Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 22

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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 (22)

Indie Booths Are Nothing But Trash

There were several reasons why he advised Yoon Seo-jin.

First, Lee Si-hyeok had also suffered greatly from Mana Resonance Sensitivity during his non-awakened days.

Of course, now that he had become an awakened individual, he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore, but that didn’t mean he wanted to turn a blind eye to those who were still in pain.

So when he happened to discover Yoon Seo-jin designing Clearline, he gave her advice hoping it would be of some help.

And the second reason was…

‘To maintain a friendly relationship with Termion Corporation.’

Though Termion didn’t know it, Si-hyeok was currently planning to participate in the expo.

If that happened, a competitive structure would naturally form at the expo.

‘But I don’t particularly want to make enemies with Termion.’

It was different from the case with Chronos. This was a company he had grown quite fond of since his days working as a delivery driver.

That’s why Si-hyeok thought he’d earn some goodwill with this opportunity. If he provided significant help in developing Clearline, the company wouldn’t have much to complain about.

But to think this Clearline was the artifact they’d be submitting to this expo.

He hadn’t expected that. He naturally assumed they’d participate with a weapon-type artifact.

“Chronos Industry’s influence is also a factor. They’re such a hot topic this time that no matter how you look at it, we can’t beat them. It’s probably the same for other corporations too. So everyone probably hastily changed categories.”

“…”

“Well, however it turns out, I think Chronos will take first place in both Stage Zero and the final audience vote.”

Still, it wasn’t bad news for Si-hyeok.

Termion submitting Clearline meant its importance had become much higher than during a simple product launch.

In other words, Si-hyeok’s advice had gained much greater value than originally expected.

It seemed he didn’t need to worry about friction with Termion.

But then Yoon Seo-jin suddenly narrowed her eyes and looked at Si-hyeok sharply.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Si-hyeok, don’t you have any thoughts about participating in the expo?”

“…!”

Startled. Si-hyeok flinched involuntarily.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice.

“That’s a shame. If only Si-hyeok participated, we could crush those Chronos bastards’ arrogance.”

“…Do you have some grudge against Chronos?”

“Rather than a grudge, there’s one guy there I can’t stand the sight of. Like my nemesis.”

Yoon Seo-jin clicked her tongue.

“Besides that, it’s actually killing two birds with one stone. They’re also Termion’s competitor. Anyway, won’t you please participate? I want to see that bastard fail.”

“The event starts tomorrow.”

“Let’s see, about 18 hours left. Wouldn’t that be enough time for you, Si-hyeok?”

“What kind of nonsense are you…”

Actually, he had already finished all his preparations.

Regardless, things would end up going the way she wanted.

That purpose of participating in the expo to crush Chronos.

That was precisely Si-hyeok’s real objective.

‘…Tomorrow should be interesting.’

Perhaps even more varied events than planned might unfold.

* * *

The morning of the GateTech Expo.

It was quite early for internet communities to be active, but today was an exception.

Artifact Network, commonly known as ‘ArtiNet’.

[Anonymous: What do you think the level of artifacts coming out this time will be???]

[Anonymous: Everyone’s just a commoner in front of Kronos]

[HunterBest: I’m more curious about what hunters will appear in Stage Zero]

On ArtiNet, where all kinds of people gathered, heated discussions were already taking place.

[Breaking) This year’s Stage Zero tester list leaked]

[Author: Anonymous123

(Photo with text saying ‘Please recommend so others get fooled’)

Hahahahaha do you actually fall for this?]

[Recommendations 153 / Downvotes 341]

〔Comments〕

[CraftLover: Ah shit]

[123123: Don’t you have anything better to do?]

From trolls wasting others’ time.

[There’s a lot of talk about artifacts, but this settles it]

[Author: Factos.

Chronos is the 1st Emperor.

Termion is the 2nd Emperor.

All other corporations are subpar.

And all the indie booths are shit too, so no need to even bother looking at them. Yeah.]

[Recommendations 445 / Downvotes 6]

〔Comments〕

[Anonymous: Come down from your high horse.]

[IAmTheManager: Is there really a need to divide ranks like that ^^,,, And usually Thermion has always been dominant, but calling them 2nd Emperor after just this one time seems too much,,ㅎ]

[┕ 123123: Termion shill?]

[┕ IAmManager: What shill,,, let’s not gang up ^^]

[┕ ㅇㅇ: You’re right, it’s a part-time job ㅋㅋ]

To people stirring up conflict.

[Hey, there are lots of good artifacts in indie booths too??]

[Author: Vegetable Song

I heard that there are amazing artifacts participating in indie booths this time!!!

So don’t skip them and definitely come!!!!!!!]

[Recommendations 1 / Downvotes 4]

〔Comments〕

[Anonymous: Didn’t this guy say he was leaving the site? Why is he crawling back?]

[┕ Vegetable Song: It’s during the expo period ㅡㅡ]

[┕ Production Team: Honestly, I can’t miss ArtNet during the expo period lol It’s so freaking fun for real]

[┕ VeggieSong: Anyway, make sure to check out the indie booth this time ㅎ]

…And there were also people working hard to manipulate public opinion.

“No, who keeps pressing the downvote button?!”

GateTech Expo Hall outdoor space.

At one of the indie booths lined up there, Song Chae-ah glared with wide eyes.

This being her first expo participation, she had no choice but to participate through an indie booth as an individual researcher.

But wasn’t there already established public opinion online saying ‘trust and skip indie booths’? So she was working hard to manipulate public opinion, but…

There were too many obstacles. Unaware of her feelings, another irritating comment appeared.

[Korea’s Artifacts Will Amaze the World: Vegetable Song, I cannot agree with your words. I also attend the expo every year without fail, but the indie booths have always been filled with nothing but trash. Of course, while South Korea’s artifacts are amazing enough to surprise the world, that place is…]

“…”

That guy again. He was a famous user on ArtiNet. Not in a good way, but in a malicious way. Plus, his nickname was annoyingly long, so people usually shortened it to ‘Arti-nationalist.’

[┕ Vegetable Song: Oh seriously;; You don’t need to come anyway, so just go sleep some more]

[┕ Korea’s Artifacts Will Amaze the World: I am not an old man. And now is not the time to sleep. It’s 8 AM now, when people normally start their daily routine…]

[┕ Vegetable Song: What do you want me to do about it!!!]

[┕ Korea’s Artifacts Will Amaze the World: Anyway, regardless of all indie booths being trash, I’ll go take a look. Actually, I visit not only the corporate booths but also the indie booths without fail every year…]

Click.

Song Chae-ah put away her phone. She had entered ArtiNet for the first time in a while with ambitious plans to participate in the expo and do some promotion, but somehow she only felt more stressed.

She shook her head vigorously and took deep breaths with her eyes closed.

‘…Let’s enjoy this. Right, don’t obsess over results and enjoy the process.’

It was a phrase that had struck Song Chae-ah’s mind recently.

―I hope you enjoy it.

―If you’re not going to give up until the end, shouldn’t you at least enjoy it?

Lee Si-hyeok.

Words that man she met during the grade assessment had casually said.

After hearing those words, there had been many changes in Song Chae-ah’s daily life.

First, she corrected her mental state that had been precarious due to excessive impatience, resumed the research she had abandoned, and then continued it all the way to bring about the change of participating in this expo.

Honestly, she had never even imagined participating in an expo in her life. She had been afraid to even try, knowing the results wouldn’t be good.

But…

―If you’re not going to give up until the end, shouldn’t you at least enjoy it? In the end, only emotions remain.

Isn’t there a saying that new attempts create new emotions? Now she was no longer afraid of trying. She realized that avoiding was much more painful.

And above all, she had some expectation that Lee Si-hyeok might come to the expo… A bit of fan sentiment, perhaps…

But seeing that there had been no news so far, it seemed like it was just wishful thinking.

―Slap slap! Song Chae-ah patted her cheeks firmly.

‘Get it together, Song Chae-ah! Let’s think about how to do well today!’

She was in the middle of pulling herself together like that.

Someone approached and bonked Song Chae-ah on the head.

“What are you doing, Older Sister!”

It was Song Chae-ah’s younger brother, Song Hyeon-gyu.

Song Hyeon-gyu was also an awakened one like his sister. This time, at Song Chae-ah’s request, he came to help his sister and participate in the expo together. Of course, his abilities were at a similar level to Song Chae-ah’s.

“Aren’t we going to prepare? Other booths are already getting ready to welcome visitors.”

At her frustrated brother’s words, Song Chae-ah checked the time. 9:50 AM. Before she knew it, there were only 10 minutes left until the expo opened.

“Really, I came to help because you asked, but you’re just looking at your phone. What are you doing, exactly? You were looking at ArtiNet or whatever again, weren’t you?”

“…No.”

“Yeah right.”

Song Chae-ah chuckled and looked around inside the booth.

A folding table with artifacts displayed on top. It wasn’t flashy, but it was neatly organized.

“There’s nothing to organize anyway.”

“That’s only because I did everything! Don’t tell me you called me here just to boss me around…”

“Hyeon-gyu.”

“…Don’t interrupt me.”

“My dear brother.”

“Ah, what!”

Song Chae-ah put on an affectionate smile.

“You have to enjoy the process.”

“Again, again with that!”

“Process over results, happiness over frustration. Just now you created the process, and I felt happiness. So I was just being considerate for your sake. You shouldn’t fail to understand your sister’s intentions, should you?”

“Ugh, let’s not even talk…”

Song Hyeon-gyu held his forehead. How many times was she going to recycle those words?

According to her, she had directly met that famous EX-rank awakened one at the Association and even received advice…

‘Fine, let’s say that’s true, giving her the benefit of the doubt.’

Then it should be something to celebrate that his sister regained her spirits afterward. He had actually been relieved too.

But shouldn’t there be a limit to how often you do that?

Song Chae-ah had been chattering like a parrot about that ‘you have to enjoy it’ phrase every single day without fail. From Song Hyeon-gyu’s perspective, having to face it daily, it was enough to give him neurosis.

‘Sigh.’

Still, he didn’t regret following his sister to participate in the expo.

He had also wanted to participate in such an event someday. Even if he wasn’t as desperate as his sister, he was also hoping for a production-related career.

Although there were many clumsy aspects like the artifacts and booth arrangement, there was also a certain rustic charm to it.

He thought this level of setup could attract quite a few visitors.

“Older Sister, it seems like our booth is decorated the best, doesn’t it?”

3 minutes before the expo started. Sitting side by side with Song Chae-ah, he looked around at other booths and said.

“Wow, that one over there doesn’t even have a display stand. They only prepared a table and banner.”

“…”

However, Song Chae-ah didn’t respond at all.

She had memories of deeply regretting judging Lee Si-hyeok’s artifact based only on its appearance during the grade assessment.

But even to her eyes, one booth stood out quite remarkably.

“That one seems to be participating under a pseudonym?”

Opposite side.

It was a booth facing Song Chae-ah’s booth from a distance.

Unlike other booths that usually operated under real names, that booth alone was using a pseudonym.

Usually, there were two cases for this.

Either they had existing contractual relationships with corporations and had to hide their identity to participate secretly.

Or it was simply for attention-seeking purposes, trying to attract people’s interest with unique naming.

‘Most likely… it’s the latter.’

The former could be considered almost nonexistent. Because there would be no reason to participate in an indie booth if you already had a contracted corporation.

“Hmm, ‘Pale Artist’s Labyrinth.’ Even the booth name is unusual.”

Song Hyeon-gyu’s evaluation continued once more.

“I’ve never seen anything proper from booths that seek attention like that. And it doesn’t seem to have much attention-seeking effect either. Don’t you think so, Older Sister?”

“Well.”

Song Chae-ah just pouted her lips and observed the booth across from them.

At that moment, a black light flashed from the sharp dagger-type artifact placed on the display stand.

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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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