WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

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

Chapter 13: Leaving the Country

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“Hehe... A trip to Germany...”

An unexpected opportunity to travel to Europe had come my way.

A trip abroad, something I had never had the chance to take in my life!

And the travel expenses were covered too...!!

I was making far more money than before these days, but a trip paid for with someone else’s money was always sweeter, wasn’t it?

Germany, here I come...!

“Bayern Munich! German sausages!! German beer!!!”

“Pant, pant...”

Yeah, I did not actually know much about Germany.

The only trip abroad I had ever taken was a single visit to Japan, so that was about the extent of my knowledge.

“...I should research some tourist spots before I leave.”

“Pant, pant...”

Before that, though.

There was something I had to do before entering the competition, which would begin in about ten days.

‘I should bring it up during today’s regular report.’

I explained the situation to Hunter Yeon Harim.

[ Yeon Harim ] : Whaat!? All of a sudden? No... Um... This is a little unexpected, but if it’s for a license... Considering your future activities, Yoo Hyun, you should get it while you have the chance...

[ Me ] : I’m sorry. The competition lasts about a week, so I think I’ll need to close the shop for around ten days.

[ Yeon Harim ] : No... If that’s the condition for getting the license, it can’t be helped... Just in case, I’ll ask the government or the Alchemists’ Association whether they can ease the regulations for individuals. Don’t get your hopes up too much, though...

That was settled, then...

At the <7th Magitech Technology Expo>, held at Messe Frankfurt, a massive convention center in Germany, I would be participating in a competition for Magic Beast Alchemists.

There were three divisions in the competition.

They covered the three fundamental abilities of a Magic Beast Alchemist.

Design, Cultivation, and Enhancement.

Each event could be entered individually or as a team, and one person could, of course, compete in all three.

Here is a brief explanation of each event.

‘Design’ was exactly what it sounded like. You designed a magical beast that met the given requirements within a set time.

There were two main approaches.

You could optimize a Design blueprint supplied by the competition, or create an entirely new design from scratch and make a new magical beast.

The latter was much more difficult, so most participants apparently chose the former. Efficiently modifying an existing design was still clearly a sign of skill for a Magic Beast Alchemist.

Naturally, I planned to design a new magical beast. I had to aim for a placing, after all.

Next came ‘Cultivation.’

People unfamiliar with the field would probably think:

‘Doesn’t a machine just do all that?’

But Cultivation was surprisingly delicate work.

An Incubator, a magical beast cultivation device, only grew a magical beast’s initial form, called a Seed, into an adult. It did not create the Seed itself.

Then how did you make that Seed?

Naturally, you used a Magic Beast Alchemist’s 【 Cultivation 】 ability.

You extracted essence from monster materials, synthesized it around a mana core that would serve as its nucleus, then added and removed arrays while optimizing it until you finally produced a completed Seed.

It required extremely precise mana manipulation, so it was no simple task.

Of course, it was not particularly difficult for me with my EX-rank trait. It had been one of my stronger areas even before I awakened.

Finally, there was ‘Enhancement,’ and that was probably self-explanatory.

I just had to do to a magical beast supplied by the competition what I had done to the Rune Turtle.

Anyway... Ethical concerns were always raised because the competition dealt with living creatures, but the magical beast industry was already firmly established. The competition was also sponsored by magical beast companies that donated huge amounts every year, so people tended to overlook the ethical side of things.

I had applied for all three divisions, and with Dongbaek Guild’s help, most of the administrative procedures went smoothly.

There was apparently some kind of national quota system too, so as the only Korean participant, I skipped the preliminary round and went straight to the main event.

There was a basic skills evaluation, of course, but I passed that as well after showing them the accomplishments of Jellykko, my best creation.

So, until it was time to leave the country, I spent my days making magical beast pets for Wolyeong Guild members.

* * *

Three days before departure.

[ Yeon Harim ] : Yoo Hyun. Please take some of our guild members with you as guards. I suppose I’m uneasy about leaving you entirely to Dongbaek? I’d like to go with you myself, but... I’ve been far too busy lately...

“I’ve got no reason to turn down extra guards.”

Hunter Yeon Harim seemed to have been swamped lately.

Her reputation was rising quickly, so she seemed determined to make as many public appearances as possible.

You had to strike while the iron was hot, I supposed.

In any case, two guild members from Dongbaek and two from Wolyeong were assigned to join my trip.

“Hmm... So there’ll be five people traveling, and... one creature.”

“Pant, pant...”

Naturally, I was taking Haengbok to the competition with me.

[ Name 》 Haengbok ]

[ Model Name 》 Jellykko MK-1 ]

[ Mana Core Rank 》 None ]

[ Lifespan 》 Permanent (Under Contract) ]

Taking this Jelly Dog to a venue packed with Magic Beast Alchemists might cause a huge mess...

But Haengbok’s status window actually had two versions...!

[ Name 》 Haengbok ]

[ Model Name 》 Jellykko MK-1 ]

[ Mana Core Rank 》 None → F+ Rank (Disguised) ]

[ Lifespan 》 Permanent (Under Contract) → 1 year, 6 months (Disguised) ]

Amazingly, when viewed by others, Haengbok’s status window was naturally disguised like that.

Just what you would expect from something handled by the God of Jelly Dogs, I guess?

Anyway, thanks to that, there was no problem bringing Haengbok along.

F-rank magical beasts were treated as ordinary pets overseas too.

And magical beast pets were popular these days, weren’t they?

Airlines also accommodated Hunters, so the procedure for bringing a magical beast pet aboard an airplane was not all that difficult.

There was one more thing I had not expected.

I actually had an acquaintance in Germany!

Back when I was making Hunter Yeon Harim’s pet, I had asked questions about the Aether Cat, and ever since then, I had kept in contact with Victor Kreutz.

Victor was a little strange, but clearly very capable. We exchanged opinions whenever we had time, and we had grown noticeably closer.

[ YH1234 ] : I’m entering a competition in your country this time. Are you competing too?

Victor was a Magic Beast Alchemist too, so I wondered whether she would enter a competition in her own country and asked just in case...

[ VictorKreutz ] : What? Is that true? This is wonderful news. I’ll be there as a judge, as it happens. We’ll finally get to meet face-to-face soon. I’m looking forward to it.

[ YH1234 ] : ......A judge...? Hey, you’re not going to be petty because I gave you advice last time, are you...?

[ VictorKreutz ] : Hahaha! Don’t worry, friend. The judging will be fair.

Victor was participating as a judge, no less.

Creating a special magical beast like an Aether Cat was already unusual, but Victor seemed to be a much bigger name than I had thought.

“...Hmm, but there isn’t a famous Magic Beast Alchemist named Victor Kreutz...”

Could Victor be a reclusive master?

* * *

A private laboratory in Stuttgart, Germany.

“Clara, tell the competition organizers that I’ll be participating as a judge in this Magical Beast Creation Competition.”

A girl in a white coat with dark circles beneath her eyes suddenly gave the order to her secretary and housekeeper.

“What? The competition is only a few days away!! Why are you only saying this now?! More importantly, you said you hated public appearances. What suddenly changed?”

“I’m going to meet a dear friend. Someone with the greatest intellect in Korea. Someone worthy of being compared to me, hehe...”

“Luise... This is the first time I’ve heard you say something like that.”

The woman called Luise spoke while twirling a lock of pale green curly hair around her finger.

“Sigh... Clara. Call me Victor Kreutz, not Luise.”

“...Good grief.”

Luise von Berg.

A genius German Magic Beast Alchemist, and a pitiful soul in her early twenties suffering from a severe case of adolescent delusions of grandeur.

* * *

At last, the day of the competition arrived.

The Magical Beast Creation Competition at the <7th Magitech Technology Expo> in Germany.

Although it was a European competition, there were magical beast pet enthusiasts in Korea who were interested in it too.

A minor gallery created by a small group of people rather than an official gallery was buzzing with discussion about the competition.

【 Magical Beast Pet Minor Gallery 】

- [ Free ] The competition starts soon!!

- [ Free ] I’m looking forward to it... I wish our country had something like this too...

- [ Free ] For real... It’s such a shame that the pet industry was used to divide people politically...

- [ Free ] Oh, they’re introducing the participants.

- [ Free ] Apparently a thousand people entered the preliminaries. Was the competition really that fierce? LOL

- [ Free ] Pets suddenly blew up in popularity recently, so that’s probably why. The scale is unprecedented;;

- [ Free ] Huh? There’s a Korean participant too??

- [ Free ] Wait... Isn’t that the owner who developed the Jellykko model?

- [ Free ] Yeah, that’s right. That young owner entered the competition LOL

- [ Free ] Hmm, this lineup of participants is no joke. Will he be okay? Placing will be difficult, right?

- [ Free ] Still, I’ve got some Korean solidarity, so I’m rooting for the owner.

- [ Free ] Nice LOL. Still, since a Korean is competing, I can’t help getting excited. Foreign companies treat Korean Magic Beast Alchemists as highly skilled personnel, surprisingly. Maybe he can actually place!?

- [ Free ] Koreans are actually pretty capable, yeah. If there weren’t magical beast regulations, we could’ve become a leading pet nation too.

- [ Free ] Don’t overdo the national pride LOL. We’re not that good.

- [ Free ] Realistically, placing is impossible. He’s guaranteed to end up near the bottom.

- [ Free ] Teams sponsored by companies are competing too, and you think the owner of a tiny pet shop can place? Fucking write a novel LOL

- [ Free ] Shh... The competition’s starting.

The gallery did not seem to have high expectations for Yoo Hyun, the owner of a private pet shop.

That was only natural, considering the enormous gap in weight class between him and the other participants.

Most of the competitors in this Magical Beast Creation Competition were sponsored by companies or had established names for themselves. Yoo Hyun, on the other hand, was simply an ordinary participant who had only been given the trappings of a national representative.

Even if these competitors were not top-tier Magic Beast Alchemists, expecting Yoo Hyun, whose career was practically that of an ordinary person compared to theirs, to place was as unlikely as a dragon rising from a ditch.

But as the competition went on, things gradually took an unexpected turn.

- [ Free ] Finally, it’s the owner’s turn LOL

- [ Free ] I just hope he doesn’t embarrass himself.

- [ Free ] ...But the judging seems to be taking unusually long? The judges looked over the other designs and moved on really quickly....

- [ Free ] ......Huh? What’s going on? Why are the judges acting like that??

- [ Free ] ...Uh;; It looks like they don’t understand the design?

- [ Free ] Ah LOL. He took the hard route and ended up with an impossible design, so he’s screwed. Sigh... What an embarrassment to the country...

- [ Free ] No, if that were the case, he’d have been eliminated immediately. How much experience do those judges have? They’ve been looking at just that for five minutes already;;

- [ Free ] No, wait;;; Those are the eyes of miners who just found a gold mine. Why do they look like they’re about to start drooling? What the hell is happening?????

Footnotes:

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