The Mana Measurement Device and the Hunter Association's Shock
Scratch-scratch-scratch-
I picked up my pen and started writing on paper again today.
I just prefer analog, you know.
I can't help it with mana circuit diagrams, but notes like this feel better when I do them directly on paper.
The scratching sound is just so satisfying~
Overview: Mana Measurement Device Production
Materials: Suitable iron plate? Suitable packaging?
A little mana stone...
“Hmmm…. The materials are too cheap, aren’t they? Isn’t there a way to make it look a bit more luxurious?”
“It seems your greed is showing.”
“These guys are being stingy and refusing to give me any research funds!”
I wasn’t trying to make a fortune or anything!
I just wanted enough material costs to make good stuff for the kids, but they’re asking me to cough up an arm and a leg right from the start. How can I stay quiet?
“Then how about adding some plausible decorations? Engraving the mana circuit on the surface with gold leaf.”
Oh? That’s right. Geometric patterns in gold would make it look really impressive, wouldn’t it?
I immediately headed for the computer.
Handcrafting was one thing, but for mass production I needed to work on the computer.
“Let’s see…. Since it has to measure, I’ll base it on a ‘comparison’ circuit, set the standard mana amount at 1st Circle, and double it each time….”
Click click.
Tap tap-tap-tap-
I transferred the mana circuit floating in my head straight onto the computer screen.
In my previous life, lacking artistic talent meant days of pure labor just to draw one.
Complex lines tangled together, ranging from hair-thin to a full millimeter thick.
“Since I’m not the one drawing it anyway, should I add one more? Then…. ‘Reinforcement’ would be good, right?”
I added yet another mana circuit.
Because it would be made with a 3D printer, I drew the circuit in three dimensions.
Tap-
I’d keep the prototype simple for now. I could check its performance before moving on to mass production.
Uuuuung-
The metal printer began its work.
“Ian, it’s ready!”
“This is for you two, right?”
“As you instructed, I have prepared a fire extinguisher, close-range weapon, additional armor plates, and output assistance device.”
Dolmaeng-i and Dalguji stared at me with eyes that seemed to sparkle.
These were the things we had frantically created together over the past few days.
That day….
Dolmaeng-i had become a knight, and Dalguji had become a tank.
They wouldn’t get arrested for walking around armed, right?
I’d better make a weapon case too.
“Dad, this is the mana measurement device.”
“It’s simpler than I expected?”
What I handed my father after dinner was a small circular iron plate that fit easily in my palm.
It felt like one of those compacts women carry.
“If you hold this and press the button sticking out, the scale will fill according to the surrounding mana density.”
Once I finished it, the device had ended up resembling a pocket watch.
The section displaying mana quantity was a mana circuit divided into nine slots.
No matter how I thought about it, a gate probably wouldn’t contain the pressure of a 9th Circle.
“It’s very simple. Are there any other points I should watch out for?”
“It’s best to measure a gate’s rank the moment it opens. Since it reads the mana inside, the density drops over time.”
It would be ridiculous to measure late and then claim a powerful monster had appeared….
“Understood. You worked hard.”
“And one more thing.”
“Is it cosmetics?”
The tool I held out looked like a tint.
Somehow I had only created items that belonged in a woman’s pouch.
Even though I don’t use any of them….
“This is a mana stone detector.”
“Is this important too?”
In my opinion this detector would be the real hit. Every hunter would have to buy one.
“Do you know how hunters usually find mana stones?”
“Hmm? Do they just drop on the ground like in games?”
He clearly had no idea.
“You have to dissect the monster corpse until it looks like ground meat….”
“Gasp! No! So you’ve been doing that all this time to collect mana stones!”
I can detect them basically, but I told him I mined them, didn’t I?
“I don’t! I said I mine them. I dig them out of the ground.”
“That’s a relief…. If you were doing something so cruel I was going to stop you.”
Even if I did, Dolmaeng-i handles it, so it isn’t exactly a lie, right?
“But with a detector, won’t people stop mining mana stones?”
That had been one of my worries too, but the solution turned out surprisingly simple.
“The detection range is short, so it will be difficult to locate mana stones.”
“I see.”
Even if they found one, they couldn’t convert it.
I knew because I had tried. Even archmages above 7th Circle in my previous life would probably struggle….
So I deliberately kept the range short.
If someone messed with it and the stone exploded, I didn’t even want to imagine the result.
“Then how many of these can you make?”
“A lot? Like, a whole lot?”
“Hmm?”
The unit cost on this thing is ridiculously low.
It only uses a tiny bit of metal powder in the 3D printer…. The mana stone amount is so small it’s embarrassing to even mention a few grams….
“What price did you have in mind?”
“About…. thirty thousand won?”
“....”
He stared at me in disbelief….
Is it too expensive? No, you have to actually go shopping to understand….
“May I speak for a moment?”
“Uh…. sure, Dolmaeng-i.”
“The production cost is pathetically low.”
Oof…. Facts really do hurt.
It hit hard right from the start.
“So it seems you set the price low, but the cost of the mana circuit must be factored in, along with the average price of hunters’ equipment and the tool’s actual value.”
So how much, then?
Our Dolmaeng-i really knows how to talk.
It had me curious now.
“It must be priced at a minimum of 1,173,248 won. The recommended price is 2.5 million won.”
“Whoa…. Isn’t that too much of a rip-off? What kind of multiple is that?”
“When you consider that the useless gate-exit detector sells for two million won, this is practically a gift from the heavens.”
Where did it learn that kind of talk?
A fairy? Really?
“Good. I agree that thirty thousand won is far too cheap. Even non-hunters will scramble to buy them.”
The net profit would exceed nineteen thousand percent?
“It feels like we’ll be earning way too much money without any conscience?”
“Then let’s do some good. Donations would be nice.”
“Oh!”
“That is an excellent idea. It will greatly help with reducing taxes.”
What a relief.
When I thought about it, rich people would be the ones buying them anyway. Taking money from their pockets to help those in need sounded like a good deed.
Kind of like a righteous thief?
“And please gather plenty of precious metals.”
“Hmm? You mean gold or silver?”
“Yes. I need them for making items. I’ll also require a lot of gemstones.”
In that regard, modern chemistry is truly amazing. It lets you obtain high-purity precious metals.
Time to make a small but insanely strong golem!
A money-burning golem I could never have made in my previous life!
“Then we can use the surplus funds to purchase materials?”
“There’s nowhere else to spend it, right?”
“What about a car or a house?”
“Hehehe. I already have something in mind~”
Cars get stuck in traffic anyway, so I could make a drone to ride, or even turn a truck into a golem~
“Right. Buy a larger and better 3D printer too if you can.”
“Goodness…. We’re going to need to earn a lot of money.”
“Of course! There’s nowhere else to spend it! No matter how much we make, it won’t be enough!”
A bigger golem, more robots, and a set of wearable armor would be perfect.
Then I wouldn’t have to worry about getting hurt, and Mom and Dad could relax.
For that….
Circles! Only high circles would do!
“Then let’s organize everything and I’ll handle selling the products.”
“Yes!”
Anz, shortened from IAN TOOLS.
The only product we had created so far was the so-called “silver bracelet,” a restraint for awakened people.
Yet its impact had been enormous.
Sorry. Replication is impossible. Even when recreated with 99.99% identical materials and patterns, we could not produce it.
Naturally, countless research institutions and corporations worldwide had tried to copy it, but the success rate remained zero percent.
“No, why can’t you make it the same!”
“Even the silver bracelet itself differs slightly each time. What’s the point of making an exact copy? There must be another secret.”
Since identical replication yielded no results, they began searching for common elements instead.
“Is the effect in this pattern?”
“Fascinating. Everything else can differ, but the patterns are all identical.”
While they wasted time analyzing the patterns, Lee Junwoo—Ian’s father—visited the association.
Thud-
With a calm expression he set a silver aluminum case on the desk.
His face was completely businesslike, nothing like the one he wore when dealing with me at home.
“What is this?”
“It is the item I sent through official channels previously.”
“Don’t tell me! Is this the measurement device?!”
The officer in charge could only feel astonished.
It had not been long since the official document went out, yet they had already brought a finished product.
“Please explain.”
“Yes. Please look at the item first.”
“....”
When he opened the bag and showed it, the officer could not hide his disappointment.
The object looked like a child’s toy.
“Sigh…. I had high expectations after the restraint incident, but isn’t this joke going too far….”
Faced with a scornful expression utterly lacking in courtesy, Lee Junwoo felt his pride sting.
His daughter had poured her heart into creating this device, only to be dismissed.
“I am disappointed that you would say such things without even testing its performance. I will take my leave.”
Thud-
Lee Junwoo closed the bag and stood at once. He could sell the product directly without the association anyway.
He had not held high expectations after the previous disappointment with the restraint.
“Ah! No, please wait. I’m sorry!”
“It’s fine. I hope you regret this later.”
“Ha….”
The association officer was dumbfounded. Even if the product existed, sales required going through the association, yet the man had stood up first.
He assumed Lee Junwoo would return soon.
…
…
…
A few days later, something strange occurred at Incheon International Airport.
“Director?”
“What is it? Did a blacklist appear?”
An employee tilted his head while holding a sheet of paper, searching for the security director.
No matter how many times he checked, the list looked odd.
“It’s not that, but hunter-association personnel from various countries have been entering for the past few days. Is there some kind of convention happening in Korea?”
“No way. If anything, it would be held in America, right?”
Korea might be rising with the gates, but it was not yet at that level of influence.
Most such events were held in other countries under American or Chinese leadership.
“Contact the association.”
“Yes! Understood.”
“They should notify us in advance if something is happening…. They’re slacking off just because things are going well.”
He clicked his tongue and called the hunter association, but they claimed to know nothing either.
This incident had begun about two weeks earlier when Lee Junwoo sent prototypes to hunter associations around the world.
“Domestic sales require association approval, correct? Then why not reach out to foreign countries?”
He had first sent a polite business email with explanations and photographs of the measurement device and detector, then shipped the packages.
The initial reactions from foreign associations had been lukewarm.
They could not believe the product description, but the names “silver bracelet” and “Anz” carried real weight.
And so the problematic detector and measurement device began arriving at hunter associations worldwide.
Following the enclosed manual, each country’s association tested it anywhere from a few times to dozens of times.
Their conclusions were identical.
“Quickly! Prepare for a business trip! I must go myself!”
“No! Why would the president go? I’ll handle it!”
“What’s the difference between president and vice president!”
“Sigh. Just endure it!”
That was why the verified hunter-association personnel had entered the country.
Once they arrived they naturally met with Korean counterparts they already knew….
“What? Anz invited you?!”
“Huh? You didn’t know?”
“Why on earth!”
“Wait, you don’t know about the rank measurement device and mana stone detector?”
“???”
The Korean hunter association fell into complete chaos.
Innovative products had been created domestically, yet foreigners had learned of them first.
“Which idiot is in charge? Bring him here right now!”
The person in charge, dragged in without knowing why, faced the chairman.
“Do you know why you’ve been summoned?”
“Hello, Mr. Chairman! I was just about to submit the approval documents. How did you know to call me!”
The officer who had rejected Lee Junwoo a short while ago greeted the chairman with a bright face.
It was the perfect chance to present the measurement device from the large corporation “Baekdu” that had slipped him a bribe.
“I brought the measurement device!”
“Hmm? You already knew?”
“Of course. It turned out very well!”
What the officer confidently produced was a luxurious-looking tablet.
“This?”
“Yes! You know Baekdu, right? The product is excellent!”
“Baekdu?”
“The big corporation, Baekdu!”
“Not Anz?”
“They brought something that looked like a toy. It was ridiculous. There was no need to even look at it.”
Crack-
The chairman’s patience finally snapped.
“Have you seen such an insane bastard! How much did they pay you, you son of a bitch!”
“Uh….”
That day one high-ranking association official lost his position. While the association scrambled to clean up the mess, Lee Junwoo was preparing to meet the invited guests.
“I wonder how many have come?”