Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Simple is Best, Knot
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Sometimes, it happens.
You think you've found the answer, think you can finally reach it.
But you're missing that last 2%.
"How the hell do I do this...?"
Seo-ha was still deep in thought, trying to fill that 2% gap.
Ugh, her eyelids stung. The accumulated fatigue pressing down on her brain brought on a migraine.
In a way, it was strange.
Molrangmol's working conditions were top-of-the-top, a rare paradise like Gensokyo.
Official hours were exactly 40 per week, as per the law.
But it was entirely flex-time. Just fill those 40 hours however you wanted in a week.
No forced overtime at all.
They even paid generous bonuses for any extra work.
The break room was perfect too.
From giant pudding slimes to cute magical beasts for psychological healing.
Seeing the kitsune wagging their tails cutely always warmed her heart.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, they even delivered dragon meat dishes for lunch. Prepared by the best chefs.
Ding!
[Simulation Result: Failure]
"Haa..."
Another failure.
She could see where it deviated from theory, but she'd hoped anyway.
Seo-ha loaded another sample into the machine. Even so, her shoulders felt heavy for no reason.
Maybe the welfare was too good, creating pressure for results.
Even though the president hadn't pressured her at all.
Or perhaps it was just the researcher's ambition manifesting for that 2%.
"Team leader? Your face looks... totally dead. Why don't you take a break?"
Such advice came out of nowhere.
Turning her head, a beaming face greeted Seo-ha.
"Aren't you tired?"
"Not at all. I'm too happy."
The chief researcher, Chan-seong, grinned.
Look at that glossy skin. It was practically shining. Did he put on makeup or something?
Seo-ha touched her own cheek—
Dry and rough.
...This is serious.
The dormant feminine ego inside her was starting to wake up.
"Take it easy. You'll ruin your health."
"......"
The world is so unfair.
Some people only need three hours of sleep thanks to their abilities and have no issues.
For Chan-seong, this place must be heaven.
She was a bit envious of him achieving true self-realization.
"How's yours going?"
Seo-ha let out a sigh and asked.
There were five researchers who transferred from Hwayeon to Molrangmol.
All of them were under Seo-ha's command.
As the leader and the most skilled, Seo-ha handled the New Molrangtori improvements.
The rest—
"We found an amazing sample among the new ones. Remember what we researched before?"
"That... copy version thing?"
"Exactly. The degraded Molrangtori we failed to make. We got inspiration from that."
"And?"
"We should have results in two weeks at the latest, right?"
They were improving the existing Molrangtori like this.
Their goal was a kind of Molrangtori split.
The standard Molrangtori held 50kg for 450,000 won.
Not much for hunters, but for general consumers, it was a different story.
Honestly.
How often does a regular person need to carry 50kg?
Excluding special cases like delivery services, appliance installation, or moving.
So the president instructed them to find a way to divide the existing Molrangtori.
Initial goal: split into 2. Final: 5.
Sell 10kg units for around 100,000 won each.
Double profits and supply. Killing two birds with one stone.
"Should we join you? Yours is more urgent, right?"
Chan-seong suggested casually.
No harm in accepting. As he said, New Molrangtori was top priority.
That 2% shortfall often came from lack of diverse thinking.
Hearing others' ideas might show the way.
But.
"Hmm... I'll try until the end of this week."
Stubbornness welled up.
How did she get this far? The solution was right in front of her.
And if possible, running two tracks like now was most efficient.
Her prediction said this week was the limit for that efficiency.
"Okay. Fighting! But rest a bit. Even energy drinks have limits, you know?"
Chan-seong eyed one corner of the table with a glance. Empty cans piled up. Half-eaten Kendart horns—the president gave her a few for their tonic effects—were rolling around.
"Got it. Got it, so finish your stuff properly. Time to show results soon."
"Yep!"
After Chan-seong returned to his seat, Seo-ha rubbed her forehead.
Her broken focus. The worsening migraine stabbed like an awl.
'Pain like this in a while.'
It felt similar to info backlash syndrome.
In the end, Seo-ha crunched down on the tasteless Kendart horn and left the lab.
She headed straight to the bathroom.
"Puha...! So cold..."
After splashing cold water on her face to wake up a bit, she went to the break room.
Then she lay spread-eagled on the giant pudding slime.
......This is paradise.
Huu.
As she sighed in admiration.
Kiiing!
Two kitsune playing nearby jumped onto Seo-ha.
Ordinary kitsune with one tail.
They'd become the lab's official mascots, burrowing into her arms.
'...Amazing.'
Normal magical beasts weren't like this.
Pudding slimes or kitsune.
Their nature was like wild animals. They didn't particularly want to get involved with humans.
They'd attack rather than show affection, and friendly ones were rare.
It was natural evolution.
Humans—most hunters—hunted magical beasts.
Genes for affinity toward humans would have gone extinct long ago.
Kiiing!
"Good, good..."
That's why they were special.
Even if tamed, acting this friendly to people besides their owner.
Even Molrang Park's beasts loved people a ton.
Something ordinary beast tamers couldn't imitate.
Is this where research achievement differences come from?
...Who knows.
Pat pat.
Seo-ha gently stroked the kitsune heads, lost in thought.
Suddenly, it hit her.
What the president said at last week's report.
Simple is best. Think simply.
He said approaching magical beast research that way yielded good results.
Simply, huh.
Tap.
Seo-ha pulled out her smartphone and looked at the New Molrangtori circuit diagram.
It looked like an incredibly complex knot.
Tangled pudding slime and unknown magical beast mana.
She had to neatly untie that knot to extract the mana battery function.
She'd tried many approaches.
Made threads thicker to untie easily, weakened tension.
Pretty sure she'd tried everything she could think of.
'No...'
Seo-ha shook her head.
No answer yet. Must be something missing.
Like the president's advice, think much simpler.
Yeah, instead of a complex knot, think of untying a tied plastic bag.
One tied so tight nails can't undo it.
What would I do here?
"...Huh?"
What.
A hollow laugh escaped Seo-ha's lips soon after.
Too simple.
**
Bzzz!
Saturday.
I visited the lab cloaked in camouflage.
[Baek Seo-ha: Something to report.]
Looks like Seo-ha finally had results.
Calling the president on a day off.
Must be a success.
Thump thump.
My heart raced. Thinking of raking in the cash.
This is why R&D investment rocks.
Tech is king. Reason I go all-in on tech in simulation games sometimes.
"Ah, you're here."
Seo-ha spotted me and bowed her head.
No other researchers in sight. Makes sense, holiday.
Explaining results, she was enough anyway.
"This way."
Seo-ha led me deeper into the lab. At the same time, I intuited.
'It's a success.'
Happiness overflowed on her face.
The look when someone pours their soul into something and achieves it...
Classic self-realization expression.
Her skin and sluggish movements screamed fatigue—
"You look happy?"
But the vibe was like an elementary kid who aced a test.
"Eh...? Do I?"
She seemed unaware herself.
"Here. I'll show you now."
Click!
Seo-ha pressed a button, activating the research device.
Soon, the New Molrangtori mana circuit appeared on the screen.
I knew up to here.
Saw it when model Han Sae-byeok visited. The change: perfectly realized circuit?
There were gaps before.
'She said solving this would do it.'
How to solve it?
Like surgeons delicately untangling with precise movements?
The method was more radical.
And simple.
Slash!
Seo-ha manipulated the device, slicing the mana circuit with a sharp special blade. Perfectly clean.
'.........Huh?'
Isn't this that?
Alexander the Great.
The great king who once ruled the world found the legendary knot.
The one saying whoever unties the complex knot tied to the chariot would rule the world.
Alexander cut it with one stroke, and actually ruled the world.
"Trying all sorts of methods... your words came to mind."
"Which...?"
"Think simply. So I thought, just cut the knot."
"......"
"Of course, would the function hold? But pudding slimes have insane regeneration, right?"
Severed mana circuit.
Two completely separated threads. The blue pudding slime one started reconnecting.
Meanwhile, the black Kami mana melted away like a shadow.
Thus, the black mana peeled off the New Molrangtori.
"Needs a bit more processing, but... anyway."
Ding!
"Like this, it becomes a regular Molrangtori."
Seo-ha handed me the result.
Squeeze.
Perfect elasticity. Capacity intact, fusion successful.
A straight-up Molrangtori.
The kind certified for civilians, sellable to general consumers.
"Nice."
I smiled.
Hidden by the pictogram, but I think Seo-ha got it.
Neatly sliced the mana knot.
Now it's time for Molrangtori to spread worldwide.