WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

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

Chapter 35: Panoplia

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Sigma Research Institute Break Room

Director Genzaki sat there in a daze, completely out of it.

“Ha...”

“Director Genzaki, are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah... I’m fine. Just let me think alone for a moment.”

“Then I’ll head out first.”

Muttering that it couldn’t be helped after seeing something like that, the researcher left.

The break room fell silent.

What had happened earlier felt unreal and distant to Genzaki Yuma, as though he had just woken from a dream.

The scene that had reached the very threshold of creating an S-rank magical beast, something no one had ever achieved.

The sight of the Seed completely breaking apart in the mana storm inside the cultivation chamber before being recreated.

Even the moment when the Seed, which had finally begun to take shape, was about to reveal its complete form...

That brief but intense scene kept replaying in his mind.

“...I thought he was merely a genius.”

Yoo Hyun had effortlessly achieved something others might never reach even after devoting their entire lives to it.

And he had done it through his own ability alone, not with the collective power of a corporation or research institute.

The more Genzaki thought about it, the more he realized how far beyond common sense Yoo Hyun’s abilities were.

He had acknowledged Yoo Hyun’s accomplishments, but he had never imagined he could create an S-rank magical beast as well.

‘Since when had he been able to create S-rank magical beasts?’

Yoo Hyun’s reaction, as if he could make an S-rank magical beast whenever he wanted, was impossible unless he had already verified the method.

He had stopped making the S-rank magical beast Seed as though he could recreate that miraculous moment at any time. That had to mean he had already perfected the method for creating an S-rank Seed.

...Considering the timing, he must have established the theory back when he ran a personal pet shop without even decent equipment.

What had Genzaki been doing all this time, when he had been researching in an incomparably better environment?

‘Could I have reached that point too...?’

Genzaki soon shook his head.

“No. I was too obsessed with the Seed’s stability. I would’ve just kept failing in the end.”

Even the method for making that S-rank Seed was on an entirely different level from normal Seeds, which only required arranging existing arrays.

An S-rank Seed was not made by preserving a pre-built array. It had to be created while anticipating the result of being torn apart and recombined in a mana storm. The difficulty was insane.

Simply imitating the method halfway would never result in a proper Seed.

Director Genzaki began to feel reverence.

‘Is he truly the god of magical beast alchemy...?’

The gap between them was so overwhelming that he did not even feel competitive.

Genzaki chose to be grateful instead. Grateful that he could witness technology so far ahead of its time with his own eyes.

“I wonder how people will react when they learn that Director Yoo Hyun can create S-rank magical beasts...”

Having sorted through his thoughts, Genzaki left the break room.

‘More importantly, what could Director Yoo Hyun possibly be discussing with those S-rank Hunters?’

* * *

Three people and one Jelly Dog had gathered in the Sigma Research Institute’s reception room.

“Hmm... So you’re Hunter Azuma Ryusei, and you’re Hunter Shirasaki Ayame, correct?”

“Pant, pant...”

The good-natured Ryusei nodded, and Ayame gave a small nod as well.

“Yes, please feel free to call me Ryusei.”

“...Yes.”

This consultation was different from the usual custom pet consultations.

Normally, I had to use information from the Customer Window to steer the conversation and piece together the situation, but there was no need for that this time.

The Sigma Research Institute already had detailed profiles on Japan’s S-rank Hunters.

Well, that was only natural, since the Sigma Research Institute had also intended to make pets suited to their abilities and tendencies.

Thanks to that, their reactions were not as intense as those of the Hunters I had consulted in Korea.

To begin with, they both seemed rather calm by nature.

“I heard about it. Director Yoo Hyun, I heard you came to help Japan through this crisis. Thank you very much.”

Ryusei, Japan’s S-rank swordmaster, politely bowed his head.

I waved my hands.

“It’s nothing. I wanted something too, and Japan merely agreed to provide it. You don’t need to thank me so much. A contract should be honored.”

“That’s right... That’s how it should be. Ha...”

Ryusei nodded vigorously.

‘...Did something happen?’

Anyway, the Sigma Research Institute’s Hunter analysis data was useful, but cross-checking it with the Customer Window would be more reliable.

This was Ryusei’s Customer Window.

[ Name 》 Azuma Ryusei ]

[ Species 》 Human ]

[ Awakened Rank 》 S-rank ]

[ Position 》 Assault-Type Swordsman ]

[ Combat Tendency 》 Prefers to target openings in opponents. Prefers to take opponents down in a single strike. Prefers to deflect attacks. ]

[ Areas for Improvement 》 Has strong firepower but weak durability. Tends to perform unnecessary movements. Has poor combat endurance because he puts his full power into a single strike. ]

Was this an S-rank Customer Window...?

‘A classic burst damage dealer... Usually, mages are the burst types, but this is my first time seeing a burst-type swordsman.’

His distinct combat style was obvious. He had probably reached S-rank because he had already optimized himself.

There seemed to be many areas for improvement, but none felt truly fatal. They were more like issues that arose from specializing in something.

Come to think of it, someone as well-rounded as Hunter Baek Seola was the rare one.

Then there was the other person.

[ Name 》 Shirasaki Ayame ]

[ Species 》 Human ]

[ Awakened Rank 》 S-rank ]

[ Position 》 Zoning-Type Spear Fighter ]

[ Combat Tendency 》 Prefers to gradually worsen the enemy’s condition through poison. Prefers to maintain distance from opponents. Prefers to position herself in the middle line of allied formations. ]

[ Areas for Improvement 》 Possesses powerful sustained damage through poison but lacks direct attack options. Has limited ways to administer poison. Is vulnerable against enemies resistant to poison. ]

‘She’s the complete opposite, a classic sustained damage dealer.’

Since she used poison, did she become drastically weaker when facing golem-type monsters?

Anyway.

I had checked the Customer Window, so there was no reason to drag this out.

These people were among the busiest personnel in Japan right now. I could not keep them here for long.

“You’ve heard the details from Director Genzaki. Before I make the S-rank magical beasts, I’ll ask you both a few questions as part of the consultation. Please answer honestly.”

“Yes, ask whatever you’d like.”

“...Yes.”

“According to the data I received, Ryusei, your combat efficiency drops because you perform unnecessary movements. Are those movements perhaps necessary?”

Ryusei looked dumbfounded by my question, while Ayame briefly let out a small laugh despite her stiff expression.

“Uh...”

“...Pfft.”

It had nothing to do with making magical beast pets, but shouldn’t he get rid of pointless flair in battles where lives were on the line?

* * *

After the two S-rank Hunters left, I began cultivating the S-rank magical beasts at my research institute.

Normally, they would have been cultivated at the Sigma Research Institute, but they said they had not done anything themselves and moved their top-of-the-line custom cultivation equipment for S-rank magical beasts to our Hermes Research Institute.

They also told me to let them know if I needed additional personnel, but I declined because Researchers A, B, and C at our Hermes Research Institute were enough.

Perhaps because the workers were Tanker Hunters, the cultivation equipment transfer was incredibly fast.

“Laborer Hunters really get things done stupidly fast...”

A few days later, Kurogane Kaito and Kamishiro Aoi, A-rank Hunters acquainted with Researcher A, Asagiri, visited the institute.

Naturally, they had come to pick up their completed pets.

“Um... We came because we were told the pets were complete, Director Yoo Hyun.”

Soon, two magical beasts with imposing forms appeared before them.

[ Model Name 》 Panoplia - Alpha ]

[ mana core Rank 》 A ]

[ Lifespan 》 20 years ]

[ Traits 》 Fusion-Type Exoskeleton (A+), Overclock (A), Mana Levy (B+) ]

They were golem-shaped magical beasts, their gorilla-like upper bodies and entire bodies made of metal forming a striking whole.

“Are these... our custom pets?”

“They definitely look sturdy!”

They were tanking support magical beasts made for two people who were operating outside their proper positions.

I explained the Panoplia model to them.

“As you can see, they’re based on golems, so they’re quite sturdy. Unfortunately, they can’t tank at the level of an A-rank Tanker by themselves, but... they have a pretty interesting gimmick.”

“A gimmick?”

I explained the ability these creatures possessed.

A special ability they could activate after absorbing enough mana.

“Anyway, they have that function, so try convincing them.”

“...They’re definitely different from the magical beasts I knew. I’ve never even heard of an ability like that.”

“Thank you for taking such care with this, Director Yoo Hyun...”

Still, these two... It had only been a few days, but they looked awful. Their entire bodies were wrapped in bandages, and their faces were full of exhaustion. Their condition did not look good at all.

They seemed to have been badly worn down from being forced to tank... Would they be okay?

“You shouldn’t push yourselves too hard. You both look very pale.”

“Thank you for your concern. But this is the time for us to do our part. We have to enter a Gate right away, so we’ll be going now. Thank you very much.”

The two A-rank Hunters thanked me and left with the Panoplia models.

“I suppose... they can’t rest even if they want to.”

It was unfortunate, but it could not be helped. I hoped they could achieve something this time.

The next day, perhaps my prayers had been answered, because news soon came in.

[ Breaking News ] Tokyo S-rank Gate Response Team faces annihilation... Magical beast pets shielded their owners and prevented a total wipeout!

[ Exclusive ] “Just how far does Yoo Hyun’s hidden technology go...

...

Footnotes:

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