User blog:GoDai/Translations for everything you can think of.

Hi, so I'm GoDai, and I'll be translating the author's notes from Korean to English on this page.

I'll generally be working from SIU's blog, the official fan cafe, and of course, the webcomic itself. The links for the first two are on my user page.

As I will be working on this occasionally, please feel free to ask about anything or request translations.

This page will function like a go-to place for translated forms of the original official announcements by SIU.

This is an attempt to reduce difficulties in verifying sources by creating a list of info from quite legit sources that we can all understand.

If a name or term I use does not agree with what is used on the wikia, please bear with me as I will try to use the most accurate translation that also fits the situation and context. A word or term being different does not necessarily mean it must be changed to make it identical


 * Shinsu = Shinsoo


 * Wave Wielder = Wave Controller


 * Lighthouse Keeper = Light Bearer

...and much more.
 * Administrator = Guardian

Also, I will occasionally throw in my own note to provide context or amusement. I will make sure to note that it is a note from me by placing "GoDai's note: ..." in parantheses.

The Manipulation of Shinsu
There are two ways to control shinsu (신수, Shinsoo; 神水; "divine water"): Generally speaking, when one says "manipulating shinsu", it usually refers to direct control.
 * Control through an item
 * Direct control

Being able to directly control shinsu is a very rare talent, and it can be said that this talent itself is an absolutely necessary requirement in order to become a ranker. Basically, most, if not all, selected regulars (선별인원, seonbyeolinwon; "chosen members") have some degree of control over shinsu, although this does not mean all regulars can become skillful manipulators of shinsu.

Shinsu manipulation abilities vary greatly among individuals, although members of the 10 great families have a large chance of being born with the talent of shinsu manipulation. Branch houses (분가, bunga) that originate from the main houses of the 10 great families are no exception to this probability of having the talent at birth. A few unknown members of these branch families keep the origins of their blood a secret, maintaining the passing down of the talent of manipulating shinsu.

Wave Wielder
Technically, the term "Wave Wielder" (파도잡이, padojabi; "one who knows and handles waves" or "wave controller") does not actually refer to shinsu manipulators, but rather something more specific. However, the two terms are often used interchangeably in the Outer Tower. In terms of battle positions, the Wave Wielder refers to a position that utilizes shinsu manipulation in order to participate in battle. However, this is merely a traditional definition and very few individuals actually fit these conditions. Most Wave Wielders have other direct battle abilities and commonly fill other positions.

(GoDai's note: When Viole starts owning everyone using shinsu, people suddenly think "He's a wave controller!" I think this is a similar case when someone that manipulates shinsu so skillfully can automatically be called a "wave controller" even if that's not their primary position. Enryu is a goddamned spear bearer.)

Contracts
In order to manipulate shinsu directly (without the use of an item) within the Inner Tower or Outer Tower, a contract with the administrator (관리자, gwanlija; "manager" or "guardian") of the floor must be made. In regards to items, only items that already have a contract made with the administrator can be used (GoDai's note: So basically items are like things that have a pre-made contract and are good to go the moment you take it out of the box). (For example, an item that has a contract with the administrators of the 2~30F cannot be used at 31F.)

Because one has made a contract with the administrator does not mean one can manipulate shinsu anywhere on that floor. (GoDai's note: Somewhere else, SIU talks about classes (등급, deunggeup; "class; rating; grade") which is relevant in regards to having the right to manipulate shinsu in certain places.)

After a contract has been made with an administrator, one must uphold several terms and conditions. If one violates any of these rules, the contract is considered to have been broken and one's rights are taken away, making their contract null. The strictness of these rules vary between class to class. In terms of the contract that rankers and high rankers make with their administrators, it can be said that they are nearly completely free of restrictions.

It is not impossible to manipulate shinsu without a contract. Simple manipulation of amounts below a certain standard is possible without a contract. Also, an innate resistance to shinsu, a body strengthening ability that utilizes shinsu, or other similar skills are all natural abilities that one can have, and therefore do not require contracts.

It is known that there is exactly one place in the Tower where shinsu can be freely manipulated without a contract.

The 10 great families, their numerous branch houses, and other families are able to manipulate shinsu without a contract. This does not actually mean they do not have a contract. It occurs because they are considered to have a contract at birth.

(GoDai's note: Considering how Laure is a member of some sort of branch of the Eurasia family, this could be what Yuga/Len meant when he said Laure was the only one in the room that already had a contract.)

All rights regarding the setting of Tower of God belong to its author, SIU. All of SIU's notes are subject to update, correction, and change. 2010.01.17

Shinsu Manipulation Technique Setting (1) - Basic Background (신수조작술 설정 (1) - 기본설정)
Externally manipulating shinsu to change the environment, to attack the opponent, or to carry out other actions is known as shinsu manipulation (신수 조작, shinsoo jojahk; most likely 神水 操作; "divine water manipulation"). Depending on the group or region, it also goes by several other names such as "water mastery" (수역, sooyeok; 水役; "to make water a servant") or "wind technique" (풍술, Poongsul; 風術; "wind skill"). The first person who began to systematically organize shinsu was one of the patriarchs (가주, gaju; "house head") of the 10 families, Biduh Gustang. All of the language (jargon), standards, and units related to shinsu that are used today all originate from Gustang's work.

The basic unit for shinsu manipulation is the bang (방, bahng; 放; "release"). The size of a bang is known as myun (면, myeon; 面; "surface"), and the concentration of the shinsu in a bang is known as su (수, soo; 水; "water").

Bang
The bang is the basic unit of shinsu manipulation. The more bangs one can control, the more skilled at manipulating shinsu one is judged to be. However, this does not mean one can manipulation greater myun and higher su with many bangs. As the number of bangs increase, control becomes more difficult. Overdoing the handling of bangs can physically and mentally exhaust the manipulator - in serious case, this may lead to death. If supported by a Lighthouse, the manipulation of the created bangs can become much easier, but this does not mean the number of bangs increases.

Myun
Myun refers to the size of a bang. Specifically, it refers to the surface area that shinsu is spread out across, regardless to height. 1 myun is equal to 1 pyeong (평, 坪; GoDai's note: A traditional unit of measurement used in Korea, with 1 pyeong being equal to around 3.306 square meters, or around 35.57 square feet I hear). (GoDai's note: So 1 myun of shinsu is equal to around 3.306 square meters of shinsu.) When discussing the size of a bang, the height is not considered because its range of fluctuation is large and heavily depends on the situation, which makes it difficult to discern. (Height is not involved in the calculation of the size of the bang. The height is dealt with by converting it using the numerical value of the concentration of the bang in question.) It can be said that the wider the myun one can control, the wider the area in which shinsu can be applied. However, because one can control a wide myun does not mean one can manipulate a certain concentration of shinsu within the myun. Normally, the center of a myun has the highest concentration of shinsu and the circumference has the lowest concentration, but skilled manipulators can make the outer layer quite dense. There are also some who can control the concentration within the bang quite freely, although this is quite rare.

Su
Su refers to the concentration of shinsu within a bang. Only the concentration of shinsu in the most concentrated area of the bang is used to calculate su. There is no numerical unit used on Earth that can be related to su. The measurement of su can only be done using a Lighthouse, Observer, or specialized senses. The higher the su, the more effective and destructive a bang is. This is why controlling a high su is extremely important. Normally, the denser the shinsu in the environment, the faster the su in a bang can be increased. However, there is a limit to the amount of su that can be pressed into a bang, and this limit depends on the person. The environment has no effect in overcoming this limit whatsoever. The concentration of su within a bang is not uniform, either. The value of su changes depending on the myun, so there are big differences in regards to su between individuals who manipulate shinsu. If one has very good mental concentration, it is possible to manipulate a high su of shinsu within a small myun. If one is very good at distributed data processing, it is possible to manipulate a certain amount of su within a large myun.

Relationship of the 3 factors
Basically, when discussing the bang, myun, and su an individual can control, Bang would actually refer to the maximum number of bangs one can manipulate simultaneously. Myun would actually refer to the maximum myun one can manipulate if they created only one bang, and Su would actually refer to the maximum concentration one can press into a bang, regardless of the myun in this case. For example, let's say someone can: Despite the fact that they are unable to do all of the above at the same time, they are still evaluated as being able to control "4 bang 100 myun 30 su".
 * control 4 bangs at once, but they're not very big or dense
 * control 100 myun if they create only 1 bang and focus everything on it
 * gather up to 30 su into a single bang

Bang, myun, and su are very closely related, and when supported by a Lighthouse or some other form of aid, large differences can be seen. Normally, the more numerous the number of bang, the smaller the myun and lower the su that can be managed, and the larger the myun, the lower the su that can be managed. Su therefore heavily depends on the numerical value of myun and bang, as an increase in either means a decrease in su. Fundamentally, this is known as the 'minus tendency' (마이너스 기질, maineoseu gijil; Minus 氣質; "minus constitution"). Sometimes, there is a special case in which the numbers of manageable myun and su instead increase as the number of bangs increases. This special case is known as 'plus tendency' (플러스 기질, peuleoseu gijil; Plus 氣質; "plus constitution"), and is an extremely rare talent.

The minus tendency can be overcome with improvement from training and support from external aids, which helps in reducing the amount minused (GoDai's note: So I could make it so that not so much myun and su is taken away when I make a second bang, by training and with support from my Lighthouse Keeper ally. With enough hard work and help, I could make it so that I can perfectly retain the size and concentration of shinsu in my first bang when I start making another bang. Then the minus value would be 0, since nothing has been taken away.). However, one can never become a plus tendency.

Also, being a plus does not mean one can produce an infinite number of bangs. Pluses find it equally difficult to increase the number of bangs.

Records
Up to present time, the person who holds the record for controlling the most shinsu simultaneously is Enryu. Although no precise results exist, one thing is for sure: The value far exceeds those of all previous records (According to a Lighthouse that could luckily record Enryu in battle, Enryu manipulated over 9000 bangs in that fight.). (GoDai's note: IT'S OVER 9000!!!!)