Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Riding the Line, Hand of Salvation
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Roooooooar!
A majestic roar echoed thunderously across the entire gate.
Its massive body looked like a continent unto itself...
This was a transcendent being that humanity had never before approached.
The overwhelming presence of a different caliber made it impossible not to gulp nervously.
Of course, that wasn't me.
"Wh-what is this...?"
The Mining Guild Master, who had been staring at the World Turtle—the turtle with a mana stone mine on its shell—right next to me, looked like that.
Whoa. You might want to wipe that sweat. He looked like he might faint.
"Here."
I handed him some ice water.
Water containing ice made by Snowy.
Ice that held a sparkling, effervescent beauty.
It was my favorite ice, and also a sign of goodwill. Let's get along from now on.
"Mmph... mmph... mmph... phew!"
He probably had no idea.
He downed the 500ml bottle of ice water in one go.
How thirsty was he? He chugged it even though it was carbonated.
"This... it's good. Is it a product you sell separately?"
"It's a special product made by Molrangmol. We don't sell it."
"Ah... Oh, more importantly, what the hell is this thing?"
"Let's ride it first."
Roooooooar!
The World Turtle bellowed powerfully and lowered its head. I stepped on its head and climbed onto its back.
Even after I demonstrated, the Guild Master hesitated. Why was he so scared?
"It won't eat you. Just come up."
"Ah, yes!"
The Guild Master scrambled up.
"Wh-whoa whoaaaaa!"
Maybe too tense—he slipped.
Splash!
He ended up falling into the sea because of it.
But somehow, he made it onto the shell.
Falling in the water might have been a blessing in disguise.
The cold water seemed to have snapped him out of it.
Once the Guild Master shook off the water soaking him, I spoke.
"Didn't I propose this? That I'd increase your mana stone yield."
"Y-yes... You did say that. But what does that have to do with this monster...?"
"See for yourself."
I pointed. At the densely packed mana stone clusters.
"......"
The Guild Master, taking them in, was speechless. Not only that—his mouth hung open.
The fear from moments ago vanished, replaced by greed on his face.
I didn't think that was particularly bad.
From a businessman's perspective, pursuing money was only natural.
That was much better.
If he'd still been scared after seeing this, I'd have been disappointed.
To collaborate with Molrangmol, he needed that kind of spirit.
"C-can I touch them?"
"Of course. Go ahead and mine some."
"Mine... them?"
The Guild Master looked puzzled.
"Can't you?"
"I can, but time-wise... it'll be tough."
"How long do you think it would take?"
The Guild Master started gesturing this way and that.
Roughly estimating.
He was a veteran, apparently—the result came quick.
"One chunk would take at least 15 minutes. All of them? Probably a full day, and even then it'd be hard."
"Try it once."
I nodded at him.
The Guild Master blinked in confusion, but he had no real choice.
Vmmm!
Purple mana gathered in his palm.
Veins bulged on the back of his hand.
But it was rather pointless.
Snap!
The mana stone chunk came off into his hand all too easily.
"Huh...?"
Five seconds.
The Guild Master blanked out for five seconds.
His brain had frozen.
Yeah. I get it.
First time facing something that defies common sense. A normal person's brain needs time to process.
Maybe that's why.
He rubbed his eyes furiously. Even smacked his head with the mana stone chunk.
Still not convinced.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Only after harvesting a few more did he look back at me.
"How is this... possible? Huh? No, whoa...."
"I'll grant the Mining Guild exclusive mining rights to this monster. In exchange for handing over the A-Line Gates' mana stones to us instead of Huoyeonn."
A faint smile slipped through his stunned expression.
He'd already crunched the numbers. And decided it was worth it.
Of course it was.
No single gate in Korea had this kind of yield.
"But... how do we manage the monster?"
"No need. No feeding required either."
"Y-yeah...?"
The World Turtle wasn't particularly active.
It slept for about 90% of the time.
And it drew all its energy directly from the gate's core.
That's how it was designed from the start.
One with the gate.
You could say it was the gate turned into a monster.
"Anyway, let me propose again."
"......"
"Will you sign a contract with Molrangmol?"
**
[Mining: Looking forward to working with you!!!]
[DragonRaiser: Yes. Us too.]
Contract successful.
Mining agreed to hand over all A-Line Gates mana stone yields to Molrangmol.
Contract term: 3 years.
Long if long, short if short.
During that time, they'd gradually shift their other gates to us too, excluding A-Lines.
Well... whether Molrangmol would still work with Mining by then was anyone's guess.
But probably we would.
I could feel the Guild Master's fervent determination.
He knew.
That sticking with Molrangmol was the path to the top.
If you can't become the giant, climb on one's shoulders.
Ancient wisdom, isn't it?
Riding the line well is a skill.
And conversely.
Letting others ride the line well was important too.
'In the end, I can't do everything alone.'
To stand at the top, you need the right weight class.
No matter my transcendent power, running a massive corporation solo was impossible.
Tap tap.
So I logged in.
To the hunter community's "Engravers Mini Gallery."
Back when we bulk-bought D-rank mana stones.
We needed a ton of staff to refine them into B-ranks.
Ha Young's skills had improved by leaps and bounds, rivaling or surpassing A-rank engravers.
But.
'One person refining? Nah.'
Entrust thousands a day to Ha Young alone?
No black company would go that black.
So, lightly hire about a hundred, maybe a few hundred at most.
From what I knew, there were tons of people with engraving skills.
It was a huge fad a few years back.
Almost like the programmer boom. Even non-awakened civilians jumped in.
Tools were so advanced, you didn't even need abilities to engrave.
Anyway.
Just like AI popped the developers' bubble, engravers faced the same.
What's the point of engraving B-rank or higher mana stones?
No real demand.
So plenty of engravers ended up jobless drifters.
Tap tap.
[Is the first-half engraver line hiring 0 people for real? One idiot?][Posted by: DontBecomeEngraver]
[You guys bail too][Posted by: AlceriaNyung]
[B-rank engraver noob monthly earnings insane?][Posted by: AmpStudentUnemployedAspirant]
(Income certificate)
Broke 5 million this month lol
This puts me in semi-gal top 1%?
-What's 1%? 0.1% ftw
-How tf??
-No way you're really a B-rank engraver?
ㄴ(Poster): Yeah, certified before
ㄴLegit
ㄴYou need certification to even post here...
-Are you exclusive with someone?
ㄴ(Poster): Nah, just porter night shifts + loading/unloading lol
ㄴLolololololololololol
ㄴJust a hardworking bastard...
"Ugh, so depressing. So depressing."
Every post was a downer.
Yet the respawn volume was high, proving tons of people burned by the engraver boom.
No wonder the complaints.
To become a typical engraver... one who could make a living, a B-rank engraver.
It took 5 years, a whopping 5.
3 years college, 2 years for certification exams?
Ha Young told me, so reliable.
Invest 5 prime years of your 20s, and it goes poof?
'I'd lose motivation too.'
Dreams of youth turned to vapor. Life's tough.
Of course, even in that harsh reality, some make it.
Squeeze.
[Boss. I love you.][Posted by: ImAnEngraver]
(One shot with Ha Young at dawn)
(Molrangmol payslip, partially masked)
If you hadn't suggested we work together first...
I'd still be scraping by day to day...
I love you.
Molrangmol, THE GOAT. Forever.
And to cheer everyone on,
I'll send chicken gift icons to everyone who comments...
Fighting, all.
-Wow... so jealous
-It's this guy lol Molrangmol has one engraver apparently
-Life made
-Look at those salary digits fml
ㄴWtf is this real lol so unfair
-Me and Ha Young pic...
-How'd you get into Molrangmol? Sooooo jealous
ㄴ(Poster): Got contacted before Molrangmol was founded lol
ㄴDamn... bottom-fished like a boss...
2,500 recommendations.
Overwhelming #1 popular post by ImAnEngraver—Ha Young.
She'd become every engraver's aspiration.
Plenty probably couldn't let go of engraving dreams after seeing that post.
So, I decided to be their savior.
Tap tap.
I borrowed Ha Young's account briefly and posted.
[Hello? Molrangmol here.][Posted by: ImAnEngraver]
(DragonRaiser account verification photo)
Hello?
Nice to meet you all.
They say you need a verified account to post, so I'm borrowing this one.
Keeping it simple with just the requirements. Long posts suck, right? lol
[Molrangmol Official Hiring Notice]
*Qualifications
-Engravers capable of B-rank mana stone engraving
-Engravers confident in working diligently
*Contract Details
-Full-time, not contract
-Salary negotiable later / Performance bonuses based on work done
-All benefits provided (previous hiring notice link)
-Planning dorm-style workshop in Gyeonggi-do (if many request)
*Hiring Number
-000 people
(Application link)
That's it.
Have a great day everyone lol
-Kraaaaaah! Finally!!!!
-Yatta! Yatta! Yatta!
-From now on Molrangmol and I are one, attacks on Molrangmol are...
-Fuck, this real?
-Engraver long-term hold success lolololol
ㄴTold you this day would come?
ㄴLol quitters crying
Nice. Strong response.
Good. Everyone, grab my hand.
Let's become the best together.