I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over - Chapter 11

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈

Chapter 11: Baek Seola

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[ Public Opinion Watch ] “Better Than People,” Story of Magical Beast Saving Child from Truck Being “Shared Endlessly” on Social Media

[ MeTube ] I Tried Touching the Viral “Jellykko Model” Myself!!

[ Society ] The Benefits of Magical Beast Pets? “Jelly-Type Magical Beast” That Saved a Child from an Out-of-Control Truck Draws Attention

The video of a household magical beast pet, Jellykko, saving a child remained a hot topic for a while, and my little shop was packed with customers from all over the country.

Business was clearly booming…

But there was one huge problem.

[ Jellykko Sold Out ]

“Boss, when will you have more Jellykkos in stock?”

“…Next Monday…”

No matter how much I ran the incubators, it wasn't enough.

I had my original incubator and the two new ones I'd bought, three in total, all running at full capacity, yet supply still couldn't keep up with demand.

Even an F-rank Jellykko required at least forty-eight hours of Cultivation.

If I had needed to handle ‘Enhancement’ myself as well, it would have taken even longer.

[ Model Name 》 Jellykko MK-1 》 Jellykko MK-2 ]

[ Mana Core Rank 》 F+ ]

[ Lifespan 》 1 Year ]

[ Trait 》 Jelly Barrier (E+) ]

Fortunately, I had improved the MK-1 Design and created the MK-2 model, so I could skip Enhancement.

Anyway, the Jellykkos I had stocked up on had sold out long ago…

People were still lining up outside before opening and all that, but I didn't have a single Jellykko to sell. With the pet shop cages completely empty for the first time since I opened the shop, it felt strange.

“Wow… Boss, your pet shop really blew up!”

“Pant, pant…”

Kim Jia, one of my regular student customers, marveled as she kneaded Haengbok, the spotted Jelly Dog.

Haengbok was now the only Jellykko left in the shop.

“By the way, you're a celebrity now, aren't you? A MeTuber and even reporters came by not long ago.”

“Yeah…”

I had become an unexpected celebrity, something that had never been in the cards for me. The shop owner who made a super Jelly Dog…

Anyway, contrary to my expectations, becoming famous hadn't caused any problems for my safety.

I looked down at my smartphone.

[ Yeon Harim ] : There wasn't as much fallout as I expected… right? No Hunters came looking for you?

[ Me ] : Surprisingly, not even one Hunter has come by.

‘…Was it all just legendary overreacting?’

The community reactions were nothing special, either.

【 Korean Hunter Gallery 】

- [ Free ] Jellykkos aren't for combat, right?

- [ Free ] Yeah, they're strictly household magical beasts lol. I heard their mana core rank is only F-rank too lol.

- [ Free ] Still, isn't it impressive that an F-rank stopped a traffic accident?

- [ Free ] Jellykkos are masterpieces, but it's not worth making such a big deal over lol. There are lots of household magical beasts overseas around this level lol.

Well, as you could see, people weren't even talking about it that much.

I had wondered whether this would expose my abilities to the public, but I had simply become a young man who made Jelly Dogs.

[ Yeon Harim ] : When you think about it, the incredible things about you, Mr. Yoo Hyun, are your absurd insight and unreal Design speed, so I suppose they're hard to grasp without experiencing them firsthand… Most of the magical beasts you've made are low-rank, too.

‘Low-rank magical beasts.’

That was a major factor.

My magical beasts were certainly excellent… but were they at a level no one else could ever reach? Not quite.

Low-rank magical beasts were easy to make.

If a major company at the forefront of magical beast pets threw enough personnel, capital, and time at the problem, they could produce low-rank magical beasts comparable to mine.

Of course, they would still perform worse than magical beasts made with my EX-rank trait…

The important thing was that they could compete to some degree.

How could major companies compete with an EX-rank ability?

Because I hadn't shown the upper limits of my ability yet.

As I grew more familiar with my power, acquired better equipment, and used better materials, I was sure I could make magical beasts far more incredible than anything I could create now.

Anyway, as long as the Wolyeong Guild didn't fully reveal information about their pets, the risk of me being exposed was very low.

[ Yeon Harim ] : I think the public has concluded that I became stronger because I figured out how to use my ability, rather than because of the pet.

The Keraunos model was C+ rank.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't such a powerful pet unless Yeon Harim was the one using it.

Of course, its specs were absurd if you looked at them one by one… but the reality was that, as a single creature, it was weaker than the A-rank magical beasts of high-end brands.

Magical-beast regulations had been particularly strict in Korea, so people here tended to underestimate pets, but there were plenty of useful top-tier pets overseas.

‘Anyway, it seems certain that no one has figured out who I really am.’

My collaboration with the Wolyeong Guild would finally begin the day after tomorrow. Thankfully, it looked like nothing would happen until then.

Ding.

“Are you Yoo Hyun, the owner of Happy Pet Shop? I'm from Dongbaek.”

Yeah, no. I was wrong.

* * *

I had seated a middle-aged man in a suit, someone who looked very competent, at the table in the back of the shop.

“Dongbaek… That's Hunter Baek Seola's guild, isn't it? Why have you come to see me? My shop doesn't specialize in combat pets.”

For now, I tried to figure out what he wanted. I couldn't be certain they had discovered my identity yet.

The man in the suit spoke solemnly.

“Wolyeong's Gamma Team and their guild master, Hunter Yeon Harim, have recently achieved excellent results in Gates. It was the sort of change one could call dramatic.”

“…Hunter Yeon Harim has been doing well lately.”

“And we found signs that they had contacted you, Mr. Yoo Hyun. There were even traces of related records being deleted.”

…So it had finally come.

Well, if a top guild decided to dig into things, reaching me would be far too easy.

The suited man's sharp gaze fixed on me.

“Our guild master suspects that you may have had some… positive influence on them.”

“A positive influence… As you know, they did buy pets from me. Quiet ones, like Rune Turtles.”

If they had investigated, they would already know that much, so there was no need to hide it.

“Our guild master suspects that you are… not simply a Magic Beast Alchemist. Especially in Hunter Yeon Harim's case.”

After taking a breath, the man continued.

“Contrary to what is publicly known, could it be that… you gave her some decisive help?”

“…Me? But I'm only a Magic Beast Alchemist who was promoted to C-rank not long ago. No matter what, influencing Korea's top female Hunter…”

“That's true… Forgive me for saying this, but I honestly still have doubts about your abilities…”

“Hmm…”

When I gave him a look that asked why he had come here, he smiled awkwardly.

“Our guild master's judgment is usually quite accurate. I think that's enough for today. This is my business card. The Dongbaek Guild is very interested in you, Mr. Yoo Hyun, so if you could visit us…”

“I have no intention of visiting.”

“If you prove your ability, we can offer you better conditions than Wolyeong…”

“No, that's not what I meant.”

Even Hunter Yeon Harim, Wolyeong's guild master, had come to see me herself because of the contract…

Shouldn't Dongbaek's guild master come in person, too?

The two were rivals. If I only bent over backward for Dongbaek, it would look strange… Hunter Yeon Harim might not like it.

* * *

At the top floor of Dongbaek's guild building.

“…He told me to go see him myself?”

“Yes. For nothing more than the owner of a small pet shop, he acted as though he had something up his sleeve. Or perhaps he simply doesn't think things through.”

Baek Seola listened to the report and smiled calmly.

“How interesting.”

If he had reacted that way, perhaps he had already signed a contract with Wolyeong.

‘If so… that means his abilities have already been verified.’

Baek Seola became even more convinced that her intuition had been correct.

‘The public says Yeon Harim discovered a new way to use her ability after long training… but is that really the case?’

If a trait that had made no progress for years was suddenly being used properly, there was a high chance that outside intervention had been involved.

Yeon Harim was not the only one who had hit a wall. Baek Seola had as well, so she knew this was not a problem that could be easily resolved.

“So he isn't just a Magic Beast Alchemist… Good. I should go see him myself.”

Baek Seola smiled with ease and brushed back her silver hair.

* * *

[ Yeon Harim ] : Dongbaek contacted yooou!? Dongbaek!? Dongbaek did!!? You're not going to sign a contract with them, are you!!? Are you going to make a custom pet for that country bumpkin Baek Seola too???????

“Whoa… Look at that reaction…”

[ Me ] : Calm down… I haven't decided whether I'll sign a contract yet.

A new guild had contacted me.

That wasn't a bad thing for me. It was also an opportunity to raise my standing once more.

If I secured a sponsorship contract with Dongbaek after Wolyeong, wouldn't my safety become even more secure?

Of course, Hunter Yeon Harim would probably be unhappy about it, but this wasn't an exclusive contract in the first place. It was a sponsorship arrangement, so there was no real issue.

Production costs increase exponentially as a magical beast's rank rises. The more sources of money I had, the better.

And B-rank magical beasts were close to the high end.

From that point on, they would attract enough attention for the Hunter industry to notice me, so I needed to raise my standing in advance to prevent trouble later.

* * *

The next day, at Yoo Hyun's pet shop.

A beautiful woman who reminded me of a white aristocrat sat across from me at the table.

Could a person really be this pale…? Seeing her in person, her beauty was definitely unreal.

“It's nice to meet you, Mr. Yoo Hyun?”

Her voice was relaxed and dignified. It was a different kind of elegance from Yeon Harim's.

There was clearly a reason people called her aristocratic.

“Hello, Hunter Baek Seola.”

“This was sudden, so I don't have much time… I'll get straight to the point, if you don't mind. The Wolyeong Guild's Gamma Team and Guild Master Yeon Harim have been achieving great results lately. That's because of you, isn't it?”

…She didn't pull any punches from the very start.

“…What if it is?”

“As I thought… Then could you help me, too?”

“Are you saying you want to buy a pet?”

“Hmm… If my guess is right, the pet is more of a means to an end, isn't it? I'm sure your pet-making techniques are excellent, but that isn't all there is to you. There's something more… something else.”

Her words surprised me a little.

‘How can her intuition be so sharp…?’

She couldn't have much reliable information… yet she had incredible instincts.

‘As expected… She was a woman who had once stood at the top among female Hunters…’

For a moment, I thought I wanted this person as an ally.

Was it because she seemed like she would be troublesome as an enemy?

At least she had approached me with some courtesy, and I judged Dongbaek to be a suitable partner.

So it would be good to show her a little of my ability for the contract.

“Hunter Baek Seola. Would you like a quick consultation? It's something I do before making a custom pet.”

“A consultation…? How interesting. All right. Let's see what you've got, Boss.”

The consultation began like that…

Baek Seola continued with a relaxed smile, but her gaze gradually began to waver.

‘Wh-what is this…?’

It had clearly begun with simple questions, but she slowly started to feel as though everything about her was being uncovered.

“After listening to you, I'm certain. Hunter Baek Seola, you've probably been worrying a lot about what more you need to do to become stronger. Your skills are already close to perfect, after all.”

The consultation, which had branched out from Yoo Hyun's casual questions, soon began mercilessly striking at her core.

“You didn't say so, but you made a major mistake recently because you were impatient, didn't you…?”

“H-how did you…?”

“After talking with you, I realized you're human too, Hunter Baek Seola. You've probably been under a lot of stress lately… And since you deliberately left out certain things when you spoke, I guessed that was probably the case.”

“Y-you can really guess that from just that!?”

“Huh… I don't think I gave him much information, but he pieced together the shapes of all the remaining pieces from just a few puzzle pieces…?”

His insight was truly absurd. He had gotten everything right, not only battle-related matters but even psychological issues.

Thump. Thump.

Baek Seola's heart gradually began to pound.

“H-have you given consultations like this to other people, too…?”

“Of course… Once I understand someone's condition, I make a pet optimized for them. That's what I do best.”

“…Then Hunter Yeon Harim's trait, too…?”

“I solved that as well.”

For a moment, Baek Seola felt a shiver run through her at his words.

‘This was it… This was why Yeon Harim suddenly grew stronger…!!’

Just as she had expected, Yoo Hyun was not simply a Magic Beast Alchemist. He had absurd insight and pet-making abilities that supported it…!!