WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ A Gacha Addict's Life in Fusionpunk ◈
Chapter 42: Boy meat girl
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1.
“That’s right.”
“What is?”
“It’s been engraved. An Engraving.”
What?!
I had an Engraving?
So what was an Engraving?
Honestly, I didn’t really know either, so let’s hear an explanation from top instructor Mama Ceres.
“An Engraving is a ‘bias in the circuit.’”
Normally, mana circuits were like blank paper that could accept any kind of mana.
As long as you formed a suitable mindscape and followed the proper procedure, you could theoretically use any kind of magic.
“But a circuit with an Engraving can no longer use magic other than the engraved spell. Your right upper arm currently bears an Engraving of Death Sentence.”
Ceres ran her fingertips from my right shoulder to my elbow as if drawing a line.
It was strangely ticklish and gave me goosebumps.
So, to summarize.
“You mean the circuits in my right upper arm have been trained exclusively for Death Sentence?”
“Do you really have to put it that way?”
“Then what does it do?”
“You gain specialization in exchange for versatility. In the end, a mage’s level is determined by how much they refine and elevate their Engraving. You’ve taken your first step.”
After hearing a little more, I understood why she called an Engraving a bias in the circuit.
Simply put, it was like my circuits had ROM engraved into them.
Put even more simply, I now had a button I could just click to activate a skill.
Not only could I skip most of the usual procedures required to cast magic, but it would be much stronger too.
But that raised a question.
“Do Engravings normally form this easily?”
“No. That’s why it’s strange.”
Ceres answered firmly.
“An Engraving forms only when you perfectly understand the principles of that magic and repeat it thousands, tens of thousands of times until you become proficient.”
“But I don’t really understand the causes behind Death Sentence.”
“I know. Your technique in handling mana is nothing impressive. If anything, it’s slightly below average. Your circuits are average as well. But...”
Ceres stroked my cheek.
“Your mindscape is special. As if... yes, as if you’ve experienced death over and over.”
As expected, Mama Ceres was sharp.
Of course, that probably mattered too, but...
The Engraving had most likely formed thanks to Growth Acceleration’s proficiency bonus.
I’d been cutting down Grade 8 fixers and leveling up like a storm in real time.
I asked one last question.
“Ceres, if my Engraving disappears for some reason... would it be hard to build it back up?”
“You always ask such strange questions.”
It was an important question.
Growing quickly was great, but this meant the growth remained in the hardware known as an Engraving.
If it reset when I regressed, I would have to revise my plan for this first iteration.
“Even if that happened, you would restore it quickly. Losing an Engraving doesn’t mean your mindscape and understanding would fade, does it? You would soon reach the same level again.”
Good. Then there was no problem.
My first iteration plan could remain unchanged.
All that was left was to refine this thing called an Engraving through as much real combat as possible.
I needed to take quests from Yiming, carve up fixers like I had today, and raise my ceiling as high as I could.
I could farm affinity with Yiming at the same time, so it was killing two birds with one stone.
I was steadily building the stairs that led to Arbel in a bunny girl outfit!
I put on my burgundy leather coat and prepared to leave.
“You’re leaving already?”
Mama Ceres had come all the way to the elevator for once, so I gave her a deep bow.
“Yes! You helped me a lot. Thank you so much for today!”
“...All right.”
Mama Ceres didn’t seem to be in a good mood today.
2.
After the mission to retrieve that British specialty item last time, I began properly taking on work from the Xuan Family.
“Rowan, the reason I’m not bringing you into the Xuan Family is...”
“I know. You don’t need to say it, Big Brother. Do you think I wouldn’t understand?”
“You brat! You do understand!”
I had not officially joined the Xuan Family.
My official position was still Yiming’s lackey, an outside contractor fixer.
That was not entirely bad.
Getting deeply involved with the Xuan Family meant taking on that much more responsibility and obligation.
The words I hated most were responsibility and obligation.
Yiming treated me as more than just a lackey anyway, so I only needed to enjoy the jobs without responsibility.
“If possible, give me jobs where I can beat up bad guys.”
“There are plenty of easy, comfortable jobs. Why those?”
“It suits me.”
“Kehehe! That’s right! A man should climax from the thrill of battle at least once!”
“Excuse me?”
T, this crazy bastard...
Yiming cross-dressing, fighting, and spurting from excitement?
Aaargh! I felt like my brain was breaking.
“I’ll strive to climax properly!”
“Good!!!”
Anyway.
Overnus Pharmaceuticals was every bit the criminal cartel pretending to be a corporation that I expected.
An honorable mafia that stayed within the lines? A gentlemanly mafia? The Godfather? Don Corleone?
That was all fanfiction written with mafia money.
“Here... choose a job.”
“There are this many disputes?”
“These are only the ones suited to your ability.”
The real Overnus Pharmaceuticals wanted to kill one another like different VTuber fandoms.
As a result, I never ran out of work until I reached Day 7 of the first iteration.
I even earned 9 Points through Challenges!
And so.
After I safely reached the eighth day by fighting two or three life-or-death duels a day as casually as taking vitamins, Yiming, dressed in a gown, elegantly lifted a teacup by its handle.
“Rowan, if you have a Mandate of Heaven... it must be an instinct for slaughter. Even in this line of work, it’s rare to find someone who never shies away from a fight like you.”
“Ah, back in middle school, everyone called me the Seventh Night Murder Demon.”
“Kehat! That nickname truly suits you, little brother.”
I answered while wearing an enormous ribbon atop my head.
As you could see, it was a fun club session for the first time in a while.
Missions were important, but I was a spy. I needed to bring Mama Ceres worthwhile results too.
But Yiming did not seem to have any plans to use the Project Z documents...
“Big Brother, about those Project Z documents. You’re still keeping them, right?”
“Hm? I am, but why ask?”
“You’re going to keep them, right?”
“Of course. Why are you suddenly asking about that?”
By now, Yiming did not suspect me even when I asked direct questions.
It seemed Yiming never once considered that I, the club’s only member, could be an informant.
While I was at it, I gathered some more information.
“Before, I remember you saying that the Awakening Serum in Project Z was the True Progenitor’s blood or something. What exactly is a True Progenitor?”
“The True Progenitor, the True Progenitor... It’s been a while since I heard that name.”
Yiming’s eyes darkened.
This bastard was putting on airs again.
“Rowan, have you heard of the Foundation?”
“You mean the RCD Foundation?”
“That’s right. Before it fell in a coup and split into Overnus Pharmaceuticals and Twilight Resource Development, the Foundation ruled Necropolis.”
I had heard that Mama Ceres’s family had been torn apart when the Foundation fell.
But this was something I had not known.
“The one who ruled the Foundation before being overthrown in the coup was the House Head of Tsukimiya. The Sole Red Moon. In other words, the True Progenitor.”
“So the House Head of the Tsukimiya Family equals the Sole Red Moon equals the True Progenitor? That’s a lot of titles.”
“That’s what makes it cool.”
Damn it, Yiming.
For someone who dressed as a woman, Yiming knew a thing or two when it came to this.
“What does the True Progenitor have to do with Project Z?”
“I can only speculate, but...”
Yiming trailed off.
“The True Progenitor isn’t dead. They’re sealed in Twilight Resource Development’s headquarters. That failed project was probably an experiment to control the True Progenitor. Those bastards have wanted it for a long time.”
Now that I looked at it this way, things were starting to connect.
What I saw when Project Z broke out had not been zombies, but something like ghouls.
This world was a mess of mixed genres, yet it strangely followed genre conventions.
“What are they trying to do by controlling the True Progenitor?”
“Who knows? Maybe they want to become vampires.”
“Wait, there are things even you don’t know, Big Brother?”
“How am I supposed to know everything those sinister turtle bastards are thinking?”
The True Progenitor was such an ancient fossil that even Yiming seemed to have little information.
Hm. This was a little disappointing.
“If you’re that curious, want me to find some materials and put it together for you?”
“Y, you would do that for me? Big Brother! Thank you!”
“You brat, it’s nothing.”
I was genuinely grateful for that!
That day’s tea party ended productively, with some decent results.
3.
As soon as the tea party ended, I accepted a job from Yiming and came to E Sector.
“Ugh, I’m sleepy.”
It was well past midnight, and I had already completed one job today, but...
“When you’re sleepy, it’s Red Bull!”
A little doping with an energy drink from that sports company I liked, which I had drawn earlier, would do the trick.
“Ahhh... this is the taste.”
Cedric really did have a pure body befitting a young nobleman.
Caffeine worked fucking well on him.
Anyway.
Today’s final shift would not be difficult.
According to Yiming, it was about as hard as putting up flyers.
‘Those Gold Carp Family bastards stashed something in E Sector. But it’s suspicious as hell. They didn’t leave proper guards to watch it, and it’s been abandoned for nearly a month already.’
‘From what I can tell, those arrogant bastards developed a new drug and planned to distribute it in E Sector. Drug dealing is Xuan Family territory.’
‘Surveillance in E Sector got tighter after Project Z almost broke out, so they probably left it alone for a while. Let’s swipe it before then.’
That was roughly the mission.
After making my way through the filthy, grimy alleys, I reached the location marked on the map Yiming had given me.
“Is it really here?”
No matter how I looked at it, it did not seem like a place to hide something important.
It was one of the countless tiny rooms in the slums, like my old apartment.
“A hide-in-plain-sight trick?”
Or maybe they had been in a real hurry.
Hm, it had been a while since I did this.
Bam!
“FBI!!! OPEN UP!!!!”
I kicked in the battered door.
A cloud of stale dust rose, revealing an utterly ordinary little room.
There was no sign of people, furniture, or the item in question.
“No way! There’s nothing here!”
The old me might have wandered around in confusion, but...
Lately, I had been doing similar things nonstop, so I was well-practiced at playing detective.
Creak!
I lifted a floorboard that sat slightly higher than the others, revealing a hatch leading underground.
A spiral steel staircase stretched down into the basement.
“Death, come to me.”
With that cool incantation, I loaded Death Sentence.
Ready for a fight if necessary, I descended the stairs.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Each time my boot heels struck the metal stairs, the sound echoed deeply.
The basement was far deeper and wider than I expected.
Rusty pipes crawled along the walls like snakes, and cold water pooled ankle-deep across the floor.
There were no guards, locks, or traps.
Only a container sat alone in the center of the space, like a lonely island.
Screeech!
“Excuse me.”
The container was not locked.
When I opened the locking valve, there was a single suitcase inside.
I immediately knew it was no ordinary suitcase.
Its metal surface was smooth and seamless.
Instead of a zipper, its side had small dials that looked like pressure gauges.
“Hmm... why is this so suspicious?”
It was too suspicious not to open.
How was I supposed to resist my curiosity?
“Time for an unboxing!”
When I casually fiddled with the lock...
Hissss!
White, freezing vapor burst out.
And inside...
“...You’ve got to be kidding me.”
A woman with a birdlike, slender frame lay curled up inside, her eyes closed as she breathed softly.
“Is it Boy Meets Girl this time?!”
Please stop mixing genres!!!
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