Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Research and Facilities
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Molrangtori, which had begun official sales.
Just by posting a sales listing, thousands jumped into the lottery right away—a situation where it was cruising down a smooth fairway with a tailwind.
Clearly satisfactory, but not quite.
From the perspective of an omniscient developer, there were still far too many areas left for improvement.
One of them was a pretty fatal flaw.
‘Can’t use it permanently.’
For now, it was an item made from fragments of living creatures.
Without any special preservatives, it was still hitting the ten-day limit.
But flipping that situation around in my mind led me to one answer.
‘Just apply a special preservative treatment.’
Feeding the pudding slime anything new had clear limits anyway. Even stretching it to ten days had taken a bit of luck.
And so, I dove into full-fledged research. This was on the fifth day after moving.
No real breakthroughs yet, but there was some progress at least.
The direction of the research was firmly set, after all.
That was probably why I’d slapped a three-week deadline on myself.
People tend to produce their best results when backed into a corner, after all.
Honestly, it was a little nerve-wracking. What if I missed the schedule?
Sure, there was still some time left...
“Hope it works out today.”
Thud!
I set the massive bowl down on the floor. It was packed full of all sorts of mana herbs.
Ding!
Before kicking off the proper research, I flipped on the camera mounted in front of me.
“Aa, starting the thirteenth experiment.”
Leaving a video record of the research had proven pretty helpful.
Especially since it was a special camera that captured mana—it was basically an essential tool for the work.
Snap!
I slipped on the specially treated transparent gloves. They were designed for finer mana manipulation.
Two million won apiece. Four million for both hands. About the price of a small used car.
Add in the camera, and it was ten million total.
I’d shelled out for them, tears in my eyes, solely for this research.
“What to go with this time...”
I had eight types of mana herbs in total. The kind used in various preservatives.
“Let’s try this combo.”
Today’s pick was six of them—the ones I hadn’t always included before.
For reference, I hadn’t bought the mana herbs as full plants. I’d purchased seeds and planted them in the yard.
‘What’s the point of leaving the yard as is? Gotta put it to use sometime.’
Growing them wasn’t hard. Just feed them mana, and they shot up fast. No finicky environmental needs.
I’d poured in extra mana with hopes they’d thrive, and thanks to that, I’d harvested enough to last several months.
A total windfall! Pure boon territory—but not everything was sunshine and rainbows.
‘...They grew way too big.’
The mana herbs had sprouted up taller than basketball players. My yard was now a dead ringer for an American cornfield.
...Maybe even bigger?
Crunch!
I plunged my hands into the bowl and got to seriously crushing the mana herbs.
As plants that grew in gates, mana herbs naturally contained heaps of mana.
“Ugh... my eyes are burning.”
That was why using other tools was risky. Handle them wrong, and boom—they could blow up.
I’d already been through three explosions, in fact.
Two small pops and one big bang.
The small ones were just like firecrackers, but the big one had nearly taken out the whole workshop, no exaggeration.
If Seolbaek hadn’t been there to block it...
Molrangmol’s season would’ve ended on the spot. Beggar life, activate.
Seolbaek’s mana particles were cold and stable. They’d snuffed the explosion in an instant.
Iwoo!
“Got it. I’m being careful.”
Iwoo!
Seolbaek, shrunken down to mini size, patted my shoulder. Thumbs-up included.
‘Picked up something weird from Mini again.’
A thumbs-up was normal enough, sure.
The problem was that Seolbaek copied every little thing Mini did.
Mini was a golem, but she’d soaked up way too much human society. Blame all the video media.
Yeah, time to confiscate that tablet from Mini.
No wonder various countries were banning social media for teens.
She’d made plenty of friends now anyway—no reason to be bored.
Iwoo!
“Yeah. I’ve got it down pat, so don’t worry.”
Another pat on the shoulder at Seolbaek’s urging, and I pulled my hands from the bowl.
The mana herbs were nicely crushed and mixed.
Of course, it wasn’t ready for Molrangtori like this. Needed some additives.
Pop!
I cracked open the can sitting nearby. The label read:
[Multi-Purpose Special Liquid (For Mixture Processing)]
Truth be told, the warning below jumped out more.
[Caution! Do not consume.]
It even looked like an energy drink...
If you’re gonna do that, why package it in a can? Just sell it in a paint bucket.
Was it originally made to poison someone back in the day?
Lost in idle thoughts, I absentmindedly brought my finger to my mouth.
Some liquid had splashed out when I opened the can—an unconscious reflex.
“Eww, crap...!”
Almost wrecked my life there.
Habits are terrifying. I probably wouldn’t have died, but still.
Glug glug!
I started pouring the liquid into the bowl. Sparks flew with a sizzle, like incense flames, and a musty smell spread everywhere.
“......”
Holding my breath tight, I plunged my hands back in. The sticky feeling from before was gone.
In its place was... what? A slick, crisp texture. Like touching a sheet of stiff paper.
This was the crucial part.
Had to blend the mana precisely, just like the can said.
One tiny slip-up, and it was straight to the trash bin.
The thirteenth research log would be filled with me cursing myself out.
But who am I?
This era’s greatest genius beast summoner and mana control virtuoso!
And with these special gloves on top. Fail? Not even if I tried.
“...Whoa!”
Before long, a pure white light began emanating from the bowl.
Blending success—which meant today’s glow was several times stronger.
Ah, had I finally done it?
A fierce premonition of triumph washed over me.
“......”
I carefully lifted the newly born mystery substance from the bowl.
It had the form of something like kitchen wrap.
I draped it over a Molrangtori to test.
**
“Guild master, what do you think?”
The staffer asked, and Haneul—the Baekya guild master—examined the monitor with a keen gaze.
“Something... just doesn’t click.”
“Is that so? Any particular part...?”
“Sorry. I’ve got zero eye for design. You guys hash it out and just send me the final version?”
“Understood.”
“Please.”
Haneul gave the staffer’s shoulder a couple pats and stepped out of the office.
Beyond the office door, machines you’d never have seen in Baekya before filled the space.
“......”
Haneul ran a hand over one—feeling the inherent chill of the metal.
No rust or wear in sight. The iron even gleamed with polish.
They’d only finished installing the machines yesterday.
‘Preparations are all complete.’
He’d more or less purged the guild’s freeloaders. The fruits of his behind-the-scenes work.
No more faces around to spew their bullshit.
He’d cleanly offloaded the least profitable gates and sunk the cash into these facilities.
Now, all that remained was for the Molrangtori maker to extend a hand.
“Haa...”
Haneul let out an unusually long sigh.
He had no certainty.
Sure, he’d gone with the most promising approach.
Namely, having Baekya take over Molrangtori’s packaging.
Molrangtori currently had a few flaws.
Shelf life, production volume, and packaging.
Obviously, shelf life was way beyond Baekya’s reach.
And the maker seemed to have found a way for mass production lately.
‘Packaging’s the only angle left.’
Packaging was essential for boosting sales.
Right now, Molrangtori came in primitive bubble wrap.
Fine short-term, but terrible in the long run.
Especially since one lone individual handling all the packaging was a tall order.
That was the gap Haneul aimed to exploit.
People naturally crave someone to cover their shortcomings, after all.
Of course, the maker was a quirky one.
Haneul hadn’t expected him to ditch gate ownership without a second thought...
‘But he’s using the mana stones we sent.’
Mana stones sent under the banner of goodwill. Tribute, in other words.
He’d half-worried they’d get returned, but nope—false alarm.
He’d probably earned at least a sliver of favor.
So, keep sending mana stones steadily to build that up.
Once it hit a decent level, float the packaging proposal and nudge toward a contract.
The moment the contract was signed and these machines hummed to life...
That would be Baekya’s cue to rise properly once more.