Manjo was a very big city, with people from affluent backgrounds swarming the central plazas and infrastructures like honey bees.
While the outer range of the city was covered by lower strata of society; with easy access to cheap markets and local eateries being the best advantage.
Master He’Da was not very good at selecting inns, but with Ruzen’s own validation, the master and disciple ended up staying in a small inn secured within a four corner garden lawn and some small miniature fountains running at the edges.
The inn was not even on the front street, so the customers and guests had to guide themselves through a narrow street along the back of other inns… if they wanted to find the inn with cheaper rates.
To any person tight on budget, this back inn was favorable, but even without the concern of budget, Ruzen chose not to settle with expensive inns, reason being that they only had to stay for a night, because according to the itinerary provided to the competitors, they will be relocated inside the central compound by their serial identity numbers the next day.
The first day of registration wasn’t included in the staying period.
Ruzen did not understand why one wouldn’t be receiving the benefits of staying at the compound from day 1, right after the registration i.e, but his master told him that some sort of survey was conducted on the participants before their data was registered and approved, and this delayed their entire process.
Whatever.
Ruzen didn’t mind staying in some cheap motel if it meant getting a proper bed to sleep in and 3x meal. His master’s mill wasn’t anything fancy either, and he was okay with it. His standard of living had surely gotten worse after transmigration, but with everything he had to go through, the basic necessity was also good enough for him.
Appropriate or not, he just did not want to waste money on himself, it just felt ridiculous.
The inn was not that good, with leaking roof right above the reception hall and a cracked wooden flooring, but the innkeeper was hospitable, rubbing his hands together like an annoying house fly every time Ruzen asked him about his services.
“We have dinner, lunch and breakfast included in the fees, please rest well and call for service if a need arises.”
Ruzen’s master nodded and they both were taken to the corner-most room labeled ‘De’Mu’ which meant 1st.
The room was flat, not really inspiring, with two floor beds (futons) spaced out on the wooden flooring, and a low rise table and cushion kept at the corner for eating.
There was a curtained window and a narrow passage leading towards the washroom outside.
It was a bland minimalistic concept, which may have been applauded my modernists and artists, but in this world, Ruzen knew such setting was looked down on. If his master wasn’t good at hiding his expressions, the innkeeper might have noticed the disapproving tilt of his head and the soft sigh.
“I will call when the dinner is ready.” The innkeeper rushed and then left them alone with a satisfied nod.
“Next time choosing a different inn would be-”
“Master,” Ruzen interrupted, not caring of his master’s frown, “We only need to sleep and eat, tomorrow I will be staying at the compound and you can then choose whatever inn you want. So make do with this for today, alright? It isn’t that bad, we don’t need anything else anyway.”
Sighing, He’Da went and took off his straw shoes, “I know you aren’t into extravagant details, but soon you will be part of the King’s court, do you think it is good to make a habit of living in poor grace?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Well… that did sound bad, but Ruzen hadn’t thought about it before.
Pa kjr rbwfktja jccbslcu ab yf ifmaegfv jybea ‘ugjmf’ jcv ‘vfajlir’, tf kjr jc jga raevfca obg Xbv’r rjxf, tf xcfk fzjmais tbk ab rasif tlwrfio jcv ktja jga gfjiis kjr. Po tf kjcafv ab, tf kbeiv yf jyif ab rijs fnfgs mbcafrajca bea atfgf klat tlr bkc vfrlucr jcv agfcvr, yea tlr rlaejalbc kjrc’a rajyif fcbeut ab atlcx jybea batfg vfajlir.
What ‘poor grace’?
He had been a boy whose entire life had been about luxurious brands and upright arrogance. The reason why he was never able to make many friends was because they were jealous of his easy lifestyle and mannered upbringing.
Somehow, his master looked down on his aesthetics and moral code, which was laughable considering his modern day experience. He had seen things which nobody had, and if they really gave him a chance, he could start his own business from scratch.
Ah, how it hurt his pride.
“We can leave for another inn master, you don’t need to lecture me about it.”
He’Da could tell the bite in those words and felt a little guilty. He himself wasn’t a good role model for his student, so how would his student know about their customs and culture? Reading and learning from books was too restrictive and seldom gave the ground knowledge necessary for practical analysis.
Ruzen wasn’t really at fault here.
“Well you are still learning, so we shall stay here for the night.”
Ruzen didn’t protest, he was a bit peeved at being called out for ‘poor grace’. He was better than those giggly weirdoes out there, he was!
~
After dinner and some good night’s sleep, Ruzen woke fresh and alive, feeling sore muscles aching after the much needed rest.
He groggily looked around, squinting his eyes at his master who was spread out like a starfish, mouth open and snoring loudly right next to his futon.
Ruzen didn’t have a habit of sharing room, but even if slightly annoying, the company of his master gave him assurance that he was safe and secure from everything horrifying out there.
The same ‘safe’ feeling was also there whenever the King was around him, it was an instinct by now to relax around the other even if he hadn’t spent much time with him. Because with the King around, who would dare to harm him?
Yawning, Ruzen took his time in getting up and dragging his feet towards the outdoor washing area. It was just an enclosed space with drainage pits and water stream distributed into smaller compartments. By keeping the washing space outside, the innkeeper surely didn’t waste his pennies for heavy maintenance
After doing the wash-up, Ruzen came back to see his master still asleep and snoring, his straw hat hanging from the loose hanger pinned into the wall on the northern face. Soft morning light sneaked in from the curtained windows and it got brighter as time went by.
Thinking about his competition, Ruzen became excited. He naturally kicked his master on the legs, impatiently hollering at him to wake him up.
Groaning, his master simply turned his head and scratched his chin in response. Still sleeping.
Exasperated, Ruzen took several more approaches to wake his master up, finally getting better response when he tickled the older male’s flat tummy.
~
After a while Ruzen and his master found themselves in front of the central compound again, the same tori gates standing tall in invitation, similarly arrogant and almighty in the face of all the competitors.
“I cannot go inside today, from here on you won’t be allowed to meet me or any other outsider, make sure to be on your toes, jealous participants might target you if you stand out too much.”
“I understand.”
“And do your best, think about your actions carefully and don’t give in to anger. Remember what I told you about the competition.”
Ruzen nodded, “You don’t have to worry master, but where are you going to stay?”
“Definitely not in that hovel,” He’Da grumbled and patted Ruzen absently, “I will be around the central city, look for me in the famous inns, by the name of Ji’Da. But I hope you wouldn’t need to contact me for anything over the period of your competition.”
Ruzen smiled, “I will be good master, make sure to see me on projections.”
His master nodded in return and they both parted ways.
‘Projections’ were actually what they, suggested, they were like live telecasts processed via holographic mediums, which were displayed at specific location where masses could gather at and enjoy the show.
The concept of stadiums and arenas were null here, the competitors were made to participate in a calm unbiased environment for better output, and their performance was captured and recorded by organic ‘beings’ who hovered around for details and glimpses.
Each participant had their own ‘being’ and were recorded by that ‘being’ throughout the tournament. If someone was too multi-dynamic, they were provided with 3-4 extra ‘beings’ just for better details and shots. Even those famous where given more ‘beings’.
Each ‘being’ telecast a live transmission to a channel which was then added to the array of channels being live streamed together via the holographic output. It was similar to modern technology or could be even more advanced, but the terminologies were different and the materials were different.
Basically, wherever the masses gathered, there was also hospitality provided, such as futons, eateries, washrooms, secluded booths… it was basically an entire day event, almost like a reality show. Contestants were constantly recorded and their every action was seen through. Only for changing clothes, washing up, etc, were they given privacy.
Ruzen hadn’t thought something like this was even possible, but it was, and the masses loved it.
Cursed ones were basically rare, so everything about them was seen as intriguing and curious by the locals. In King’s domain, most of the populace made a big deal about such competitions.
“Gather around everyone, Keeper division to my left and the rest to my right.” A booming female voice proceeded and everyone divided themselves as per order.
“Keepers would be competing first so the rest will have to stay in their given rooms until further notice. We will announce the allotted room number, so please listen carefully.”
After a while, a female dressed in soft browns yelled out numbers which were repeated twice after a given identity number of the said participant. And if the participant wasn’t going for the keeper division, they would leave for their rooms immediately.
“…Number De’Gi De’Gu towards room number De’Ga. Towards De’Ga… Number De’Qi De’Qu towards room De’Qa. Towards De’Qa.”
Ruzen felt his eyes almost shutting after listening to several numbers repeated one after another, it was particularly boring, waiting for their numbers to be called out. He was number De’Ji De’Ju. So he would probably be escorted to De’Ja. But he knew he had to wait.
In modern terminology, De’Ji meant ‘3’ and De’Ju meant ‘1’. So he would be 31. While his room number would be De’Ja, which meant ‘5’.
The number system was different here, the numbers were distributed by their sounds, not the actually numbering.
De (Number ranking order) was followed by Mi Ni Bi Vi Ci Xi Zi Li Ki Ji Hi Gi Fi Di Si Ai Pi Oi Ui yi Ti Ri Ei Wi Qi Ii. They all meant (3) in modern terms but were actually ranked by their verbal pronunciation.
It was a really complex numbering system so Ruzen wasn’t able to grasp it well. He only knew that when the word De was announced, after it, there would either be Ju (1) Jo (2) Ji (3) Je (4) or Ja (5).
So in layman’s term, if he had to explain this to a modern child, he would just say that there are only 5 single digit numbers, but they are ranked by their pronunciation, not number. It was confusing yes, but that is how it went.
However, the numbers used for counting purposes were entirely different. They were some unique 11 symbols, which were used after each other, like, the people here did not have a 0, but something called ‘Wuin’ and the symbol added after each number from 1 to 9 to represent bigger numbers, was called ‘Niuw’. So Ha (1) Niuw (0) probably meant 10. Ha (1) Niuw Niuw (00) meant 100. But when one wanted to say 0, they would say ‘Wuin’. Which meant nothing, null.
Locals used the second set of numbers to count, and to label, but the first set of numbers starting with De were seen as something fancy used by upper echelon of society, and so, inns, restaurants, manuscripts, scholarly centers, etc, would use the first set of numbers to label and identify something for serial order.
It was seen as graceful and luxurious.
That is why his master taught him the first set and second set of numbers together. Ruzen knew the second set well, but the first set confused him greatly. Still, for the purpose of climbing up the steps towards a better future and more respectful stature, Ruzen had to learn it to keep his Keeper post still hot and waiting.
“…Number De’Ji De’Ju, please proceed to De’Ja.”
Ruzen heard but didn’t move, because all the keepers were also waiting around him, some were grim and dull, some were glamorous, but among them, Ruzen noticed, nobody tried to talk to each other.
So it seemed the competition’s curse was already at place, these individuals did not even wish to mingle. Hehe~
After a while of roll call, the female stepped down and the platform was left only with the keepers facing each other. They were almost around 300 or so.
Later, Ruzen saw several round balls with red dotted eyes, hovering around them, each one dull and dark, like a shadow, moving like flies.
One of the round balls came towards Ruzen and stayed around with a buzzing sound to it as it flew around his face to capture him. It was somewhat annoying but kind of interesting as well.
[The one to reach their rooms first would be awarded 10 points, your time starts now!]
A soft female voice spoke through each of the hovering ‘beings’ and Ruzen immediately froze. The voice was too familiar… Hordor Na’Ris?
Ruzen could feel it now, as a blazing reminder.
The Ghost King would be watching him, wouldn’t he?
Very clever about the number systems. I think it’s a foregone conclusion that the King will keep a close watch on Ruzen. 😃
Thank you for the chapter ❤❤
And it’s very hard to understand the number systems😥😅😅
The numbering system is very unique, I had a hard time understanding it.
Thanks for the chapter!
So I think I understood the numbering system… it’s all about pronunciation right? It’s just that there’s so much too it that it gets a little confusing. So glad I don’t live in Manjo😂
Thanks for the chapter!!❤️
lol I’m like ruzen, the second numbering system is easy for me but the first is kinda confusing.
First challenge is on its way, I wish him luck!!
Thanks for the chapter <3
I’m rooting for you Ruzen hahaha
Thank you for the chapter ❤
Big brother is watching you. 👻 How ideal, now can the King (stalk) protect his sweet heart. Somehow I feel like Ruzen is really low key, a really low key keeper and that despite his explosive debut. 😅
thanks for the chapter <3
Duh, he’s got his eyes on you 😏
How smart, nobody noticed that 0 is pronounced the same way “W u i n”
as in just the numeral ‘0’ and ‘….00’ as “N i u W”. The concept is interesting, though the 26 alphabetical types are hard to comprehend, the 5 digit ones are easier to recall in comparison.
On a side note, the King is watching him perform. Awww, that’s kyuueet and encouraging. Glad that despite being in a family of riches in the past, Ruzen didn’t crave for wealth too much. The competition makes me a bit nervous though, not to trust when it comes to luck, but the hardwork he has done is also not to be looked down at.