Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Closet Room, Application
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Ding!
[Your delivery has arrived.]
"It's here. It's here~"
Baek Seo-ha shot up from her chair, kicking it back, and bolted toward the front door.
Creak!
The moment she flung the door open, the late-winter chill hit her like a slap in the face.
...I'd only been running the boiler in my room, huh.
A 7-pyeong room in a brand-new 58-pyeong apartment.
It faced south, so it got blazing sunlight year-round, but the blackout curtains—up nonstop for her endless work—had turned it into a proper closet room.
The second her eyes opened, she'd start clacking away at her laptop, and just like that, a month had flown by.
Stick to a routine like that long enough, and everything else starts feeling like a hassle.
No wonder shut-ins stay holed up at home.
Seo-ha was the same.
No need for the spacious living room or master bedroom—she handled all her eating and sleeping in that closet room.
Maybe that's why.
Crack!
"Ughhh..."
Just a few steps of running, and her stiff-as-a-board body screamed in protest.
Should've done some stretching.
Too late for regrets now, but the pain didn't care.
Creeeak...!
Gritting through it, Seo-ha cracked open the front door. She stuck out just her hand, snatched the small box, and pulled it inside.
"Heh heh... This is it."
The sight of the box melted away the pain gripping her whole body like snow in the sun.
Dopamine really is the best, huh?
And for a researcher like Seo-ha, the ultimate dopamine hit was...
Curiosity itself.
That electric moment of chasing a 'WHY?' question.
The very essence of being a researcher.
Hum-hmm, Seo-ha hummed her way back to the closet room.
"...Urk."
She hadn't noticed until now, but the room reeked something fierce.
She'd been pretty good about taking out the trash, but no ventilation meant it ended up like this.
And with the nonstop cold snap, airing it out had been the last thing on her mind.
'How the hell did I eat and sleep in here?'
The air purifier... oh, right, it was off.
The red light had been flashing nonstop for a filter change, so she'd just killed it.
Rustle!
Finally, for the first time in nearly a month, Seo-ha swept back the curtains and threw open the window.
Aaaah...! The world's light was this bright?
Whoosh—the incoming cold air scrubbed the room spotless while Seo-ha threw on whatever winter clothes were within reach.
Then she sat down.
Ripped open the box with her hands.
Plop!
Finally, a pitch-black, softly squishy object entered Seo-ha's view.
None other than the 'New Molrangtori' set for release by Molrang Mall.
Seo-ha carefully lifted it out and set it on her desk.
'The texture's a bit disappointing.'
Not as springy as before.
Maybe she was imagining it? She poked a finger at an unused Molrangtori she'd brought from the lab—
"Hmm... Yeah, it's definitely nerfed."
Her instincts were spot-on.
But hey, texture didn't matter much.
Even if it came out all crumbly, it wouldn't scratch the product's appeal.
"Whew... Before I dive into research..."
Tap-tap.
Seo-ha's fingers flew across her smartphone.
The banking app.
She wired 300,000 won to her friend.
She'd borrowed her friend's account to apply as a New Molrangtori beta tester.
Seo-ha's own account was banned from Molrang Mall.
Never thought she'd actually get picked, but...
For a measly 300,000 won, she'd scored it—a total steal.
Still, a deep pang of regret lingered.
She could only do the simplest research in this closet room.
She needed cutting-edge tech for a proper 'chew-tear-taste-enjoy' analysis, and this... well, it sucked.
Tap-tap.
[Me: When did you say we could get back into the lab?]
[(Suyeon)Pro: Who knows... Probably another two months?]
[Me: lololol driving me insane fr]
[(Suyeon)Pro: (crying bunny emoticon)]
[Me: The lab's all built—can't we just sneak in? It's not even connected to any gates.]
[(Suyeon)Pro: I heard something about this,]
[(Suyeon)Pro: They're planning to raid the lab too.]
[Me: The lab's not even illegal.]
Most monster research didn't violate any laws.
Exceptions: weaponizing monsters or experimenting on humans.
The latter had been outright banned since the chimera incident decades ago.
The former was doable-ish with official reporting.
[(Suyeon)Pro: True, but... they're being cautious just in case.]
[(Suyeon)Pro: No need to stir up trouble.]
[(Suyeon)Pro: Of course, this is all just hearsay...]
[Me: Got it.]
Of all the timing for the lab to finish construction—and then that incident blows up.
Two more months of waiting?
R&D research had been fully halted since last week.
Skip the tedious details, but the gist was...
'No funding coming in...'
No paycheck until research resumed.
She'd already burned her last paid leave on that family trip to Molrang Park.
Back to living in the red for the first time in ages.
She had no savings.
Maxed out her awakener housing loan to snag this luxury apartment smack in central Seoul.
Come the month after next, even interest payments plus living expenses would be tight...
Pricey place and all.
Research would resume by then, right?
If not, she'd be in deep shit.
'Screw it.'
It'll work out somehow, she told herself, calming down and refocusing on the New Molrangtori.
Swish!
Seo-ha twirled her custom rod with flair before stabbing it—thunk!—into the Molrangtori's surface.
Bzzz!
Analysis data popped up on her laptop screen.
"Pudding slime and summoner's mana are the same... Huh? What's this mana?"
Seo-ha tilted her head.
Something unidentified was mixed in with the Molrangtori.
She checked her cloud-saved database just in case—
Ding!
[No matching data found.]
Just as expected.
They'd used another new monster?
She thought she had mana profiles for every monster Molrang Mall used...
Guess not.
She'd extracted traces from monsters while pigging out at Molrang Park, too.
'Practically no gains.'
Whatever, skip that for now.
She couldn't have ID'd it even with lab gear.
Moving on, Seo-ha placed her hand on the Molrangtori and—humm!—pumped in mana.
"...How is this even possible?"
Just like the included instructions, her mana stored inside without issue.
'How much did it take?'
Roughly 90% capacity. Basically full.
Insane storage.
Wasn't there a mana battery some U.S. guild was developing? This blew it away.
She remembered seeing it at that conference.
And this was leagues beyond that?
"Mind-blowing."
Probably the new monster handling that function.
Did they summon it specifically for mana absorption and storage?
Never heard of such a monster.
First discovery? Or outright creation...?
Creation.
Turning nothing into something. A divine realm no research could touch.
Trying to outpace that?
'Impossible...'
Fundamentally, a titmouse chasing a stork just tears its legs.
Even reverse-engineering the finished product was a stretch.
Swoosh!
Seo-ha reabsorbed the stored mana.
"Hmm..."
Minimal loss in storage.
Maybe 5% tops?
Absurd efficiency.
Amazing. Truly amazing.
Every time she saw Molrang Mall's tech, it floored her.
Lately, that sparked a sneaky temptation.
'Just jump ship to Molrang Mall?'
They'd posted job openings.
As a top-tier researcher worldwide, she'd get in for sure, right?
People thrive in big ponds.
Hwayeon had seemed like the Pacific before, but now? More like a reservoir at best.
Should she drag her whole research squad over?
Squad being just her and four others.
The five she'd been scouted with to Hwayeon three years ago.
From their old guild together.
Just like then, all five jumping ship.
Sure, Hwayeon might make it annoying...
But Molrang Mall? Safe bet.
Backed by Baekya, JH Bank, even Quantum.
One issue left.
'Wonder how the pay stacks up.'
For a curiosity-driven researcher, pay mattered—a lot.
Hwayeon was chosen for the money in the first place.
Would Molrang Mall top it?
Even a slight pay cut, she'd consider it...
"Pfft... Even I think it's ridiculous."
Thinking about it, it was laughable.
They might not even care, and here she was agonizing over pay alone.
They could peg her as a Hwayeon spy and reject her outright.
Tap-tap!
So, apply first.
Seo-ha quickly filled in her details.
Didn't forget to pack in all her research achievements.
**
Ding-a-ling!
"Oh?"
"What's up, Saebyeok?"
"Just checked an application email... Oho?"
"Someone with good specs? You've said all the others so far were meh."
"...Someone really interesting applied."