Learning the Varg Tongue

I started learning the Varg language from Mashak.

“The Varg language has a similar sentence structure to the common tongue. It won’t be too difficult to learn.”

Thanks to the imprint, I could use the ‘Beast Common Language’ like my native tongue, so there was no problem with communication, but I wanted to know their language, called ‘Varg language.’

“‘A claw may break, but it will grow again.’ This is similar to the human saying, ‘Even if the sky falls, there’s a hole to escape through.’”

I paused the quill pen I was diligently scribbling with.

“Are claws that important to the Varg?”

“In general, you can guess a person’s position just by looking at their claws. High-ranking officials who mainly participate in battles can keep their claws long and sharp, while low-ranking officials who mainly do labor always have short and neat claws.”

‘Is Mashak an exception because he’s a doctor?’
‘Tegen’s claws were also short, so what’s his rank?’
As I glanced at his short claws, Mashak grinned and showed me a claw-shaped weapon from his wide sleeve.

“They keep them short, but they also substitute their status with a weapon. You can think of it as the higher the rank, the more freedom they have with their claw length.”

I remembered the man’s blunt nails.

Just this morning, he had woken me up by fiddling with my lower parts with that hand, so I remember it clearly.

That day, he had cut off his nails just because I was scared of them, and he had been keeping them short ever since.
But I had never seen him carry a claw like Mashak.

‘Is it because he’s such a powerful Valta that he doesn’t need to be concerned about his image?’
As I was thinking with a pen in my mouth, I focused on my studies.

“The phrase ‘a guy that even a grim reaper won’t take away’ has the same nuance as…”

In the middle of learning the beast language, Mashak’s hood suddenly caught my eye.

At first, I didn’t notice it because it was the same color as his hair, but I knew when I saw the hood twitching.
Because when a beast-kin concentrates, their ears perk up.

‘It suits him well,’ I thought, and moved on.
But Tegen, who came in with snacks afterwards, was also wearing a hood.

Unable to overcome my curiosity, I asked.

“Is that hood in fashion these days?”

“Ah, it’s because of Valta’s order. He said not to reveal our ears and tails.”

‘…Why? Is there a contagious ear mite disease or something?’
Though I tilted my head in confusion, I finished my studies.

“You’ve worked hard, Mashak.”

“Not at all. It was rewarding to teach because Shinbi-nim is so bright.”

Mashak grinned and began to tidy up the desk.
I turned my gaze to Tegen, who was loitering by the door as if he had something to say.

As our eyes met, he asked, as if he had been waiting.

“Shinbi-nim, do you have a moment?”

“Yeah, of course. What is it?”

At my answer, Tegen grinned and gestured outside the room.

Then, the Varg who had rushed in put down what they were carrying in front of me.

“These are the spoils brought by the search Sura, and we were wondering if we could get some help in sorting them!”

It was an Awakener’s item.
Armor, accessories, artifacts.

I flinched and watched their reactions, but the Sura, including Tegen, seemed to be fine with it.

It would have been better for me if they had resented me, saying, ‘How could you!’ but they were all trying hard to pretend they didn’t know.
But that didn’t mean they really didn’t know.

“How do you use this Awakener’s item?”

Just from the fact that they were naturally calling them Awakeners instead of Destroyers, I knew they already knew everything.

“…The ones that shine with a golden light are the most valuable.”

Barely swallowing the lump that was rising in my throat, I pretended not to know and played along with them.

“Oh, this seems too small for the chief.”

“It’ll fit. It changes to fit the body’s dimensions…. You have to wear it the other way around. The tag in the back, yes. That’s it.”

I helped Tegen, who was struggling to put on the armor, by fixing it for him.

“Valtael, can you take a look at this?”

Then, the other Sura who were watching also showed me the Awakener’s armor they were wearing one by one.

[Plate Shoulder Armor (S): Shoulder common armor. Temporarily enters <Stealth> state upon being hit. Defends against critical damage with an 80% probability when damage is accumulated. (Creator: FuckNusNerfPlease)]

It was quite a good piece of armor, though not a final-tier item.

However, it should have been ‘100% when fully charged,’ and ‘defends and then reflects,’ so it seems it was discarded because the options were ambiguously attached.

“It’s a good one. Where did you get this?”

“I picked it up near the desert when I was young. I’ve been wearing it since I was little, and it still fits my body, so I thought that the… Awakener’s items are truly miraculous.”

‘That’s because common armor changes according to the wearer’s body size and shape.’
‘It has to be like that if a bulky Berserker and a slender Enchanter are going to use it together.’

“But I don’t know why it’s so good? Seeing it shine with a golden color, it must be valuable. But I haven’t been able to find anything particularly outstanding about it…”

“Can you take it off for a moment?”

I scanned Amundu’s armor and then rubbed my forehead.
All the settings were OFF.

Settings like ‘enter stealth state upon being hit’ are sometimes intentionally turned OFF by ranged characters because it shakes their aim, but since the Varg were melee characters, there would be no harm in turning it on, but they had turned it all off.

“This…. blue button, did you happen to press it to turn it off?”

“Ah, yes. The first time I put it on, something suddenly popped up in front of my eyes and the letters were all over the place? I was surprised and hit it a few times and it turned off.”

I put on the armor shoulder, changed some settings to ‘lock,’ and then gave it back to him.
This way, the settings won’t change unless he unlocks it.

“You said you didn’t know why it was so good. Watch carefully.”

I threw a pillow at Amundu.

Thud!
As the soft cotton pillow hit his broad shoulder, the man momentarily disappeared.

“Uh, uh? He’s gone!”

The Sura who were watching made a strange sound.

Soon, Amundu, who had reappeared, also had a bewildered face.

“When you’re attacked, your body becomes transparent. It’s only for a few seconds, but you can run away in that gap, or get behind the opponent, so it’ll be useful in an emergency.”

“To think this was such an amazing relic. Thank you so much! If it weren’t for the Valtael, I would have never known!”

Amundu, who was fumbling with his body as if he had lost something, was overjoyed with his eyes wide, and the surrounding Sura also rushed over and touched him, amazed.

“You were using such a precious relic in that way, you idiot.”

“You didn’t know either, you bastards!”

“Hey, your life has been turned around thanks to the Valtael! You punk!”

‘To think he had used it for so long after picking it up when he was young, and only found out now.’
Feeling uneasy, I checked the armor of the other Sura as well.

“It has no effect if you wear it on your head. Like this, you have to wear it on your waist to increase the critical hit chance.”

“That’s only visible to the person wearing it. It’s not visible to others.”

“The compatibility isn’t good. If it’s ‘defense increases upon being hit,’ then it’s better the more you get hit, but Asla’s evasion rate is so high that he doesn’t get hit in the first place.”

I asked about the Sura’s combat tendencies and combined the appropriate armor for them.
It wasn’t easy to check everyone one by one, but I felt proud seeing them so amazed and happy.

“Uh, Shinbi-nim.”

“Yeah, Tegen. Do you have another question?”

“No, sir. Thank you for readily accepting.”

‘I should disassemble the remaining junk items and make something else.’
As I was taking out a tool that looked like a pair of pliers and was in the middle of a dismantling show, I paused at Tegen’s words.

“I was worried that you would be uncomfortable, so I hesitated to say anything…”

“…Hey, I’m sorry for hiding the fact that I’m an Awakener all this time.”

I hesitated, and then with my eyes squeezed shut, I said quickly.

“If you all have a grudge against an Awakener, no, a Destroyer, it’s okay to hit me once. I have a high tolerance for pain.”

I had brought it up bravely, but a deep silence, where not even a breath could be heard, flowed.
As I peeked around, everyone was looking at me with a stiff face.

“I-I can even let you hit me twice!”

“…Shinbi-nim.”

“Heck, it’s a special occasion! Three…”

“Oh my, how much you must have suffered all this time!”

Flustered by the longer-than-expected silence, as I was getting more and more desperate, Tegen prostrated himself.

“Please don’t say such things, even as a joke, Valtael.”

The Sura, who had been looking at me with faces as if they had already been slapped, finally let out a deep sigh and chimed in one by one.

“That’s right, where on this precious body is there a place to hit, why would you give such a terrible order!”

“Sob, why would you say such a thing…. How the other people must have tormented you all this time, living alone as a Destroyer!”

“It’s an Awakener, an Awakener. Everyone. You fool.”

“Ah, ah! Awakener! Valtael! Please hit me once every time I say Destroyer!”

They chattered cheerfully and even comforted me.

‘I’m sorry for not noticing sooner, how much you must have been suffering alone.’
At those words, I felt a warmth in my chest and couldn’t say anything.

“How could we hate a family member!”

“…Am I, your family?”

“Huh? Why would you ask such an obvious thing! Valtael! To say something so disheartening to the underlings… Of course you’re family!”

‘Family.’
‘How long has it been since I’ve heard that word.’

I blinked my eyes at the word, which felt more unfamiliar than the Varg language I had been learning.

“Ugh, get back! Don’t come near, you deserter!”
“Do not return to Midvalen until you have obtained the holy relic I have spoken of.”

Since coming to this world, I had always been ostracized or treated as an invisible person, and to think that they would call me family.

“Did you call? I sent this month’s living expenses, why.”
“Why are you calling for something as small as getting a scholarship.”

Actually, even in my original world, the word family did not have a good feeling for me.

Living expenses.
Three words to announce my life and death, and the people who would meet me at the airport once a year and leave on a different flight, if they could be called family, then so be it, but to me, a college friend or a guild member I had known for a few months was closer to family.

“Shinbi-nim is our one and only Valtael and our precious family!”

As I looked at them, who were smiling brightly at me without any ulterior motives, my heart felt complicated and soft and fuzzy.

It felt like my ship, which had always been adrift, had finally found an anchor.