Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Shwaaa, An Unexpected Crisis
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“Ehei… This one looks kinda dumb when it comes to work.”
A particularly dopey-looking horned rabbit.
I swallowed my disappointment while staring at the photo posted on the community.
Click. The moment I clicked on the next post.
Slurp!
I sucked up the melon soda I’d ordered for delivery.
A chilling sensation that made my teeth ache, followed by smooth liquid soaking my tongue.
“What is this…”
Why is it so damn good?
I’d thought it was some kinda weird abomination with ice cream plopped randomly on top of soda…
Who knew it harbored a taste straight out of heaven.
Sweet plus sweet is an eternal truth, huh?
No wonder it’s the number one popular menu item.
Slurp!
I couldn’t hold back and slurped up more melon soda, way more enthusiastically than before.
“Uwaaah……!”
My head went ding!
A sharp brain freeze hit, but happiness hormones exploded out in response.
“Huaa…! That’s the stuff.”
Just a bit ago, I’d hauled a hundred delivery boxes up to the rooftop—pure grunt work.
The rooftop, painted green and baking under the direct sun, was scorching hot. It was only natural my body craved something sweet and cool.
Slurp!
It’s only gonna get hotter from here. I can’t keep working like this nonstop.
“Why are they all such klutzes?”
That’s why I was diving deep into the Pet Monster Gallery right now.
All because I’d come up with a genius idea for easy labor.
‘Just summon a monster and make it do the work.’
An idea that’d make even Zhuge Liang slap his knee in approval.
And no need to argue over employment terms—it’s super efficient.
Of course, I had to approach it carefully.
If I charged in headfirst, it’d be a total waste of effort.
Fuel efficiency was priority one.
Picking a big brute thinking power is everything, only for it to devour mana stones? Total loss.
‘Belly bigger than the waistline, you know?’
Plus, no guarantee bigger means better at work.
Isn’t manual labor like that?
Swole gym bros benching 500kg three times? Nah. The wiry uncles with battle-packed muscles get shit done.
So, something Molrang-sized would be perfect.
Molrang?
Look at that squishy, dense muscle. Get crushed under that, and it’s instant happy death.
Rattle!
Feeling the time was right, I opened the drawer next to my desk.
Molrang!
Molrang hopped up high, like it read my intent.
I smiled warmly and tossed it a single B-rank mana stone (10g).
Molrang!
Feeding Molrang just one B-rank stone a day should be plenty.
When you think about it, that’s basically its daily wage…
Even compromising max, two stones is the limit.
‘Paying over 200,000 won a day for basic grunt work crosses the line.’
Click!
That’s the mindset as I browsed the Pet Monster Gallery diligently.
There’s a Monster Wiki, but it’s overloaded with info—pass for now.
The folks there mostly raise small, cute monsters, so it’s the perfect spot for intel.
“They all look so similar…”
But so far, no real hits.
Am I being too picky?
I just want one that covers the finer details too.
Something with hand-like appendages would be ideal.
Sticking stickers or packing boxes needs finesse over brute force.
‘Should I just make a new monster from scratch?’
The thought bubbled up, but I shot it down.
My imagination was too damn scary.
It’d probably birth some freakish chimera.
A twisted nether abomination Mk. 2 wouldn’t be surprising.
“Whew…….”
No helping it.
Wasting time like this is a shame.
In the end, I pulled out my ace in the hole.
Help me out! PetMon Gal!
If you can’t find it, just ask. That’s how I learned about feeding mana stones and fusion methods too.
Tap tap tap!
[Title: (For real important!!) Any cute fluffy monsters with hand-like things??][Author: DragonRaiserWannabe]
Hands exactly not required… anything with hand-ish appendages is fine too!
I posted it with a suitably cutesy, rounded-off tone.
Matched the ever-friendly PetMon Gal vibe—like convergent evolution in speech.
Ding!
And as always, kind comments started rolling in.
-No way lol you’re actually active here
-Welcome… PetMon Gal’s output GOAT…
ㄴ(Author): Huh?
ㄴThanks to you, visitors exploded and mods were thrilled. Talk of promotion too
ㄴ(Author): lolololol
Didn’t expect every comment to be fawning like that, though.
“Pffft…… What’re they saying.”
But honestly? Felt pretty good.
Actually… great?
Finally, everyone’s recognizing my greatness.
All that hard work paying off.
Praise me more, go on!
Ding!
As I chatted with those who knew me, answer comments started trickling in.
-BreedingGod: How about Mini Golem?
ㄴ(Author): Ooh? Love the name already.
ㄴ(Author): As expected of BreedingGod lol
ㄴBreedingGod: Saying that makes it feel weird tho;
Mini Golem, huh.
Name alone screams adorable fluffball.
Anything less would be false advertising.
Disrespect to the word “Mini.”
Got my answer, so bye-bye PetMon Gal.
I hopped onto the Monster Wiki for detailed specs.
A bright green search bar popped up. Typed in “Mini Golem.”
“Oho…….”
Looked like a golem straight up, but those big peepers stirred protective instincts.
Full height: 30cm~50cm.
About Molrang-sized or a tad bigger.
Size: Pass with flying colors.
Next up, those hands caught my eye.
Chubby four-fingered hands.
The attached video showed it picking up coins with its fingers.
Hmm. Pass.
‘Last check: how much does it eat?’
The wiki’s final line sealed the deal perfectly.
[Mini Golems boast insane energy efficiency due to golem traits. Research shows they can operate for 6 months without food.(43)]
What. It’s the perfect worker.
Born to be my laborer—no exaggeration.
Okay. Mini Golem. You’re the one.
Click!
Downloaded a pic of the Mini Golem and zoomed it to fill my 27-inch monitor.
Using that de facto blueprint right in front of me, I began the work.
“…….”
First, I drew out thin threads of mana.
Something I’d learned mastering the ability: start precise for perfect summons.
One strand becomes two, two to four, four to eight.
Stretch it like pulling yarn, and soon it feels like clay.
All that’s left: sculpt that elegant clay just like the blueprint.
“Whew…….”
A couple beads of sweat rolled down my cheek.
Had to handle it delicately, so it guzzled more mana than expected.
But that let me max out the quality.
“Rise.”
I breathed life into the Mini Golem.
Molrang!
Molrang and Molcang, who’d sidled up beside me, sparkled their eyes in anticipation.
You guys like getting a junior too, huh?
……
Color slowly seeped into the Mini Golem’s body, its head twitching faintly.
And finally.
Woo———i!
It opened its eyes.
“Kuuh……!”
Is there a thrill like this moment?
Daring to step into creation’s domain, birthing life.
The world should be grateful I don’t abuse this.
Wui!
The Mini Golem raised both arms high, like agreeing with me.
And that’s where the unexpected problem hit.
Shwaaaaa!
A weird sound rang in my ears.
Yellow grains poured down even more intensely.
“………Sand?”
Sand. Sand.
The Mini Golem was a golem made entirely of sand.
Wui!
“Wait! Stay still! The room’s turning into a sand pit…”
Wui!
“Hey!”
**
“Did you really find it?”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“Get the coordinates now!”
A serene night with the moon hanging high.
The Hwayeon Gate Management Team B was on fire.
Beep beep!
A blaring alarm like the world was ending.
The scanner had finally locked onto the target.
The intense reaction they’d never seen before had multiple staffers gulping dryly.
“Team leader, here it is!”
“Good…!”
The team leader pulled up the coordinates on his tablet, then bolted straight for the elevator.
The one express elevator straight to the guild master’s office.
Luxury-smooth and silent, but that silence made his heart thunder deafeningly.
Thump thump!
His heart pounded like mad. Fierce beats shattered the quiet.
His brain was working overtime too.
‘She did say there’d be a reward for finding it first…’
The guild master had promised.
Big reward for the first team to track down the mana source.
Out of Hwayeon’s five gate management teams, his had hit the jackpot. Insane luck.
All that remained: pray the scanner nailed the right target.
Ding!
The team leader straightened his clothes and stepped out.
“Hm? What’s up?”
He locked eyes with Guild Master Choi Seonghan, just exiting his office.
“Guild master! We found it. Pretty sure we’ve got the mana source!”
“Really…?”
“Yes, sir!”
The team leader yanked out his tablet in a fluster.
“Here.”
Seonghan peered at it intently, then furrowed his brow.
“This for real?”
At the question, the team leader double-checked the coordinates.
The spot was dead simple.
Five skyscrapers smack in Seoul’s heart forming a pentagon, with a red dot inside.
Especially close to Hwayeon’s own building.
Yeah. Like you could see it right through the top-floor window…
Weee-o weee-o!
Right then, shrill alarms blared across all of Seoul.
Warning of a new gate birth—or something with comparable mana—appearing.
“That’s…….”
Before they knew it, a shadow overhead blotted out the moon.