I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over - Chapter 40

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

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

Chapter 40: Magna Rider

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Thanks to Yoo Hyun efficiently(?) solving Japan's tanker problem, the S-rank Gate's monster population was somehow being kept under control.

The Panoplia - Beta model infuses its host with magical beast factors, making the host's body tougher and stronger.

By equipping gear that embodied the technical expertise of the magic engineering special zone, they had barely achieved the miracle of temporarily tanking S-rank monsters.

* * *

Inside an S-rank Gate in Japan's Kansai region.

"Come onnnn-!!!"

Whoosh-!!

The hammer of a massive statue-like monster over ten meters tall came crashing down, ready to smash A-rank Rider Yamada Taichi, 32, to pieces.

KWAANG-!!!

A shockwave swept in every direction as though heaven and earth had been shaken.

Yamada Taichi, 32, was driven deep into the ground like a nail. Cracks spread around him like shattered glass, forming a crater.

It was a scene of destruction more than enough to turn a human into pulp.

A stealth ninja waiting for an opening to attack screamed at the horrific sight.

"C-crazy... Y-you bastard... Please dodge something like that for once!!!!"

The stealth ninja broke out in a cold sweat.

The Rider tanker was certainly good at tanking, but he was not in his right mind.

How many potentially fatal attacks had he taken already?

Normally, an attack that powerful would be deflected, or everyone would dodge it together.

Yet that Rider tanker never dodged.

If anything, he took the attack head-on as though he wanted it.

Then a voice came from beneath the monster's heavily lowered hammer.

"Cough...! I... won't... break...!!"

Yamada Taichi, 32, had survived an S-rank monster's blow.

That did not mean he was unharmed.

'I can't feel my lower body.'

It had probably been completely crushed.

Pain rushed through him, but perhaps because of the Panoplia model's painkilling effect, it was bearable.

"It hurts... It's heavy... This is... the weight of a Rider...!!"

Both arms that had taken the hammer and both legs that had supported his body were broken. Still, he smiled through the agony.

He could feel the magical beast factors injected by the Panoplia model replacing the damaged areas.

"Heh heh... Now that's a proper pump."

As the monster lifted its hammer to strike again, a fellow Rider tanker shouted from outside the crater.

"Hey!! Yamada!!! Let me use that exercise equipment... No, that monster too!!! I'm recovered, so it's my turn to get hit!!!!"

"Wait!! I think I can take one more hit!!! Just let me take this one!!!"

The damage dealers and supporters were dumbfounded, while the healer at the very back grimaced.

"......Healing and potions aren't unlimited, you fucking assholes...."

* * *

Japan Gate Response Team Headquarters.

Everyone there was moving busily as good news kept pouring in.

"Response Team 4 has eliminated thirteen S-rank magical beasts...!! Four injured, one seriously injured. The seriously injured person is a Magna Rider."

There were injuries, but the response teams, which had not properly killed a single S-rank monster until now, were producing results.

At this rate, they could contain the Gate without borrowing the power of S-rank Hunters from other countries.

"The Magna Riders' achievements are remarkable... Can this truly be the work of a single person?"

The Rider tankers were called Magna Riders because they had been created through magical beasts developed at Ars Magna.

And it went without saying that Yoo Hyun, the father of every Magna Rider, had come to be called the Rider Maker and earned fervent support from the Riders.

It was an achievement worthy of calling him a national hero.

Yet amid all that good news, Japan received an email foretelling another disaster.

Higuchi Takeru, the overall coordinator of the Gate Response Team, looked over the materials and official document sent down by his superiors and rubbed his aching head.

"What the hell is this now...?"

[ An Artifact That Prophesies an Alien Invasion and the Interpretation of Its Prophecy ]

Research materials on a living artifact sent to Japan from Europe.

They contained a prophecy of Japan's crisis, along with its interpretation.

The connection between entities from another dimension and the Double Gate, along with the essential points of the interpreted Prophecy, were as follows.

[ In the near future, dense fog will appear around the S+-rank Double Gate in Saitama Prefecture, and it is impossible to know what may happen within the fog. It is recommended that civilians in the area be evacuated. If possible, please investigate the inside of the Double Gate as well. ]

"...Things were finally starting to stabilize. What a headache."

It was all vague talk about aliens and prophecies, but the materials must have been repeatedly verified by those above him.

Then all he could do was make the best decision on the ground.

"......For the time being, change the purpose of entering the S+-rank Gate from controlling the monster population to investigation. Issue an evacuation order for civilians within a two-kilometer radius of the Gate."

* * *

A few days later.

At Yoo Hyun's Hermes Research Institute, Chairman Asakura wiped sweat from their face with a handkerchief as they spoke.

"A culture of what they call 'taking hits' is becoming popular among the Magna Riders."

"A taking-hits culture?"

According to Chairman Asakura, the Riders enjoyed creating dangerous situations for themselves by enduring even attacks they could have avoided.

It did create better openings for the damage dealers, but in exchange, recovery resources were apparently being consumed like crazy.

'But is that really okay?'

When a host's body was damaged, the Panoplia model injected more magical beast factors into it.

"Huh... There's a risk of magical beastification, so why are they doing that? We explained it before distributing the magical beasts."

"It seems that's exactly what they're aiming for. As magical beastification progresses, their compatibility with the Panoplia model increases, and they become stronger. They say it's 'the dream' or something... Anyway, some Riders even avoid regular checkups...."

Hmm... I hadn't expected people to repeatedly take attacks on purpose in hopes of magical beastification....

After thinking for a moment, I spoke.

"If they like it, isn't it fine?"

I could get data on human magical beastification out of it, so it benefited me.

"Ah, no... Still... Human magical beastification is a little...."

Chairman Asakura seemed to sense a mad scientist in Yoo Hyun and sweated even more, wiping their face with the handkerchief.

"More importantly, you didn't come all this way just to tell me that.... Is this about the Prophecy?"

"......!! If you already know, that makes this quicker."

I knew because Luise had contacted me recently.

[ VictorKreutz ] : Yoo Hyun! A huge disaster is about to strike Japan!!

[ YH1234 ] : Is that so?

[ VictorKreutz ] : I'm not joking!! They found alien intelligent life!!! Japan's going to be invaded!?

She had made such a huge fuss.

Alien intelligent life? I already had some idea that such beings existed.

After all, Haengbok and I had met the God of Jelly Dogs in a dream.

So even if unknown intelligent life existed in another dimension, it was not something that would surprise me.

Chairman Asakura had probably come to find me because they were anxious about the Prophecy that those unknown beings would invade Japan.

Japan really had been getting kicked around a lot lately.

It was clear that Japan's strength needed to be increased further, if only for the safety of my research institute. Signs kept appearing that something unpredictable was about to happen.

Chairman Asakura, who looked as though they had not slept in days, lamented.

"Whew... Anyway, I haven't been able to sleep properly because of that damn Prophecy... Who knows what's about to happen now...."

I patted their shoulder.

"Don't worry. The S-rank magical beast will finish Cultivation in two days, so bring the S-rank magical beast then. Let's also proceed with the Magna Rider enhancement project you mentioned. We need to be ready to drive back whatever tries to invade."

"R-really!? I'll gather volunteers right away!"

The truth was, the more precarious Japan became, the more it benefited me.

If I had experimented with Attachment-Type Magical Beasts carrying the risk of magical beastification in peaceful times, I would have been condemned for ethical reasons.

"Sweet, easy data collection."

The data collected here would surely be useful someday.

* * *

Japan's two S-rank Hunters, Azuma Ryusei and Shirasaki Ayame, were exploring the S+-rank Gate.

True to Japanese form, they were both skilled in stealth. They secretly searched the inside of the S+-rank Double Gate and finally found a structure that could only be called an anomaly.

Azuma Ryusei frowned when he spotted the purple structure.

"......Even among the architectural styles inside Gates, this one is uniquely unpleasant."

"......The building itself is alive."

Its outer walls were made of wriggling flesh, and strange gurgling noises could be heard even from a distance, making them feel sick.

The Gate's boss happened to be prowling around the structure, so they could not approach any closer.

Sssss-

Then dense fog began to flow from the structure.

* * *

[ Breaking ] Dense fog of unknown cause appears around the S+-rank Double Gate in Saitama Prefecture... Visibility reduced to nothing

[ Urgent ] "Contact has been lost with all search teams that entered the fog"... Saitama Prefecture abruptly issues evacuation advisory

[ Exclusive ] Radar fails, drones crash... Unidentified shadows spotted in Saitama's dense fog?

An evacuation order had been issued for Saitama Prefecture days ago, but the fog spread farther than the area covered by the order.

Yumemi's evacuation had been delayed, and she was wandering through the fog.

It was a road she took every day, but the visibility had become so poor that she could not find her way. Strange lifeforms groaned around her, mixed with human screams.

The fog itself gnawed at her mind, causing headaches and hallucinations.

Holding her head, she stared ahead.

Her vision suddenly turned red, and a black shadow stood beyond the fog.

It was not human in shape. It began to approach her, slowly, slowly.

"...Sob... P-please save me...."

Her legs had gone stiff and would not move. As it drew closer, the world began to turn upside down. Her sense of balance collapsed, and she fell to the ground.

[ ■■■ ■■■ ]

Scrape- Scrape-

Making an incomprehensible cry, it crawled toward her, scraping the ground. Beneath its waist, the faces and limbs of those who had once been survivors clung densely together, forming an elongated lower body.

"Ah... Aah...!"

When she vaguely realized that she would soon join them, her body lost all strength to resist.

Just as it came within arm's reach, a motorcycle burst through the fog and ran over the unknown creature.

VROOOOM-!!!!

THUD-!!!

The impact brought Yumemi back to her senses.

"Y-you are...?"

"I'm a Magna Rider passing through. I'll handle it, so run in the direction I came from."

Thinking this was her last chance to survive, she ran in the direction the motorcycle had come from.

But soon...

Scrape- Scrape-

Another figure emerged from beyond the fog and approached Yumemi. Whenever one appeared, her vision inverted and her will to resist vanished.

She felt like prey standing before a predator.

But...

VROOOOM-!!

KWAANG-!!!

A miracle happened again.

Yumemi regained her senses once more and looked at the Rider before her.

"Y-you are?"

"I'm a Magna Rider passing through. Run in the direction I came from."

"Th-thank you!!!"

I'm alive...! Twice now!!!

But...

Scrape- Scrape-

They kept crawling toward Yumemi from beyond the fog...

VROOOOM-!!

KWAANG-!!!!

"...You are?"

"Ah, I'm a Magna Rider passing through. Run in the direction I came from."

Every time, Magna Riders appeared from who knew where.

......

After dozens of minutes of this:

Scrape- Scrape-

VROOOOM-!!

KWAANG-!

"I'm a Magna Ride..."

Scrape- Scrape-

VROOOOM-!!

KWAANG-!!

"I'm a Magna..."

Scrape- Scrape-

VROOOOM-!!

KWAANG-!!

"Me. Passing Magna Rider."

"......"

'W-what is this...? Why are so many of them passing through?'

Yumemi seriously wondered whether she had been trapped in a loop, but eventually managed to escape the fog.

[ Issue ] A hallucination caused by the fog, or a new horror... Reports of Magna Rider sightings from beyond the fog

[ Exclusive ] Missing person's survival account: "I was almost eaten by a magical beast in the fog... Then a Rider on a motorcycle ran it over and kept going."

[ Breaking ] "Why are so many of them passing through?!"... Witnesses say there are more Magna Riders than monsters in Saitama's fog

[ Urban Legend from the Scene ] Mysterious monsters are roadkilled by Magna Riders who vanish... "Where do they keep coming from?"

Footnotes:

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