Genius of a Unique Lineage

Chapter 1 - 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.

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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 back on 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, he has 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.

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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 it here

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 here about 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