Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (21)

Pipe Dream

Isaac woke Lee Si-hyeok after finishing the simulation, and half a day had passed.

Though it wasn’t enough time, he had managed to get a few hours of sleep and felt quite refreshed, so instead of going home, Lee Si-hyeok finished the remaining work at the research lab.

Conceptualizing the expo booth layout, designing and printing promotional materials, ordering other necessary supplies… and so on.

Since they had decided to participate rather late, time was inevitably tight.

On top of that, he separately contacted Deputy Representative Lim A-yeon to prepare a surprise gift to present to Chronos later.

And so, repeating short naps and work for several days.

“Ah, finally finished.”

At last, he had successfully completed all preparations. It was one day before the expo started.

“Good work, Boss.”

“Yeah. Even I think I worked pretty hard this time.”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

After shooting a remark at Isaac who was staring at him with strange eyes, he left the research lab.

Having not washed for almost a week, he felt disgustingly grimy.

Fortunately, the major corporation Termion’s building had private shower rooms for employees, and he rushed straight there to wash up thoroughly.

“Whew! Refreshing, so refreshing.”

Lee Si-hyeok hummed a tune in good spirits while waiting for the elevator.

All preparations were complete. Now he just needed to move the luggage to the expo venue tomorrow morning.

Well, there was quite a lot of luggage, but it would be quick work with a truck. He had experience from working as a delivery driver until recently.

—Basement 4th Floor.

So with some free time on his hands, he decided to take a short walk.

They say pleasure comes after hardship—if you’ve worked hard, shouldn’t you have some rest time too?

Observing artifacts in the underground warehouse.

That was truly Lee Si-hyeok’s greatest healing and pleasure in life.

‘Being an awakened person is nice.’

He could freely come and go to the basement 4th floor, which he couldn’t even approach when working as a delivery driver. Chairman Lee Young-hoon had even given him permission to go to lower floors.

Lee Si-hyeok roamed the spacious warehouse with light steps.

Even so, his eyes thoroughly scanned every display case as he passed.

 

[『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』 activates.]

 

Legacy artifacts.

How many times had he seen these things now? He’d come quite often, so it must be about five or six times?

By now he should be getting tired of them, but Lee Si-hyeok felt new impressions each time he looked.

He discovered something new every time he looked. He could see points for improvement, catch parts he’d missed, this really was the world of magical engineering…

‘Ah.’

Then Lee Si-hyeok’s steps stopped.

He had reached a dead end. Already finished? He must have wandered around the entire huge warehouse while moving around mindlessly.

‘A bit disappointing.’

It left him wanting more. He was tired, but somehow it felt regrettable to just go back like this.

After pondering for a moment, Lee Si-hyeok smacked his lips and began heading toward one side of the warehouse.

This was something he’d learned recently—from the basement 4th floor onward, the warehouse had a ‘garden.’

A literal garden. The kind of garden with sunlight streaming in and various plants arranged throughout.

‘I was shocked when I first found out too.’

Who could have imagined that a garden would exist underground, and at such a deep location as the 4th basement floor?

Lee Si-hyeok stopped walking and quietly peered into the hemispherical glass wall.

Magical light spread from within the wall surface, and specially designed mana lighting gently emitted artificial sunlight. Even though it was artificial sunlight, there was no sense of unnaturalness at all. Moreover, vegetation that was usually hard to see was growing harmoniously.

‘Huh?’

But then, he spotted a familiar face on a bench between the trees.

Research Department Director Yoon Seo-jin.

She from Artifact Research Department 1 was sitting on the bench, looking at a tablet and deeply contemplating something.

Until just a few months ago, he and Director Yoon Seo-jin had just been in a typical superior-subordinate relationship, but recently they’d become rapidly closer due to frequent interactions like the development of Termion Hex-9. When he got to know her, she turned out to be a better person than expected.

Perhaps that’s why he felt pleased to see her.

—Beep! The door is opening.

Lee Si-hyeok immediately pushed open the garden door.

“Director! What are you doing the…re.”

But Yoon Seo-jin seemed to be in serious contemplation about something and didn’t even glance over. She was still fixated on the tablet, muttering something quietly.

“Hmm.”

She didn’t seem to notice that Lee Si-hyeok had entered.

What was she looking at?

Lee Si-hyeok tilted his head and stealthily walked behind her.

He could see the tablet screen over her shoulder.

It was a blueprint. A blueprint of an artifact with mana circuits and coils intricately intertwined.

Though it was clearly a complex design, Lee Si-hyeok could tell at a glance what kind of artifact it was.

‘A portable mana filter.’

A type of lifestyle artifact where the inserted circuits purify mana residue distributed around the user.

Mana residue, simply put mana waste, could cause many inconveniences like headaches, dry eyes, and tinnitus for non-awakened people, so it was mainly used by non-awakened individuals.

It was one of the artifacts very familiar to Lee Si-hyeok as well.

As such, he could immediately identify the differences between existing portable mana filters and Yoon Seo-jin’s blueprint.

‘Oh, she’s further improved the precision of mana resonance tracking.’

Certainly, building circuits like that would increase precision. And she’s even improved the filtering speed?

Yes, that level of advancement would be perfect for launching as a new product. Though Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes could spot a few disappointing aspects.

“Ugh, isn’t there some better method…?”

However, Director Yoon Seo-jin seemed unsatisfied and held her head in her hands.

“The resonance tracking precision has increased, and the purification speed is much faster than before… But it’s still far from enough. This isn’t a definitive improvement.”

She poked at the tablet with her finger.

“Argh. It’s difficult, really difficult… Always having to think alone gives me such a headache, damn it.”

She even started kicking at the air.

“Those team members are no help, no help at all. The Hex-9 period was really the best. Won’t someone like Si-hyeok just drop from somewhere? If someone just fell from the sky right now, I’d immediately… phew… what am I even saying.”

“…”

“Look at this, being cooped up in a cramped room doing research is making me go crazy! That money-obsessed bastard Lee Young-hoon! Chairman Lee Young-hoon should immediately raise the salaries of the struggling First Research Department! Raise them!”

Raise them, raise them! Raise them, raise them…!

Yoon Seo-jin’s shouts echoed grandly throughout the entire garden. Fortunately the glass walls had good soundproofing… no.

“Raise them! Puhihihit, raise! Raise the…m.”

Feeling like his image of her would be completely shattered if he continued watching, Lee Si-hyeok finally opened his lips.

“Um, Director.”

“Chairman Lee Young-hoon should immediately raise the sala…ry?”

The voice that had been ringing clearly suddenly stopped.

Nevertheless, Lee Si-hyeok continued with what he had intended to say.

“Instead of a method that purifies mana, what do you think about a method that ‘shields’ it?”

“…Uh, um, uh, ye…s?”

“A shielding method.”

“Th-that is, salary increase… no, no. I mean raise, Chairman Lee Young-hoon should raise… uh, no this isn’t it. Huh…?”

Words that couldn’t even form proper sentences were randomly strung together.

Like that, Yoon Seo-jin stared straight ahead as if her soul had left her body, opening and closing her mouth repeatedly, then slowly turned her head backward. It seemed like a creaking sound could be heard.

“…Si, Si-hyeok…?”

“Yes, Director.”

“Wh-when did you come in…?”

Lee Si-hyeok casually checked his smart watch.

“About 15 minutes ago?”

“Th-then all my muttering to myself was also…?”

“Yes, I heard everything. Rather than that, the filtering method is fine, but the shielding method…”

“Shut up.”

“Yes.”

Yoon Seo-jin snapped with a sharp voice, then abruptly stood up and headed toward a corner of the garden.

Then she walked with somewhat awkward steps, waddling along before hiding behind a large tree where she couldn’t be seen. Only her flushed ears, not quite concealed, were slightly visible.

How much time had passed? After a long period of grumbling could be heard from behind the tree, Director Yoon Seo-jin walked back.

She looked somewhat more composed than before.

A confident smile and her characteristic sharp eyes. However, her earlobes were still flushed red.

“Oh my. Nice to see you, Si-hyeok?”

But for some reason, she was acting like someone meeting him for the first time today.

Yoon Seo-jin, who had sat back down on the bench, patted the seat next to her. Lee Si-hyeok also sat down without refusing.

“Nice to meet you, Director.”

“How long has it been? It feels like we haven’t seen each other in ages, right?”

“I’ve been watching you continuously since 30 minutes ago…”

“Quiet.”

A murderous glint flashed in her eyes.

“We’re meeting for the first time today. Si-hyeok must have had some dream, but everything that happened in that dream never occurred. Okay?”

“…Yes, well.”

“Anyway! What brings you here? You haven’t shown your face around lately?”

Lee Si-hyeok shrugged his shoulders.

“I’ve been a bit busy lately. But I had some free time today, so I came for a walk.”

“A walk? To the underground warehouse for a walk…”

Yoon Seo-jin’s gaze turned toward the ceiling. Lee Si-hyeok was pointing at the ceiling with his finger.

“…There’s a garden here. But wait, Si-hyeok, it doesn’t matter to you whether there’s a garden or not. If there are artifacts somewhere, you’d run there without looking back.”

“That’s true.”

“What, really? Oh, by the way, what did you say earlier? Something about ‘shielding’ mana? I was too flustered to hear properly.”

She asked innocently.

“Hmm, Director.”

“Yes, Si-hyeok.”

“You’re saying strange things. What did I say earlier? Didn’t we just meet for the first time?”

“…”

“Well, I did see you shouting by yourself earlier, but I thought that was a dream. But seeing that you remember what I said, I guess it wasn’t a dream?”

‘…His mischievous side has grown again.’

At Lee Si-hyeok’s playful tone, Yoon Seo-jin clenched her teeth tightly and answered.

“…It was a dream. A ridiculous nonsense dream. But you know what, I also had a crazy dream last night. Very, very coincidentally! We must have had the same dream, I suppose!”

“What an incredible coincidence.”

“Yes! So hurry up and answer! I’m dying of curiosity about what you meant.”

Is this enough? Lee Si-hyeok chuckled and organized the thoughts he had earlier.

Then he took the tablet that was in her hands, looked at the blueprint, and began to speak.

“This is a portable mana filter, right?”

“That’s right. ‘Termion Clearline.’ If the Hex Series is the representative work of our entire company, then Clearline occupies a place among lifestyle artifacts. ‘Mana residue sensitivity’ is always an emerging issue.”

Mana residue sensitivity.

One of the chronic ailments that brings truly hellish discomfort to non-awakened individuals.

Non-awakened people cannot sense mana, but paradoxically, they are more sensitive to its residue.

Awakened individuals can control mana themselves, so they can regulate the mana concentration in their bodies, but non-awakened people have no such ability and mana debris seeps directly into their bodies.

What this causes, as mentioned earlier, are headaches, dry eyes, tinnitus, and other physical fatigue symptoms.

Especially in crowded places like public facilities, these symptoms become even worse.

Most troublesome of all…

‘…There’s no solution.’

To resolve the symptoms, there’s no choice but to eliminate the mana debris in the atmosphere.

And that means reducing the overall mana usage across Earth.

But in this era where awakened individuals far outnumber non-awakened ones, reducing mana usage?

That’s nonsense.

Still, saying it’s “inconvenient” means there’s demand, doesn’t it?

As a result, the optimal alternative that various companies found was the portable mana filter.

“As you know, Director, portable mana filters originally adopt a ‘purification’ method. They detect surrounding mana particles, then scatter the residue through purification circuits.”

Naturally, Lee Si-hyeok had also suffered quite a bit.

Among the joy he felt when he first awakened was the joy of being freed from the constant headaches he had carried.

“That way, non-awakened people do become a bit more comfortable. Since the surrounding debris is completely cleared, their breathing stabilizes and headaches subside somewhat. But there are clear limitations.”

“Limitations…”

“The process of purifying and expelling mana. The moment this process is included, it inevitably takes time. Moreover, in environments where residue flows in quickly, the purification speed can’t keep up with the inflow rate.”

Yoon Seo-jin nodded.

The residue tracking precision and purification speed that she had improved this time would somewhat alleviate the issues Lee Si-hyeok mentioned, but it wasn’t a complete solution.

Yoon Seo-jin felt this fact more keenly than anyone, which was why she had been pondering alone earlier, unaware that Lee Si-hyeok had entered.

‘But…’

Now she felt somewhat different than before.

Indeed, what words would come out of that man’s mouth? She felt quite curious and excited.

She stared intently at Lee Si-hyeok’s opening lips.

“Then the answer is simple. If purification speed is slow, we just don’t adopt the purification method at all.”

“…”

“Shielding. We block the residue from even approaching the sensory organs in the first place.”

This was the method Lee Si-hyeok had found after long contemplation during his non-awakened days, even while suffering from headaches.

“Specifically, we form a barrier that reflects or scatters the penetration of mana waves. So they can’t enter at all. Think of it as forming a kind of protective shield around sensitive sensory organs like the eyes, ears, and skin.”

“Hmm…”

But Yoon Seo-jin’s reaction was somehow lukewarm.

“I understand what you mean, Si-hyeok.”

She hesitated for a moment before speaking hesitantly.

“It’s not that we hadn’t thought of this method. So yes, this is a definite solution and there’s no better alternative, but…”

“Ah, you mean it’s difficult to actually implement?”

“Exactly. Purification circuits are relatively simple circuits, but… shielding involves many complex functions like spatial interference and wave reflection. And the size needs to be much smaller than purification methods.”

For a moment, disappointment flickered across Yoon Seo-jin’s face.

However, even after confirming this, Lee Si-hyeok still maintained his smile.

Because he had expected this.

‘The researchers aren’t fools either, they would have tried ideas like this.’

They probably ended up choosing the purification method after hitting reality. The fact that it was ‘an artifact targeting non-awakened people’ probably also contributed to slowing down the research.

However…

“It can be done, Director.”

“…?!”

Lee Si-hyeok had a solution.

 

[『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』 organizes knowledge.]

[Shielding Circuit: A defensive circuit that blocks external mana waves by reflecting or refracting them.]

[More detailed information is available for viewing. Would you like to access it?]

 

This was also knowledge obtained from a legacy artifact.

Of course, that was a combat artifact, but so what? As long as you reach your destination, it doesn’t matter which path you take.

“You can do it? H-how…?”

“Now, look here. First, the signal shielding…”

He held onto the astonished Yoon Seo-jin and explained step by step.

Since the design of Legacy Artifacts could be difficult for even Yoon Seo-jin to understand, he meticulously went through each point while even taking notes for her.

He tried to check her reactions intermittently, but she was so absorbed in Lee Si-hyeok’s words that she could barely manage to nod her head.

And so, when all the explanations were finished.

Yoon Seo-jin’s reaction was no different from before.

“…Monster.”

“I’m human.”

“Crazy person. I want to kidnap you.”

“That’s not allowed.”

“Come to our Research Department.”

“…”

Even while muttering like that, Yoon Seo-jin’s eyes continued to scan through the notes Lee Si-hyeok had written for her. To the point where it seemed like the tablet screen might wear out.

Lee Si-hyeok watched this scene with satisfaction, his arms crossed, when suddenly a curious thought occurred to him.

“Department Head.”

“I’m concentrating. Don’t talk to me.”

“…I know the ClearLine product series still has some time left before release. But you’ve already started designing it?”

Only then did Yoon Seo-jin raise her head.

“Oh, that? Thanks to you this time, Si-hyeok, we completely boosted sales with Hex-9. To the hunters. So orders came down from above. They said to focus on lifestyle artifacts rather than weapons for the time being.”

“…”

“Since we keep releasing artifacts only for hunters, non-awakened people are protesting in front of headquarters or something. Anyway, so we decided to move up ClearLine’s release date a bit. Since we’re doing that anyway, we’ll also enter it in the exhibition.”

Wait, what?

“Exhibition?”

“Yes, exhibition. This artifact is going to be entered in the GateTech Expo.”

“…!”

“Hehe, I was worried a lot because we were preparing hastily. But thanks to you, Si-hyeok, this time might cause a complete sensation, don’t you think?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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