Dolmaeng-i Performance Verification
The lab felt strangely quiet after the whirlwind weekend with Mom.
It looks like you had a rough time.
“You have no idea. So much happened. How can someone say they love you and then torture you like that?”
I immediately ratted out Mom’s crime of nearly twisting my pelvis clean off while I was talking to Dolmaeng-i Unit 1.
Are parent-child relationships supposed to be mortal enemies?
“No, it wasn’t intentional torture, so I guess we can’t call it that.”
Then is there a problem? Exercise is generally recommended for health reasons.
“Only a robot would say that…”
Golems really are strange creatures.
When I had it organize things, it showed the intelligence to read the room and prioritize tasks. It was even teaching itself by browsing the internet.
“Did you check the data storage? It’d be good to know the capacity and processing speed.”
Uncertain. It is definitely not conventional memory.
My guess was that the Mana Core had absorbed the CPU and memory.
But I felt a little bad about tearing apart a perfectly functioning robot just to confirm that.
“Then I’ll take a quick look. Stand right here.”
Understood. Entering standby mode.
The only method I had was to scan it with my own mana.
This was one of the few times I was genuinely grateful to have become a woman. The precision I could achieve now was on a completely different level from my previous life.
“Hmm. No matter how closely I look, I still can’t figure it out.”
I will continue monitoring and report any anomalies immediately.
There was nothing I could do about that part. If I tried to watch the mana circuits of a robot that moved twenty-four hours a day, my brain would melt first.
«Clack!»
While I was chatting with the robot, Dad burst through the door with an excited grin.
“Great news! We got approval!”
“Yes! Where? F? E?”
“Obviously we’re going with F!”
“Anywhere is fine!”
Since neither of us were registered as hunters or Awakened, we had applied for special research exploration permission.
There were all sorts of complicated paperwork, but throwing graduate students at the problem made it surprisingly simple.
“They said we have to hire a D-class hunter as an escort, though.”
“Ugh… They won’t even support us properly, but they’re making us take a D-class hunter into an F-class gate…”
Since this was purely coming out of our own research budget, we couldn’t help being sensitive about money. Dad’s research funds were my research funds, after all.
“They seemed pretty skeptical about our research results. They jumped at the mention of using mana stones, starting from whether it would even be useful.”
“Let’s just confirm the interior first and start earning our own money. We need research funds.”
The problem was that we had a very reliable backer on this side…
“Ugh… Do I really have to go?”
“Of course. It’s not a huge corporation, but it’s still an influential mid-sized company. They might try to kidnap me!”
“Gasp! You’re right. That’s entirely possible!”
Well, that’s what I said, but it wasn’t actually a dangerous place.
It was Grandfather’s house.
Apparently, for a university professor like Dad, starting a business to make money involved way too many complicated laws.
So we decided to use the connections card.
It probably wouldn’t be easy, but still—Dad, fighting!
“First, let’s verify this experiment!”
“Right. We need results before we have anything to say!”
“Let’s start preparing!”
And so we began our preparations.
If it was only F-class, our Dolmaeng-i Unit 1 could hunt monsters without taking a single scratch.
The government officials seemed to have set the safety standards ridiculously high. Forcing us to hire a D-class hunter for an F-class gate was practically tyranny.
It was unfair, but there was nothing we could do. You civil servant uncles are going to regret this later, just wait.
“First we need to confirm that it operates safely and stably even inside the gate.”
“I’m worried about the higher mana density inside. The output might increase and break the joints…”
Dad’s concern was perfectly reasonable and quite worrisome.
However.
“No. Normally joints would be a robot’s weak point. But our Dolmaeng-i has its joints reinforced with mana!”
“You mean the more mana there is, the stronger the Mana Core becomes, which in turn reinforces the joints?”
“Ding-dong-dang~”
Correct!
As long as it worked, we had nothing else to worry about~
For Dad’s sake, I pulled out a backpack.
“What’s that?”
“Just in case, I packed some emergency rations, a bit of drinking water, and a tent.”
“Food? A tent?”
“What if we get stranded?”
While we’re in there, I need to diligently gather mana to raise my circles, after all!
If I want a stronger, cooler golem, the only way is for me to level up!
“We’re only staying near the entrance, though?”
“Eh? But we should at least fight a monster once…”
“Why?”
“Um…”
Right. I don’t have a good excuse, do I?
“And are you planning to sleep over?”
“Y-yes?”
“You’re trying to stay out overnight?”
“Ah…”
“What are you going to tell Mom?”
“That Dad needs to check experimental results because he’s writing a paper in the lab…”
“…”
I know. I know. No matter what, you’re still glaring at me with your eyes.
“If you say that, I guarantee Mom will pack a lunchbox and a change of clothes and come sleep in the lab with us.”
“…”
My brief dream of rebellion was instantly sunk by the rock-solid Dad.
“But the experiment period is a whole week, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Don’t tell me… I have to commute?”
“Obviously, right?”
“This is ridiculous…”
Commuting to a gate? How does that even make sense?
I can’t even set up a temporary base inside and have to keep going back and forth…
“Should I just tell Mom the truth?”
“I don’t have the courage. If you want to do that, go into the gate with Dad yourself.”
Traitor… You’re throwing me under the bus to save yourself?
So sad. So very sad. How terribly sad this is.
“How about bringing Mom with us instead?”
“Pfft.”
Now I’m annoyed.
“Should we all just die together?”
“Hey… Why are you saying that again? Dad really didn’t do anything wrong.”
I’m just irritated, okay.
“The experiment starts tomorrow, right?”
“It’s already late today. No point wasting time, is there?”
“I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”
…
…
…
Kang Jihoon, D-class hunter.
While working for the Association, he had recently posted on social media looking down on ordinary people, got roasted for it, and was currently suspended.
“Escort duty? Even for me?”
“They’re entering a gate for research purposes. Since they’re civilians, they’ll need protection. What do you think? Want the job?”
He had rushed over the moment he heard it would shorten his suspension period, only to be given escort duty. And for an F-class gate, no less.
There still wasn’t a clear distinction between ranks, but as a D-class hunter, his pride was slightly wounded.
“Even though I’m suspended…”
“They’re just doing some robot experiment near the entrance. Just keep an eye on them. If you don’t want to, I’ll send someone else.”
“No. I’ll do it.”
He had no choice. While he was stuck in suspension, his colleagues were steadily moving forward step by step.
He needed to shorten his suspension period even by a single day.
And so the next day arrived.
Kang Jihoon waited for his escort targets in front of the gate.
“Wow. It really is green.”
“They said they assigned us an area that’s been somewhat stabilized since it’s for an experiment.”
“Dad! Can we go in right away?”
“We’re supposed to meet the hunter at the entrance.”
Two people who looked like father and daughter, plus a real robot about a meter tall that barely reached his waist.
From their conversation, they were clearly the ones he was supposed to escort, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to approach.
Okay, one of them definitely looks like a professor… but why did the daughter come dressed like that?
The person at the end of Jihoon’s puzzled gaze was Ian.
From her perspective, walking around normally would instantly lead to SNS posts screaming that a goddess had appeared at the gate.
So she had no choice but to wear a mask to hide her face. That was the problem.
She clearly wanted to cover her face, but a full-face mask? Isn’t that going a bit too far? Wouldn’t sunglasses or a regular mask have been enough?
What Ian was wearing was a full-head mask—the kind bank robbers usually wore.
Sigh… I hope they’re normal people.
With an inward sigh, Jihoon stepped forward to greet them.
“Are you the ones from the research lab?”
“Ah? You must be D-class hunter Kang Jihoon, right?”
“Yes. Here’s my registration card. Please verify.”
After a simple verification process, the party of three people and one robot walked into the gate.
“Whoa!”
“Haa!”
The researchers who appeared to be father and daughter let out short groans, probably because they had little gate experience.
Definitely beginners. It’s been a while since I’ve been to an F-class gate except when dealing with the boss. Brings back old memories.
While he was lost in nostalgia looking around, he heard:
“Then shall we start with a simple mobility test?”
“Okay! Dolmaeng-i! Jump!”
Jihoon was dumbfounded when he heard that.
Judging by the naming sense, the main creator of that robot was apparently the girl.
He couldn’t see her face, but her voice was incredibly pleasant, like a songbird chirping.
«Boom—»
“What was that sound?”
The girl seemed to have ordered the robot to do something. When he heard the noise from behind, he quickly turned around.
It was a terrifying sound, like something was being smashed to pieces.
“Um…”
“…”
But the two of them were staring blankly up at the sky with dazed expressions.
Was there something in the sky?
«Thud—»
“That scared me!”
Something suddenly fell from above while he was looking up.
It was the robot that had entered with them.
The robot can jump like that? Robots these days have gotten really advanced.
“Dad?”
“Uh… yeah…”
“Snap out of it!”
“Ah! Right, the experiment…”
The man was stuttering and his eyes looked completely out of it. He seemed genuinely dazed.
“It looked like it jumped about three meters, right?”
“Taking the knee bend into account, maybe two meters? Two and a half? Something like that?”
Apparently the robot’s jump was surprising.
Though her face was hidden by the mask, the way her eyes widened into circles while she chattered was actually pretty cute when he looked again.
The researchers continued their experiments.
First came the running test. When the robot tripped and the dirt on the ground flew everywhere, Jihoon nearly burst out laughing.
“Whew. Lastly, let’s check its attack power.”
“There aren’t any monsters. What should we test it on?”
“How about punching a rock?”
“Hmm… Since the joints held up during the jump, the reinforcement circuits should be sufficient. Shall we trust it and give it a try?”
“Yeah. If it breaks, we can fix it. Let’s do it properly while we’re at it.”
The two of them went looking for a nearby rock to test attack power without any weapons.
There was one fairly large rock near the entrance to the forest.
It looked like a place where nearby goblins might have held some kind of ritual.
“It’s pretty big, isn’t it?”
“It’ll be fine, right?”
“Let’s just try it! I believe in Dolmaeng-i!”
“Alright!”
Today’s experiments must have been satisfying. The father-daughter pair’s mood was strangely bright.
The rock they approached was larger than expected—about two and a half meters tall.
A one-meter-tall robot standing in front of it looked like a child challenging an adult. It was quite comical.
“Alright, Dolmaeng-i! Attack with your fists!”
«Whirr—»
Whether it had learned from somewhere or not, it raised both hands like a boxer and started throwing jabs.
«Thud— Thud— Thump— Thud—»
Oh? Even if it’s steel, doing that repeatedly should damage it. Did they develop some new material?
And it seemed to have real power. The rock kept making loud thumping sounds as it gradually crumbled.
“Oh! Nice!”
“It’s better than I expected!”
Encouraged by the father and daughter’s praise, the robot stopped throwing only jabs. It pulled its shoulder back and threw a straight punch.
It’s going to break itself at this rate…
The cute, childlike motions.
«Bam—»
But the power was anything but cute.
It sounded like a construction-site hammer smashing down with full force.
«Bam— Bam— Bam—»
After the first one, the robot started bouncing its upper body left and right while throwing straight punches in succession.
It looked exactly like the weaving from a boxing-themed shonen manga.
«Crack—»
Was it accumulated impact? Or had it hit the grain perfectly? A huge crack formed in the rock.
“Whoa! It’s breaking! Dolmaeng-i, stop! Stop!”
The word “breaking” snapped Jihoon back to his senses.
A small one-meter robot had just punched a massive rock to pieces.
Crazy… Can I even beat this thing? I have the advantage in speed and strength, but I don’t have a good way to attack it.
He had unconsciously started analyzing the power difference between himself and the robot.
The conclusion was that it would be a draw.
If he had a good weapon, he would win easily, but the fact that it was just a tiny robot genuinely shocked him.
“Dad?”
“We… might have created something absolutely terrifying, huh?”
“Should we head back and think about it?”
“We don’t need to hunt a monster after all.”
“Yeah. We’ll be doing this for a few more days, so let’s take our time and figure things out.”
It looked like Kang Jihoon would be going home early today.