Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Straight In, It Goes
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Straight in, it goes.
Hwayeon's skyscraper, Yeonhwa Palace.
It was the tallest building in South Korea and, at the same time, a place where most of the above-ground floors were open to the public.
The 'Yeonhwa Palace Tour Event,' which had been suspended for a while starting January 1st, had also resumed, so it was hard to think that people were hiding something in Yeonhwa Palace.
The underground areas gave a similar impression.
Floors B1 to B5 of Yeonhwa Palace were the Fire Lotus Training Hall, an exclusive training ground for hunters.
According to publicly disclosed information, that was supposed to be the entirety of the underground facilities.
Whiiiir………
Even so, the elevator the woman was riding showed no signs of stopping. Not even after passing B5.
Ding!
[The doors are opening.]
They had arrived at B8.
A place not marked anywhere in the world.
Click!
The woman proceeded down the pitch-black corridor, relying solely on her flashlight, without a single light in sight.
At the end of that corridor, what greeted her was an incredibly thick iron door. It felt like staring at a bunker.
Security was important, sure, but did they really need to go this far?
'They're always such a pain.'
Letting out a short sigh, the woman rummaged in her gown pocket and pulled out her employee ID from an inner compartment.
[Hwayeon Magical Beast Research Team A - Team Leader: Baek Seo-ha]
When she held it up to the terminal beside the door, ding!
With a cheerful beep, the iron door's lock disengaged.
At the same time, light as bright as midday welcomed Seo-ha. Ugh, so dazzling. They really should turn it down in here.
The true nature of these deeply hidden secret facilities was a research lab.
Among all of Hwayeon's many labs, this was the only one handling classified research.
Whirr!
Seo-ha entered her own lab at the very back.
"How's it going? Any progress?"
"Ah, Team Leader. We've at least started the tests."
One of her subordinate researchers quickly ran over and answered her question.
[Hwayeon Magical Beast Research Team A - Chief Researcher: Lee Chan-seong]
Seo-ha tilted her head as she glanced over Chan-seong's appearance. He looked utterly wretched.
His deep dark circles went without saying, and his disheveled state made him look like a homeless person off the street.
What the hell happened to him? He was supposed to be one of those freaks who barely felt fatigue thanks to his ability.
"What? Why do you look half-dead today? Eat something bad?"
"Ah……. I got dragged into a few gates to procure materials. Haven't slept in five days now…."
"Orders from upstairs?"
"Well…… yeah. And with you away, Team Leader, progress was crawling…."
Got it. Seo-ha nodded.
Lately, morale seemed to be plummeting. They were grinding through people way too hard. Even squeezing had its limits.
Seo-ha herself had just returned from an overseas business trip for a sudden conference schedule.
No time to rest, straight back to work, and now her body felt like lead.
'At least they pay well.'
They paid in proportion to the work and results, which made it possible to tough it out here.
No other place fattened her bank account like Hwayeon did.
"Still, aren't they pushing too hard? What about the others? They get some rest?"
"Pretty much the same. And the last project got shelved right before, so bonuses got cut, performance took a hit…… Haha. We've gotta nail this one to make up for it."
As Chan-seong said, the damage was big. Too big, in fact.
The previous project Team A had handled was the 'Molrangtori Reverse Engineering.'
They'd poured in astronomical amounts of money, but the result was a total failure.
They'd somehow managed a knockoff, but it wasn't viable for profit.
'Honestly, how were we supposed to make that?'
From Seo-ha's perspective, it was infuriating.
They'd confirmed through research that it involved slime fusion. And recently, it came out that Molrang Mol had an S-rank summoner beast.
In conclusion, it must've been some unique superpower enabling the slime fusion.
Impossible with current tech.
Failure was inevitable.
Whatever, if they'd just given a generous timeline.
'Pull off nonexistent tech in a few months? Yeah, right.'
Might as well hunt down a summoner or tamer who could do fusions. Though that seemed impossible too.
And decisively, Molrangtori had cranked out an upgraded version at insane speed, sealing the project's suspension.
Of course, no new version had come out recently, but…
'If we release a downgraded version, they'll drop a superior one immediately.'
Predictable future, really.
Chasing them would just rip us apart.
So the new assigned project was developing a new weapon.
Hwayeon already made and sold weapons for hunters, after all.
Of course, the goals this time were a bit different.
Boom!
Suddenly, a sound like a bomb exploding filled the lab.
It wouldn't have been strange if an actual explosion had occurred. Black smoke was billowing from the inner experimental area at the lab's edge.
Wonder if it worked?
The two watched the researchers expectantly, but their expressions were grim.
And sure enough, the Molrangtex dangling in the center of the lab was perfectly fine.
"…Why is that thing so damn tough?"
"We confirmed it uses mini golem materials, but…."
Mini golems?
Ah, so that's what he meant by procuring materials from gates.
Seo-ha's gaze naturally shifted to the cage. Where the giant pudding slime had once been, five mini golems were now imprisoned.
U……ee…
The cage floor was packed with sand. Like a desert in there.
"We found a few materials that could pierce the mini golems, but Molrangtex is just a bit tougher."
"Figures. They probably threw in something weird too."
"Yeah. That's slowing progress… It's tough."
"……Screw it. Do we really need a weapon that pierces Molrangtex specifically? Can't we just develop a decent weapon or something?"
Molrangtex's defense was A-rank.
To pierce it purely without hunter superpowers, they'd need a weapon with at least A+ lethality.
A+ lethality sounded easy, but a weapon like that could demolish a bunker like this lab without much trouble…
Kwarung!
"…What the hell is that noise?"
"Probably from the training hall upstairs. Heard visitor numbers are up lately."
"I see. But it's never sounded this loud before…"
Kwarung!
"Uwaaaaaah!"
**
3 days. Exactly 3 days.
3 days after handing the Molrang Tail to Kang Geun-cheol, he uploaded new content.
Well, technically not a video, but a live stream.
[Molrang Mol's Secret Technique? Wrecking the Fire Lotus Training Hall with Beta Molrang Tail!]
Squeeze.
[Hey! Everyone! Nice to see you! Iron Man Kang Geun-cheol here! Today, using this Molrang Tail…]
Kwang!
Before Kang Geun-cheol could finish, a massive fist slammed into him.
That thing they called a magic golem. Coated in mana stones to operate, it was a money-devouring beast.
An artificial golem with destructive power comparable to an A+ rank monster.
But why was it out already?
As far as I knew, you only encountered those in the latter half of the Fire Lotus Training Hall.
[Graaaah! As expected, it's intense! Worried you all might get bored, so I started the stream from the latter stages.]
Truly the top of the industry.
He knew exactly what viewers wanted.
That aside, how was he unscathed after taking that punch head-on?
This…… 'Reinforcement'?
The ability to reinforce one's body or tools. Didn't realize it was this impressive.
With that, he could really pierce the heavens with the Molrang Tail.
Bang!
Kang Geun-cheol dodged the golem's fist with an uncharacteristic bunny-hop and continued.
[Hoi! So this Molrang Tail is kinda like a concealed blade? Way more versatile, though. Like this…]
Shraaang!
The Molrang Tail shot out with a chain-like rattle, then kwak!
It embedded straight into the magic golem's chest, which boasted considerable toughness.
[Great reach. And the flexibility is insanely good…]
Mid-sentence, Kang Geun-cheol yanked the Molrang Tail like a fisherman hauling in a big catch.
Ku……kugrung…!
The magic golem, properly hooked, floated up.
Kwang!
Kang Geun-cheol used the momentum perfectly, smashing the magic golem into the ground.
[This feel is addictive. Shraaang! Shraaang! Doesn't snap, total beast, you know?]
"No way he wields it this well."
Just 3 days in, and his proficiency was unreal.
This…… the aura of a pro review Mutuber?
I'd picked the perfect guy. The Molrang Tail's potential was exploding thanks to him.
[And the destructive power? No need to mention!]
Kwajik!
The Molrang Tail pierced the golem's neck. Merciless like a dragon's fang.
Not just straight through—wriggling inside, inflicting irreparable damage.
[I'm no pro tester, but I'd give it A+ on lethality. Maybe…… even higher?]
Kwajik!
[For sure, you know those hunters with awkward ranks? Skilled enough that their current rank feels lacking, but not quite for the next?]
Kwajik!
[This is perfect for them. Master the handling, and the Molrang Tail will give you wings, I guarantee.]
Kwajik!
Kang Geun-cheol was quite relaxed. The golem, meanwhile, writhed in agony.
The Molrang Tail was completely shredding its insides.
Too bad the golem wasn't transparent to see it, but its pathetic tremors were satisfying enough.
[Oh. It's dead. Fire Lotus Hall floor 5 is no big deal. Sure, stages left, but…… Ah. Before next step, lemme show max reach first.]
Kang Geun-cheol hopped off the magic golem and stabbed the Molrang Tail into the ground. He then attached a terminal to the handle.
Nothing fancy—just a device to measure length.
He wouldn't be liable for damages, but upstairs was still the training hall. Smarter to do it in empty underground space.
[See? Current length is like a normal sword. But infuse mana like this…]
Woooong!
The Molrang Tail began extending underground.
[Easy to 10m… Huh. Something tough down there? Rock, probably? Side note—this Korean soil has way too many hard rocks. Can't lose to mere pebbles, right?]
Kwarung!
[I'll smash right through. Straight in, go go go!]
A bit of resistance, but the Molrang Tail plunged down effortlessly.
When the reach hit 25m.
Eeeeeeeeeeng!
Out of nowhere, a siren blared.