Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Like Magic, Achievements
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“Ah, I’ve gone and done it.”
It was a line I’d always wanted to say at least once someday.
Never dreamed I’d actually get to utter it.
Sitting demurely on the bed, I gazed out the window at the scene.
Beyond the rising steam from my coffee, the reflection of an otherworldly being appeared.
“Ugly as hell.”
Calling it a “magical beast” didn’t seem right.
Was it the oozing aura it exuded? Or just its appearance—either way, “grotesque” fit it much better.
Especially since its entire body was covered in sticky red goo, making it even more bizarre.
………
The creature floated leisurely among the five towering skyscrapers.
Plenty of figures were visible on the rooftops of the skyscrapers, tension thick in the air as if battle was about to commence any moment.
[Breaking news just in. The Hwaryeon Guild has announced they will soon attempt to subjugate the magical beast that appeared in central Seoul. In response, authorities are…]
Even the small TV, a standard rooftop room amenity, was broadcasting similar news.
I quietly observed it all.
Slurp.
I sipped the perfectly cooled coffee.
“Mmm…”
The warmth and the sweetness from three spoonfuls of syrup eased the tension from my body.
Of course, even that soothing comfort couldn’t fully dispel my sentimental mood.
It was the aftermath of last night’s intense battle.
The so-called “magic day” that I’d completely overlooked until now.
Upon looking it up, it turned out half of female Awakeners passed it more easily than regular people, while the other half struggled quite a bit.
Something about extreme stress altering the nature of their mana?
I didn’t know the details, but it was clear I was unfortunately in the latter group.
……………
That grotesque blood clot out there was part of the aftereffects.
Sure, it looked a bit off, but it wasn’t actually dangerous.
There’s no such thing as a bad summon in this world.
It was the perfect fit for the slogan, “Our summons don’t bite!”
Molrang…
Molrang and Molcang, who’d been watching me warily until now, pressed right up against me.
Warmth radiated from the two of them.
As if sensing the lingering ache in my abdomen, they enveloped me like a mother’s hand.
Good kids.
I’d give them two mana stones each today, for sure.
As I thought that, a rustling sound came from somewhere.
Woo-ee!
The mini golem, nicknamed “Mini,” had raised its right hand high.
Wiggling its chubby fingers vigorously, it seemed to be claiming it could do better.
“Whoa there! Stay put.”
Woo-ee……
It drooped its head in disappointment.
Its sparkling eyes welled up, and thick sand tears plopped down.
‘This little punk, playing pitiful to manipulate me…’
But no meant no.
I could still feel that gritty sensation, subtly or not.
Right after being summoned, Mini had scattered sand everywhere. And with the window open at the worst possible time, it turned into a massive disaster.
The breeze blowing through the window.
It wasn’t even sandstorm season, but suddenly my rooftop room was hit with a sandstorm.
The sand’s nature made it float and settle unpredictably, turning cleanup into a nightmare.
Even after doing my best, bits kept popping up here and there.
The grittiness on my thigh right now was probably from that.
Woo-ee…
So, I’d sentenced Mini to pot confinement.
Inside a slightly oversized flowerpot that didn’t quite match the rooftop room vibe, Mini sat.
You might wonder why a random flowerpot, but I wasn’t growing plants or anything.
It was left behind by the previous tenant, too shamelessly.
I’d kept it because dealing with it was a hassle, but who knew it’d come in handy like this.
At least until I figured out a way to stop the sand from flying, it’d stay there.
I’d even considered not summoning it at all…
‘But that’d be such a waste.’
I’d put effort into crafting it, so I planned to use it as a worker somehow.
It was cute in its own pudding slime-different way.
Ding-ding-di-ding!
Suddenly, my smartphone blared to life. The alarm I’d set for 8 a.m. every morning.
“Time to get to work.”
Observation time over.
Now it was time to make some money.
Snap!
I flicked my fingers.
At the same time, the grotesque figure in the distance blurred and vanished.
**
“What? The mana signature vanished?”
The management team leader’s brow furrowed at the report.
It was absurd enough that mana extracted from the inventory pointed to a bizarre magical beast, but now that beast had vanished without a trace.
“W-We… Even maxing out the scanner’s output, there’s no signal detected.”
“……Keep tracking it for now. Could just be a temporary glitch.”
“Yes, sir.”
Of course, the odds of it being a glitch were slim.
Not with a scanner developed by Hwaryeon’s research team, of all people.
The team leader knew that, but there were no other orders to give.
Creak.
The team leader stared at the sky where the beast had floated moments ago, lost in thought.
“Whew…….”
None of it made sense.
Why had mana been detected from that grotesque creature in the first place, and why had it suddenly disappeared?
The leading theory was a summon by the “inventory creator.”
‘But summoning magical beasts outside gates has no precedent.’
Even if possible, the creator had no reason to summon one.
It wasn’t like they were advertising their location to be captured.
On top of that, no mana from the summoner had been detected, which was odd.
Had they altered their mana form in the meantime?
“……Tch.”
No answers came.
Caught in a web of tangled thoughts, the team leader raked a hand through his hair roughly.
**
“Logging in~”
With trembling anticipation, I hit the [Settlement] button.
Ding!
[JH Hunter Love Future Account (4213) Deposit: 11,310,000 won - (Hunter Points Withdrawal)]
The ten million won I’d inherited from the inheritance was surpassed in one go, filling my account.
It was the settlement for 100 Molrang Bags, sold out in one minute.
Price per unit: 130,000 won.
After deducting the sales agency’s 10% commission, this was what hit my account.
“Kraaah………!”
My whole body shuddered.
Shudders of pure joy. I couldn’t stem the dopamine exploding through me.
So this was the thrill of business they always talked about?
It felt even more rewarding since it was the fruit of my first real effort.
It wasn’t an insane amount of money, of course.
But thinking of it as a foundation for the future made it plenty satisfying.
Tap-tap-tap.
·WantToRaiseADragon: Hey. Sending the mana stone payment now.
·JewelerPro: Oh? Got the settlement? Saw it sold out.
·WantToRaiseADragon: Yep. But 13% commission is straight-up robbery;;
·JewelerPro: Lol, it’s pricey. But hit the sales targets and it drops to 5%?
·WantToRaiseADragon: Those targets are brutal though…
·JewelerPro: You’ll smash them quick, I bet?
·WantToRaiseADragon: Fair.
Ding!
I paid JewelerPro all the backlog owed.
Then I roughly crunched the numbers in my head.
Basically, one Molrang Bag required 30,000 won worth of mana stones.
Add in warehouse rent, packaging and shipping, sales commission, payment fees, taxes…
Wait, they take this much?
Anyway, whatever was left after all that was my pure profit.
‘Margin’s about 35% or so.’
35%.
With material and labor costs basically merged, it was an insanely high figure.
No ad spend or operating costs yet helped too.
And it could go even higher.
‘Just jack up the price.’
But I had no intention of doing that.
The goal was to sell to as many people as possible.
Setting a high price and getting pigeonholed as a luxury item would be trouble.
Plus, Molrang Bags had one fatal flaw.
A seven-day usage limit.
Repeat purchases were a must, naturally.
So stable pricing was even more crucial.
Hence the 130,000 won price point.
‘Even D-rank Hunters can buy without much strain.’
Securing more potential customers took priority over margins right now.
I could always boost margins later with premium versions.
Ding!
·SoloPlayLover: (Photo of Molrang Bag combined from 10 units)
·SoloPlayLover: No way this can carry up to 500kg??
·SoloPlayLover: Picked up a baby horned elephant (0.4 tons) no problem.
·SoloPlayLover: Performance is insane;;
·WantToRaiseADragon: Solid.
Right on cue, SoloPlayLover was testing the combinable Molrang Bag.
Once I got the results from him, time to prep for commercialization.
Woo-ee!
Oh, right.
First up, figure out how to make use of Mini.