WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 75: First Evolution
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Researcher B Tanaka's idea made me slap my knee with a smack.
I stepped onto the platform and explained the Axolotl model's strengths, ostensibly giving the Hunters one last chance to change their minds.
[ Model Name 》 EVO - Axolotl ]
[ Mana Core Rank 》 B ]
[ Lifespan 》 9 years ]
[ Traits 》 Excellent Adaptability (B+), Venomous Bubbles (B+), Regeneration (C+) ]
It possessed the poison attribute, could move freely underwater, had a surprisingly long-ranged tongue, and decent regenerative abilities.
But no matter what I emphasized, the Hunters did not seem especially tempted.
“...Hmm. It does seem useful, but...”
“It’s kind of iffy...”
“Is it normal that I’m even more put off now...?”
“That appearance is just too much...”
I knew.
Still, I calmly hinted at the Axolotl model's potential.
“Everyone, as you can see, the Axolotl model's appearance is a liiittle more divisive than the other models. But... will it really keep looking like this after evolution?”
At my words, the venue began to stir as though something had occurred to them.
“Hm? Now that you mention it, it did seem excessively ugly. Could it be...?”
“Certainly, it’s practically a universal rule that the uglier the initial form, the more beautiful it becomes after evolving.”
“Oh... Come to think of it, there were pocket monsters with that kind of vibe!”
“...Ha, so that was the gimmick...!! I was wondering why it was so damn ugly!!! It was designed to make the transformation more dramatic!!!”
Of course, I had no memory of designing anything like that, but the Hunters began interpreting it that way on their own.
As some of them moved to the Axolotl model's line, the golden 52:52:52 ratio was achieved.
Luise sounded impressed.
“Ooh... This actually works?”
“I know... They really bought it?”
Since these were evolution-type magical beasts, it seemed the anticipation surrounding evolution was even greater than I had imagined.
Everyone seemed to see a lizard and picture a dragon, choosing based on the final stage.
In that sense, they changed their choice with wishful thoughts that the Axolotl model's final form would be beautiful too.
In my view, the odds that the Axolotl model would evolve beautifully were...
‘Even being generous, thirty percent...?’
Unless its amphibian nature changed, I doubted it would change that drastically.
Still, I could not be certain, since I did not know every branch of evolution.
At least I had not lied.
‘No matter how I calculate things, it all depends on what those people do.’
A magical beast's evolution would ultimately vary greatly depending on what experiences its owner gave it.
There could even be synergies between essences that I could not predict.
Anyway, the distribution of all the magical beasts was now complete.
“Let’s get along, Ppuari...!!”
“Hehe... Grow up pretty.”
“Can this little guy grow as much as the turtle magical beast of Yoo Dusik, the Immovable Mage?”
Most of the Hunters left happily with their magical beast partners.
At one point, a Hunter stuck out their Jellykko's butt and asked for an autograph. I went along with it and made a Jellykko Tattoo Edition.
It was water-based marker, so it would come off soon enough.
Shin Hayeon, the Cheonseong Hunter who had proposed the magical beast supply, came over and handed me several devices.
“Thank you, Director Yoo Hyun. This is an exclusive Channel for the Cheonseong Group. If you use it, you can watch our body-cam footage in real time.”
“Oh, thank you.”
I had not expected real-time body cams, but that was the Cheonseong Group for you.
With this, I could watch the EVO Series magical beasts fight in real time. If I was lucky, I might even capture a moment of evolution.
Pointing at the boxes nearby, I spoke.
“This is further improved Essentium, so please distribute it among the guild members. Tell them to use it carefully, since their choice of Essentium accounts for most of what determines the direction of evolution.”
“Understood, Director. Thank you again.”
After staying here for about another day, the Cheonseong Group's Hunters departed for the United Kingdom.
* * *
Once again, numerous Hunter factions gathered in the United Kingdom.
Last time, there had been shameless Hunters who simply tagged along, collected their rewards, and never even hunted any Merfolk. This time, a point system was being used to analyze each force in detail and distribute rewards accurately.
The British Hunter Management Agency was packed with Hunters who had come to gain bonus points through that system.
Individual combat capabilities were converted into points and added together, creating a system that could bring additional benefits in later rewards.
At one of the counters, a staff member coolly and objectively analyzed the strength of a Cheonseong Guild Hunter and assigned points.
“...Lastly, two points for the B-rank magical beast, bringing your total to thirty-nine points.”
It was a fairly high score for a B-rank Hunter.
But the Cheonseong Guild member was unconvinced and protested to the staff member.
“Ha... Clerk! Our magical beast isn't ordinary, you know? You don't know Yoo Hyun? Yoo Hyun!? It would be very difficult if you rate this as B-rank!”
The Hunter's frustration was understandable.
The difference between thirty-nine and forty points was not merely one point. It was enough to change the battlefield they would be assigned to.
The staff member looked at the red lizard beside the Hunter and spoke as though they had a headache.
“I’m sorry... This isn't something I can change at my own discretion. Please understand that I can only assign points according to the manual. And look around you. Most of the magical beasts here are A-rank or higher. A B-rank magical beast cannot be considered particularly high-rank here. Even if it is the work of a renowned alchemist, two bonus points is the limit.”
“No, I know that, but... Ha... Do you know Essentium? This one has been fed that stuff, so it isn't just a B-rank! It could... it could evolve into A-rank! Please, just one more point somehow...!!”
At the Cheonseong Guild member's outcry, the surrounding Hunters frowned.
“What is that Asian saying?”
“That thing, right? They developed something called Essentium or whatever. They’re talking about that.”
“Honestly... How pathetic.”
“Tsk. Sounds like they brought a mere B-rank magical beast and are making a scene for more points.”
One of the Hunters nearby stood and approached the Cheonseong Guild member.
“This won’t do. I should go calm them down a little.”
“Hey, Marx, rough them up, but don't go overboard!”
In an era when even S-rank magical beasts could be mass-produced, someone was causing trouble over a mere B-rank?
As though this was the perfect target to relieve their boredom, A-rank Hunter Marx approached the Cheonseong Guild member.
At that moment, the Cheonseong Guild member let out a shriek.
“Gasp!!! Fuck! Morongi’s evolving!!!!!”
Marx, stunned, grabbed the guild member's shoulder. Then, at that moment...
“Hey, what evolution? Like hell it is...”
Flash!!!
An intense blue light burst forth, filling Marx's vision.
“Grrrk...!!!”
Crackle!!!!!
When the light faded, the red lizard's scales had turned blue, and electricity was pouring from its body.
It had even grown noticeably larger...!
The change was so obvious that everyone present could recognize it.
“......?”
“Huhhh?”
“What the fuck...?”
The Hunters who had been watching were left speechless, while the staff member said with a dazed expression,
“Ah... Um... With an additional point for the elemental attribute, that makes forty points....”
“Oh yeah...!! Putting a heated mat under it while it slept did the trick!!!”
“...Grrrk.”
The Cheonseong Guild member lifted the newly evolved Lightning-Attribute Salamander model and squeezed it tightly.
And there was another Korean watching this scene...
YouTuber Petite Cream had just come to the United Kingdom for an overseas shoot. He had visited the agency to introduce Britain's newly changed system to his viewers, only to witness this scene by chance.
“Wow... This is insane... Did you guys see that?”
[ Chat ]
- Watching a live evolution again, wtf;;;
- Look at those foreign Hunters getting left speechless by the newfangled tech lollllllllll
- But wait, it evolved because they put it on a heated mat...? What the hell did Yoo Hyun make?
- ...I can see it! The vision of a Jellykko Electric Eel Edition...!!
- I heard Cheonseong Guild got new magical beasts from Yoo Hyun. That must be it.
- I heard they were designed to have insanely good compatibility with Essentium.
- Cream bro, people are saying evolutions are breaking out elsewhere in the UK too? Social media is starting to go crazy lollllllllll
- So when is Essentium hitting the market already!!!!!!!!!!! My Jellykko says it wants to evolve right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The EVO Series and Essentium had begun receiving their first reactions.
[ Breaking ] Yoo Hyun's new evolution magical beasts swiftly deployed to Britain's “Merfolk Subjugation Operation” in partnership with Cheonseong Guild
[ International ] “We will sweep away the Merfolk swarms off Britain's coast”... Cheonseong Guild joins the battle with Yoo Hyun's adaptive magical beast unit
[ Feature ] Merfolk stronger than ordinary Awakened vs. Essentium-evolved magical beasts... Humanity's counteroffensive will take place on Britain's coast
Footnotes:
“Pocket monsters” is an indirect Korean reference to Pokémon, used here to joke about ugly first forms evolving into attractive final forms.
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