Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Maker Sect (1)
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The low combat power of a clone meant that its similarity and synchronization rate with the original body were equally lacking.
Just look at Miyazaki Rena. She'd devolved into a C-rank hunter level, unable to even maintain the original's consciousness or draw out half of her skill proficiencies.
It was a fatal flaw, plain and simple.
However, paradoxically, this 'flaw' also brought an unintended advantage.
After all, the maximum output of any skill it manifested was Hero-rank at best.
That alone indicated elite hunter potential—a fine skill by any measure—but my original skills were Mythic-rank.
Compared to their devastating impact, this was far safer, wasn't it?
Too much of anything is no good. At this level of strength, I could build my foundation quietly without drawing the attention of the game's villains.
'Besides, on the day of the Straggler Exam, I'd already shown my skills to Jo Jaehyuk and Kim Gayoung anyway.'
At the very least, information about my clone summon had leaked within the Gray Organization.
Unless it was Instructor Cheon Da-eun, there was no reason to hide even the significantly weaker clone of Miyazaki Rena.
"Ooooh...! What incredible craftsmanship!"
Maker Sect office front café.
Choi Sungmyeon, the third-year senior from the Maker Sect whom I'd met through Lee Soo-yeon's introduction, kept exclaiming in awe as he leaned far over the table.
Practically shoving his face right up to Rena's nose. I, sitting beside her, might as well have been invisible.
"This skin texture! Artificial skin manifested with magic power? But how can it feel this natural? Even the pores are perfectly replicated! Just seeing how precisely it's built from real human data... Ugh! It demonstrates the pinnacle of magic control!"
He muttered to himself, pouring out exclamations, then suddenly snapped his head up to look at me. His eyes gleamed with near-maniacal excitement.
"You! Kang Ihyeon, right, junior? Wow, what amazing skill! This goes beyond a mere summon—it's entering the realm of creation! No exaggeration! This level of precision and completion rivals Legendary magic or top-tier alchemists!"
"...It's made from a human body model I bought at a Nocturne Town workshop."
"......"
My response deflated his effusive praise like a burst balloon. An awkward silence fell. He picked up his cooling coffee cup from the table and took a sip to wet his throat.
Ahem.
After clearing his throat and setting the cup down, he sparkled with enthusiasm again as if nothing had happened.
"E-even so! Is this ordinary handiwork? Even with an original model, to implement movement this naturally and precisely! The subtle joint motions! The shifting center of gravity! The stability of the magic power engine! Wow... truly impressive!"
"You're too kind."
"No, really! With implementation ability like this, no matter what happened in your past, rejoining our Maker Sect wouldn't be an issue at all! Heck, if you're okay with it, I can gladly write you a recommendation! I could even talk to the sect elders directly!"
He paused briefly, then fixed his gaze back on Rena. This time, his eyes held cautious yet intense curiosity.
"Um, if it's not too rude... I'm really sorry to ask, but could I just... touch this amazing creation's texture? Very lightly? It'd help a ton with material analysis..."
I shook my head coldly, ignoring his pleading eyes.
"No, you can't."
At my firm refusal, Choi Sungmyeon scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Ahem, yeah... Fair enough. It's so lifelike, I got carried away... Sorry, Kang Ihyeon. I got too excited."
He was a bit rowdy, but he didn't cross any lines.
A pretty gentlemanly senior, all things considered.
"S-still, this is the real deal. Especially if it's not just looks... Right, what's its combat capability like?"
A natural question for any Maker Hunter.
"It could handle about five students like me right now. Combat power somewhere between active C-rank and B-rank hunters. Of course, it's nowhere near the real Miyazaki Rena."
"That's obvious!"
Choi Sungmyeon waved his hand dismissively.
"Who could fully replicate an active elite hunter like Miyazaki Rena's combat prowess? That's not the point! C-rank combat power? That's already incredible! The key is that you created it—this technical achievement!"
Unable to contain his excitement, he lightly slapped the table.
Honestly, his thinking was too fast; I could barely keep up.
It was all skill-dependent anyway—what technical achievement?
"Forget this, let's head to the sect office right now! With skill like this, the elders will welcome you with open arms!"
Choi Sungmyeon jumped to his feet. Exactly what I'd hoped for.
"Sounds good. Lead the way, senior."
"Yep!"
Though I'd spent time as a Straggler dragging down Maker Hunter prestige, they were generally popular to begin with.
Their workshops efficiently consumed and supplied monster trophies from rifts, despite lacking frontline combat prowess.
That's why the Maker Sect was packed with key figures central to the story's future.
From Dominic Hardwin, the promising Maker who'd later refine the protagonist's Mythic weapon,
to Cledmier, the 'Master Craftsman' and Maker Sect 1st Seat supplying over 30% of frontline rift conquest gear single-handedly,
and Rocoa Spindel, the devious Merchant Maker with her random weapon box gacha system draining players' thousands of resources.
Building connections with them early? The benefits were incalculable.
Choi Sungmyeon made a call somewhere, then grinned and gave a thumbs-up.
"Lucky break. Permission this quick is rare—let's go meet the elder right away!"
I followed his excited steps into the towering sect building.
Even in the corridors, hammer strikes, machine whirs, and faint chemical scents mingled into the unique atmosphere.
'Smells familiar.'
Not quite nostalgic—my stay wasn't that long—but returning to a place I'd left in tears stirred complex emotions.
I followed him deeper inside.
That's when it happened.
A female researcher approaching with a stack of documents spotted our group—specifically Rena beside me—and halted.
Her eyes, deeply shadowed with fatigue behind thick lenses, sharpened instantly as they scanned Rena.
"Hmm...?"
Ignoring Choi Sungmyeon grinning goofily at Rena beside me, she strode straight up to me.
"What is this, a Miyazaki Rena? No, wait... Something mimicking her. The replication rate is insanely good."
Without prompting, she stroked her chin, scrutinizing Rena from head to toe, then turned her cold gaze on me.
Not everyone in the Maker Sect was a tech otaku like Choi Sungmyeon, it seemed. She cut straight to the core.
"You made this?"
"Pardon? Yes, I did..."
"This. Did you get the real Miyazaki Rena's permission? Copying a hunter's likeness without consent can stir up likeness rights issues, you know?"
Her tone was languid, but her words sharp as thorns.
I'd initially hidden my skill for similar reasons.
But this was an expected question.
The clone skill's issue was its power, not the resemblance.
"For hunter skills, as long as it's not for commercial use, there aren't issues, right?"
Our eyes met in midair, hers through her glasses.
Was she bringing up ethics? My mood soured.
'Fuck off.'
I'd shrug it off elsewhere, but not here.
In the Maker Sect, where only results, efficiency, and technical feats mattered supreme, such lectures didn't belong.
"N-no, Professor Delphine! Why? This junior's skills are amazing! Just look at this piece—"
"Choi Sungmyeon, shut it."
"Mmph, mmph!"
Choi Sungmyeon fidgeted and tried to intervene, but Professor Delphine didn't spare him a glance. Instead, a mechanical arm silently extended from behind her, clamping his face and firmly shoving him away.
A sleek silver mechanical arm of cutting-edge materials.
Professor Delphine looked back at me. Unlike before, her eyes now held not just suspicion, but strange interest.
"Hmm... Your response attitude, and creating something like this—you seem sharper than expected... Name?"
"...Kang Ihyeon."
"How about it? We have an opening in my lab. Want to come roll under me? With hands that craft dolls like this, it'd be fun to teach."
At that moment, chills ran down my spine. That gaze, that tone.
It was unmistakably a professor scouting a student for grad school slavery.
I instinctively stepped back two paces.
"I-I'm still an academy undergrad..."
"So? Skill matters, not status. Your 'usefulness' is what counts."
Professor Delphine tempted with snake-like eyes glinting through her glasses. A dangerously alluring offer.
"Haha, Professor! Kang Ihyeon hasn't even gone through sect re-entry screening yet—"
"None of your business."
"Professor! It's already been reported to the elders!"
"The elders? Hmm... Guess today's not my day. Anyway, think it over and contact me. Ask this guy for my number."
"Y-yes."
"I'm busy. Heading out."
Professor Delphine patted my head like a puppy twice, retracted her mechanical arm, and left without lingering.
'Weird. Coming here, no Straggler stigma, even research offers.'
Maybe due to their focus solely on crafting tech and results. Either way, my mind eased.
Though brief, I was certain no pointless prejudices would hold me back here.
I followed Choi Sungmyeon deeper into the building, to the staff-only area.
The 'elder' he was introducing wasn't just any researcher, judging by the title.
One of the sect's ruling elders and the top authority in mechanical engineering.
She appeared multiple times in the game, so I knew her name.
'Machine Ball Masha Leosika. Maker Sect 3rd Seat, one of current 1st Seat Cledmier's prized disciples.'
Not 'craftsman' gong, but ball—like a soccer ball.
She was a mad scientist type living inside her self-made massive spherical mechanical workshop.
Rare for a pure Maker, she had solid combat ability too—her main weapon a Matryoshka ball that revealed new arms with each peeled layer.
Her unique setup screamed danger from every angle.
"Here we are, Elder Masha's research zone. She usually holes up in her workshop and doesn't come out... You're really lucky today? I only greet her once every few weeks!"
We stopped before a massive iron door. Thick as a vault, its surface woven with intricate mechanisms and magic circuits.
Faint roars and vibrations leaked from beyond, like constant grinding, sharpening, and operation.
Choi Sungmyeon manipulated the complex panel beside it, and the heavy door groaned 'creeeak' as it slowly slid inward.
Tools and parts strewn everywhere, walls plastered with blueprints and schematics, mechanical arms dangling from the ceiling sparking busily. In the center loomed a spherical structure under work.
'That's the ball Masha rides. Smaller than I thought.'
Atop it, a petite figure in a welding mask sat on a simple work chair, engrossed in something.
Small build, brown bobbed hair—girl-like impression.
Maker Sect 3rd Seat, 'Matryoshka', Masha Leosika.