Transcension Academy - Chapter 5

C5: Transcension Academy (2)

Seo-joon’s head tilted.

The Transcendental Academy, the 3 million won that suddenly disappeared and the little man who popped out of his smartphone were very surprising, but there were other questions in Seo-joon’s head.

“Are you a mentor?”

<Yes!>

“Your name is Mentor Mentor?”

Then, the mentor replied with a slightly surprised look.

<Oh! I think there was a misunderstanding. I meant that I was in charge of a mentor. So Kim Seo-joon’s mentor is that mentor. My name is Mentor. Hahaha!>

Mentor Mentor… No, Mentor laughed cheerfully. Seo-joon carefully opened his mouth while staring at him.

“You’re not the mentor I know, are you?”

<Do you know me?>

“I heard that Mentor is the teacher of Odysseus…”

< Oh! You know me!>

Mentor clapped his hands and was happy.

‘Crazy.’

At Mentor gesture, Seo-joon unwittingly spat out curses inside.

As far as Seo-joon knows, Mentor raised Odysseus, a hero in Greek and Roman mythology. Mentor was such a profound influence on Odysseus that the word mentor still refers to a good advisor to this day.

But the little guy in front of him is that Mentor?

Normally he would have ignored him but considering the situation Seo-joon knew that he was serious.

<Odysseus was my first student. It’s been quite a while since he became a Transcendent, and he still calls me from time to time. Haha!>

Besides, was Mentor such a pleasant person?

Seo-joon was in serious trouble about how to accept this situation.

“I don’t understand what’s going on right now. I mean……”

<Don’t you know about our Transcension Academy?>

When Seo-joon nodded carefully, Mentor immediately continued.

<Our Transcension Academy is literally an academy that teaches and helps people to become transcendents.>

“Transcendents? Not Hunters?”

<Hunters?>

This time, Mentor asked back, and Seo-joon briefly explained about Hunters.

Mentor quickly understood the concept and told Seo-joon.

<How can you compare a transcendent with a hunter? It’s embarrassing to even point out the difference in level.>

“No matter what, S-class hunters…”

<I’m not joking at all, the instructors at our academy can subdue them with just a finger.>

“…”

Seo-joon was lost for words.

“What exactly is the concept of transcendence?”

<Um··· How can I explain this? Each race has a different concept of transcendence. Hmm…Those who overcame the limit?>

<The instructors at our academy have their own know-how and experiences as beings that have already become transcendents or have cultivated them. You can listen to and learn from the instructors who best fit you!>

Seo-joon tried to ask something more, but Mentor’s words were a beat faster.

<I think that’s enough for the explanation, so could you fill this out?>

Mentor manipulated Seo-joon’s smartphone then the screen that blinked and changed.

[A preliminary survey for customized courses for new students!]

[Q1. Please choose a job that you want to transcend.]

[①Combat ②Production ③Medical ④Spirit ⑤Art ⑥Others]

“What’s this?”

<To figure out what kind of transcendent Kim Seo-joon is trying to become, what level he is now, and what his disposition is.>

<It’s literally a preliminary survey. It’s to give us an accurate guide, so please respond honestly!>

At Mentor’s words, Seo-joon turned his eyes again and looked at the smartphone screen.

‘What’s going to happen… ?’

He didn’t know exactly what was going on but he decided to see just how far he could go.

Seo-joon chose the battle item after a brief consideration. Then the screen blinked for a moment and showed a new question.

[Q2. Please choose your current level.]

① Almost reached the Transcension level, but fell short by 2%.

②The strongest in the world, but not the strongest in history.

③You can plow the Great Plains into a field with one full-power strike.

④ You can split a large mountain with a single blow.

⑤Maybe not a big mountain but you can pull out a small mountain.

“Um···”

<Is there a problem?>

“Oh, that’s… I don’t know what to choose in the second question.”

Mentor came close to Seo-joon’s words and looked at the smartphone screen.

<Aha. Everyone pauses a lot here. You can choose the one that describes what you can do. Can you plow a Great Plain with a strike?>

“No.”

<How about dividing a mountain with one strike?>

“Not at all.”

<Hmm···?>

Mentor tilted his head.

<Then can you pull a small mountain?>

“Is it strange that I can’t do it?”

He didn’t know if S-class hunters could but it was impossible for Seo-joon.

<But how did you get to register for our academy?>

“There was an ad.”

<Advertising?>

Seo-joon showed the message that had just come as Mentor tilted his head. Then Mentor tilted his head again after checking the message reflected on the screen.

<That’s weird···Did the marketing department make a mistake?>

But Mentor quickly changed his expression and shouted.

<Well, it’s all right! There are all kinds of members! Don’t worry too much! It’s not the first time I’ve ever been a student like you.>

<Our Transcension Academy will never kick a member out! No. Once someone becomes a member he will be an eternal member! If Kim Seo-joon doesn’t give up, our Transcension Academy won’t give up.>

When Mentor manipulated the smartphone again, the screen changed and the next question appeared.

<Please continue to fill it out.>

①Sword ②Staf ③Spear ④Magic ⑤Bow . . .

This one went over the page and reached almost 200 types.

It was not an exaggeration, but it seemed to have written down all the fighting methods that existed in the world but it didn’t take long for Seo-joon to choose.

Seo-joon was going to use a spear from the moment he entered Hunter Academy.

Since then, the survey has continued, and Seo-joon has faithfully answered it. He wondered what this was all about, but he thought he’d do it until the end, whether it was a fraud or not.

[Q108. Do you agree to provide your personal causality information?]

①Agree ②Disagree

When I pressed the “Agree” button, Mentor clapped his palms and said.

<You worked hard! First of all… Kim Seo-joon has a free pass ticket so I will recommend a few essential courses. First I’d like to properly understand Kim Seo-joon’s profile and talk about it again then…Is that okay?>

“Ah yes. What?”

<Wait a minute.>

Then Mentor started waving into the air.

<When it comes to spearmanship.. I’d rather use the Eastern meditation method rather than the mana practice method. Instructor Monkey King is good for the basics, but the level is too high for Kim Seo-joon…>

After a while, a pop-up window appeared on Seo-joon’s smartphone.

[Physique is a piece of paper the moment the mental collapses. (Instructor: Shakyamuni)]

{[Required lecture introducing the basics of battle transcendents] [(Instructor: Chiron)]}

<Among the courses that can be taken using your current Free Pass, these are the best courses that Kim Seo-joon needs right now. I wanted to recommend a lecture about Mana, but unfortunately, Instructor Jang Sam-bong’s lecture is not included in the free pass.>

<First of all, Kim Seo-joon is unable to move his body, and he is mentally troubled and anxious, right?>

Seo-joon was surprised and he tried not to show it but Mentor smiled slightly as if he knew everything.

<Would you like to listen to the lecture of Instructor Shakyamuni first?>

“What? Shakyamuni?”

<Yes. Instructor Shakyamuni is well-known for his mentality lecture, one of the essential subjects for the Transcension exam. Originally this was a lecture you wouldn’t be able attend even if you paid a lot of money…but the lecturer is a person who works hard to save sentient beings…>

Mentor laughed and continued.

<He included his lecture in the free pass. Seriously, there are even members who buy a free pass because of the lecture given by instructor Shakyamuni. So it would be foolish to miss this opportunity.>

Seo-joon knew it was a crazy idea, but he couldn’t contain his curiosity.

“You’re not talking about Buddha, are you?”

<That’s right. Although he says he’s not all the students refer to him as Buddha.>

“…”

Seo-joon felt it was ridiculous, but on the other hand, he became quite curious about what the lecture would be like. So Seo-joon chose Shakyamuni’s lecture without hesitation.

[Physique is a piece of paper the moment the mental collapses. (Instructor: Shakyamuni)]

<Would you like to attend the lecture?>

<If you complete this course, you will acquire ‘Immovable Mind [SSS]’.>

“Immovable Mind?”

When Seo-joon tilted his head, Mentor answered right away.

<That’s why Shakyamuni’s lecture is considered essential among students. Even if you only have Immovable Mind, you can break through most transcendent domains.>

<The lecture is intense, but it’s not too late to start now. So even if you feel like you’re losing your mind, you have to keep listening.>

“Losing my mind?”

<You’ll know when you listen to it. Then…I’ll contact you again!>

Mentor disappeared in an instant.

Seo-joon couldn’t hide his embarrassment at the sight of Mentor, but he quickly shook it off.

“This is really…”

He decided to believe until the end.

Seo-joon pushed out the complicated thoughts that came to his mind and pressed the play button.

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TL Note: I apologize in advance if I made a mess out of the lecture.

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[Where do you think the world exists?]

The person who appeared on the screen looked like a monk. If you go to a famous temple, you will see the golden statue sitting cross-legged along with the smell of incense.

If the statue had a human skin tone and was alive and moving, it would look like the person on the screen.

“Is it really Buddha?”

Seo-joon kept listening to the lecture.

[Is the world you feel real? All students in this lecture are conscious beings.]

[Then what am I? Handsome, old, tall, but do you really think this can define you, me?]

[He is the subject of comparison for being handsome or he is taller than anyone else. If we exist alone in the empty space of the universe, we have no way of knowing whether we are handsome or tall.]

[That’s the case with age, too. If we exist alone in an empty space we can’t feel the passing of time. In the first place, the unit [year] is just a created concept.]

[Old, tall, handsome, ugly. These words cannot define me after all.]

At that moment, a small child was seen on the screen next to Shakyamuni and Shakyamuni asked the child.

[Between fruit and sugar, which one do you prefer?]

The child replied with a bright face.

[I like sweets better!]

At his answer, Shakyamuni smiled benevolently and handed him a piece of candy.

The child smiled and nodded to Shakyamuni then disappeared from the screen.

Shakyamuni said, looking straight ahead again.

[Did you just notice that he doesn’t define himself as “I”? To be exact, it can be said that he cannot define himself as “I”. This is because a child who is just born in the world does not know or recognize the word “I.”]

[People just call themselves “I”, so they only think of the existence of “I”. The word “I” is an illusion created to specify oneself in the process of comparing yourself with an opponent over time.]

[The word “I” didn’t exist, so I don’t exist. If there is no one to compare, how can there be a being that cannot be defined by anything?]

[In the end, we are beings who depend on the necessity of existence. And it’s not just us, but all the beings in the universe.]

[If someone doesn’t compare, if someone doesn’t observe, nothing in the universe is meaningful.]

[And it’s the same in this universe. The universe may not have existed without you. This is because the universe is not given meaning without someone’s observation.]

[The universe, which was thought to be so vast that it was unimaginable, appeared after a long time and finally began to realize its existence]

[A world that didn’t exist anywhere else could exist because of you]

[This world, therefore, is created as soon as you open your eyes, and disappears as soon as you close your eyes]

[You don’t exist. You’re just the world.]

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<Lecture progress rate 0.6%…>

“It’s a really strange academy…”

In addition, Seo-joon was able to understand the meaning of the words left by Mentor at once.