Koong!
"Ugh!"
He groaned loudly.
As the melted scenery dissipated, Igeon fell into a pure white space.
"Wah, Shin An. That bastard!"
He started to swear to the empty space, but Shin An had already disappeared from his sight.
Looking at the five rings, he realized that something was different.
"The green color disappeared…"
The cracked green ring was nowhere to be found.
He stretched and realized that his body did not hurt as much as he expected, before standing up.
His next course of action was already decided, especially if he wanted to stand up again a day faster.
A single sentence amongst the many that Shin An told him to read flickered in his mind.
"Not doing what you can do is to be an object of contempt."
After pondering its meaning, Igeon figured out its meaning: not doing something that you can do is just laziness.
It was similar to the saying of not using your power when you have the ability to do so makes you an object of disgust.
'Kim Domin.'
It was hard to see him as his savior now. He tried not to resent him, but it was hard to harbor good feelings to someone who abandoned him.
Suddenly an image of Kim Domin appeared in the air.
'Do you want to save your parents?' he asks.
Of course! Igeon had answered him numerous times with those exact words.
'No You don't have any use, much less than the right to.
And Kim Domin shakes his head, laughing at his helplessness.
"Don't joke with me."
Igeon muttered and the floating illusion disappeared.
Kim Domin had the power to help Igeon.
But he turned his back on Igeon.
'Well, as a human, you might do something like that if it doesn't benefit you.'
But that isn't a reason for Igeon to let go of his resentment, much less than forgive him.
Like how Domin has the freedom to not help Igeon, Igeon also has the freedom to resent and despise him.
Igeon stopped thinking and stood up.
Anyhow, it was clear on what he had to do.
"Now, let's go to the next stage."
The blue ring was glowing brightly.
Igeon grasped onto that ring.
***
Igeon looked around to his left and right, blue cliffs on each side.
Unlike the place where he had met Shin An, which was similar to an open canyon peak, Igeon was now in an empty space disturbed only by two blue cliffs on his left and right.
Igeon unconsciously shuddered at the dreary air and chill of the place.
'It's cold.'
"Hey, if you stay like that you'll freeze to death."
He could see a boy with a blue and black hair the moment he turned his head around to the voice.
"Are you bluey?"
"…Didn't you get cursed at from Shin An by calling him like that?"
I did. But I only learned their names through the colours.
"I'm Gang Chae."
[PR Note: The real name of 'Bluey' is translated into Korean as Gang Chae, which means 'strong body.']
All these rings have striking appearances.
Even this boy called Gang Chae was handsome. However his appearance had a strangely feminine aspect of frailty that made you want to hug and comfort him.
[PR Note: Couldn't really find another way to say this. Butcher me over Discord if you have a better idea on how to say this.]
He looked quite strong with his confident smile and skin that lightly glowered with a bluish light.
'So there's no one normal, huh.'
"I'm Yoo Igeon."
"You probably heard from Shin An but-"
"Wait!"
Though he conversed frequently with Shin An, he had never actually told him about his current situation.
"What's included in the 'heard' part?"
"Ha…"
Gang Chae shook his head.
"Shin An this damn guy, he didn't tell you? I guess that's obvious. 'It's not yet time' and whatever is what he probably said while not telling you the important things! That bastard! Why does he decide when the right time is?"
He remembered the words Shin An frequently told him.
'He always said it was still too early.'
Anyhow, unlike his beautiful appearance, he had quite the foul mouth.
As he said that he pointed his finger towards Igeon and gestured to him.
'I don't feel that great… '
At least Shin An looked like he was in the middle of his twenties.
Gang Chae looked like he is in the middle tens at most.
Yet, he pointed his finger and beckoned Igeon over.
'It feels like a junior school student is trying to take my money.'
"Listen well. I hate repeating myself twice"
He jumped on top of a huge boulder as Igeon stood in front of him, on the ground.
"You, you know that you have something to learn from me, right?"
Is it just a repetition on what Shin An taught him?
"What I learned through Shin An…"
"Wrong! That damn guy is just so… himself, ha, seriously. He really didn't tell you anything. You didn't hear about the conditions to wake up from the warm-up period?"
"…!"
Igeon's heart tightened.
He squeezed his fists. Honestly, he wanted to stand up right this moment.
It was clear that his current situation were critical to awakening his abilities.
But no one had ever clearly told him of this.
"Listen well. If you gain recognition from all five of us, your warm-up ends."
"…five?"
"Five rings. You already know"
Gain the recognition of all five rings?
This new fact was instilled into Igeon's heart.
"What do I have to do?"
"Gain the recognition of all five and wake up. Simple right?"
'So the five rings are something like teachers helping me develop my abilities?'
'Then if I awaken those abilities, the long time spent lying down will come to an end,' thought Igeon
"Huu."
Igeon breathed out once and then his eyes shone.
"Great!"
He resolved himself to learning from the five rings; after all, it was normal for people like him to immerse himself into it.
"As I thought, a man should be spirited"
Gang Chae jumped off the boulder as he commented something that didn't fit his image at all.
Though he was trying to ask Gang Chae to teach him, his appearance was really unbefitting.
"How old are you?"
Gang Chae laughed at Igeon's question.
"What are you going to do with that knowledge?"
At the same time, his body bolted forward menacingly.
Igeon's eyes momentarily glowed with a green colour.
The first step is watching the opponent.
Igeon thought of the words Shin An incessantly repeated and blocked Gang Chae's hand by turning it, and stretched out his own arm in response.
"Oh?"
He thought he heard the voice subtly.
Turn.
The sky turned and his legs flailed into the air.
Koong!
Only when he slammed his head on the ground did Igeon open his eyes and look at his condition.
His body flipped through the air and tumbled onto the ground.
As his body was sprawled on the ground he could hear Gang Chae talk again.
"Shin taught you how to see. I'm going to teach you how to fight. Meaning: your body is going to suffer quite a bit"
The chill he felt went away before he comprehended what was happening.
"Yeah."
Igeon clenched his fists and stood up.
Despite how he looked, he spent high school without a single incidence of violence!
Proofreader Note: If you guys find errors, or have suggestions for proofreading, feel free to message me on the Kobatoland Discord channel .
Staff syk (TL) Pyrenose (PR)
Koong!
"Ugh!"
He groaned loudly.
As the melted scenery dissipated, Igeon fell into a pure white space.
"Wah, Shin An. That bastard!"
He started to swear to the empty space, but Shin An had already disappeared from his sight.
Looking at the five rings, he realized that something was different.
"The green color disappeared…"
The cracked green ring was nowhere to be found.
He stretched and realized that his body did not hurt as much as he expected, before standing up.
His next course of action was already decided, especially if he wanted to stand up again a day faster.
A single sentence amongst the many that Shin An told him to read flickered in his mind.
"Not doing what you can do is to be an object of contempt."
After pondering its meaning, Igeon figured out its meaning: not doing something that you can do is just laziness.
It was similar to the saying of not using your power when you have the ability to do so makes you an object of disgust.
'Kim Domin.'
It was hard to see him as his savior now. He tried not to resent him, but it was hard to harbor good feelings to someone who abandoned him.
Suddenly an image of Kim Domin appeared in the air.
'Do you want to save your parents?' he asks.
Of course! Igeon had answered him numerous times with those exact words.
'No You don't have any use, much less than the right to.
And Kim Domin shakes his head, laughing at his helplessness.
"Don't joke with me."
Igeon muttered and the floating illusion disappeared.
Kim Domin had the power to help Igeon.
But he turned his back on Igeon.
'Well, as a human, you might do something like that if it doesn't benefit you.'
But that isn't a reason for Igeon to let go of his resentment, much less than forgive him.
Like how Domin has the freedom to not help Igeon, Igeon also has the freedom to resent and despise him.
Igeon stopped thinking and stood up.
Anyhow, it was clear on what he had to do.
"Now, let's go to the next stage."
The blue ring was glowing brightly.
Igeon grasped onto that ring.
***
Igeon looked around to his left and right, blue cliffs on each side.
Unlike the place where he had met Shin An, which was similar to an open canyon peak, Igeon was now in an empty space disturbed only by two blue cliffs on his left and right.
Igeon unconsciously shuddered at the dreary air and chill of the place.
'It's cold.'
"Hey, if you stay like that you'll freeze to death."
He could see a boy with a blue and black hair the moment he turned his head around to the voice.
"Are you bluey?"
"…Didn't you get cursed at from Shin An by calling him like that?"
I did. But I only learned their names through the colours.
"I'm Gang Chae."
[PR Note: The real name of 'Bluey' is translated into Korean as Gang Chae, which means 'strong body.']
All these rings have striking appearances.
Even this boy called Gang Chae was handsome. However his appearance had a strangely feminine aspect of frailty that made you want to hug and comfort him.
[PR Note: Couldn't really find another way to say this. Butcher me over Discord if you have a better idea on how to say this.]
He looked quite strong with his confident smile and skin that lightly glowered with a bluish light.
'So there's no one normal, huh.'
"I'm Yoo Igeon."
"You probably heard from Shin An but-"
"Wait!"
Though he conversed frequently with Shin An, he had never actually told him about his current situation.
"What's included in the 'heard' part?"
"Ha…"
Gang Chae shook his head.
"Shin An this damn guy, he didn't tell you? I guess that's obvious. 'It's not yet time' and whatever is what he probably said while not telling you the important things! That bastard! Why does he decide when the right time is?"
He remembered the words Shin An frequently told him.
'He always said it was still too early.'
Anyhow, unlike his beautiful appearance, he had quite the foul mouth.
As he said that he pointed his finger towards Igeon and gestured to him.
'I don't feel that great… '
At least Shin An looked like he was in the middle of his twenties.
Gang Chae looked like he is in the middle tens at most.
Yet, he pointed his finger and beckoned Igeon over.
'It feels like a junior school student is trying to take my money.'
"Listen well. I hate repeating myself twice"
He jumped on top of a huge boulder as Igeon stood in front of him, on the ground.
"You, you know that you have something to learn from me, right?"
Is it just a repetition on what Shin An taught him?
"What I learned through Shin An…"
"Wrong! That damn guy is just so… himself, ha, seriously. He really didn't tell you anything. You didn't hear about the conditions to wake up from the warm-up period?"
"…!"
Igeon's heart tightened.
He squeezed his fists. Honestly, he wanted to stand up right this moment.
It was clear that his current situation were critical to awakening his abilities.
But no one had ever clearly told him of this.
"Listen well. If you gain recognition from all five of us, your warm-up ends."
"…five?"
"Five rings. You already know"
Gain the recognition of all five rings?
This new fact was instilled into Igeon's heart.
"What do I have to do?"
"Gain the recognition of all five and wake up. Simple right?"
'So the five rings are something like teachers helping me develop my abilities?'
'Then if I awaken those abilities, the long time spent lying down will come to an end,' thought Igeon
"Huu."
Igeon breathed out once and then his eyes shone.
"Great!"
He resolved himself to learning from the five rings; after all, it was normal for people like him to immerse himself into it.
"As I thought, a man should be spirited"
Gang Chae jumped off the boulder as he commented something that didn't fit his image at all.
Though he was trying to ask Gang Chae to teach him, his appearance was really unbefitting.
"How old are you?"
Gang Chae laughed at Igeon's question.
"What are you going to do with that knowledge?"
At the same time, his body bolted forward menacingly.
Igeon's eyes momentarily glowed with a green colour.
The first step is watching the opponent.
Igeon thought of the words Shin An incessantly repeated and blocked Gang Chae's hand by turning it, and stretched out his own arm in response.
"Oh?"
He thought he heard the voice subtly.
Turn.
The sky turned and his legs flailed into the air.
Koong!
Only when he slammed his head on the ground did Igeon open his eyes and look at his condition.
His body flipped through the air and tumbled onto the ground.
As his body was sprawled on the ground he could hear Gang Chae talk again.
"Shin taught you how to see. I'm going to teach you how to fight. Meaning: your body is going to suffer quite a bit"
The chill he felt went away before he comprehended what was happening.
"Yeah."
Igeon clenched his fists and stood up.
Despite how he looked, he spent high school without a single incidence of violence!
Proofreader Note: If you guys find errors, or have suggestions for proofreading, feel free to message me on the Kobatoland Discord channel .
Staff syk (TL) Pyrenose (PR)
