WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 92: Misunderstanding
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“Ahem... Anyway, a plant-type magical beast has been spotted around the deepest part of the Sichuan Magical Beast Research Complex. This can actually be confirmed through satellite images. A gigantic tree stands tall at the very center, and mutated magical beasts surround it... Well, I imagine you all already know that much, so let me add one more thing. Apparently, the plant-type magical beast bears fruit by using humans as nutrients. There are rumors that the fruit is an extraordinary elixir.”
For some reason, Magician Mask was sweating coldly as he finished speaking.
“Hmm. I knew the first part, but this is the first I’ve heard of the second.”
“Hahaha! I think this is good enough on my end.”
“...Hmm.”
“Tsk, I had prepared something similar.”
“...An elixir?”
Everyone assessed Magician Mask’s information.
The advantage of going first in an information exchange like this was that you could share information others might also have prepared before they did.
But didn’t that make the first turn something of an easy ride...?
As I looked at Magician Mask that way, he hurriedly added,
“Ahem... Um, to add a little more, there are rumors that China has completely abandoned Sichuan. I acquired this through a fairly reliable source.”
For some reason, the masks looked at Magician Mask with pity.
“Hmm, so it was true after all.”
“They’re already making elixir pills by grinding up their own citizens. I figured as much.”
“Kuahaha! Then is it my turn next!?”
As I casually stored the meeting’s contents away in my mind, I was thinking about something else.
Pant, pant...
I had been maintaining my peace of mind by imagining myself petting Air Haengbok and listening to its panting, but the sudden information had gotten me excited.
‘Plant-type essence...!’
The existence of plant-type monsters had been confirmed long ago.
The problem was that most plant-type monsters were lifeforms whose essence was too insignificant to extract.
They were merely elements within Gates. Many had no combat ability at all, like vines that wrapped around your ankles or trees that made strange noises.
They were certainly more active than ordinary plants, but plant-type monsters generally weren’t very dangerous to Hunters.
That was why I had never had reason to make a plant-type magical beast. There had been no useful essence.
It wasn’t impossible to make one. It was just inefficient.
‘But Magician Mask said plant-type “magical beast,” not “monster.”’
That meant... the plant-type magical beast in Sichuan was either a mutant created by the magical-beast biohazard, or an extremely unusual being made by a Transcendent faction.
‘And it even produces elixirs by using humans as nutrients?’
With the essence of a lifeform that unusual...
There would be so much I could do.
And that wasn’t all.
‘The difference between a monster and a magical beast is that the latter has been processed by an alchemist.’
With my ability, I could extract a magical beast’s essence and reverse engineer it. If the plant-type magical beast was not born through mutation but was the work of a Transcendent faction, I could absorb that technology.
Excited, I continued listening to the meeting.
The discussion mostly covered China’s current situation and atmosphere... and the Transcendents behind it.
“Both are almost certainly Chaos forces... but considering that gods of the Order forces don’t hesitate to grind humans up either, the ones making elixir pills could actually belong to Order.”
“Well, whether they’re Order or Chaos, they clearly aren’t beneficial beings if they’re grinding up humans.”
“Anyway, aside from how inhumane they are, their methods are quite efficient. The important thing is that if we drive out the forces in China, we can obtain a huge quantity of elixir-type items.”
Everyone calculated their gains and losses.
China’s current situation was perfect for drawing the world’s outrage, so there was plenty of justification... On top of the causality gained from a subjugation, there was an opportunity to farm the vast quantity of elixirs they had made.
After several people spoke... it was the turn of the women in black and white masks, whom I suspected were Chinese.
They were two people, but only one status window appeared... a being with a remarkably malformed mental body.
The woman in white spoke.
“The Continental Sword Princess, Cheon Rin, is active in Sichuan Province. She is at odds with the Chinese government and is fighting to save its citizens.”
Butcher tilted his head and asked,
“Hmm...? Does that mean she doesn’t belong to any faction? With talent like that, wouldn’t she be getting recruitment offers from everywhere...?”
The Chinese government had effectively already joined a Transcendent faction. That was why it was making elixir pills by grinding up its own citizens.
Naturally, people assumed that Cheon Rin, the Sword Princess called China’s greatest Hunter, belonged to them as well.
This time, the woman in black spoke.
“Cheon Rin was never affiliated with the Chinese authorities. She merely agreed to accept their assistance to facilitate her activities, and the authorities used her name in return.”
Butcher sighed.
“Huh... Then the picture changes. I imagine there must be quite a few conflicts and fractures within them. Well, that’s good for us, but... hmm.”
The Sword Princess Cheon Rin could have been quite a variable in operations within China, but she was an unaffiliated Hunter...
“Kuahaha!! Well, their land is huge, so of course they’ll be fighting among themselves!!! Excellent!!!!”
Mask of Wrath laughed heartily.
The information had been gathered, and there were enough benefits and justification.
It became nearly certain that the next subjugation would take place in Sichuan.
Then everyone’s eyes turned to me, the last person.
“...”
“...”
Unlike when the others shared their information, the atmosphere began to sink.
I could feel looks leaking through the masks, as though they were watching a bomb that could explode at any moment.
‘...Hmm. What information should I share, anyway?’
It wasn’t as though I had prepared nothing related to Sichuan...
But should I say this? Or not?
It was hard to call it helpful information for conquering Sichuan Province, but it wasn’t unrelated either...
After considering several possibilities, I opened my mouth.
“The cause of the magical-beast rampage in Sichuan... was the addition of Chaos Entity essence to an essence array.”
Most of the masks were startled by the unexpected statement.
“...??”
“...Excuse me?”
“A Chaos Entity...? That mud-like thing?”
“Could you... explain?”
It required specialized knowledge, so I explained it as simply as possible.
“Chaos Entities possess the property of being able to fuse with most substances. Therefore, their essence can connect to any essence. While Mansu Precision Engineering was imitating Buffering Array technology, it used Chaos Entity essence like glue to forcibly join essences together.”
Chaos Entity essence had no immediately notable trait beyond its powerful binding ability, so they used it to forcibly join essences that did not match.
‘They probably just wanted enough of a framework to claim it was their own technology.’
Time would solve the rest of the problem for them.
But that complacency ultimately caused the disaster.
The Chaos Entity essence mutated...
“The mutated magical beasts seized the laboratory, then absorbed the resources of the research complex, which had stockpiled mana cores and materials from all over the world because it was obsessed with producing S-rank magical beasts. That was possible because they possessed the traits of Chaos Entities.”
That was why they kept mutating and growing stronger without end. It was also why the Chinese authorities had failed to suppress the situation.
I figured I would have to resolve the problem there someday, so I had gathered materials and reached this conclusion through my own analysis long ago.
That was the end of my statement.
It wasn’t particularly useful information for conquering Sichuan, but...
The response was far more intense than I expected.
Butcher and the masks spoke in trembling voices.
“Th-then, how do you know so much?”
“Don’t tell me...”
“...So that’s what it was!!”
...?
Why were they looking at me strangely again?
Butcher stared at me with trembling eyes.
“Ha... You really are a dangerous person... You were interested in Sichuan from the beginning... Was that why...?”
What was he talking about...?
At that, Magician Mask muttered as if he had realized something.
“...!! So that’s why your bearing changed when I spoke about Sichuan...!! You certainly reacted to the plant-type magical beast... What it produces is an elixir made by using humans as nutrients...!! You deliberately caused that situation in order to obtain vast quantities of elixirs easily...!!”
The fanatic continued from there.
“C-crazy... Are you saying the entire biohazard was created by Plague!? You spotted signs of China copying Yoo Hyun’s technology, then led them into using Chaos Entity essence. As a result, you made it easier for a Transcendent faction that produces elixirs to intervene...!”
Mask of Wrath tilted his head at that guess.
“Hmm...? But... China has always caused problems making knockoffs with all kinds of strange raw materials. More importantly, how could anyone predict which Transcendent would intervene?”
“That’s why it’s so absurd! It could only be a design made possible because Plague completely understands the Transcendents and China’s nature!! No, perhaps even summoning a new Transcendent faction to Sichuan was Plague’s doing... Plague already had the medium needed for the summoning and designed everything around it...! China has a huge population, so there are more lives to grind up!”
Mask of Wrath nodded as though convinced by the fanatic’s words.
“Uh... Now that I hear it, that does seem right... You created the optimal conditions... used a Transcendent faction to cultivate massive amounts of elixirs... and now it’s time to harvest them?”
“Exactly!”
Magician Mask held his forehead and muttered,
“Ha... That is a design only possible if you have the confidence to drive back a Transcendent faction by yourself....”
Butcher crossed his arms and nodded.
“If it’s Plague, that would be possible.”
Somehow, the conversation was heading in an increasingly strange direction.
Iron Mask, who had quietly listened until then, rested a hand on her chin and muttered as if pondering it carefully.
“Hmm... When you asked about putting living beings into an interdimensional space... If you specifically asked whether they could be put in ‘crumpled up’ for efficiency because you intended to throw them into the tree as nutrients from the beginning, then everything fits. Was it to get the greatest possible efficiency?”
Listening to them talk, I roughly understood what these masks were thinking.
‘They think I’m the mastermind who created the Sichuan magical-beast biohazard.’
...They were probably saying something that absurd because my inner mental body had been exposed. I could understand why they would misunderstand.
Honestly, I couldn’t even correct their misunderstanding. I was deeply involved in the Sichuan situation, so it was difficult to say their guess was entirely wrong.
When I remained silent, the masks cautiously watched my reaction and spoke.
“But then... why did you share that information...?”
“Are you telling us not to touch it because it belongs to you...?”
The masks looked at me as though seeking agreement.
“...I don’t care. Do as you please. My goal isn’t something as trivial as ‘elixirs.’”
Flinch!
The masks shuddered again at my statement.
“...!!”
“...Gasp!!”
“Elixirs aren’t the goal...?”
“Don’t tell me...!!”
My face twisted beneath my mask at their reactions.
‘These bastards... Are they doing this on purpose?’
They weren’t making fun of me, were they?
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