Chapter 54
Chapter 54
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Tailwind, The Wind is Blowing
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“...Is this really okay?”
“It's fine, I told you. We've already run the simulations plenty of times.”
“But still, simulations and reality are a bit different...”
Half a day of gate exploration.
They'd finally reached the core, but with his subordinate hesitating, the man shoved his chest hard and spat out a curse.
“Just get lost, you fucking idiot. That's why you're always in that sorry state. Still don't get why you're the only one not getting promoted?”
With that, he snatched the extractor from his subordinate's hands.
A mana extractor.
A tool for pulling mana from a gate's core—one that was officially and completely banned from use and development.
A gate's core was a crystal of ultra-dense mana.
Mess with it wrong, and it could trigger a massive explosion.
Up until fifty years ago, accidents from gate cores had caused several disasters.
But that was all ancient history now.
Sure, there were still people scared of them, but this man wasn't one of them.
If anything, he glared at his subordinate like he couldn't believe it and opened his mouth.
“Getting cold feet over something like this... How many times have we done it already? Still haven't learned?”
A scornful glare came with the sharp rebuke.
The subordinate wanted to say this time was different, that they needed to be more careful.
“...”
But learned fear weighed down on his shoulders.
He just chewed his lips a few times, unable to muster any courage.
Creak!
Finally, the man jammed the extractor into the gate floor. The tip was wobbly from repeated use, requiring careful handling, but the man had no such delicacy.
Crunch!
The sharp needle-like tube plunged deep into the ground.
No need to hit the core directly.
The extractor would find it on its own and suck out the mana.
Rumble rumble rumble...!
A sound like rusty door hinges spread through the surroundings.
An ominous portent, but even so, the extractor began slowly drawing in the white mana from Gate: White Night.
A form of mana theft.
It was classified as a crime, and as mentioned, an extremely dangerous one.
No one in modern society would think anyone was still pulling this off.
It was pretty pointless anyway.
No method had been developed yet to use the pure mana straight from gates.
“What the hell do they even use this stuff for anyway? You got any idea?”
“Th-they said... it's for some research...”
“Tch.”
Research, research—always that damn research.
What was with all these hunter guilds and their obsession with research?
Thud!
The man ground his teeth and kicked at the innocent ground.
“Fucking researchers treating us like errand boys.”
“...”
“'Catch some monsters alive, bring back samples, oh and mana too.' What, gotta do everything?”
Guilds were built on hunters, weren't they?
How the hell could a bunch of fake-smart researchers lord it over actual hunters like this?!
This wasn't gonna cut it.
He'd wrap up this bullshit errand quick and go chew out the guild master.
Whirr!
The man cranked the extractor's output to max.
Thud!
The mana being sucked in fiercely started clumping up inside the extractor bit by bit.
Impurities had mixed in. Tiny specks of dust were messing with the pure mana.
And these tiny glitches were always the problem.
Groooan... boom boom boom!
“...Wh-what the hell?”
An unbelievable burst of radiance started erupting from the extractor.
**
Ding!
[White Night: Molrang Mall first-batch sales settlement.]
*Molrang Keyring: 800 (online) + 200 (offline)
-7,000 won each. Total 1,000 sold out.
*Molrang Molrang Bag: 300 (online) + 100 (offline)
-55,000 won each. Total 400 sold out.
*Molrang Cushion: 777 (online) + 444 (offline)
-30,000 won each. Total 1,221 sold out.
*Total Sales
-Molrang Keyring: 7,000,000 won
-Molrang Molrang Bag: 22,000,000 won
-Molrang Cushion: 36,630,000 won
[White Night: Transferred 22,314,200 won at the agreed 34% rate. Please confirm.]
“Nice.”
Molrang Mall merch sales kicked off alongside the photobook reveal.
Even as a temporary pre-sale rather than official launch, it sold out clean.
Still just a small popup store vibe... How much would it rake in once it properly entered White Night Castle?
“Muahaha...”
Total hands-off cash grab.
Just handed over the Molrang designs with a click, and this was the result.
Sure, it helped cement White Night's image of seriously collaborating with me.
Right after Molrangtex dropped, mentions of Molrang Mall among civilians spiked several times over.
[Today's Hot Video: Molrangtex Demo (White Night Official)]
Short-form era for sure—hits spread fast, topping trend charts on all the apps in one go.
Joo Ha-neul wearing Molrangtex herself was a critical hit too.
An S-rank hunter putting on that show? Not something you see every day.
No wonder White Night's corporate eval had climbed meaningfully lately.
[White Night Grinding Its Teeth? Or New Partner Effect? Jumps 10 Spots in Growth Potential]
[White Night's First Quarterly Profit in 5 Years. Effects of Trimming Unnecessary Ops.]
Not saying it's all thanks to me, though.
Probably White Night diverting eyes with Molrang Mall merch and Molrangtory packaging.
Checked some news—they'd been clearing out gates to pivot hard into manufacturing.
Wait, doesn't that make it my credit?
They prepped all that to sign with me.
Anyway.
With signs of White Night's sun rising again, some folks weren't thrilled.
Lately, rumors started swirling that I was actually a White Night researcher.
[No matter how you slice it, it's just White Night putting on a show, right?][OP: Ooh Rang Cha]
No way some random individual whipped up Molrangtory or Molrangtex.
Just a guild rep boost stunt lol
-Hwayeon spies farming again?
Go play in your own backyard lmao
-But even if it was a show, what's the problem? (Genuine Q)
None lol
Just salty cuz the creator won't deal with them
-Another dawn breaks...
Fr they always raid at commute hours lmao
Cuz y'all crashed out rice-farming
Isn't rice-farming back to normal?
DragonRaiserWannabe: Fr
Lolololol
Quit lurking and pump out more stock you fucks
Click.
[User reported. Reason: Trolling.]
Conspiracy theories are scary.
Not the blind hate—that's whatever. It's that the believers are usually 'one-book wonders' that's terrifying.
Just can't talk to them. Feels like yelling at a wall.
And conspiracies always came bundled with hate comments.
Porter killer... trash peddler... etc.
Stung at first, but now? Numb to it.
Means I'm doing something right, yeah?
Kinda enjoying it now.
Knew the hate was coming but couldn't stop searching myself.
Like a dog chasing its tail scent.
Wanna keep sniffing. Attention's straight-up addictive—should be nationally regulated dope.
Click.
Me obsessively checking White Night's official SNS ten times a day? Same vibe.
The photobook pinned as a fixed post with Ha-neul's Molrangtex demo.
“Still blowing up...”
My photobook.
770k likes in a week. Comments? Over 100k.
White Night's account has clout by default, but 770k was their all-time high.
People can't resist cute shit.
And as always, targeting younger demos juiced the algorithm.
Not for nothing those no-name kid vtubers pump insane subs.
Click.
[Anyone got the model's SNS ID?]
[So kawaii]
[Silver hair red eyes = Awakened???]
[Who is this cute model? (Translated to Korean)]
“Ehehe...”
New comments piling up with every refresh.
Can't help devouring them.
Just looking and enjoying, though. Nothing more—I can't or won't.
Tons wanted the model's SNS...
'No plans yet.'
Always said it: saving it for the peak highlight.
Some big event'll hit someday.
Molrang Mall IPOs as a full corp, or some massive crisis drops.
Perfect moment.
Like that hero movie—gather the press and yell.
'I'm the creator!!!'
“...Kuh!”
Childish? Yeah, and that's why it's the ultimate rush.
Might never happen, but that fuels the fire.
Yeah. Time to work. Work.
Tailwind's howling—hoist the sails now.
“Up we go!”
Kicked off the bed. Quick cat-face wash, out the front door.
Sadly, no monster crew tagging along today.
Not a single one.
“...Brats.”
Day off today.
Work-life balance zealots, still snoozing with the sun high, but I couldn't join 'em.
Gotta produce Molrangtex, tinker with upgrades on the side.
Creeeak!
Fired up, burst out the rooftop room.
“...What the hell is that?”
Black smoke was rising in the distance, where the skyscrapers loomed.