WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
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◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 80: Charybdis
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A colossal shadow came ashore.
A gigantic head, with a mouth that took up most of it.
Sharp teeth packed tightly inside.
Countless gleaming eyes and several smaller heads extending like tentacles.
And a size so insane it overshadowed everything else!
Overwhelmed by its sheer presence, people collapsed or screamed.
Kwooo...
“W-What the hell is that?!”
“Are the Merfolk attacking?!”
“T-This is insane... How can a monster like that even exist...?”
It was even larger than the Colossal Merfolk a Hong Kong Hunter had decapitated before.
A colossal monster so far beyond the bounds of a magical beast that it could not even be classified as one.
It was an absurd sight, as though a creature from myth had descended upon this place.
‘Of course, it is still much smaller than the monster that kidnapped Cheon Sanha.’
According to Shin Hayeon of Cheonseong Guild, that creature’s head had reached higher than the clouds. It had to be at least a kilometer tall.
That size was utterly unrealistic.
Maybe it was not even a creature that existed in this reality. If something like that had existed here, Britain would have been finished long ago.
Anyway...
As you can see, the Charybdis Model I unveiled this time was made using Colossal Merfolk essence.
[ Model Name 》 Charybdis - Alpha ]
[ Mana Core Rank 》 A++ ]
[ Lifespan 》 21 years ]
[ Traits 》 Devourer of All Waves (S), Deep-Sea Spiral (S), Gigantification (A+), Current Consumption (A), Brainless (F) ]
‘I used every method I could to make it as large as possible.’
Its rank was teetering just below S-rank.
Its specs were practically on the level of an S-rank.
I picked up the microphone and spoke calmly to reassure everyone.
“Please calm down. It is only a magical beast I made. It will not harm any of you.”
The researchers blinked at my words.
“That... is a magical beast...?”
“H-Hey, you expect us to believe that?!”
“It would require a massive amount of energy to maintain something that size! How exactly are you sustaining it?!”
“...But it really is a magical beast? I can see its status window.”
“It is really a magical beast...? That thing?”
They were afraid, but as expected of researchers, they could not suppress their curiosity.
I spoke to them.
“Aren’t you curious? How did I create a magical beast this enormous?”
“W-Well... I am very curious about that...”
“I heard you secured Colossal Merfolk essence, but even then, that is...”
“Hmm... How did you set the essence values...?”
As their gazes began to fill with curiosity, I quickly continued.
“All right, ask your questions one at a time. This child is under perfect control, so there is no need to worry.”
My unconcerned attitude made everyone hesitate at first, but they gradually began speaking up.
* * *
The director of Neptune Research Institute, who had presented the marlin-like magical beast earlier, looked around at the others.
‘Everyone is overwhelmed... But this is an opportunity!’
Yoo Hyun, the genius, had once again created a magical beast beyond common sense, and he was even accepting questions about how he had done it?
Would another opportunity like this ever come?
There had been quite a few alchemists who achieved breakthroughs after asking Yoo Hyun questions at the German competition.
‘I need to put aside my pride and make the most of this chance.’
The director of Neptune Research Institute quickly raised his hand and asked.
“First... I understand that it is not a Merfolk attack, but a magical beast you created. But how did you reproduce that outrageous size? No, can a magical beast that large even be cultivated in the first place?”
Its size was the biggest issue.
A magical beast’s size was naturally influenced by the factors used.
‘Yoo Hyun used the Colossal Merfolk essence Britain provided.’
But even accounting for that, it was far too enormous.
No, using that essence should have made cultivation itself impossible.
How could anyone cultivate a magical beast that surpassed even the largest Incubator currently in existence?
‘Impossible. Unless they built a new Incubator the size of a building...’
That was why the British government had willingly handed the Colossal Merfolk’s corpse over to Yoo Hyun. They had no way to use it themselves anyway.
With the country on the verge of collapse, they decided it would be more beneficial to hand over unusable material, recruit another promising talent, and turn him into an asset.
After considering the question, Yoo Hyun opened his mouth.
“Even with the largest Incubator Britain provided, cultivating a magical beast that size is... as you can see, difficult. No, it is impossible.”
The researchers stirred at Yoo Hyun’s answer.
“Right... There is no way that thing could fit inside an Incubator.”
“That is what I am saying. It makes no sense from the start.”
“...? Then how did he cultivate it?”
“I know! Could it be an assembled magical beast?!”
“...That makes even less sense.”
The crowd grew only more confused.
The director of Neptune Research Institute cautiously continued.
“...Does that mean there is a method that makes the impossible possible?”
As if it were nothing important, Yoo Hyun casually dropped a shocking fact.
“You just make the Gigantification factor activate later. Make it respond to a specific environmental condition.”
An answer beyond common sense emerged.
“...?”
“What?”
“What does that mean...?”
“...How do you make a factor activate later...?”
It was common knowledge that magical beast factors did not change after cultivation was complete.
Once they left the Incubator, the essence could not possibly change.
Then the director of Neptune Research Institute trembled as though struck by lightning and shouted.
“Essentium!!”
Everything they had said only applied before the insane item called Essentium appeared.
Had everyone here not seen it? The magical beasts evolving in real time during the battle against the Merfolk that day.
The director spoke in a trembling voice.
“D-Don’t tell me... You created Gigantification Essentium, Yoo Hyun?!”
This was not merely a matter of creating a new kind of Essentium.
This was the moment the history of magical beasts, which had been unable to cultivate giant magical beasts because of Incubator limitations, began to change once more.
Yoo Hyun nodded.
Then he took something from his clothes. It was much darker than ordinary Essentium.
“You may simply call it Gigantium.”
Everyone in the crowd stared at Gigantium as though entranced.
* * *
Someone excitedly asked a question.
“W-Wait! Can any magical beast use that item?”
I grinned.
“Shall we test it? Does anyone want to volunteer a magical beast?”
The director of Neptune Research Institute raised his hand at lightning speed and shouted.
“Please... Please use it on my Trident Model!!!”
The Trident Model, the cavalry of the sea, became the test subject.
When I fed it Gigantium, the marlin magical beast visibly swelled in size, becoming twice as large in an instant.
“Gasp!!!!! This is insane!!!!!!”
“It really got bigger!!!!”
“My God, this is not simply a matter of it growing larger... Its shape is changing to suit its enlarged structure...!!”
The astonishment throughout the crowd did not stop.
Someone tilted their head.
“Uh... But it does not seem to be growing as much as I expected...?”
Well, that could not be helped.
The Charybdis Model had been designed with Gigantification in mind from the beginning.
Its conditions were fundamentally different from ordinary magical beasts.
No matter how much Gigantium another magical beast consumed, it could not achieve gigantification on the scale of the Charybdis Model.
Besides...
‘Even without Gigantium, this thing can naturally grow beyond twenty meters.’
It was the sort of magical beast that absorbed seawater and enlarged its body when exposed to a marine environment.
Then I gave it the Gigantification factor afterward, and that synergy produced its absurd size.
So I added an explanation.
“A magical beast needs essence with good reactivity to Gigantium. And it has not reached its maximum size yet. As the Gigantium dissolves within its body, it will gradually grow larger over time. It should easily grow three or four times bigger.”
The director let out a gasp.
“Gasp...!”
After witnessing the Gigantium demonstration with their own eyes, everyone began nodding.
“...Insane.”
“My acquaintance praised him as being every bit as remarkable as his reputation. It seems they were right.”
“The thrill of this far surpasses those S-rank magical beast production methods coming out these days. I admit it...!!”
“This is evolution. This is magical beast crafting! Bravo!! That was an excellent show!!!”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Commander Theodore looked around at the gathering, which had somehow become an academic conference, and tilted their head.
“...What exactly is this atmosphere?”
They had gathered to determine the escort magical beasts’ specs just before the operation began...
After that, questions continued pouring in for Yoo Hyun.
Such as how he secured the energy needed to maintain the Charybdis Model’s insane size...
“It is simple. This one has some of a spirit entity’s traits, despite how it looks. It maintains that body by absorbing mana from seawater. Well... it is also devouring marine life like crazy as an energy source...”
“It uses seawater as an energy source...”
“...It truly is a monster of the sea...!!”
“Hmm, there was certainly a paper claiming that mana dissolved in the sea has a higher density than mana in the air.”
And how he controlled a magical beast that large.
“Ah, that is thanks to this little one.”
[ Model Name 》 Charybdis - Beta ]
[ Mana Core Rank 》 A ]
[ Lifespan 》 30 years ]
[ Traits 》 Resonance Control (A), Remote Synchronization (A), Dual Matrix (A) ]
A fist-sized magical beast sat in a small tank.
Since I had made them through an application of the Duality production method, they had been paired from the cultivation stage.
Unlike the Charybdis Alpha Model, the Beta Model had a rather cute appearance.
It also maintained all kinds of links at all times, so there was almost no chance of the Alpha Model’s control being taken over by an outside force.
“Gasp...!! By entrusting control to an external entity, you reduced the energy consumption necessary to sustain its body...!”
“I see... It is an entity meant to control a giant magical beast from outside.”
“How did you make that one, then...?”
And so, after enduring every kind of question from the researchers, the demonstration for determining the marine magical beasts’ specs came to an end.
* * *
Then... at last, the day of the Merfolk Island Landing Operation arrived.
The Hunters aboard the ships stared at the colossal monster before them and muttered.
“...So you are saying we have to catch that thing?”
“No, it is supposed to protect us...”
Kwooo...!!
The Charybdis Model began moving toward Merfolk Island.
* * *
At an altar before the Gate hidden deep within Merfolk Island.
In that place, where storms raged and rain fell without end, Merfolk who spoke human language had gathered.
A Merfolk holding a staff addressed the being before it with respect.
“Your Majesty... The human scum will soon arrive.”
[ ...Let them come to the island. We will meet them... in the sea. In the sea, no being can surpass us.... ]
Even if an Apostle-tier being came, they could not defeat the Merfolk if they fought in the sea.
Their defeat at the coast?
That had only happened because the barrier with a deep-sea environment had unexpectedly been destroyed.
There had been some unusually strange magical beasts on that battlefield, but they would have amounted to nothing if the barrier had remained intact.
This time, they would fight in the true sea, not within a barrier.
[ In the sea, no variable exists. ]
Land animals could not offer any resistance underwater.
That was the natural order, the truth of the world.
In the sea, only the Merfolk were predators.
[ Drunk on your momentary victory, come crawling here yourselves, fools.... ]
The Merfolk called king looked beyond the sea.
At that moment, lightning struck.
Rumble!!!
In its fish eyes, which possessed a power close to clairvoyance, a flash of light revealed an indescribably enormous shadow.
[ ...? ]
...What was that?
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