[GIVEAWAY] - Iron Supporter Voucher!

Here's a (possibly) quick deciphering puzzle for an iron supporter voucher. The word is a fairly common English word, and has been scrambled using the associated numbers of each letter (A -> 1, B->2, etc.) and a simple cipher. First to decode wins!

Codeword is "Wkiae"

Good Luck

Tried for a solid half hour but couldn't get it... am looking forward to seeing who gets it

I’ll put out a hint tomorrow if no one has any luck! Stay tuned

First hint: The cipher I used is described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affine_cipher
Should get everyone on the right path!

Closest thing I could get to a word is "Gusko" but I doubt that's right, as it's not actually a word

Here's a hint that should allow for a fairly straightforward solve: The numbers before being converted to letters.

They are: 23 37 35 17 57

To solve, you need to subtract one number and divide by another until you end up with a proper English word. I'll also give an extra 12 345 rupees to the winner!

Can we assume m = size of alphabet = 26?

You can!

2 hrs, 1 python script, 2 auto decoding websites, and a lot of confusion (and over-complication) later I give up.

Just interested to see what the solution is and who solves it.

Yix has also spent several hours on this... we're just waiting for more clues

If I tell you the first letter is H, would that help? In hindsight deciphering these is much harder than I expected. I'll definitely look to easier challenges for future tasks.

I now found 12 Affine cipher keys that decrypt the first letter to H, but the rest is still garbage

Where's Rhy?

Alright, this should be the last hint. If the last letter is Y, you can now solve an algebraic equation of y = mx + b where y is the corresponding number I gave: 23 37 35 17 57 and x is the number corresponding to the letter's you know (8 for H, 25 for Y). Two equations, two unknowns! Once you have m and b you can simply convert the rest of the numbers and you'll have the word.

Well, from my calculations that would give "Honey".

I think what made the struggle without the tips was the fact that A=1, B=2 etc., whilst most ciphers use A=0, B=1 etc.?

But that was in the OP.

You are correct! I did realize that in hindsight, so my apologies as this does make using existing methods a touch more complicated. Voucher and rupees have been sent. Also sent some bonuses to the contributors.

Which is why I know that those numbers were used instead of A=0, B=1 etc.
Spent some time trying to write a code when I realized the cipher was most likely a Caesar cipher made into an Affine cipher, as in a way it was "shifted" one number "to the right"?

Thank you Giving out a second letter really was what made it possible to solve for me without spending more time developing a code to take the shift into consideration

I thought everyone had suffered more than enough haha. I'll tone down the next challenge a few notches!