Chapter 12
Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Initial Investment Done, Now Fight Among Yourselves
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Slam!
I flung open the door to my rooftop room and stepped outside.
Whew~ trash smell.
No, what the hell is this?
Was today already trash pickup day?
I wondered if I'd mixed up the dates, so I checked my smartphone.
"Huh. It's Thursday today."
Nope, not at all.
For reference, trash collection in this residential area is on Mondays and Fridays.
Just to be sure, I poked my head out over the railing.
Even looking down at the trash spot by the utility pole on the first floor, there wasn't any garbage in sight.
What could it be? Just my imagination?
But no, the stench was way too strong for that...
As I scanned around for the source of the stink, I finally spotted it.
"Damn it."
In the farthest corner of the rooftop, a swarm of flies buzzing around.
Below them, a heap of big chunks of trash.
Over the spilled contents, creepy things were wriggling.
"Ugh... makes me wanna smack 'em upside the head."
In this world, there are all sorts of people, right?
Which is why this kind of thing happens every now and then.
People who, for fun, toss their leftovers here after scarfing something down—super reasonable folks, you know.
And right then, the railing wasn't like regular bars but more like a huge metal sheet with holes punched in it...
"Daring to use my terrace as a dumpster...!"
Argh, seriously! Hey!
Should I summon the transparent dragon and have it breathe fire on anyone who dumps here without permission?
Guys like that deserve to get torched.
With those ridiculous thoughts, I roughly cleaned up the trash and headed down the stairs.
I always think this, but these stairs...
Step.
"Haaah...!"
The floors are way too high. Nearly tripped there.
Even as a guy, they felt tall, but in this cute little girl's body, it's practically rock climbing.
'Maybe I should buy some steps or something to put here.'
Safely planting my feet on the ground, I pulled up the map app on my smartphone.
[JH Hunter Bank (Main Branch): 3km to destination]
Just like the map app showed, I planned to hit the bank while waiting.
To mass-produce Molangtori, I'd obviously need a ton of pudding slimes.
But my rooftop room was barely 8 pyeong at best.
About the size of a decent one-room.
I didn't have the confidence to live in there with a bunch of pudding slimes.
And I didn't have the cash right now to snag some big plot of land, so the idea that popped into my head was—
'Just use the rooftop.'
Not to brag, but the rooftop my room is based on is pretty spacious.
Of course, the area I could actually use wasn't that big. There was a shed next to the room.
It belonged entirely to the landlord.
Rough eyeballing it, I could fit at least a hundred pudding slimes in there.
It seemed way bigger than my room...
If I crammed 'em in, three hundred wouldn't be a problem?
Seemed like a solid plan, so yesterday I went head-to-head with the building owner.
-'Yes, yes. So you'll send it over tomorrow, right?'
What he asked for was 2 million won a month in rent.
Pricey, but considering the space, it didn't seem outrageous.
And beyond that, thinking about the profits I'd make from this, it was worth the investment.
Sure, I could go grind gates to cover the rent...
'But I shouldn't hit gates anymore unless I really have to.'
Going in and out too often would make it hard to hide my abilities.
Last time I got away clean, but there was even a news article about monsters fighting each other.
If I don't use my powers, it's tough to run a party with just Molangtori.
Once I start official sales, the exclusivity of me being the only one with it vanishes.
So after agonizing over it, I chose the bank trip.
And conveniently, I had a source of cash.
**
Ding!
[JH Hunter Love Future Account (4213) Deposit: 11,000,000 won - JH Hunter Bank]
With a cheerful chime, a huge sum hit my account.
Ten million won. A whole ten million!
That fat stack was why I'd come to the bank.
I don't have any family right now.
Skipping the long sad backstory.
Instead of family, I had inheritance money.
The ten million that just deposited was all of it.
I'd been saving it for when I really needed it, and now felt like the time.
The Molangtori business was clearly gonna decide my future.
"Yes, have a good one."
The bank teller saw me off with a bright smile, but there was a hint of pity mixed in with the kindness.
I get it. I'd feel the same.
A little kid like this coming to withdraw inheritance cash.
For a normal person, pity's the natural reaction.
The power of looks is amazing.
The more time passes, the more I feel like not using it would be stupid.
But is that really okay?
For a manly guy like me, is it right to cash in on cute girly charm for popularity?
...Tough question.
Ding-a-ling!
"Welcome!"
My head started vaguely aching, so I ducked into a dessert shop near the bank.
Not because I wanted the DP desserts or anything.
"Um... one mini cake set, please."
"Sure, one sec."
When your head hurts, nothing beats sweets.
Time to recharge happiness with some sugar.
And there they were, six adorable cake slices placed in front of me.
One piece with a pinkish tint—peach in it?—I popped the whole thing in my mouth.
"Mmm...!"
The instant I ate it, my body and mind felt fulfilled!
...Hold up.
Isn't scarfing cute cakes like this already girly-girl behavior...?
"Whatever."
Eat first, think later.
Can't waste it after ordering.
And real men never leave food behind.
"Mmm...!"
**
Back at the rooftop room, the shed door was open.
Inside was neatly tidied up too.
There was a bit of that naphthalene smell, but it was satisfactory.
Gotta say, they handle business properly for the big bucks.
Creak!
The smell's no biggie—just open the windows and air it out.
"Definitely spacious and nice."
Stepping inside, it was even bigger than I'd guessed.
If I seriously crammed 'em in tight, five hundred Molang could fit easy?
Not that I plan to.
I'd get blasted by whatever "Monster Lovers Association" exists out there.
Plus, slime stress would tank product quality, so comfy space is key.
Slam.
!!!!
Opening the door to the room, Molangi and Molcangi greeted me wildly.
If they had dog tails, they'd be spinning so hard they'd lift off.
Petting wasn't enough for them.
Boing boing!
They jumped with all their might and landed on my head.
A two-layer slime tower.
I've gotten used to it lately—balance isn't an issue anymore.
"How'd it gooo~?"
Heading inside with them, I checked the test results.
As expected, the drill stuck in Molcangi's fragment had stopped.
Molangi's fragment, on the other hand, was good as new.
The red LED blinking to show normal operation.
"Let's see if this holds up too!"
Molang...!
I grabbed the drill handle and twisted it every which way inside the fragment.
"Oho."
Still blinking red. No issues.
First test passed.
I don't know exactly how much stability the high-grade mana stone adds, but it definitely works.
[Title: Ahh... I did it again.][Author: WannaRaiseADragon]
Nailed another Molangtori upgrade.
Korean hunters should thank me...
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-We'll thank you, so spread 'em already
-Thought you weren't posting today
-Why are these guys suddenly useful? Usually so chatty
└Gotta get that inventory~
└Lol fr
Satisfaction surging, I posted on the community and headed to the gallery creation menu.
"Purpose... trading only. ...Huh? This exists?"
Thought it'd be simple, but there were more options than expected.
To enable trading basics, pay 7 million won upfront.
They take fees and still want prepayment?
And for courier service, monthly extras?
I hesitated a bit, but my finger reluctantly hit create.
[A new gallery has been created. It will activate once the fee is paid.]
"Okay. Okay. Take my money. Take it all."
No better sales channel than hunter community.
No annoying reports or registrations, fully legit.
Big guilds use it for their products too.
[Payment confirmed. Gallery activated.]
"Haa..."
Blew my entire inheritance.
Hurts, but what can ya do? Cheap for startup costs... cheers~
"Let's go."
A blank white gallery screen greeted me.
Basic skeleton, nothing else.
Plenty to do like naming or designing, but leave that to future me.
Priority first.
Tap tap.
[Molangtori Pre-Order Sales Start! Selling 100 units! Read post for details!]
Pasted the prepped sales text.
Click.
Posted.
Double-checked—no issues.
But no one would find this gallery like this.
No name, no searchability.
So, time to use another community feature.
[Send new post notification?]
The 'neighbor' function.
If they have you as neighbor, they get alerted when you post.
I've got nearly a thousand neighbors now.
Mostly from Molangtori hype.
They want the miracle of Molangtori.
Fine.
I'll personally deliver that miracle.
Ding!
[Notification sent successfully.]
Now fight it out among yourselves.