Genius of a Unique Lineage

Chapter 2 - 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.

On other thoughts, should I make a Twitter or Discord bot for this? My schedule seems frantic and if you guys want to read asap it's possible for me to just use the internet to the fullest extent.

Let me know, enjoy!

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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. Gwangik has 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 Gwangik wants 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 café 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 game was 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 about here, 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, Napoléon 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.