Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 26

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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 (26)

Keep Your Promise

Kindred spirit.

Simply put, it just meant she was an artifact otaku.

An otaku who lived for magical engineering and died for artifacts.

Looking at her track record, it would have been strange not to guess this from the start. She came to the expo every year, and even had limited edition goods that only enthusiasts possessed.

At least in Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes, she was definitely a kindred spirit.

‘Goods that even I couldn’t get…’

She must have a lot of money now. Should he express his intention to buy them even if he had to pay extra? It would be great if Cha Yu-rim would trade with him…

‘No, that’s not right.’

This wasn’t the time to think about that. Suppressing his surging envy for now, Lee Si-hyeok focused on the monitor.

The experience had reached its midpoint before he knew it.

Mission, speculation, breakthrough. She was following the same process as Song Hyeon-gyu before.

However, her attitude was slightly different.

“Hmm…”

Cha Yu-rim let out her characteristic nasal sound and stopped in place. It felt different from Song Hyeon-gyu, who had focused on ‘clearing’ the labyrinth.

‘She’s paying attention to the engineering structure itself.’

From how the labyrinth was designed, to experiencing firsthand how mana operated by wielding .

Actually, Lee Si-hyeok often showed such behavior when analyzing artifacts. Of course, the difference was that he dug much deeper and longer theoretically.

‘Well, without affection, she couldn’t give an honest evaluation either.’

Even from Lee Si-hyeok’s perspective, there were many parts of her evaluation he could relate to.

However, since she had awakened combat skills rather than crafting skills, she probably went into the hunter field.

Not revealing her hobby to others… it might be because there was no need to, but given her personality, it was likely just eccentric behavior.

 

[Success!]

[Escape from the labyrinth and receive a reward suitable for the Pale Artist.]

 

Cha Yu-rim, who had just finished the experience, came out.

Her eyes, which had always been condescending and overbearing, were now slightly different. It still felt like she was looking down on things, but there was curiosity mixed in.

“…”

From the moment she came out, the surroundings were enveloped in silence.

People knew too. That it was time for the Snow Flame Empress’s evaluation to begin.

Several people took out their mobile phones and started filming.

“What do you think it’ll be like?”

“Well. It’s popular, but… I’m not sure.”

However, the atmosphere wasn’t very expectant.

In a way, it was natural. Cha Yu-rim had rarely given good evaluations to indie booths so far.

Maybe once? Even that was hard to remember, she had been so harsh.

So no matter how popular Lee Si-hyeok’s booth was, people’s reactions couldn’t help but be lukewarm.

“Hmm.”

Still, when the nasal sound came out, attention focused to some degree.

Cha Yu-rim licked her lips, surveyed the crowd, and spoke.

“Truly ridiculous.”

As expected, it was the reaction everyone had anticipated.

“Absolutely ridiculous.”

There it was. Now even those who had hoped against hope completely gave up their expectations. Indeed, satisfying that picky Cha Yu-rim was a difficult task.

However…

“To think I would only now encounter such a gem as you.”

“…?!”

When the follow-up words came, the atmosphere completely reversed in an instant.

“Huh?”

“What, what?”

“What did she just say…?”

Despite the growing murmurs, Cha Yu-rim continued speaking.

“Is it not so? This lady cannot bear how ridiculous her own foolishness is.”

She wore a smile.

“I thought indie booths were full of trash. But now I know. That was merely prejudice born from this lady’s narrow perspective.”

“…”

“I was trapped by misguided prejudice. When a gem like you was already sparkling in this place, my feet should have been drawn here first. How blind I was to only now recognize this brilliance.”

“…You speak too highly of me.”

Lee Si-hyeok bowed his head modestly.

What a humble person. Cha Yu-rim chuckled.

“Even now. You, I sensed it from the beginning, but you are no ordinary person.”

“…”

“What do you pursue to have reached this point?”

A question that had never come up before was added. Pursuit? Why was the Snow Flame Empress, who always just spat out her evaluation and left, suddenly asking such a question? Everyone except Lee Si-hyeok was flustered.

Lee Si-hyeok answered without hesitation.

“A dream.”

“A dream?”

“What I wished for is here, and I stand today in the place I dreamed of, so what is there to hesitate about? I stand in this place pursuing my dream.”

“Ho.”

Cha Yu-rim expressed admiration.

“I see. A dream, a dream…”

She pointed at Hollow Trace.

“Truly an exquisite dagger. Is this your masterpiece?”

“No. Though I put quite a bit of effort into it, to me it’s merely an ordinary work.”

“Ordinary work? Lying to this lady is not a very good choice.”

Cha Yu-rim’s eyes narrowed.

“Lying? If you wish, I can show you anytime.”

However, Lee Si-hyeok merely shrugged his shoulders lightly.

“Di-did you hear? What the Snow Flame Empress just said…”

“…She usually just briefly mentioned pros and cons and left. But now why…”

“Why is that operator so calm too…?”

The visitors who had been silently watching the conversation couldn’t believe it. It was the complete opposite of their earlier indifferent attitude.

And the words that followed were the decisive blow.

“Stage Zero. Have you found a tester?”

“…!”

Here, even Lee Si-hyeok was a little surprised.

“Don’t you usually not do testing?”

“Curiosity does arise. I also have questions about you.”

“Curiosity…”

As he regained his composure, a curious point suddenly occurred to him.

“But Snow Flame Empress, you use staffs, don’t you? Like staffs or wands. Then you wouldn’t be familiar with daggers, would you?”

“It matters not. Whatever enters this lady’s hands becomes a staff.”

“No. You’re saying you’ll use a dagger as a staff?”

What kind of nonsense is this? Lee Si-hyeok’s brow furrowed for a moment.

Then a brief look of bewilderment flashed in Cha Yu-rim’s eyes, and eventually she nodded nonchalantly.

“What does it matter? I shall personally become a tester…”

“That won’t do.”

“What?”

“It was designed for assassins from the beginning. You should know, Snow Flame Empress, that it won’t perform at full efficiency when used by a mage.”

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes widened. He had intended to receive an evaluation, but he hadn’t expected this. Of all people, for Cha Yu-rim to say such a thing.

Since he believed in always refusing firmly, Lee Si-hyeok shook his head decisively.

But then Cha Yu-rim began to cling to him instead.

“The difference isn’t that much. This lady will do it for you.”

“It is significant.”

“Why do you refuse? If it’s a dagger you made, there shouldn’t be any problem even if a mage uses it.”

“There is.”

“No, this one is saying she’ll do it for you…!”

The gazes around them began to turn strange. The feeling of ‘What exactly am I witnessing right now?’

The fact that it was the Snow Flame Empress, not Lee Si-hyeok, who was doing the clinging was an enormous shock to people.

Good grief. Lee Si-hyeok sighed inwardly and spoke more firmly.

“It’s not possible. Besides, we’ve already found a tester.”

“…You’ve already found one?”

“Yes.”

At that, Cha Yu-rim’s expression softened considerably. For some reason, she seemed relieved.

“A-ahem. Right, of course. This lady isn’t so weak after all. There must be reasons for your refusal. Originally, people are born with fundamental reasons from birth…”

As she began rambling nonsense, Lee Si-hyeok roughly ignored her and brought the experience reward from the corner of the booth. Naturally, she had achieved the highest score.

“Here’s your meal ticket. The other rewards are included in the eco bag.”

“Hmm…”

Even though it was Cha Yu-rim, he had no intention of giving her special treatment, so he gave her the same reward as other visitors.

But somehow that seemed to be another point of interest, as he could feel people stirring once again.

“Yes, it was enjoyable. This lady shall take her leave now.”

“Yes. Thank you for visiting.”

Cha Yu-rim, having calmed her excitement, began to walk away. It seemed she was about to move on to the next booth.

‘I’m glad it went well.’

The plan had ended much more successfully than expected. Probably in a few hours it would be uploaded as a ‘trending video,’ and even more visitors would flock here.

That’s when it happened.

“…?”

Hearing commotion again, he turned around to find that Cha Yu-rim, who he thought had left, had returned to the booth.

Lee Si-hyeok, who was about to guide the next visitor, sent her a questioning look.

Toward him, Cha Yu-rim handed over a piece of paper.

“This is my business card.”

“Why this…?”

“Didn’t you clearly say earlier? That this dagger is merely an ordinary work.”

“That’s correct.”

“You also said you would show me anytime if I wanted.”

“…”

“This lady wants to see.”

Cha Yu-rim turned her back. Then, as she left again, she let slip words that were barely audible.

“So keep your promise.”

Though it was clearly a small whisper, it was a voice clear and intense enough for everyone to hear.

 

* * *

 

—This lady wants to see.

“Whoa, no way.”

Song Chae-ah clenched both fists tightly as she stared at her smartphone.

—So keep your promise.

“Wo, woooooah!”

And as soon as the last words flowed from the video, she unconsciously shot up from her seat.

“Hup?!”

Her younger brother Song Hyeon-gyu, who had been dozing off beside her, woke up startled.

“What, what is it?! What’s wrong?!”

Regardless of that, Song Chae-ah paid no attention and touched the comment section of the video.

 

〔Comments 49,361〕

[Wow, the ending ㄷㄷ]

[Just curious, has the Snow Flame Empress ever given an evaluation like that before?]

[┕ Nope this is the first time that’s why it’s even more legendary]

[Holy shit lol isn’t this an AI video??]

 

As she was scrolling down in a daze, Song Hyeon-gyu grabbed her wrist as if exasperated.

“What are you doing! Sit down!”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Right.”

Song Chae-ah finally seemed to come to her senses and sat down in her chair.

Then she swallowed and looked around.

“…”

Almost every gaze was focused on her.

That made sense, since Song Chae-ah’s current location was the large viewing area of ‘Stage Zero.’

It was the main event of the GateTech Expo, and in fact the entirety of the expo itself—a place where you could watch that event together through a giant screen.

While most people were sitting and waiting as the event was about to start, Song Chae-ah had suddenly made strange noises and shot up from her seat.

“Are you crazy, Older Sister?”

“No, no, I didn’t realize…”

Embarrassment hit her belatedly. Song Chae-ah blushed while hanging her head low.

“Sheesh. What was it about?”

“You know the booth across from us. That short video.”

“Oh, that one?”

Song Hyeon-gyu grinned as if he finally understood.

“Well, if it’s that video, it’s understandable.”

He had already seen the same video too.

A short-form video capturing the scene of the Snow Flame Empress leaving a review after visiting ‘Damdo-ja’s Maze.’

The entire internet was in chaos because of that video right now, so it would be stranger not to know about it.

Though it was clearly uploaded yesterday afternoon, the view count had already easily surpassed ten million and was racing toward fifty million.

“It’s probably record-breaking, right?”

“Probably. The highest view count until now was Termion Industry from two years ago.”

“Wow, as expected of our hyung.”

Song Hyeon-gyu thumped his chest as if he was deeply moved.

Ignoring her brother, Song Chae-ah was about to pick up her smartphone again when she felt something strange.

“…What are you saying? Why is he your hyung?”

“Huh?”

She had almost missed it because he said it so naturally.

However, Song Hyeon-gyu’s response was as if asking why she would question such a thing.

“Anyone who makes artifacts well is hyung, obviously.”

Having said that, Song Hyeon-gyu smiled disgustingly and proudly showed off the ‘Explorer’s Certification’ booklet he received yesterday.

“As expected of our hyung.”

“…”

Ugh, I’m an idiot for asking. Song Chae-ah clicked her tongue.

Still, well, even she couldn’t bring herself to deny it.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to deny it.

Damdo-ja’s Maze.

It had been quite popular from the beginning, but after the video with the Snow Flame Empress was uploaded, people really flocked there to the point of bursting.

That aftermath didn’t stop yesterday and continued all the way through this morning.

It was even said to be the booth with the most visitors at this expo.

Naturally, they had thought Chronos would receive the most attention, but the tables had completely turned.

‘We benefited from that too.’

Since her booth was right across from it, quite a few visitors stopped by while waiting for their turn.

In reality, their intention was probably just to kill time… but Song Chae-ah was grateful even for that much.

Gratitude rather than complaints. It was a mindset she had corrected thanks to Lee Si-hyeok, whom she had met last time.

‘But what exactly is their identity?’

She meant the ‘Pale Artist’ from the booth across the way. Many people had tried to speculate after the video went viral, but their identity still hadn’t been revealed.

Even though there couldn’t be many awakened individuals in South Korea with that level of skill.

It was around that time when Song Hyeon-gyu called out to her as she pondered.

“Older Sister, it looks like it’s about to start.”

Before they knew it, the start time for Stage Zero was approaching.

The spectator seats were almost filled, and sponsor advertisement videos were playing on the giant screen.

Naturally, Song Chae-ah and Song Hyeon-gyu weren’t participating.

No matter how much of a challenging spirit they had in hosting their booth, they still judged that Stage Zero would be reckless.

“Little brother, get me a cola.”

“Don’t you have hands, sister?”

Bonk!

“Ah! Just give it to me!”

“You should have done that from the start.”

Glug glug. After moistening her throat, Song Chae-ah took out her smartphone to check ArtiNet briefly before the real start.

However, there was a notification on ArtiNet.

 

[You have a new comment.]

 

“What’s this?”

It was the post she had written just before the expo started last time. The one titled [Hey, there are lots of good artifacts at the indie booths too??].

Back then, Song Chae-ah had attempted to manipulate public opinion for her booth, and she had been secretly hurt by the comments that were nothing but hate.

She tilted her head and touched the notification.

Flash!

 

[Korea’s Artifacts Amaze the World: Vegetable Song, you weren’t telling lies after all.]

[Korea’s Artifacts Amaze the World: There was a gem, even in the indie booths.]

 

“…What’s this, all of a sudden?”

Why this late response to a post that was uploaded more than a day ago?

It was out of the blue. Usually, given the nature of internet communities, posts get buried after just one day.

Moreover, since it was expo period, posts would regenerate even faster, so why come to an old post and say this?

She couldn’t really understand what the content itself was trying to say either.

From the flow, it seemed to be referring to what she had written in the main text: ‘This time there are amazing artifacts participating in the indie booths too’…

‘Talking about lies and gems, they should write more clearly.’

Anyway, it was so typical of ‘Korea’s Artifacts Amaze the World’. By the way, what wind had blown for this guy who always left long comments to suddenly change?

She felt curious for a moment, but there was no time to think further.

“Ooh, it’s starting!”

Just then, the main stage of Stage Zero began to appear on the screen.

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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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