WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈
Chapter 93: Evil Eye Crafting
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“…It seems there’s some deeper darkness hidden that we don’t know about….”
“It looks like something far more terrifying than the biohazard could happen in Sichuan Province.”
“Just what is the real goal…?”
The masks were making a huge fuss.
I decided that, no matter what I said now, it would be like pouring oil on a burning house, so I held my tongue.
The atmosphere gradually settled down.
Everyone seemed to be wondering whether they might be swallowed by some immense darkness if they went to Sichuan for no reason. No one could easily speak.
I was getting anxious inside.
‘What if they give up on conquering Sichuan?’
That would be a problem. The plant-type magical beast had only been spotted in the deepest part of the area... and reaching it would require an enormous force.
They would have to push through mutated magical beasts across land several times the size of Korea.
These people possessed Apostle-tier combat power and could rally their respective factions. They needed to join in if I was going to farm plant-type essence smoothly.
Then Butcher spoke carefully.
“...The fact that you could destroy our mental bodies here at any time but haven’t... means Hunters and Apostles aren’t your goal, does it not? Right, Plague?”
I quietly nodded.
Nod.
“I knew it! See!? If Plague wanted to kill us, we’d all have died the instant we entered!”
“...So we aren’t even worth noticing, like insects.”
“Ha... This is absurd.”
“Whatever the case... the Sichuan magical beast forces must be subjugated eventually.”
The masks seemed somewhat relieved, yet even more troubled than before, as though they could not grasp my true purpose.
Anyway, everyone had shared their information by then, and the meeting spent some time discussing future plans.
Mask of Wrath folded his arms and laughed.
“Ha ha! Then the next subjugation campaign will practically have to target Sichuan’s magical beast forces! The timing isn’t bad, either!”
“...China has effectively given up on reclaiming it.”
“Creating an excuse to enter won’t be difficult. But to gather Hunters, we need a convincing reward. Since the Chinese government has abandoned Sichuan... we should spread information about the ‘elixirs’ obtainable there.”
They decided to spread rumors and rally people to lay the groundwork for the next subjugation campaign, encouraging large factions to participate.
Once major factions joined, people would naturally gather, and it would become another farming ground, just like Merfolk Island.
Now that Transcendent factions were even operating publicly, plenty of people would participate in this campaign if only to gain causality.
I silently listened to their conversation.
As the meeting’s energy gradually cooled, Emperor’s Mask, Valentina, spoke.
“Hmm, it seems all available information has been shared. Let us end this session here. Any objections?”
“No... I’d appreciate it if you ended it quickly....”
Magician Mask was drenched in sweat.
The others also seemed satisfied with this much...
And so, this session of the Round Table meeting ended.
The masks left one by one as though fleeing.
“Ha ha... Plague, I’ll see you again next time.”
Butcher was the only one who offered a farewell before leaving.
The only ones remaining were Valentina, the host in Emperor’s Mask, Butterfly Mask collapsed on the floor, and me.
“...I’ll be leaving first.”
Emperor’s Mask seemed uncomfortable as well and left.
I stood and approached the exit.
On the way, I glanced at Butterfly Mask, sprawled motionless on the floor like a cold corpse... though she was not actually dead.
‘Hmm....’
Even without being able to control myself, I had restrained myself as much as possible, so her mental body should not have died...
And the meeting had lasted longer than expected. I thought she might wake up halfway through...
Yet she still had not regained consciousness....
No, perhaps she had not failed to wake up...
Was she awake?
With that question in mind, I approached Butterfly Mask and whispered into her ear.
“...Luciella.”
There was no reaction even after I said her real name. It seemed she really had fainted.
After all, she had been hit hard enough to bleed from every opening in her face. It was not strange that she could not get up.
I quietly left the meeting hall.
* * *
Much later.
“Gasp... Gasp...!!”
Butterfly Mask panted in the meeting hall after everyone had left.
That, at the end...
‘H-he knows... My... my name....’
He had seen through her playing dead too!!!
That monster knew everything...!
“Ah, ahh....”
Luciella, wearing Butterfly Mask, had been desperately pretending to be dead. Seemingly not yet able to speak properly, she screamed and raked at her face.
“Ahh... Aah....”
The knowledge that he knew her name filled her with terrible fear.
This was a warning.
A warning not to dare run away...!
“Ugh... Aah....”
Even as her nails dug into her face and blood ran down, her broken mind could not stop.
Rather, as though trying to escape that immense gaze by destroying her own identity, she dug harder into her face.
“Eyeba... all!!! Aaaahhh!!!!”
For some time, the sound of flesh being clawed apart and cries that could not become language echoed through the meeting hall.
* * *
“Phew....”
“Pant, pant....”
[ Aaargh!!! I said stop kneading me!!! ]
Knead, knead.
To calm myself down, I vigorously kneaded the Jelly Dog clutched in both hands.
It had been a while since I visited Masquerade, but I was reminded that it still had quite a bit of useful information.
Plant-type essence aside, checking the Customer Windows of new faces was quite a perk.
Being able to peek at the Customer Windows of people who were practically the core forces of Transcendent factions had already made the trip worthwhile.
“Whatever the case, it’s time to prepare for the subjugation campaign.”
“Pant, pant....”
[ Aaargh!!! ]
Knead, knead.
And so, I began cultivating a new magical beast suited for the campaign.
A few days later, Cheon Sanha visited the laboratory.
“This is the plan for Jellykko World, a massive theme park west of Jelly-polis. Take a look.”
I read through the documents he handed me.
Jelly-polis, the Magical Beast New City, was currently being developed at a terrifying pace.
Rumors of high wages and opportunities to learn new technology had brought enormous numbers of workers from all over the country, while the research complex mass-produced magical beasts with the abilities needed for urban development.
Even though Jelly-polis was not yet complete, huge crowds were already visiting. Spurred by that excitement, massive capital flowed in, and the unceasing buzz led to investments by other companies, creating a virtuous cycle.
With Jelly-polis’s many magical beasts and its giant floating Jellykko sky buses already serving as a magical beast theme park in themselves, perhaps it was only natural.
And the good news from overseas never stopped, either....
Cheon Sanha spoke excitedly.
“Of course we’ve expanded into Britain too! Over there, Jellykkos are such valuable pet magical beasts that they can’t keep them in stock!!”
“Is it really that popular?”
Had Jellykko become a pet magical beast with worldwide appeal?
“Of course! You practically ended the Merfolk Island incident! You’re basically a hero over there. A pet magical beast personally made by that hero? It’s cute, highly functional, and easy to raise. How could it fail?”
Anyway, Jellykkos were selling like crazy in Britain too.
“Well, the most important thing is that people are lining up to join the new faction you said you’d create.”
The new faction I had decided I would create someday.
More guilds and Hunters were seeking to join my magical-beast-based faction.
Some probably wanted the evolution-type magical beast EVO models and Essentium they could obtain by joining my faction... while others might simply want to build a guild building in Jelly-polis.
Still, what mattered was that even now, when Transcendent factions had emerged into the open, many people wanted to join my side rather than theirs.
“Oh, and the person who used to be Korea’s number one has come out of seclusion. The world has changed so much that they’ll probably be quite shocked.”
“You mean Hunter Seong Gwangho.”
Korea’s former number one Hunter had gone into seclusion before I even met the God of Jelly Dogs.
‘So they have finally finished their secluded training....’
I would have to watch the movements of Seogwang Guild, Korea’s former number one guild.
For reference, Cheonseong Guild was currently number one.
“Oh, and just as you said, people in China have started talking about it too, so...”
At that moment, the door flew open and someone entered.
“Oh! You were here! Nice to meet you!”
A dark-skinned man abruptly entered the reception room.
‘Cheon Sanha had an appointment with me right now, so I made sure no one else could come in.’
Cheon Sanha widened his eyes at the unexpected visitor.
“Huh? You are...?”
“Oh? Aren’t you my roommate?”
When I gave him a look asking whether he knew the man, Cheon Sanha nodded.
“Yeah, we were locked up together in the Merfolk Island prison. He helped me out there. If it weren’t for him, a lot of people might have turned into Merfolk.”
“Ah, it was nothing. I had fun thanks to you too.”
Cheon Sanha looked at the man’s face, then the eye covered by an eyepatch.
“But... your eye....”
“Ah, this? It isn’t a problem for the moment, thanks to my ability. You remember how I knew what was happening outside even while we were in prison, right? I can borrow the sight of animals I’ve infused with my mana.”
Sure enough, a bird of prey sat on his shoulder, its eyes gleaming.
“Of course, it’s a little inconvenient since it differs from human vision, but I’m not completely blind!”
“Hmm? Then perhaps the reason you came here is...?”
“Yes! I can share vision with magical beasts too, so I was wondering if I could request a magical beast useful in battle. I heard somewhere that you make magical beasts for anyone who offers sufficient payment. If possible, I wanted to commission Yoo Hyun, the rising star of the magical beast world.”
As I listened to them, I looked at the man and thought,
‘He came here himself because of Emperor’s Mask’s comment.’
I did not even need to check his Customer Window. That guy was the man behind Butcher Mask.
I had not expected him to have a connection with Cheon Sanha...
They even seemed fairly close.
Anyway, setting aside his sudden and rude visit, after hearing him out....
“Would you say you’re Cheon Sanha’s benefactor?”
“Hmm... I don’t think I’d go that far, but he did help me.”
That made it awkward to send him away.
The man in the eyepatch placed a pile of things on the table.
Thud.
“Hehe... I brought plenty of good things too....”
A large quantity of artifacts that he seemed to have acquired somewhere.
Hmm... That looked like sufficient payment....
In that case....
“You said you can share vision with magical beasts, right? Then there’s no need to connect it to your optic nerve.”
That would make crafting the magical beast much easier.
“Right! ...But what do you mean, optic nerve...?”
“If I make the magical beast in the shape of an eyeball, it can be transplanted in place of your eye. Wouldn’t it be convenient if its field of vision matched that of an eyeball?”
“Gasp...! You’re right!! That would be so convenient! But it sounds like you could connect an optic nerve too... Am I imagining it?”
Watching through the bird of prey on his shoulder and moving his body at the same time looked fairly inconvenient. An eyeball would be more practical both in battle and daily life.
‘An eyeball-type magical beast....’
I had wanted to try making magical beasts that could replace parts of the human body someday. It would not be a bad idea to make one for practice.
Cheon Sanha also seemed to feel indebted to him.
I nodded and spoke.
“Sure. Let’s give it a try.”
“Ooh...!!”
Cheon Sanha smiled.
“This is great, Hassan. My little brother’s skills are the best in the world, so you can look forward to it.”
Butcher’s real name was Hassan.
* * *
A few days later.
After creating a prototype eyeball-type magical beast, I immediately implanted it into Hassan’s eye socket.
Hassan blinked at the objects around him, then reacted intensely.
“U-uooh!!! I can see lines!!! I can see lines!!!! This... What in the world...!! Could it be that I can see the shape of death...?”
“Ah, it seems there’s a slight problem.”
Pop.
I removed Hassan’s new eyeball.
“Aaargh!!!”
Then, a few minutes later.
After making adjustments, I inserted the eyeball-type magical beast again.
“How is it? Your vision is clear now, right?”
“...Yes, the lines are gone.”
For some reason, Hassan looked deeply disappointed.
But do not worry.
That was merely a prototype. The real Evil Eye crafting began now!
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