WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 63: Cheon Sanha
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Boing!
Amon spread his short limbs wide and asked me in a grand voice.
[ I ask you, do you seek transcendence through Dharma Arts!? ]
“I don’t know about transcendence. I’m going to use it for magical beast crafting.”
“Pant, pant...”
[ ...What. ]
Why was Amon so flustered? Wasn’t that obviously the only use for Dharma Arts?
Just think about the creatures Amon had made when invading Japan!
Most had been weak enough to die after getting hit by a Rider’s motorcycle, but there had also been giant creatures created by devouring huge numbers of humans.
Their power had been enough to completely slaughter A-rank Hunters.
They had all been butchered by a passing “real” Magna Rider, but A-rank Hunters were valuable personnel.
They were the elite of the Hunter world.
Even with my current abilities, I could not create monsters capable of slaughtering A-rank Hunters from such frail materials as ordinary people.
I needed monster essence and refined mana cores to make such monsters.
But Dharma Arts had done it.
And it was not just Dharma Arts. What about other summoning techniques?
Mages who could create golems on the spot, techniques that summoned guardian beasts made of flame... Such abilities were rare, but from the perspective of a Magic Beast Alchemist, they might as well have been creating something from nothing.
Could I apply their summoning techniques, which created something from nothing, to my magical beast crafting?
“Seems possible. Making magical beasts with Dharma Arts.”
“Pant, pant...”
At my mutter, Amon tilted his head and looked up at me.
[ Do you even know what Dharma Arts are? ]
“They’re magic’s cousin that can make insanely awesome creatures.”
[ ...You’re driving me mad. ]
Amon placed a forepaw against the jelly on his forehead and shook his head.
[ Listen carefully. Dharma Arts are a system through which one can reach transcendence. The creature business you keep talking about is merely one type of Dharma Arts. Its essence is completely different from what you think. ]
“Taking only the best parts from every element is the pinnacle of magical beast crafting, Amon.”
Amon flinched at my answer, then put a forepaw to his chin and considered it seriously before nodding.
[ ...Hmm, certainly. ]
...That was not the reaction I expected.
Why was Amon seriously considering it?
[ That may also be an answer. ]
“No cryptic statements.”
I grabbed Amon by the head and kneaded him mercilessly.
Creak. Squish. Squish.
[ Grrrkh...!!! Let... gooooo-!!!! ]
Amon struggled to pull my hand away with his forepaws.
Twisting his body, he wildly kicked his little legs through the air.
Flail. Flail.
‘This is it. No other Jelly Dog gives me this kind of feel...!!’
After kneading Amon for a while, I set him down on the desk.
Squish.
“Now, explain it. What exactly are Dharma Arts?”
If I was going to apply them to magical beast crafting, I needed to understand their inner workings in detail.
[ Huu... Listen carefully. The foundation of the Mist Dharma Arts I wield is to become the primordial fog and deceive the heavens. Conceal the world’s eyes, deceive its laws, and deceive its essence. That is how one eventually reaches transcendence through the Mist Dharma Arts. ]
“If you start saying things that are hard to understand, I’ll knead you again.”
[ Ngh... Dharma Arts are originally a means for those without Talent to reach transcendence!! By implanting a Dharma Arts Organ, choosing a Dharma Path, and constructing an inner image, one surpasses the limits they were born with!!! ]
Transcending through a Dharma Path...
I did not fully understand what that meant, but I got the general idea.
“But why were you under that Transcendent? From what I hear, Dharma Arts practitioners are like monks, aren’t they?”
There would be no need to invade another world just to cultivate Dharma Arts.
Besides, considering everything I had learned so far, the Transcendent Amon followed could not have been a true god.
‘Who exactly was Amon serving?’
[ The being called the Cradle of Rotting Fog reached transcendence through the Mist Dharma Arts. By deceiving the world and even deceiving its own essence, that being finally surpassed the limits set by the heavens. All who cultivate the Mist Dharma Arts seek that being’s teachings. ]
So it was like a pioneer.
Still, something about this sounded strange.
“Were you originally human or something?”
It did not seem like Amon had been born as that bizarre creature.
Amon’s jelly trembled.
[ ...I don’t know. I don’t remember. If anything, I wonder who I am too. Ever since I became trapped in this jelly body, my mind has been confused. ]
It seemed there was some history behind it, but I let it go for now.
“Hmm. Then explain what a Dharma Arts Organ is, Amon.”
[ ...A Dharma Arts Organ basically follows the principle of a circle and its circulation. The form of causality resembles a circle, and its end is the same as its beginning, symbolizing infinity. Only by implanting that within the body does one gain even a small qualification for transcendence. ]
“But when you put on that talent show, I didn’t see anything that looked like a Dharma Arts Organ.”
The thing that had caught my eye most back then had been the genitals that seemed to belong to either a hermaphrodite or a female.
[ It is not visible. Think of it as a pseudo-organ, like a Murim martial artist’s dantian. ]
Martial artists? Had Amon invaded the Murim world too?
Anyway.
“I understand. This is very interesting. So can I use Dharma Arts now?”
That was the most important question. If I could use Dharma Arts, it felt like I could open a new frontier in magical beast crafting once again.
[ Hmm... Since you possess something similar to a Dharma Arts Organ within your body, you should be able to use them if I teach you the Mist Dharma Arts. ]
“Oh.”
Was I finally going to become a Dharma Arts practitioner?
To summarize what I had learned so far, Dharma Arts were a way for those without Talent to reach something called transcendence. The Dharma Arts Organ was probably another pseudo-organ, artificially created because those without Talent could not form something like a dantian or mana heart.
‘Though it seems that implanting a Dharma Arts Organ damages one’s humanity...’
Amon’s initial claim that humans could not use Dharma Arts had probably put the order backward.
Wasn’t it closer to say that it was not that humans could not use Dharma Arts, but that once a Dharma Arts Organ formed inside someone’s body, they ceased to be human?
Dharma Arts were a technique for those without Talent, not an Orthodox Path but an Unorthodox Path.
In terms of martial arts fiction, they were Demonic Arts.
Since they were one way to surpass the limits of one’s birth, perhaps the price was equally severe.
Still, rather than a Dharma Arts Organ, a magical beast possessing one was parasitizing my body. That meant I could probably just barely call myself human.
“Good. I’ll learn Dharma Arts whenever I have time while making magical beasts.”
With Amon’s mist, I would become a Mix Master too!
* * *
Cheonseong Guild’s guild master’s office, top floor.
Guild Master Cheon Sanha sprang to his feet after seeing the message that had just arrived.
“Finally!!”
[ Yoo Hyun ]: Can you come to Japan by any chance? I’ll make the magical beast you mentioned before.
“So he’s going to make it properly using the facilities in Japan...!!”
Cheon Sanha clenched his fist.
“Getting on Yoo Hyun’s good side through Jellykko really was the right answer.”
Based on their analysis of Yoo Hyun, Cheon Sanha had thought that Yoo Hyun was ultimately a pet lover, so this would be the way to win him over.
That was why Cheon Sanha had poured money without restraint into the uncertain Jellykko business.
And now it had finally borne fruit...!!
Of course, the Jellykko model had also become a cash cow that brought Cheonseong Group enormous profits, but more importantly, the path to becoming the S-rank Hunter Cheon Sanha had dreamed of was finally open.
“Ha... I can finally shake off the frustration of being A-rank...!!”
Cheon Sanha swept back their dyed blond hair with both hands.
“Huu... Calm down. Stay calm.”
Getting Yoo Hyun’s pet did not necessarily mean they would reach S-rank.
Regrettably, compared with Korea’s S-rank Hunters, Cheon Sanha was merely ordinary.
Yeon Harim of Wolyeong, Baek Seola of Dongbaek...
And Seong Gwangho, guild master of the rival Seogwang Guild.
The first two had always possessed talent as Hunters that would not be outmatched anywhere, while Seong Gwangho was a true prodigy who had reached S-rank without Yoo Hyun’s pet.
Seong Gwangho was always pulling bizarre stunts like closed-door training, but that was probably another unique quirk permitted under the name of genius.
That was why Cheon Sanha had to manage his expectations.
What if their mediocre Talent kept them from advancing even after receiving an S-rank magical beast?
Among members of wealthy conglomerate families, Cheon Sanha’s one strength was their clear-eyed understanding of their own limits.
“...Good. Don’t expect too much. You know better than anyone that you have no Talent.”
Cheon Sanha had never stood out within Cheonseong Group to begin with.
By chance, they had awakened as an A-rank Hunter and come to oversee Cheonseong’s Hunter operations, but all of it had been pure luck, not proof of their own ability.
Their birth and awakening had both been luck.
If they had not awakened, they would probably have been swept up in the family feud and crushed in the crossfire between the real heavyweights.
‘Well, Jellykko has strengthened my position within the group lately.’
Getting close to Yoo Hyun gave Cheon Sanha the strange feeling that rice cakes would appear beside their bed while they slept.
“Rice cakes and Jellykkos are both chewy, so maybe it isn’t entirely wrong.”
For now, Cheon Sanha needed to prepare to leave for Japan.
* * *
A few days later.
Ars Magna, Japan’s artificial island.
Hermes Research Institute.
“Hmm, from what I hear, you’re fast and strong, but your technique is the problem. Your eyesight is quite good too, right? You can see every attack your opponent makes. Your vision is actually better than that of ordinary Hunters. It feels like you have all the physical conditions needed to be strong, which makes it even more frustrating.”
Cheon Sanha’s flustered voice rang through the reception room.
“How do you know that...!”
“Calm down.”
“Pant, pant...”
As they consulted with Yoo Hyun, Cheon Sanha was inwardly shocked.
Yoo Hyun had seen through most of Cheon Sanha’s situation.
It was more than merely seeing through Cheon Sanha. Whenever Cheon Sanha carefully considered what Yoo Hyun said, they naturally found themselves thinking that it had indeed been that way.
It was a chilling feeling, as though someone else knew things about me that even I did not know.
‘S-Such insight...!!’
Where did such astonishing insight even come from?
Information about Cheon Sanha could easily be found online, of course, but they had never been analyzed this thoroughly.
No, to be precise, he had been thoroughly analyzed once before.
When Cheon Sanha had desperately struggled to reach S-rank, analysts had swarmed over them, correcting every little habit and optimizing their combat.
What was astonishing was that Yoo Hyun’s words resembled what those analysts had said, yet seemed to strike even deeper.
“Even if you train hard and spend money to get help from experts, swinging a sword is not easy, right? Your sword path probably feels hazy, as if hidden by fog. You can see well, but you don’t know what to do. Haven’t you thought that someone else with the same conditions would perform better?”
Cheon Sanha nodded as if bewitched.
“Yes... That’s right. How could you possibly know that...?”
“Because you have no Talent for the sword. Those abilities do not suit a swordsman in the first place.”
Cheon Sanha blinked as they looked at Yoo Hyun, who had bluntly told Cheon Sanha that they had no Talent.
“...Pardon? I lack Talent, so being a swordsman does not suit me?”
Had Yoo Hyun always been this rude?
After the custom pet consultation began, Yoo Hyun had uncannily pinpointed Cheon Sanha’s current situation with very little information...
And now Yoo Hyun was suddenly telling them to give up the sword.
Yet Yoo Hyun looked at Cheon Sanha with an unwavering gaze and spoke seriously.
“If you give up the sword, things will be easier.”
“Please tell me why...!! Tell me why I should be able to give up the sword!!! So that I can accept it!!!!”
“You’re not a melee DPS. Why is someone who should use a bow holding a sword?”
...A bow?
But why did this suddenly feel like he was sitting in a fortune-teller’s shop?
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading today too...!
I will also consider making the Jellykko emoticons that many of you have suggested...!!
Footnotes:
“Rice cakes appearing while one sleeps” evokes unexpected good fortune in Korean. Cheon Sanha extends the expression into a joke about both rice cakes and Jellykkos being chewy.
Mix Master is a Korean monster-collecting game.
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