I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over - Chapter 19

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

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

Chapter 19: Louise von Berg

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[ Yeon Harim ] : Yoo Hyun! Congratulations on winning the Cultivation Division! Korea is in complete chaos right now!! You’re the first person to win a double crown at the Magic Engineering Expo’s Magical Beast Creation Competition!!

[ Me ] : I got lucky.

[ Yeon Harim ] : Hehe... You don’t need to be modest with me. I know your abilities better than anyone.

[ Me ] : Right. Then I’ll win the triple crown.

[ Yeon Harim ] : Huh...? What do you mean...?

That finished today’s regular report as well.

“Hmm... The Enhancement Division competition is in two days...”

“Pant, pant...”

Squish, squish.

As I kneaded the Jelly Dog, I checked the Korean community’s reactions.

* * *

With Yoo Hyun, the only Korean contestant, winning the Design Division and unveiling Duality, Korea naturally began paying attention to the Magic Engineering Expo’s Magical Beast Creation Competition.

That alone would have caused a massive stir, but then another bombshell dropped.

Yoo Hyun unveiled another new technique in the Cultivation Division, sealing the deal by winning the double crown.

The unprecedented genius alchemist from Korea captured the attention of the magical beast and Hunter industries worldwide, sending the public’s national pride and dopamine levels soaring.

Korea was more interested than ever in Yoo Hyun’s next move.

【 Korean Hunter Gallery 】

- [ Free ] Aaaah, auntie!!! A big bowl of national pride over here!!!!!

- [ Free ] Wow... But how the fuck did someone that talented end up making Jellykkos in Korea...? Gives me chills every time I think about it;;;

- [ Free ] For real;;; Kim Cheongsik... No, that piece-of-shit Cheongsik. If he hadn’t used magical beast regulations to pit everyone against each other, wouldn’t Korea have become a magical beast powerhouse too?

- [ Free ] Come to think of it, Korea has a fuckton of talented people for such a small country... They just don’t get noticed.

- [ Free ] I want to call this nationalistic bullshit, but his achievements are insane... Winning two divisions is one thing, but the techniques he used apparently changed the whole paradigm of magical beast production lol.

- [ Free ] No, what the fuck!!! Korea developed the technology, so why are foreign magical beast companies’ stocks skyrocketing!!!!!!!!!!!

- [ Free ] Seriously, I want to kill that piece-of-shit Cheongsik... Fuck... How are there zero domestic publicly listed companies related to magical beasts? Is that actually real?

[ Free ] Brought over an overseas article. Apparently, Yoo Hyun is the top recruitment target for famous magical beast companies abroad.

Author: Anonymous (203.226)

(An image translating an overseas article)

Apparently, Lionel practically offered him a blank check? There are even rumors they’d hand over management rights depending on the contract terms. Isn’t that top-tier treatment in the industry?

[ Comments ]

Anonymous (117.111) : Management rights are honestly complete bullshit... Realistically, they’d offer stock options... Even giving up around 10% would be enough for him to wield serious influence as a single shareholder, considering Lionel’s size... Ah, I don’t know! Fuck... I’m just insanely jealous!!!

└ Anonymous (203.226) : This is bullshit too, though. A global company would give up 10% of its shares just to recruit one engineer? That’s ridiculously unrealistic.

└└ Anonymous (117.111) : Yoo Hyun is at his cheapest right now, though. If they can get him by giving up shares, that’s a massive win. He created two technologies that major corporations couldn’t make even after investing capital and personnel for years??

MaryPanties : From a company’s perspective, they’d use Yoo Hyun as an engineer, not a manager. Using a brain like that for management would be a colossal waste lol.

JellyJellyMa : Hmm... Looking at all the rumors going around, it sounds like they’ll give him shares, fully fund his research, establish a research subsidiary, give him exclusive management rights, and pay royalties too?

└ RecommendLateNightSnacks : Crazy. That gives him even less reason to come back to Korea...

The community was not the only place reacting fiercely.

The people panicking more than anyone were the Korean politicians who had supported magical beast regulations.

When they backed those regulations, magical beast pets had been an uncertain technology. Their usefulness had not been properly proven, and people said they would never be useful.

Then magical beast pets suddenly exploded in popularity, putting those politicians in an awkward position.

To make matters worse, a monstrous alchemist had suddenly appeared in Korea and was taking the magical beast industry by storm, leaving them in an even more precarious situation.

Inside a private room at an upscale Korean restaurant, a voice struggling to hide its anxiety rang out.

“...What are the chances Yoo Hyun returns to Korea?”

“...Even if we remove every regulation... it’ll be difficult. Korea’s magical beast production infrastructure is near the bottom, even if we’re being generous...”

Korea’s magical beast industry had mostly collapsed. Not a single company possessed the technology to compete with foreign corporations.

So even if Yoo Hyun wanted to make magical beasts in Korea, every material and piece of equipment would have to be imported.

Why? Because Korea’s magical beast-related businesses had all gone under...!! Regulations had choked them for so long that every company sold off the technologies it had been developing to foreign corporations and pulled out entirely.

If Yoo Hyun wanted to do anything with alchemy, he would need to import proper equipment from overseas.

Few professions relied on equipment as heavily as alchemists, which made Korea practically the worst possible environment for a Magic Beast Alchemist...

In that case, it would be far more beneficial to conduct research and production in a country with well-established magical beast production infrastructure, where supplies could be delivered immediately.

Germany, where he was now, for example...

“Realistically, there’s no reason for him to continue working as an alchemist in Korea... Why else would someone that talented have been running a small pet shop here...?”

“I see...”

Considering the abilities Yoo Hyun had shown... it would take more than hanging Kim Cheongsik.

Looking at the public’s reaction now... if Yoo Hyun completely cut ties with Korea, it was not hard to guess that they would be next after Kim Cheongsik.

The public would need someone to vent their anger on.

The Hunter industry was a measure of national power... and the Hunter industry now wanted magical beast pets.

The moment Korean Hunters fell behind foreign Hunters because of magical beast pets, every condemnation would be directed at them.

All they could do was pray.

Please, let Yoo Hyun continue working as an alchemist in Korea...

‘Please come back to Korea... We’ll do anything we can...!!!’

* * *

I enjoyed the Expo’s fifth day with my Hunter guards.

Then I happened to run into my alchemist acquaintance, Victor... no, Luise von Berg.

She looked tired as always, dark circles under her eyes, and approached after spotting me.

“My dear friend Yoo Hyun...! Fancy meeting you here?”

I held out a hand, gesturing for her to stop.

“Hey now, the competition isn’t even over. Where do you think you’re going? Judges aren’t supposed to meet contestants privately. Don’t you see those reporters over there?”

Luise raised one eyebrow as though asking whether I was serious.

“To be honest, after watching the competition so far, I don’t think meeting privately would cause any problems now... Is there anyone who could dispute the results after seeing what you’ve done?”

Well, I had achieved incredible results in such a short time. Even if someone caught me having a suspicious relationship with a judge now, it probably would not be a major issue.

Still...

[ Name 》 Luise von Berg ]

[ Species 》 Human ]

[ Awakened Rank 》 A Rank ]

[ Occupation 》 Magic Beast Alchemist ]

[ Areas for Improvement 》 She is under constant stress from the excessive expectations around her. A hidden state of psychological anxiety persists beneath the surface. If it continues for an extended period, it may lead to serious problems. She appears to need a stimulus to overcome her slump. ]

...Honestly, I felt like I’d given her more than enough stimulation to overcome that slump throughout the competition, but the Customer Window had not changed at all.

‘Are her psychological issues still that serious?’

Luise was the capable alchemist who had given me a clue to solve Yeon Harim’s Etherization problem.

‘Hmm... It would be a shame to let talent like hers fall apart.’

Something I’d been realizing lately was that even my EX-rank ability’s intuition could not do anything when it came to creativity.

Whenever I saw a problem, a solution came to mind right away, but I always had the feeling there had to be better methods.

It was as though I lacked the idea or hint needed to reach them. Like I was missing the right puzzle pieces and could not produce a better result.

A capable alchemist like Luise was no different from a rare puzzle piece to me.

I had only been able to solve Yeon Harim’s Etherization problem after getting a hint from Luise.

In other words, to make the most of my ability, I needed capable alchemists with diverse perspectives.

Just as they drew inspiration from my techniques, I was influenced by them.

In that sense, Luise was a valuable talent to me. Letting her break down here would be a loss for me. There were not many people with this level of talent.

“Luise, have you been pushing yourself too hard lately?”

“...? That is rather sudden. If you are worried because my dark circles are too noticeable, there is no need. I have always looked like this.”

I wasn’t sure whether she was pretending not to know or did not recognize her own problem... Psychology was not my field...

Still, I could not suddenly start counseling her either...

“Well, fine then. Just don’t overdo it. Like you always say, it would be a loss for all humanity if an intellect comparable to mine were to crumble.”

Luise’s tired eyes widened for a moment at my words.

“...Ah, yes... That’s right... Um...”

After making some casual small talk with Luise, I left.

Clara, her secretary and housekeeper, approached Luise where she remained standing.

“Are you done talking with your friend?”

“Yeah...”

“But why do you look so down?”