WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 3: The First Customer
──────
[ Name 》 Yoo Dusik ]
[ Race 》 Human ]
[ Awakened Rank 》 C-rank ]
[ Position 》 Backline Support Mage ]
[ Combat Tendency 》 Prefers acting as a stable, stationary artillery unit. Prefers casting in one spot for extended periods before unleashing a powerful blow. ]
[ Areas for Improvement 》 Unable to properly display his skills because his current team has a weak front line. He appears capable of fulfilling his role when paired with an outstanding tank. ]
‘What the hell is this...? My trait can do something like this too?’
It was not enough that I could peek at someone else’s status window. I could even learn advanced information like their combat tendencies and current circumstances in such detail?
They said that the higher a trait’s rank, the more bizarre its abilities became... It really was true.
Even this function was probably only a fragment of an EX-rank ability.
“...Boss? Boss!”
“Ah... Yes. Sorry, I got lost in thought for a moment.”
Yoo Hyun belatedly answered the voice calling him.
“That happens. Still, I would appreciate it if you could focus on helping me right now.”
“Yes. Then I’ll bring out one that meets the conditions you mentioned.”
Yoo Hyun brought out the Rune Turtle whose Enhancement procedure he had completed earlier.
“Hmm... A turtle...? A Rune Turtle...? Or is it a little different?”
“It is a Rune Turtle. It’s a Rune Turtle V - 3 model that I personally enhanced. Its defense is extremely high. You’ll probably be surprised.”
Only Magic Beast Alchemists could see a magical beast’s status window. I handed Dusik documents listing an ordinary Rune Turtle’s specifications and remaining lifespan.
“I see. A Rune Turtle... Not bad. Boss, is there anything I need to watch out for while raising it?”
“It replenishes the basic energy needed for vital functions through its mana core, but it’s best to feed it whenever possible. Rune Turtles are not very active, so there shouldn’t be a problem as long as you keep the environment moderately humid and provide access to a small water area. Also, because of the Enhancement procedure, you’ll need to replace the mana core on its back after it activates its ability a certain number of times.”
“Oh, really? It sounds easier to raise than I expected. How much is it?”
Was he planning to buy it right away? He chose faster than I expected.
“It’s 7.2 million won. It’s a little expensive because it’s an enhanced specimen. It’s in exceptionally good condition.”
The price of an ordinary Rune Turtle varied from shop to shop, but they went for anywhere from four to 5.5 million won.
That was just how this industry was. Overcharging was common.
But I was an honest pet shop owner.
I set the price based on the standard price registered with the Alchemists Association, taking the Enhancement procedure into account.
‘Ahem... Still, it has a C-rank trait. It should be fine to charge this much.’
It was a one-of-a-kind specimen created by someone with an EX-rank trait. If anything, I thought it was very cheap.
The question was whether the customer would recognize its value...
...He wasn’t going to run away because it was expensive, was he?
“Hmm... Seven million... All right. I’ll pay in full. Come to think of it, do I need a license to raise a magical beast pet?”
“No. It’s E-rank, so you don’t need a license. You only need to fill out a few forms.”
I pulled out several documents.
“...There’s this much to write?”
“Well... Overseas, you only need to fill out around two forms, but as you know, regulations are strict in Korea. To summarize, the main point is that the person raising the magical beast pet takes full responsibility for any problems it causes. Please look them over.”
“Tch... Why are regulations in this country so strict, whether it’s Hunters or magical beasts...? You have it rough too, Boss.”
“Haha...”
There was nothing I could do about it.
Still, with things unfolding the way they were, I had a feeling a major change involving magical beast pets was coming.
And just like that, my first enhanced creation, the Rune Turtle, found a new owner.
“...Hiss.”
“...All right. Let’s get along, little guy.”
* * *
A few days later, Yoo Dusik headed to a newly appeared C-rank Gate in Gyeonggi Province.
It was a new Gate his guild had won the bidding rights for, and Dusik’s team happened to have an opening in their schedule.
“Of all things, we got assigned to a newly discovered Gate...”
“We should investigate it first, right?”
“The Gate’s mana rank is definitely C-rank. I think we can confirm the monsters that appear, then farm it as usual. Team Leader, is that all right?”
“Yeah, yeah. You guys handle it.”
As around ten team members decided how to proceed with the Gate exploration, Dusik took Rodin, the Rune Turtle, out of its cage.
“Rodin, it’s dangerous, so don’t wander too far from me.”
“Hiss...”
Just then, a middle-aged man clad in armor and carrying a shield approached from afar.
“Yoo Yoo Yoo Dusik. Is that the magical beast you bought? A Rune Turtle? Isn’t it E-rank? It’s not for combat.”
“...It’s an enhanced specimen, so it can fight.”
Of course, that was a lie. The pet shop owner said its defense was on a whole different level from a normal specimen, but it was still an E-rank magical beast, wasn’t it?
“Really? It doesn’t look like it. Did you run short on money, Dusik? You went and bought a cheap pet. But honestly, wouldn’t a rabbit suit you better than a turtle? You’re always running around in the back, hahaha! Don’t you all think so too?”
“Ah... Yes... Well... Hunter Yoo’s evasion is good...”
Team Leader Kim had started his bullshit again.
No one found it funny, yet he tried to humiliate me like this every time.
Apparently, before I joined the team, someone else had suffered the same treatment. The guild only issued warnings because they could not easily get rid of a B-rank Hunter.
“What do you think, Hunter Cha? Isn’t our Baekho impressive?”
Team Leader Kim took a large white-furred tiger-type magical beast out of the huge cage on the truck, showing it off to the team.
“Grrrrr...”
“Oh my, is that the pet you said you bought before?”
“Yeah. It’s a model designed by a famous foreign alchemist. It cost over 400 million won, and it can take down C-rank monsters by itself. It’s probably more useful than Dusik.”
This was driving me insane.
‘...Sigh. When is transfer season coming, seriously...?’
“All right, all right. Let’s get going!”
* * *
The Gate run went smoothly.
That damned Team Leader Kim failed to hold aggro properly again and let monsters through to me in the third line, but a nearby melee damage-dealer Hunter took care of them, so I did not have to run around like last time.
Still, something felt strange.
‘The pace at which monsters are appearing is weird...?’
Unlike an ordinary C-rank Gate, the monster formation, or perhaps the wave cycle, was far too short.
It was a forest-type Gate, and the monsters were giant spiders. Even considering they were insect-types, there were far too many of them.
“Team Leader Kim, is this Gate really C-rank?”
“It’s C-rank. Is this your first day running Gates?”
“...Something feels off this time. Maybe we should stop exploring and have the Gate rank measured again...”
Team Leader Kim, who had been walking ahead, abruptly stopped.
“Haa... Dusik. How many years have you been a Hunter?”
“...Three years.”
“You’ve been doing this for three fucking years and you can’t even tell a C-rank Gate apart? Huh? Fucking mages have no awareness and rocks for brains. Haa... Is that why you can’t even pull your weight?”
The team’s mood instantly sank.
“Um... Team Leader Kim? I agree with Hunter Yoo... Something is strange right now.”
“What...?”
The moment another team member backed up Dusik’s opinion.
Whirrrr-!
A pure white thread flashed through the air.
“Kehng!!”
Something dragged the 400-million-won tiger-type magical beast deep into the forest with tremendous force.
“Hey!! Baekho!!!”
Splurt-!!
With a horrifying sound, a severed corpse rolled to a stop near Team Leader Kim.
Thud-!
“...Ah.”
The tiger-type magical beast’s body had been cleanly cut in half at the waist.
“Fuck!!!”
Team Leader Kim swore at the sight.
“Kishishit.”
Then a giant spider-type monster appeared.
“...That creature is a B-rank special species, an Arachne!”
An unexpected battle against a B-rank monster had begun.
“Argh! Team Leader, please tank properly!!!”
“Team Leader, you’re losing aggro!!!!”
“I’m tanking properly! I said I’m doing it properly!!! Aaaagh!!!”
Because of Team Leader Kim’s pathetic tanking, they experienced hell.
* * *
Yoo Hyun’s Pet Shop
“Hmm... I wonder how it went?”
If the status window was accurate, my Rune Turtle should have been able to make up for Hunter Yoo Dusik’s weakness.
[ Trait 》 Rune Barrier (C-rank) ]
Its mana core rank was low, so it would not be able to use Rune Barrier many times. Still, at C-rank, it should be able to block most attacks.
The Rune Turtle might be E-rank, but it was a magical beast with every stat poured into defense. If its trait had reached C-rank, it should even be able to block a strike from a B-rank monster.
“...Or not? Even you think that’s too much, right, Haengbok?”
“Pant, pant...”
Either way, I had gained a new ability that let me peek at the status windows of other Awakened.
I decided to call it the Customer Status Window, or Customer Window for short.
Was the name lame? No one else was going to see it, so who cared?
Anyway, if I could create custom pets perfectly suited to customers who came to my pet shop, that would be an incredible ability.
Pets were just starting to rise in value.
【 Korean Hunter Gallery 】
[ General ] I’m really seeing how useful pets are lately...
Author: IAmAPoet
Magical beasts do not count toward the Gate headcount, so they definitely feel like an increase in combat power. Of course, cheap pets are not enough, but who knows what will happen as technology develops lol;;;
[ Comments ]
- Anonymous (110.70): Equipment is still the priority for now lol. Pets are only for veterans who have hit the limit on improving their specs.
└ IAmAPoet (Author): Is that so? Technology has improved lately, and even cheaper pets seem pretty cost-effective...
[ Overseas ] China is going to make a magical beast pet for Continental Sword Princess Cheon Rin, holy shit lmaooooooo
Author: Anonymous (106.101)
Below is a news headline I copied.
([ Exclusive ] Chinese authorities launch a “national-budget-scale custom magical beast pet” project for Continental Sword Princess Cheon Rin... “All-out effort to prevent an SS-rank disaster”)
This just came out. Pet-related stocks are surging for the second time lmaoooooooooo
[ Comments ]
Heat Wave Slash: But to match Continental Sword Princess Cheon Rin’s level, they would need to create an S-rank or higher magical beast. Is that even possible? There isn’t a single S-rank magical beast yet, right?? I heard there are only a handful of alchemists who can make A-ranks...?
└ FullBellyLehu: If they throw Chinese capital and manpower at it, won’t it be possible? They’ll probably run a ton of inhumane experiments where no one can see lol.
└└ Anonymous (128.0): Inhumane experiments are a conspiracy theory.
The turbulent era of magical beast pets was slowly approaching.
Hunters were beginning to seek out pets one after another...
An unstoppable tide was coming.
Right now, people still doubted the price and practicality of pets, but if the value of Magic Beast Alchemists slowly skyrocketed and they received national support...!!
“The tide is coming. The tide of a massive boom...!!”
Then Korea would follow other countries and gradually loosen magical beast regulations while watching public opinion...!!
With all the Magic Beast Alchemists having fled overseas because of the previous regulations, Korea must already be under pressure. This time, things would definitely move in my favor.
“...The shop can’t go bankrupt before that happens, though...”
My magical beast pet shop still had no customers at all.
Thanks to Hunter Yoo Dusik, who bought the Rune Turtle recently, I had enough breathing room until next month...
But if customers kept getting taken by the large pet shop next door, it would only be a matter of time before my shop went under.
As I wondered how much I would have to cut living expenses to survive the month after next, the bell rang.
Jingle.
“Welcome.”
“Hehehe... Hello, Boss.”
Yoo Dusik had come back carrying a huge load of things. Along with Rodin’s cage, he carried several neatly wrapped cases.
“Is there somewhere I can put these?”
“Ah, put them over here. But what are these?”
There were no fewer than three boxes on the table. Was it just my imagination, or did they look like the gift sets you only saw during the holidays?
“Hahaha! This is a small token of appreciation for the Boss who brought Rodin into our lives. It’s nothing much, so please accept it.”
When I discreetly checked the contents, the boxes were filled with 1++ Korean beef.
“Gasp...! Oh, this is...! No, ahem... I can’t accept something like this. I haven’t done anything...”
“Come on...! It really is nothing. Please take it, Boss. Aren’t you Rodin’s father?”
“Ahem... Then I’ll accept it gratefully.”
I accepted the Korean beef gift sets while pretending I could not refuse.
‘This is crazy... I could eat nothing but Korean beef for a month, right...? I should send some to my parents too.’
Judging by his reaction, my Rune Turtle must have been an enormous help to Hunter Yoo Dusik.
So I asked him about it...
“Oh, don’t even get me started. Without Rodin, our team would have been wiped out that day! That idiot Team Leader Kim... No, that son of a bitch almost got us killed, and Rodin saved us.”
To summarize, Team Leader Kim, the main tank and the only person capable of standing against the B-rank special species Arachne, could not withstand its attacks and bolted on his own.
Naturally, the B-rank Hunter who was supposed to block the attacks had fled, putting the team on the verge of annihilation...
When the Arachne pounced on Hunter Yoo while he was casting a spell, Rodin the Rune Turtle’s Rune Barrier appeared and bought Yoo Dusik time to cast...
Then Hunter Yoo Dusik, who possessed firepower among the best of C-rank Hunters, landed a strike that badly injured the Arachne. They barely managed to bring it down and return alive.
“But shouldn’t a B-rank Hunter be able to handle a monster of the same rank?”
“No, that bastard wasn’t B-rank. We found out later that it was all forged. No wonder he only volunteered for C-rank Gates. There was a reason for it.”
“Good grief...”
Anyway, I examined Rodin, the Rune Turtle Hunter Yoo had brought in.
“Hiss...”
“Thankfully, there are no problems. I replaced the external mana core with a new one.”
“Thank you, Boss!! I’ll promote your shop everywhere!!”
Jingle.
Hunter Yoo Dusik bought all kinds of additional magical beast pet supplies before leaving.
It was a great help to the shop’s sales.
* * *
A few days later.
Jingle.
“Um... I heard you sold a pet to Hunter Yoo... Could I buy a pet to take into Gates too?”
“...?”
I appreciated the promotion, but this was not a combat-pet shop. Hmm...
“My budget is around 50 million won.”
“Welcome, customer!”
* * *
One month later.
A twenty-two-story guild building in the middle of Teheran-ro in Gangnam.
Inside the office of Yeon Harim, the A-rank Hunter and master of the Wolyeong Guild.
The black-haired beauty Yeon Harim, dressed in a form-fitting martial-arts uniform, reviewed overdue documents while listening to her secretary’s report.
“That concludes the report on the unusual phenomenon at the C-rank Gate we won in the previous bidding.”
“It’s a complete mess overall... They faked the rank and even skipped the most basic Gate investigation? Why do forged documents like this keep turning up? Doesn’t the Awakened Management Administration need a major overhaul?”
Cases of rank forgery appeared every year, but she never expected one to occur in her own guild.
There was another unusual point as well.
“Gamma Team’s performance has risen significantly compared to last month.”
“I guess getting rid of the trash who faked his rank immediately improved their performance. Can we consider that a return to normal?”
“...Even considering that, their recent performance is abnormal.”
At her secretary’s words, Yeon Harim checked Gamma Team’s performance report.
“...Huh?”
No matter how she looked at the papers, the numbers were strange.
[ Gamma Team: 112% increase compared to last month ]
“...Is this real?”
What was going on with these results?
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
