having lost the 1st place for a moment, while Aran, despite oscillating between the 2nd and 5th places, kept the 2nd place.
But, different from what one would expect, Aran didn’t act jealous nor was she obsessed with the rankings. However, Ju-Yeon didn’t to concern herself with Aran any longer. The roads their lives had taken were very different, no longer being connected.
Ju-Yeon herself couldn’t understand what she truly felt for Aran. She was always the winner, defeating Aran every single time. However, Aran didn’t show any reactions to those defeats.
While she was surrounded by people, feeling superior being placed 1st on the overall evaluations, Aran was honing her weapon skills silently in the gymnasium. It was always the same. As if Aran didn’t place any big importance in anything in life. Ju-Yeon had many friends and very friendly relationships. She was liked by many and even had some secret affairs on the Temple.
However Seo Aran was a different species. No friends, few words, and no interests.
She trained like it was her job. Though Kang Ju-Yeon always won of that very same Aran, the aftertaste was never enjoyable. Above all, Seo Aran received Perfect scores, which are seldom seen, on two categories.
But it was time to part with that odd feeling now.
-Jiiing!
“Uh, I am being called once again… So annoying.”
Ju-Yeon rose from her seat and waved at Aran slightly. And Aran gave a small nod.
“Work hard.”
Ju-Yeon exited the cafe while Aran continued sitting, sipping at her coffee. She didn’t place much importance in the conversation she had with Ju-Yeon. Be it someone who competed with her on every little thing, or even someone looking at her with scorn, those didn’t hold any form of meaning for her.
She just thought some wouldn’t understand what were obvious to others.
Only the moments of fighting were important for her, nothing but that. Once she become a Templar she would be able to fight without restraint. Fighting to kill monsters without holding back.
Templars roamed the outside world, when one initiates their assignment in earnest they will be sent to the world’s most vulnerable areas and will henceforth leave behind Korea’s protection.
As such, one would not come back to Korea from that moment on. Having no attachments left, Aran wasn’t concerned. Communication also wouldn’t be a big problem as she had spent her spare time studying english.
She would be leaving Korea from now on. Thinking she had killed enough time in the cafe, she went outside fantasizing of herself taking part in a Core outbreak situation.
-Chime
Opening the door with a bell sound, she found herself face-to-face with a man, who seemed in his late twenties, wearing a suit looking at herself with a smile.
“Hello.”
“…Eh?”
Seo Aran froze for a moment, forgetting what to say. That man took out his business card and handed it to her.
“Could I talk to you for a moment?”
‘Hero Management’ and manager ‘Choi Kang-Joon’ were written in the business card. Aran gazed at that for a moment with a stunned expression. She was an aspirant Templar, therefore, there was no reason for managements to get in contact. However, after a moment, Aran replied with a voice as if possessed by something.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
Kang-Joon led the way despite being surprised by that words.
Translation Notes:
Money, distance, area standartization:
So I am thinking of just translating the sort of values directly. So instead of writting ’80 million (80,000 USD)’ just writting US $80,000. Rounding will be done as needed. The ‘US $’ or ‘USD’ will probably always be used to avoid confusion.
I will also be using the metric system. No inch, ounce, feet, miles, whatever. We will de doing it the right way.
Oh, and celsius for temperature. Fahrenheit is… y’know…
Awakens, Mutants, Knights, Pure Hunters, whatever they are. Once we put aside having talent or not, those who want to become a Hunter can usually be classified in two categories.
People who wanted to make a lot of money.
And People who loathed monsters.
Seo Aran was one of those who belonged to the latter.
She lost her entire family in an event 4 years ago now denominated ‘Jecheon’s Incident’. The details concerning the events in Jecheon were simple. A C-Class dungeon appeared in the basement of an abandoned construction site, at that time the wide-area energy detector that monitored the surroundings failed to sense the dungeon energy wave.
The dungeon who manifested itself underground, and the wide-area sensor who malfunctioned.
It was the outcome of two improbable coincidences overlapping. The wide-area energy sensor installed in Jecheon was not produced according to the requirements, because of the manufacturers’ replacement of mechanical parts the breakdown was but a foretold conclusion. Even though later Jecheon’s incident was called a man-made tragedy, that didn’t affect the outcome it brought at the time.
It only took a few days since its appearance on reality for an unconquered C-Class Dungeon to strengthen its monsters. A C-Class dungeon’s monsters, appearing without any form of forecast and unexpectedly reinforced with A Rank monsters,
they swept through Jecheon’s downtown effortlessly without obstructions, devastating its surroundings.
She was only fourteen at the time, merely at the 1st grade of middle school. As the sunset fell, on the way from school, she could clearly experience the roars and screams’ outbreak.
“They are monsters!”
“Run away!”
“Hunters, Hunters!”
-Crunch! Thump!
Seeing people being crushed, broken like puppets with severed strings, she froze unable to move properly. She saw the Hunter soldiers in charge of Jecheon struggling desperately against the A Rank monsters, which appeared unexpectedly, all of them dying. Caught unprepared the monsters easily robbed people of their lives.
Unfortunately, Aran’s parents had arrived at school to pick her up, they had already left the car and were running to her.
“Aran! Run!”
Mom and dad came running hurriedly,
-Crunch!
A monster with the appearance of a hulking beast approached with tremendous speed, biting on her mother’s waist swinging its head sideways crazily,
-Bam!
Her father was kicked in the air with a frontal kick and sent flying. Aran saw all that happening in front of her eyes clearly. Her mother hanged down droopily with all her bones crushed, her father fell down down, bitten by different beasts and was slowly torn in half.
Aran wasn’t able to scream in front of that surrealistic scene and just stood numbly.
“Haa, Haa…”
What is this?
Aran couldn’t think of anything else.
“Evacuate!”
“Normal citizens please follow the evacuation guidelines!”
A military unit was urgently dispatched and came down the trunk in a wink releasing a barrage with their heavy firearms. Jecheon’s downtown became hell.
-FRRRRRRRRAK! Baaang!
The machine-gun spouted fire, and the launcher gave the monster a direct-hit. However, the A Rank monster was only stalled for a moment, snarling, waiting for the gunfire to stop. In that moment it was possible to see with one’s own eyes that even heavy firearms had difficulty inflicting damage on monsters of A Rank or higher.
Aran did not think, she reflexively ran back without clear aim. Strangely no tears sprouted, she only had this hazy thought all of this wasn’t real. The deployed military unit’s line of defense was already crumbling under the raid of numerous A rank monsters.
Above all, the dungeon boss, Wyvern, was as huge as the city hall building, and, according to the post time evaluation, was estimated to be of S Rank.
Even though military divisions were quickly deployed to Jecheon it would be necessary time for them to arrive, and Aran, together with others students, as well as the school personnel hid themselves in a prepared subterranean bunker, being able to do nothing except pray to the heavens monsters wouldn’t come in.
“H- Hic!”
“Yeoran… Yeoran is dead…”
“What are the Hunters doing?! Isn’t for times like these we have those bastards!”
The people huddled in the subterranean bunker cursed the Hunters, the army, the world and wailed. The school’s bunker didn’t receive much attention during its construction, and, although underground, the steel door would be smashed mercilessly in front of the monsters’ strength.
The gunshots had already ceased long ago. Signifying only one thing.
The army had collapsed. All of them kept quiet.
[Regarding the current monsters’ uprising incident in Jecheon, military personnel is heading to the critical places and military divisions are in the middle of being mobilized together with the Hunter emergency team. For all the citizens currently hearing this broadcast, we hope everybody can take cover in the bunkers maintaining the doors firmly closed until this incident is fully settled. The situation will be resolved as soon as possible.]
Even though the military personnel brought constant emergency updates, the monsters remained near while no gunshots were heard.
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