Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Secret Development, Unexpected Improvement
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Geiiing!
“How did it succeed?”
A crisp voice laced with anticipation. A woman in a white lab coat asked the question. Her ID badge gleamed under the bright lights.
[Hwaryeon Monster Research Team A - Team Leader: Baek Seo-ha]
“W-Well… we’ve at least achieved basic success.”
He uttered the word “success,” but there wasn’t a trace of joy on his face.
Pimples dotted his skin here and there, and his eyes were bloodshot red. He even seemed to carry an unpleasant odor.
It wasn’t just him—every researcher looked much the same.
The aftermath of consecutive all-nighters. Empty caffeine pill shells crammed one corner of the desk. They had pushed themselves to the limit.
It was the result of their own passion for the research and Hwaryeon’s generous compensation.
“…Take a look.”
Seo-ha brushed past the researcher and approached the sample.
“…….”
It jiggled like it might collapse at any moment. But its form held firm.
“How long has it lasted?”
“It’s been… 43 hours and 51 minutes now.”
“Projected duration?”
“Simulations suggest 48 hours is the limit.”
“Push it further. It needs to last at least three days.”
The researcher’s face fell at Seo-ha’s words. Or maybe it just looked that way.
“Dosage?”
“30kg is the best we can manage right now.”
This time, another researcher answered. The only one with any life in his eyes.
[Hwaryeon Monster Research Team A - Chief Researcher: Lee Chan-seong]
“You don’t even get tired, do you?”
“Well… it’s all thanks to my ability. When else would I use it?”
“Fair point.”
Chan-seong showed Seo-ha the research report.
“The volume limit is 1m x 1m, so… it’s still a ways off from commercialization.”
“Can’t increase it more? Did you try all the formulations I gave you for testing?”
“Yes. We’ll probably need to scout some new compounds.”
“The condition’s stable, right?”
“Yes. More than stable enough.”
Chan-seong nodded toward the far end of the lab.
Thud! Thud!
A majestic thud echoed beyond the thick glass wall. A massive lifeform, drained of its original color and dyed pitch black, was trapped inside.
Thud…! Thud…!
A colossal pudding slime. The creature writhed in endless agony.
“Be careful not to let it die. If that thing goes, our heads really might roll.”
It had been barely captured from the gate beneath Hwaryeon HQ. They’d mobilized an S-rank hunter just to take it alive.
And Hwaryeon Guild only had two S-ranks to its name.
The guild master and vice-master.
“Those real bastards… Last time they haggled over joints like crazy… Dragged me in front of the board… No asshole’s as much of an asshole as that.”
Seo-ha grimaced and rubbed her temple. She still seethed at the memory.
Hand over one lousy slime and develop new tech? No matter how she sliced it, it was an impossible demand.
“But if we push a little more, won’t it work out?”
“Yeah… No. It has to.”
‘As long as we hit the bare minimum viable amount. After that…’
As always, overwhelm with capital, mass-produce, and dominate the market. That was Hwaryeon’s way.
“Let’s run some new tests first. I’ve got a few more formulations lined up.”
**
[Today’s Popular Gallery #3: Molrangmol]
“It’s working for sure.”
Molrangmol had skyrocketed in just three days. It now proudly held a fixed spot on the main hunter community page.
Worth all the redesign work with Jin-ah.
Fixed visitors—aka “regulars”—had hit a whopping 10,000. Meaning 14% of Korean hunters used my gallery.
No wonder the free board tab was buzzing.
[Molrangmol’s Pure First Post Gets Fucked Up~][Author: Wakyapyamolang]
Claiming the free board’s first post for myself.
Ppyapyapyapya~
Hand over lifetime Molrangtori access right now. Do it, and I’ll delete nice and clean.
Otherwise, this tab’s origin story gets etched with my name forever.
-What a lunatic lololololol
-This guy’s an A-rank hunter? Top hunters are all batshit insane
ㄴFor real lol
ㄴHow’s a clown like this A-rank ffs..
“Pfft… Total idiot.”
A snort escaped as I swiped away.
Click!
Perfect guinea pig for testing. Time to try the admin tools.
So many options… Starting with post sorting.
Click!
A few clicks buried the egregious post and pinned my greeting to the top.
[Welcome, everyone, to Molrangmol.][Author: DragonWantToRaise]
Looking forward to hanging out ㅎㅎ
-Ahh… Bowing to the Normalization King…
-Wakyapyamolang: ?
ㄴWakyapyamolang: WTF give back my first post
ㄴWhy’s it yours anyway lolololol
ㄴ(Author): lol
ㄴWakyapyamolang: FUUUCKYOUNNN
Jin-ah’s grace at work again. I am the king of Molrangmol. Me.
Of course, growing Molrangmol like this came at another cost.
I’d posted a promo on the main gallery during the redesign.
[Error! Account Blocked.]
As expected, promo or firepower posts got banned per rules.
First blemish on my clean gallery history: a humiliating 31-day ban…
But it’s fine.
Landed #3 thanks to it. Cheers~
‘Really aimed for #1, though.’
#2 was doable, but #1 and Molrangmol had an insurmountable wall between them.
[Today’s Popular Gallery #1: Hwaryeon]
[Hwaryeon Fixed Visitors: 143,111]
“140k? That’s insane.”
Hwaryeon through and through. A worthy rival.
Wonder how their Molrangtori research is going? They always threw in bulk entries for the draws.
[HwaryeonJucheu: Hello. We’d like to discuss a royalty deal for Molrangtori. Details…]
Squeeze.
[User blocked successfully.]
The high-dollar offers still trickled in now and then.
Especially Hwaryeon—they were pros at turning monster materials into products.
From consumables like smokes to gear like weapons.
That 140k figure probably owed a lot to foreign hunter customers.
‘So of course they want Molrangtori bad.’
But handing over rights? Not a chance. Molrangtori belongs to me and the pudding slimes.
“Right?”
Molrang!
Molrang jumped up in reply, landing deftly atop my head.
Thud!
At the same time, a dull crash filled the rooftop room. The newly summoned Kendart—aka “Dart”—was charging its horn at Mini’s moon shadow stone.
Whee!
But Mini just giggled in delight. The stone and her body remained unscratched.
Crack!
Instead, Dart’s horn shattered. The broken tip clattered to the floor.
“You guys play rough…”
Whee!
Mini tossed Dart’s horn tip at me. Let’s play together.
“Yeah, yeah.”
I caught it and chucked it back at Mini like Dart.
Thud!
Naturally, it didn’t pierce her—just hit the ground.
Dart’s horn wasn’t that tough, truth be told. Kinda banana-like. Utterly harmless.
The blind headbutts at first had me spooked. Thought it’d skewer Molrang clean through.
Thump!
Dart stomped again. This time targeting Molkang. Molkang huddled defensively.
“…….”
Watching them tugged my lips into a smile. Just too damn cute.
Anyway, Dart was maltese-sized at best. Maybe pony-sized.
If it weren’t so rare, it’d be the next big pet after horned rabbits.
Spotted in that cloud gate over in the States, right? Makes sense it’s rare.
Plus, it’s a unicorn. Pinnacle of fantasy beasts.
“Pretty wild.”
You’ve got animals with necks longer than giraffes, egg-laying chimeric mammals…
Earth’s got every freak of nature, so why no horned horses till now?
Some say rhinos count, but…
Boom!
Molkaang!
“That’s the unicorn.”
Fyi, Dart’s horn regrew every three days. Wiki said it’s like a fingernail.
Longer it gets, more annoying—hence the headbutts, I figured.
Anyway.
What to do with Dart going forward?
Needed a use for the guy.
‘No work, no eat’ applied even in my rooftop pad.
So Dart had to pull his weight to stick around.
Scooping up the rolling horn tip. Medicine material?
‘Sounds like a pain.’
Items and food were leagues apart. I had zero food-crafting skills.
And beyond that.
Crunch.
“Urk.”
A nibble at the tip unleashed a vile stench. I spat the mushy bit into tissue pronto.
Edible for sure, but no way I could stomach it.
How’d Jin-ah handle it? Maybe a bad gift after all.
Nah. Girl who scarfed eye candy’d probably chomp and swallow.
Molrang!
“You wanna try too?”
Molrang!
Molrang spun a loop atop my head. Weird. She never begged for anything but mana stones first.
“Go nuts.”
I handed over the rest of the horn.
She gaped wide—unusually so—and gulped.
Molrang!
Digested Dart’s horn in seconds.
Tasty…? Her tastes are wild.
**
A new day dawned. After a solid three-day break, time to make more Molrangtori.
“Molrang, if you please.”
Molrang!
As always, she started extruding shards.
“…What’s wrong?”
Something felt off. She was grunting more than usual. Sweat-like beads dotted her surface.
“You okay…?”
My heart suddenly raced. Something wrong? That horn from yesterday?
False alarm, thankfully.
Mol……rang!
She popped out a fresh shard quick.
“…….”
I stared, speechless. Brought it right up to my eyes in disbelief.
“……Oh.”
The shard gleamed with flawless luster.
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