WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 31: The Land of Natural Disasters
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After providing the Wolyeong and Dongbaek Guilds with a fair number of custom pets, I decided to head to Japan and told Hunter Yeon Harim, my first sponsor.
“Japan? Hmm... It’s not that far, so I’ll visit often. And you have to contact me every day, even after you go to Japan. Promise me. You have to!”
Yeon Harim already knew I had no intention of limiting myself to Korea, so she was not particularly flustered.
If anything, she regretted Korea’s poor magical beast infrastructure even more than I did.
As for Baek Seola, she had already heard where I was going next, so there was no need to tell her separately.
She was busy clearing Gates in preparation for her S-rank promotion, following in Yeon Harim’s footsteps.
[ Breaking ] Following ‘Yeon Harim,’ will Korea produce its third S-rank Hunter? Hunter Baek Seola begins S-rank promotion assessment!
[ Feature ] “The alchemist who produces S-ranks”... Baek Seola breaks through her limits, with ‘Yoo Hyun’s pet’ once again playing a decisive role
[ Analysis ] “After Yeon Harim, now Baek Seola”... The value of Yoo Hyun’s pets, which foster S-rank Hunters, is ‘immeasurable’
“Phew... I’ve finished most of what I needed to do in Korea, so it’s time to head to Japan.”
“Pant, pant...”
* * *
A few days later, at Incheon Airport.
Naturally, word of my trip abroad quickly spread among my customers.
Most of those customers were members of the Wolyeong and Dongbaek Guilds, though.
“Boss!! Are you really leaving? Rodin, the boss is leaving!!”
“...Hiss.”
“Ahhh! I knew this day would come someday...!!!”
“Wiiiind...”
Hunters Yoo Dusik and Lee Yujin, who had once again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again brought a Korean beef gift set all the way to the airport, cried out as if they could not bear it.
That was not all.
“Yoo Hyun... I still haven’t placed a pet order...!!”
“...Neither have I, Boss Yoo Hyun.”
Kang Sujin and Seong Taesik, the Hunters who had guarded me during the magical beast competition at the Magic Engineering Expo, stared at me in despair.
And that still was not the end.
The people from Wolyeong and Dongbaek who had not managed to place pet orders yet tore at their hair and wailed.
“Aaargh!! I was saving money, how could this happen...!! It’s me, Boss!! Oh Yukman from Wolyeong, the one who guarded the front of your shop three days ago!!”
“If you leave Korea like this, aren’t you coming back...? Will you keep making them overseas?”
“Ahh... I’m going to kill Kim Cheongsik and everyone who supports the regulations...”
“Whoa, calm down. If a Hunter says they’re going to kill a politician, they’ll get arrested under the Hunter Regulation Act.”
Some had spent all their money on equipment and could not afford an order. Others had been gathering as much money as possible to commission a higher-rank pet. For one reason or another, the people who still had not received a custom pet from me wailed like people who had just missed a limited-edition item right in front of their eyes.
Thanks to that, the reporters who had gathered after learning of my departure could not even get close to me.
“Everyone, don’t worry. My sponsorship contracts are still in effect, and I’ll be visiting Korea several times a month. Japan isn’t that far to begin with. If you want to commission a custom pet, come find me at the research institute.”
Once the guild members realized this was not their last chance, they finally quieted down.
Then another one of my customers, one who was not a guild member, came to the airport as well.
“Boss... Haengbok...”
My regular, the schoolkid Kim Jia.
She had not contributed to my sales, but she came almost every week to squeeze Jellykko, so I was never bored even when the shop was empty.
She had also named Haengbok, and she might have even contributed to me gaining my EX-rank ability.
“It’s all right, Jia. This boss and his Jelly Dog aren’t going far, so don’t be sad.”
“Uh... I’m not really sad... But if you open a pet shop later, could you hire me as an employee... Oh, and my parents changed their minds too, so make me a Jellykko when you have time.”
Still as bold as ever. To think she was trying to get both a job opportunity and a handmade Jellykko out of me at a time like this.
I nodded.
“All right.”
“Yes!”
“Pant, pant...”
Jia hugged Haengbok tightly one last time before letting go.
Unlike when I went to Germany, I boarded the plane after being seen off by everyone at an airport crowded with my customers.
* * *
At Haneda Airport in Japan, I met Asakura Kenji, chairman of the Magical Engineering Research Council. Then I visited the artificial island called Ars Magna with him, and I could not stop admiring the sight before me.
“Oh...”
An enormous artificial island floating in Tokyo Bay.
It was so massive that it was obvious magical engineering technology had gone into its construction.
Still, it was only six or seven times the size of Yeouido...
It was fucking huge.
“Ha ha... What do you think, Mr. Yoo Hyun? This is Ars Magna, the cradle of magic engineering that Japan is so proud of...!”
Asakura Kenji introduced the island with pride in his voice.
It made sense. There probably was not another place like this anywhere in the world.
“...I can’t believe the government built something like this...”
“Ha ha ha! In an era where a Hunter’s strength is national power, I believe this level of investment is only natural.”
...Come to think of it, Korea was supposedly doing something similar.
It was said that an enormous budget had been poured into creating a magic engineering special zone, but I had not even heard rumors about it lately.
Anyway...
Following Chairman Asakura, I toured the various areas of Ars Magna.
The island had everything from a blacksmith district that produced equipment used by Hunters to an alchemist district that made potions and elixirs, along with a general district that researched materials with potential uses beyond the Hunter industry. Research institutes with a variety of purposes were scattered throughout each area.
“The scale is much bigger than I expected.”
“We are continuously expanding the facilities. We still feel the scale is insufficient, so we have continued investing in it... However, we recently had no choice but to temporarily halt the expansion work.”
‘Because of the S-rank Gates...’
There was a reason Japanese equipment had improved so drastically in quality over the past few years.
Oh, and the island had one more unusual facility.
[ Ars Magna Hunter Academy ]
“Wow... I’d only heard rumors about a Hunter Academy... It really exists.”
Inside, someone who looked like an instructor was correcting the students’ stances.
‘In other countries, once you register as an Awakened, they just throw you straight into a Gate. Here, the government even trains them...’
Other countries did have systematic training facilities for Awakened. They just were not as full-scale as this place.
But did that mean Korean Hunters were weaker than Japanese Hunters?
Well...
Maybe it was a difference in disposition or culture, but Korea was a strange country where its Hunters’ average combat ability ranked within the world’s top three among those of the same rank.
Despite lacking government support or systematic training.
For reference, Japan ranked ninth.
* * *
After touring the island under Chairman Asakura’s guidance...
I finally arrived in front of the research institute assigned to me.
“...”
As I stared up at the institute for a while, Chairman Asakura started sweating for some reason.
“Ah... Um, I’m sorry... This is the best we can offer for now... I believe it will take more time to clear out another research institute...”
“I like this place well enough.”
Honestly, they had given me a better building than I expected.
It was a mid-sized research institute that felt newly built.
I came from a tiny pet shop, so this was practically a palace.
Besides, if the research institute was too large, it would only be inconvenient.
Even if cleaners and guards maintained the facility, I would still have to clean the laboratory myself.
When I mentioned that, the chairman seemed to think this was his chance and brought up something he had apparently prepared.
“About that... I thought you might need more help, so we assigned several people to the research institute... What do you think?”
“...What?”
When I entered the research institute with Chairman Asakura, young people in white lab coats bowed their heads in greeting.
“I-I’m Asagiri Yuto!! I read your paper, Professor, and it was extremely impressive!!!”
“I’m Tanaka Shinichi! I look forward to working with you!”
“I’m Sato Megumi.”
I briefly scanned their information.
[ Name 》 Asagiri Yuto ]
[ Species 》 Human ]
[ Awakened Rank 》 C Rank ]
[ Occupation 》 Magic Beast Alchemist ]
[ Areas for Improvement 》 Possesses a meticulous personality but lacks flexibility, making them poor at responding to unexpected situations. A novice alchemist with very little experience. It would be good for them to gain a wide range of experience. ]
Judging by the Customer Window, all three were novice alchemists.
They were talents Chairman Asakura had prepared, so it was not as though they lacked ability. They simply had short careers.
‘I’m sensing some kind of ulterior motive...’
I quickly realized what the chairman was after.
‘Aha? He’s giving these kids the chance to learn techniques under me.’
He planned to have these newbies assist me while building experience as Magic Beast Alchemists. Even after I left someday, they would have grown into reliable alchemists for Japan.
I had thought Chairman Asakura was merely a timid little man, but I could not underestimate him.
“That works out well. I’d be happy to have extra hands.”
I wanted people I could hand off the tedious work to, so I had no reason to refuse.
“Ah ha ha... Thank you.”
I was also shown my accommodations. Then I immediately unpacked, washed up, and lay down.
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll begin making an S-rank magical beast in earnest.”
“Pant, pant...”
I fell asleep while squeezing Haengbok.
* * *
The next day.
When I visited Sigma Research Institute, which was in charge of creating the S-rank magical beast, they turned me away.
“I’m sorry, but... We’re truly right at the edge of completion now. We know how skilled you are, Mr. Yoo Hyun. Still, we want to complete this project ourselves.”
“Ah... All right, then.”
I had visited to check the production progress and laboratory conditions, but they told me to leave because they wanted to do it themselves.
Without any lingering attachment, I turned around and headed back to my research institute.
“Director... Is it all right to go back like this?”
Newbie Researcher A, Asagiri Yuto, who had followed me, spoke with concern.
“What can I do? They don’t want me there.”
“...I don’t understand why they’re refusing you when they still haven’t managed to make an S-rank magical beast.”
You’re young, Yuto...
“If they really can complete it, they wouldn’t welcome me joining at this point. It would look like I was swooping in to claim a share of their achievement, and that would not do them any good.”
They probably thought there was a high chance their achievement would be overshadowed by my name, which had been rising rapidly lately.
[ Exclusive ] Yoo Hyun joins Japanese research team and immediately succeeds in cultivating the first-ever S-rank magical beast, ah, feels so good~!
There was no guarantee articles like that would not appear.
I could understand how they felt to some extent too.
If you thought you were just about to solve a problem, how deflating would it be for someone to come in and tell you the answer?
They wanted the honor of being the first in the world all to themselves, and they wanted to experience the thrill of overcoming the challenge.
But...
“They’ll never succeed in S-rank Cultivation with that design in the first place.”
“What!? What do you mean? You haven’t even seen their design yet, Director.”
“No, I know without seeing it. Everyone’s heading in the wrong direction, I guess... Well, I’ll tell you when I get the chance later.”
“...All right. But Chairman Asakura wants to create an S-rank magical beast as soon as possible. Won’t it be a problem if they keep acting like that?”
From that man’s perspective, it must be driving him crazy.
“What can I do? Unless another S-rank Gate opens, it doesn’t look like I’ll be asked. If it comes down to it, I’ll make one myself. Oh, you’ll have to help too, Asagiri.”
“Of course, Director! ...But can you really make an S-rank magical beast by yourself?”
“Who knows?”
* * *
A few days later.
I had not been allowed to join the S-rank magical beast production project, but there were plenty of things I could enjoy on this artificial island.
For example, the Ars Magna seminar.
The seminar, where specialists from various fields of magic engineering gathered, made it easy to acquire information about fields I did not know.
I asked about something I had always been curious about. This seminar’s topic happened to be Gates.
“So you’re saying that Gate danger levels are steadily rising?”
“Yes. If you look at this statistical data, recent Gates show an enormous difference, with their average mana levels increasing by 15.2 percent compared to Gates eight years ago. On top of that, the probability of anomalies occurring in Gates is also rising.”
“Hmm, then... I have a question about the frequency of high-rank Gates in Japan. You mentioned that there are locations where Gates tend to form more easily...”
Tap tap tap! Clack!
At that moment, someone ran down the hallway and roughly threw open the door.
Everyone’s attention naturally turned toward them.
“A-a fifth S-rank Gate has opened in Saitama Prefecture!!!”
Everyone was horrified by the shocking news. It had not even been that long since the fourth Gate appeared. How could a fifth have opened already?
“W-what did you say!?”
“This can’t be... Why only Japan...!!!”
“The seminar is over!! Everyone, disperse!!”
The seminar room instantly descended into chaos.
I muttered in disbelief.
“...Huh. This place doesn’t just have a lot of natural disasters.”
Why was this land so cursed?
[ NHK Emergency Bulletin ] A ‘fifth S-rank Gate’ confirmed in southern Saitama Prefecture... Emergency alert issued across the Tokyo metropolitan area
[ Urgent ] Kanto region faces its worst crisis... Saitama S-rank Gate mana index breaks all-time record
[ Breaking ] “Is this Japan’s countdown to destruction?” Fifth S-rank Gate in Saitama, mass recruitment of overseas S-rank Hunters begins!
[ Exclusive ] Ministry of Defense official breaks down in tears: “Severe shortage of domestic S-rank Hunters... Practically no means to prevent a Gate Break”
Footnotes:
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