Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Special Mission, Romance
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Molrangtori 5-Division Technique.
A special technology that divides a single Molrangtori into five.
Commercialization of the technology, focused more on civilians than corporations, was right around the corner.
The theory had been established, and the tests had achieved high success rates.
So, what was left?
“We need to solve the cost problem…”
Molmol’s chief researcher, Lee Chan-seong, swallowed a groan.
A pen spun round and round in his right hand. His worries ran just as deep.
Of course, they could throw it into production right away without any major issues.
But they’d have to sell it for 30% more than the planned price.
“What are we missing?”
There was still plenty of time.
The president had given them two more months.
Tap, tap, tap.
Chan-seong accessed the database. Monster research records he’d steadily built up since the HXZ days. Maybe something would turn up if he dug through them.
No matter how rare the monster, they just had to find it.
Unlike back at HXZ or Hwaryeon, there was no need to worry about monster supply.
‘It still doesn’t make any sense.’
A summoning ability that transcended common sense.
He felt ashamed just thinking about how he’d once tried to oppose someone like that.
“Ah, whatever.”
His eyes stung and prickled. It wasn’t a lie—this felt like they might actually pop out.
Maybe five straight all-nighters had been pushing it.
No matter how good his fatigue resistance, everyone had limits.
Scraaaape!
The sound of him dragging his chair filled the quiet lab.
An empty lab after everyone else had gone home. Outside the window, darkness piled up deep.
‘Maybe I’ll head home for once.’
Not a bad idea.
He really should go back at some point. It had been a whole month since he’d set up house in the lab.
This was why overly good perks could be a problem.
You just didn’t feel like going home anymore.
“Uwaaaaaah…!”
Chan-seong stretched as he rose from his seat. He was about to leave the lab when—
Bzzz!
“Huh? Team leader? Didn’t you already head out?”
Baek Seo-ha had returned to the lab.
That was weird. After their breakthrough on the new Molrangtori research, she’d been the one clocking out sharp every day.
“…Team leader?”
But something was off about her condition.
Her eyes were completely lifeless. Like her soul had been thoroughly drained.
And that wasn’t all.
She shook her head side to side and let out sigh after sigh.
Chan-seong was right in front of her, but she didn’t spare him a glance.
A terribly familiar sight.
‘Did the president rip into her or something?’
Back when Hwaryeon had enemies on the inside, Seo-ha got dragged to board meetings all the time for scoldings.
Though the president didn’t seem like that type.
Crunch.
“…”
Oh no, this wasn’t good.
Seo-ha had started biting her nails.
This meant one of two things.
Either she was under extreme stress.
Or she’d entered a hyper-excited state where her research passion had gone into overdrive.
Probably the former.
Just that morning, Seo-ha had been busy with the mana stone harvesting method, right?
Way more leisurely research than what Chan-seong was doing.
Even stealing side glances, she’d seemed totally at ease.
“Team leader, hold on a sec.”
In the end, Chan-seong headed for the pantry.
He had the perfect fix for situations like this.
Ramen.
The spiciest, most fiery ramen imaginable.
Boil some up and it’d melt away her stress.
“Where are you going?”
“…Huh? To make some ramen.”
“Ramen? Why ramen out of nowhere?”
“You don’t look totally shattered or anything?”
Seo-ha’s eyes narrowed.
Her sharp gaze conveyed her inner thoughts plain as day.
‘What the hell is this lunatic saying?’
Exactly that vibe.
“Quit the pie-in-the-sky nonsense and get over here.”
“Ah, got it!”
Chan-seong followed behind Seo-ha to her desk.
Tap, tap, tap.
Her slender fingers hammered the keyboard, and soon a blueprint popped up on the screen.
“…What is this?”
It was something, alright.
His brain flat-out refused to process the info hitting his retinas.
It was just too ridiculous.
“It’s exactly what it looks like.”
Munch munch, Chan-seong’s eyes scanned the blueprint again.
What did you call that? A cabin?
Anyway, a massive container-like space. At its center, three large mana stones lined up in a row.
Up to that point, he might’ve shrugged it off.
Nothing impressive about it.
But what was mounted on top of that cabin? That was the issue.
“Is this… even possible?”
A massive monster. An absurdly enormous super-giant monster.
She planned to use it to create some kind of passenger transport system.
“I don’t know. Anyway, you see the mana stones in the middle?”
“Yeah. They stand out plenty.”
“We’re swapping those three out for rechargeables.”
“Yeah…?”
Mana stones were used as energy sources all over modern society.
Typically, they were treated like old cellphone batteries—use ’em up and swap in new ones.
It was the efficient way.
No need to bother with recharging.
Charging technology itself had been developed, of course…
“But we haven’t been able to apply it to giant mana stones like those yet, right?”
“Exactly. So from today, we’re going all-in on that.”
“What? What about everything we’ve been working on?”
“Full stop. That’s our top priority now. Deadline’s three months.”
“What happens if we miss the deadline…?”
“Who knows. He didn’t say much. But we should aim to hit it anyway. We’ve gotten so much from the president up till now—it’s only right.”
Gulp. Chan-seong swallowed dryly.
A special mission had come down.
He might have to put off going home for another three months.
**
Romance.
A word that set a man’s heart ablaze hotter than anything else.
As one such man myself, I’d lived my life harboring countless romances.
Riding a dragon through the skies.
Becoming an S-rank hunter.
Building the world’s top guild from scratch, and so on.
And the romance I was chasing now—my bucket-list dream.
It all started with a single post on Hunter Gallery.
[Cheonkyeong <<<< Really extinct for real?][Author: Lucky Letter]
Just remembered and looked it up.
Last sighting in 1997…
Fuck, there goes all the romance.
Give me back my sky whale you bastards!!!
-Even if you saw it, it would’ve eaten you on the spot? Cheers to surviving~
ㄴLOLOLOLOLOL
ㄴBut honestly, it wasn’t as big as I expected. No real thrill. A-rank monster too
ㄴSeen one yourself?
ㄴYeah, they were common in the early ’90s
ㄴ(Writer): Please let me ride one..
ㄴEven this geezer browses Hunter Gal
ㄴLOLOLOL
-Old farts like the one above overhunted them
ㄴTrue, but the phrasing’s kinda violent
ㄴGotta hunt in moderation. Wipe ’em all out and of course the species goes extinct
ㄴFr, feel sorry for the bastards..
Cheonkyeong.
Heavenly Whale.
Sky Whale.
Whether due to human greed or sheer coincidence.
A monster that never showed its face in the world again.
It went extinct before I was even born. Choking back sobs over this lost romance, I made a vow.
‘I’ll just summon one myself.’
But simple summons had no place in my repertoire.
A principle I’d upheld without fail from Molmol’s founding to now.
Any summoned monster had to have a clear role and purpose.
No tolerance for pointless summons.
Which is why I’d decided.
To launch a mega-project using the Cheonkyeong.
What I aimed to build: the greatest airship in history.
An airship powered by a sky whale.
Romance incarnate, low-risk, premium passenger transport.
“But… is it really possible? Aren’t we talking about summoning something way too huge?”
Ha-young asked me. Her hands were moving busily.
Same for me.
I was harvesting the mana clumps impaled on Kami’s tentacles—the ones swollen up like grapes.
“It’s possible. More than… huff. More than possible.”
It was barely May, but the heat was insane.
My breath came out scorching hot, sweat pouring down.
I wanted to crank the AC, but I had to hold out.
Mass production via Kami sped up dramatically once temps hit 25 degrees.
“Haa…!”
That’s why I was stuck like this.
My body felt like goo from the heat. My white short-sleeved tee was long since soaked through and plastered to my skin.
I wanted to ask Seolbaek-i to cool me off.
Whirr!
But it was busy molding its own mana clumps.
Maybe I’d just dash off for a cold shower. Right now, the dopamine hit would be…
“…Hiyaaaaah!”
I let out a shrill scream without thinking.
The sensation on my nape was so cold and startling.
And it wasn’t just the scream.
I even leaped into the air. Who knew I had that kind of jump in me?
I landed awkwardly and whipped around to find the culprit.
“Uh, sis!”
Jina was there, grinning ear to ear.
Ice water in her hand. That was the source of the chill.
“You looked so overheated, so I brought you something special.”
“…”
“Not gonna drink it?”
“…Guess I have to.”
I snatched the ice water from Jina and dumped it straight down my throat.
The sharp chill made my body shudder. Dopamine flooded my brain completely.
Now I could breathe.
“I’m the best, huh?”
“Yeah. The best. So now you handle some harvesting, sis.”
“Eek. Just tell the mini golems to do it.”
“They’re already maxed out, and we’re still short on hands. Hurry up.”
“Fiiiine…”
I shoved the basket at the protesting Jina. No slacking off on me.
Then I headed over to Seolbaek-i.
“Hmm…”
A mountain of mana clumps piled up.
That should be enough for a tail.
The past two weeks of failure after failure had built up plenty of know-how.
No more screw-ups. I was confident.
Vrrr!
Ten crimson threads emerged from my ten fingers.
The thin threads began binding the mana clumps together.
Rich mana swallowed the surroundings.
The overwhelming pressure chilled the factory air.
“…”
The two watching me shuddered on instinct.
Whiii…!
The mini golems making Molrangtex nearby panicked and fled to the second floor.
But I paid it no mind.
The ten threads grew to a hundred, then a thousand, then tens of thousands.
Soon the individual clumps merged into one.
A shape finally took form.
The tail of a whale we all knew emerged.
“Phewww…”
Assembly complete at last…
BOOM BOOM CRASH!
“Waaah!”