Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: It Might Work?
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It might work?
Boom! Kaboom!
Femoral, wielding the Giant Slayer and wearing the Giant Steps boots with the Berserker Pack equipped, leaped forward like the wind and tore the junk Yotun into pieces.
It was a spectacle straight out of myth, like a mad giant from legend.
But,
Right after the firepower test, Femoral's frame tilted unsteadily.
Rumble...
It spewed steam as it knelt down. The joints shook, and the armor plates rattled.
The engineers gathered around Harold Smith pushed up their glasses and murmured.
"Overheating."
"The rider held up, but... the Gigant couldn't take it."
"Those weapons were designed for Yotuns from the start. No high-training Cyclops-class Gigant was meant to handle them."
"True... It's a miracle White even used them once."
Hearing the engineers' whispers, Harold Smith scowled deeply.
"What the hell! What kind of Gigant is this fragile!"
In the meantime, Kang Geohan opened the hatch and climbed down the rope ladder with an utterly exhausted expression.
Steam rose from his shoulders and the top of his head, and his knees trembled.
It was the aftermath of squeezing every last drop from his mana.
But Harold, whose eyes were gleaming, wouldn't let Kang Geohan rest.
"Hey! Rookie! No, Kang Geohan, right? Kang Geohan!"
"Y-Yes? Uh, yes?"
When the drained Kang Geohan responded a beat late, Harold pressed him like he was nagging.
"Don't you want to upgrade your Gigant heart?"
"Yes? Gigant heart?"
"Yeah! With your Gigant's output right now, it can't handle my giant set! You need to upgrade the Gigant heart if you want to use that thing properly!"
He was speaking as if it was already a done deal that Kang Geohan would use the giant set.
Of course, Kang Geohan loved the giant set.
'It's tough on both body and Gigant... but that's only when using all three armaments at once. If I use just one depending on the situation, I can handle it fine.'
So, Kang Geohan's hesitation wasn't because he disliked the giant set.
"Chief!"
A sharp voice instantly overpowered Harold's booming tone.
A man with sky-blue hair tied tightly back appeared from behind Harold, holding a chart. He spoke with a stern face.
"Gigant heart modification?! And who's paying for that?"
Right. It was the cost issue.
"Urk... Halo Engineer..."
Harold, who had been full of vigor, flinched and froze at the man's arrival. But he puffed out his chest and tried to strong-arm it again.
"No... I-I mean, we could do it at cost, right?! 50% discount! Don't you know? We can invest that much in the kingdom's promising talent! Of course!"
At cost! 50% off!
Those words struck Kang Geohan's heart.
But,
"No, Chief. Even a minor tweak to the Gigant heart, at cost, is at least 500 gold coins. That's 10,000 silver coins! 10,000 silver coins! And even then, there's no guarantee it can properly handle that set! How do you expect to cover it?"
Harold's eyes went wide, and he turned to Kang Geohan.
"Hey, you got it?"
Kang Geohan’s eyes also widened.
"Yes?"
"No 10,000 silver coins?"
He did. In Kang Geohan's pocket was his entire carefully saved fortune: 34 gold 7 silver, or 687 silver coins.
His monthly pay as Yellow was 50 silver coins. 300 silver from the bounty for clearing the Monster Forest. Around 80 silver won from Davis's bet. Plus the money from selling monster meat to Loen and Kaltz at 2 silver each apiece.
Harold peered into Kang Geohan's wavering eyes and let out a long sigh.
"You don't, huh?"
"...Yes."
Harold Smith scratched his head vigorously.
"Ah, what now? A guy who can use it finally shows up, and we have to test it! Don't you know the other riders all failed?"
"I know. But what can we do about the situation? If it can't, it can't."
"Ah, forget it! Just proceed!"
"Proceed with what!"
Harold and Halo raised their voices and bickered.
Kang Geohan shrank back quietly to the side, feeling somehow intimidated.
That was when a young, cute voice cut in between the two shouting men.
"How about upgrading the cooling system instead of the Gigant heart?"
It was someone Kang Geohan knew.
"Ren Engineer?"
Ren Engineer gave a slight smile and mouthed 'hello' as a greeting. Then she composed her expression back to cool professionalism and looked at Harold and Halo.
"Upgrade the cooling system to improve overclock efficiency and safety. Then you can use the giant set with overclock. Not continuously, but like a finisher move. That's something, right?"
"Oh! Yeah! Newbie! That's a great idea! Cooling system upgrade would be way cheaper, right?"
Harold Smith lit up at Ren Engineer's suggestion. But Halo Engineer still had a cold face as he adjusted his glasses and said,
"Yes. That would reduce costs. Around 4,000 silver coins. Can you handle that?"
Halo looked at Kang Geohan. Kang Geohan hung his head.
Tsk. Halo clicked his tongue and said,
"Do you know how massive a job it is to rework the cooling system on that huge Gigant? Even the bare minimum, simplest work, is 4,000 coins. If it's no, it's no."
"...Hey, rookie. You don't have 4,000 either?"
Kang Geohan's head drooped even lower.
That was when Ren Engineer chimed in again.
"How about trying a new technology instead?"
Halo Engineer tilted his head.
"New technology?"
"Yes. The paper presented at the Royal Academy four months ago. The one where they soaked the Gigant heart in refined monster oil to drastically reduce heat."
"Hoh... You even know about something presented four months ago?"
"I study every day. Anyway, with that method, no major overhaul needed—just apply it around the Gigant heart. It won't cost much."
"Where do we get all that monster oil? The purchase cost alone isn't cheap..."
Ren Engineer winked at Kang Geohan and said,
"Hey. Didn't you see the pile of goblins over there?"
Goblin oil? Who'd use that? Even refined, you barely get a cup from one...
"Over 2,000 of them?"
"...2,000?"
"Yes. And conveniently, ownership belongs to Sir Kang Geohan White over here. Spoils from his first deployment."
Halo Engineer blinked.
He took off his glasses, wiped the lenses, thought for a moment, then put them back on and said,
"...It might work?"
A smile spread across Ren Engineer's lips.
"Right? Right? Let's try the latest tech! Oil-immersion cooling system!"
Excited, her voice bounced cheerfully.
* * *
The haggling wrapped up quickly.
"Just give us a bigger cut next time."
Roen White said,
"And you getting stronger as a Striker benefits us too."
Helena White followed up.
"...Do what you want."
Gerot White had been like that ever since that day,
"Helping each other is only natural."
Harkruks was always favorable toward Kang Geohan.
With that, the accounting with the party members who had shares in the goblin corpses was settled.
The cost to the workshop was paid with spoils and cash.
16 of the 32 Oparts held by the goblins and their corpses, plus 200 of Kang Geohan's personal silver coins (=200 silver coins).
The total value of goods and cash was about 2,000 silver coins.
In Kang Geohan's estimation, one silver coin in Raniakea was worth about 100,000 won on Earth... so a whopping 200 million won transaction.
But Kang Geohan went for it, and Femoral's modification was decided.
"Alright! Let's start right now!"
"No, Chief, you're going to handle that work yourself? With the backlog...!"
"Ah, screw it! Shut up!"
Harold Smith excitedly grabbed a hammer and dashed off, with Halo Engineer chasing after him, nagging.
"I'll mod it nice and pretty this time too!"
Ren Engineer beamed and ran after them.
"Th-Thank you! Engineer!"
"Just call me Ren!"
Even as Kang Geohan expressed his thanks, Ren Engineer waved back without turning, already running off.
And so the stormy time passed. While everyone was a bit dazed, one engineer approached and said,
"Message from the Chief Technical Advisor. Uh... He was planning to just let the rookies glance around and shoo them out, but he's making an exception... You can take a few days, look around as much as you want, and pick gear."
At that, Zaksen Silver's face brightened.
"Oh! Be sure to thank the Chief for me!"
Good omen.
Zaksen Silver smiled and turned to the group.
"Nice. Alright, Kang Geohan's set as Striker. Now let's assign the rest of the positions."
Roen White shot her hand up.
"Me! Roen White! I want Main Dealer! I'm confident I can crush every enemy more nimbly and reliably than anyone!"
Zaksen Silver nodded.
"Got it. Roen White, you're Ranged Dealer cum Supporter cum Second Caller."
"Yes?"
"What."
"Yes?"
"What?"
Roen White let out a shriek.
"No! I said I want Main Dealer!"
"Yeah. But from what I saw, you're Ranged Dealer cum Supporter."
"Isn't it up to us to decide?"
"Nope."
"But you said think about positions yourselves?"
"I said think, not decide."
"Th-This! Kang Geohan decided his own!"
"So? Think he doesn't suit Striker?"
"Ugh...!!"
Regardless of Roen's pouty face, Zaksen Silver assigned positions unilaterally, based on his observation of the goblin fight.
"Helena White: Main Dealer cum Main Caller. Gerot White: Main Tank. Harkruks White: Off-Tank. Pick gear suited to your positions. Including the giant set Kang Geohan got, all current gear is on loan. It can be reclaimed if missions change, Gigants change, or for any sudden reason. If you want to own it, earn achievement points and buy it."
Zaksen Silver explained matter-of-factly, then laid out guidelines for each position's duties and recommended gear.
He didn't forget to add the pointed advice that finding and handling fitting gear was now on them.
By the time all explanations ended, Harkruks quietly raised his hand.
"Sir Zaksen Silver."
"What?"
"I can't accept Gerot as Main Tank while I'm Off-Tank."
"It's my judgment."
"Yes. But I can't accept it."
Zaksen Silver furrowed his brows.
"...Sir Harkruks White. Sir Gerot White is stronger than you. Not just in mana capacity, but overwhelming in combat skill."
Harkruks gritted his teeth and said,
"I know. I admit it. Gerot has more mana and superior combat skills than me."
"Then?"
"Still, I can't accept Gerot ranking above me."
"...What does that mean?"
"It's pride. I won't accept it otherwise."
Pride, huh...
Zaksen Silver rubbed his temple like it was a headache. He sighed deeply and said,
"Ha... What a stubborn team. Damn it. You two sort it out. Main and Off-Tank overlap a lot anyway, so I won't meddle. A knight bringing up pride... What'll it be? Duel?"
"Yes."
As if he'd been waiting, Harkruks stepped in front of Gerot White.
"Ha...!"
Gerot White let out a hollow laugh into the air, looking utterly baffled.