The Presentation Begins
After building the collagen processor, I immediately loaded it with a massive quantity of pollock skins and succeeded in extracting pure collagen. The raw material for artificial skin was complete.
Once I’d fabricated the artificial skin, I stretched it over a dummy to see how the mosquitoes would respond.
Weeeeeeng~
“Ah.”
No reaction. Even after going through all the trouble of building the collagen processor, the mosquitoes simply ignored the dummy.
“…So it’s not completely ineffective.”
There had been some progress. Mosquitoes that used to fly right past the dummy now circled the artificial skin. The problem was they refused to land and feed.
“You’re really starting to piss me off.”
They were only mosquitoes, yet cracking their behavior was surprisingly difficult. Then again, if the bugs were this cautious, it explained why the nobles had suffered so much. I’d heard they tried every method imaginable to keep the swarms at bay, all of them useless in the end. The mosquitoes’ careful, finicky survival instincts had played a big part in that failure.
“In that case, let’s get serious.”
At least the artificial skin had caught their interest. They were circling something that previously held zero appeal. So what would happen if I made real skin?
“Time for bio-ink.”
Bio-ink. Extract the fat from a human body, remove the extracellular matrix, and you get bio-ink. Spray it, apply special processing, let it dry, and you have actual human skin. I couldn’t recall exactly how I knew this, but I knew the technology existed and roughly how to replicate it.
“Fix, we’re building a bio-ink injector.”
“Weee-woong~!”
I started constructing the bio-ink injector right away. With the hologram interface and Fix’s assistance, I worked from Friday morning until four in the afternoon and finished it in no time. If engineering thinking and hand skills at Level 3 could accomplish this, I wondered what Level 4 would feel like.
Once the injector was complete, I called Elena and asked to borrow her telekinetic powers. I needed to open my own abdomen to harvest fat cells.
“…Why do you only ever ask me to do these things?”
“Hehe. Please?”
“…Sigh.”
Linking with Elena’s power, I began slicing into my own body the same way I’d implanted a mana stone. There was a time when staring at my own organs made me want to vomit. Now it barely registered.
“Thank you, Master. I’m always imposing on you.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad I could help.”
After the fat extraction, I chemically removed the extracellular matrix. During the process Elena left for her lab, saying she needed to study newly discovered ancient spells. She seemed completely absorbed in that research lately.
Ziiiiing!
Anyway. I loaded the bio-ink into the injector and began bioprinting. On top of that, I cultured dermal cells inside a collagen gel and exposed the epidermal layer to air. The result was artificial skin almost identical to real human tissue.
Of course, adding vascular tissue, sweat glands, subcutaneous fat, and fine hairs would increase the detail…
But the opportunity cost was too high. First I needed to confirm whether this version could actually attract the mosquitoes.
I attached the new artificial skin to the dummy and ran the test…
Weeeeeeeeeng~~~~~
…!!!!
The mosquito that had been circling the dummy finally reacted. It landed on the new artificial skin. Then—
Slurp… slurp… slurp…
It inserted its proboscis, searching for blood vessels. Human body temperature, periodic carbon dioxide emission, the scent of sweat, and skin that felt authentic; only then would the mosquitoes fall for the trap.
“Wow… you’re dead meat now.”
It was time to begin the massacre.
After that, Ed didn’t stop at the dummy. He also created a detection-based mosquito net. The moment a mosquito tried to pierce the mesh, intense heat would strike that exact spot and inflict fatal damage. The design took advantage of the insects’ tough outer shells and extreme vulnerability to heat.
“Now I just need the right timing.”
Having completely conquered the mana mosquitoes, Ed waited for the perfect moment, when the nobles’ frustration would reach its peak. He deliberately postponed the exhibition by one week. That was exactly when the mosquitoes would begin their full-scale assault.
“There was already a lot I needed to do. This works out nicely.”
In the meantime, Ed focused on his own tasks. He periodically gave the Sibalsaegi members pop quizzes to check their academic progress. Anyone who fell below the average score received a repulsor beam as a special lesson.
“I worked so hard… I even started losing hair from all the studying…”
They really had tried. An average of 55 points when they had only just begun studying physics wasn’t bad at all.
“Work harder. I promised you good rewards, didn’t I?”
Ed remained strict. Because he had promised them good rewards, he believed they could endure this intense pace.
“Y-yes…”
And, as expected, the Sibalsaegi members stayed obedient. Every last one of them had received a gauntlet from Ed. The only problem was that the gauntlets were incomplete. When activated, the bracelet transformed into a partial gauntlet that stopped at the wrist. The back of the hand and palm remained uncovered. In the end, they were basically fashion accessories that turned into wrist guards. That was all.
If you pass the benchmark score, I’ll upgrade it to cover the whole hand.
Ed had dangled the bait. Score well and the gauntlet would cover the entire hand. Follow his lessons properly, and one day they might even build their own suits. Of course, that was a lie. Even if they mastered physics, they wouldn’t be able to create anything like his suits. At best they would become perfectly trained worker drones.
Still, by then they should have developed a taste for mechanical engineering.
Even if they couldn’t build suits, they would be able to craft various weapons and equipment. Once they reached a certain level, they would study on their own and devote themselves to building. They might even start cracking engineering jokes among themselves. Things like this, for example.
1. Iron Man in English is Iron Man.
2. Man means Male, and Iron on the periodic table is Fe.
3. Therefore, Iron Man equals FeMale.
That kind of lame pun.
Well, it was kind of funny at the time.
Ed suddenly recalled the days of trading those jokes. The memory of collapsing in the lab with hair so greasy it stood up in spikes after days without washing. How he and his colleagues had spent hours spouting every stupid gag they could think of. One memory in particular made him smile; a horror-style prank.
It happened the day a colleague who had suffered for months finally got his machine running. The man was laughing triumphantly, announcing his success to everyone.
“It works!! It finally works! See? I told you I’d make it!”
His colleague roared with laughter, celebrating. Ed looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Make it? No way.”
“……?”
“This isn’t yours, is it? Looks like you forgot a part.”
Ed held out a component. It was the core part the machine needed. His colleague’s face slowly filled with horror.
“Then… why is it running normally…?”
“…….”
A heavy silence fell over the lab. The machine continued to roar. Then Ed burst out laughing. He revealed that he hadn’t actually removed the part; he had simply taken the one from his own station. The misunderstanding was about to clear up.
“What are you talking about? Didn’t I borrow that part from you earlier? There shouldn’t have been one at your station.”
Another colleague dropped the bombshell. He had already borrowed the core component from Ed’s station. So whose part was Ed holding?
Everyone’s faces froze.
In truth, it had been a two-man con.
Ed had planned the whole prank with the other colleague just to mess with the guy who finally completed his machine.
It was brutal work, but I got through it because of those guys. Engineering nerds really do speak the same language.
The lab was filled with memories. Experts from every field had gathered there for one massive project. The task was so complex it required minds from multiple disciplines to solve.
And at that time, I was—
“……?”
What was I?
Sudden pain stabbed through his skull and the memory vanished. Come to think of it, why had a mere undergraduate been in that lab? Had I gone to graduate school? After graduating I seemed to remember playing computer games all day. Hadn’t I lived like a shut-in trying to clear El Pandor Luntera?
Did I mix it up with a group project?
Ed scratched the back of his head. It seemed the group project and the dream had gotten tangled together.
“Ahem. Keep studying. I’m heading back to the workshop.”
Ed neatly boxed up the old memories and returned to his lab. He didn’t have time to waste on pointless thoughts. There was far too much he needed to do.
The Demon Cult…
Lately the existence of the Demon Cult weighed heavily on his mind. A demon species had revealed itself during the outdoor training. From the first round until now, the appearance of a demon species had always signaled the emergence of the Demon Cult. Just as he was rapidly changing this world, the demons might be responding faster than before.
I need to root them out completely.
The people who would betray the human world first, the ones who would stab the empire in the back to aid the demons’ invasion; they had to be eliminated. If left alone, these cancerous cells would spread and devour the entire empire.
I need to locate where they operate.
Unfortunately, the Demon Cult’s timing and locations were completely random. Because El Pandor Luntera had such high variability, even Ed, who knew the future, found it difficult to predict their movements.
Still, it’s not completely impossible.
There were certain regions where they appeared more frequently, and identifiable signs that preceded their activity. While he couldn’t prevent every incident, he could catch the signs early and cut the threat off at the root.
I’ll need to use people.
To catch those signs, he would have to station his own agents across the entire country. He couldn’t monitor every corner of the empire alone. Ed began drafting a plan to build his surveillance network. Just then, a good idea occurred to him.
A week later.
Across the entire empire, hatred for mosquitoes had reached its zenith. The ‘mana mosquitoes,’ having evolved by drinking mana-rich blood, had begun targeting the nobles in earnest to breed.
“Please take good care of me tonight.”
Nobles of every rank began hiring Dream Guardians. Families without money gathered together and took turns serving as Dream Guardians themselves. But there was a limit to what they could endure. The great ‘Mana Mutation Epidemic’ thirteen years ago had reduced the number of Dream Guardians by more than half. Inexperienced guardians had been bitten dozens of times, lost their mana, and become disabled. When that news spread nationwide, terror took root. The fear of losing one’s mana had overcome the desire for money.
These days, only mana users desperate for cash or veteran guardians confident they wouldn’t be bitten took the job.
“Today is finally the day. I shall go see my future son-in-law.”
“Yes, my lord.”
It was in the middle of this crisis that Ed’s product review finally opened. The exhibition had been scheduled for the exact period when everyone was most stressed by the mana mosquitoes. As a result, nobles lined up to attend. The empire’s four dukes, marquesses, counts, barons; anyone hoping to form a connection with Ed formed one long queue.
“I wonder what he’ll show us this time. I’m looking forward to it.”
The grand auditorium was packed with nobles. It was a rare sight; famous aristocrats whose names alone commanded respect, all gathered in one place.
“Ooh, it looks like it’s about to start.”
At that moment the noisy auditorium lights began to dim. The only place still illuminated was the stage. Everyone waited for Ed’s appearance.
Step… step…
A strange tension filled the hall as footsteps echoed through the auditorium. A dark figure emerged from backstage, climbed the stairs, and the moment the spotlight hit him, the face of a strikingly handsome youth was revealed. Small gasps rose from various places in the audience.
“My future son-in-law…!”
Ed stepped onto the podium. The nobles beheld a once-in-a-generation genius who had seized a count’s title through sheer ability alone. Confidence and composure radiated from his face. Their hearts raced as they wondered what incredible object he would reveal this time.
“Nice to see you all. I am Edga Fix.”
Was there some kind of magic in his voice? He had simply spoken his own name, yet goosebumps rose across their bodies and a shiver ran down their spines. By now every noble in the empire understood exactly what the five letters ‘Edga Fix’ were worth.
Simply by announcing his name, Ed now possessed the power to make others bow their heads in anticipation.
“Then, without further ado, let me introduce my latest work.”
Ed’s presentation was concise and bold. Without any unnecessary formalities, he moved straight to the main event. Hearts pounded faster. The black curtain on stage drew back, revealing an object wrapped in jet-black cloth. Ed smiled and pulled the cloth away. The nobles’ pupils dilated dramatically.