Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 37

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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 (37)

Tasteless Tea

Two days passed, and in the workshop inside Elec’s Workshop.

“Oh, let me take a look at that.”

Elec took the artifact with a shocked expression on his face.

Even though he had watched the entire process with his own eyes, he simply couldn’t believe it.

A magical engineer, who should face phenomena more accurately than anyone else, was denying reality. If others had seen this, it would have been laughable, but that depends on the situation.

Teach him one thing and he learns ten… no, a hundred.

He even grasped parts that weren’t taught and asked questions about them, and how sharp those questions were.

They were such extraordinary ideas that even Elec, who was being questioned, was often left speechless.

And that wasn’t all.

“Huhhhh.”

Elec stared intently at the muzzle part of the pistol.

“Perfect. It’s truly perfect…”

For a moment, his eyes gleamed like a beast that had found its prey.

‘What incredible execution ability.’

What is this ridiculous level of completion!

Could this really be reality? Perhaps everything he was seeing was an illusion and this world itself was also false…!

Just when he was having such absurd thoughts, Lee Si-hyeok spoke in an indifferent tone.

“Isn’t it about time you stopped being surprised?”

He truly thought so.

It had already been two days since arriving at this workshop.

Just as Elec had said about running it modestly, the workshop was located deep in the back alleys and didn’t even have a proper name.

Still, unlike the shabby exterior, Elec’s passion was tremendous, as he had taught Lee Si-hyeok various techniques as soon as he arrived.

He had been worried about the books in the library being lost, but learning directly like this posed no problem.

‘The level was much higher than I thought too.’

But every time he mastered something that was taught, that kind of reaction always came out.

He had felt it since being praised by Yoon Seo-jin, but Lee Si-hyeok confirmed once again that he was the type of person whose hair stood on end all over his body when receiving compliments.

It wasn’t that he disliked it, it was just awkward.

They say that accepting praise well is also one of the charms of this era, but it seemed like he lacked that kind of charm at least.

“Ahem. No matter how many times I look at it, it’s amazing. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable.”

“…No, it’s fine.”

There was no need to apologize for that.

When he casually waved his hand, Elec, who had been examining the pistol, continued speaking.

“Anyway, it seems you’ve perfectly absorbed what I taught you. We can move on to the next stage now.”

“Before that.”

“Hmm?”

“There’s something I’d like to try.”

Having said that, Lee Si-hyeok took the pistol that had been in Elec’s hands.

There were three grooves carved into the gun bore section.

Red, green, blue.

It was an application of the technique he had learned this time.

‘Enchant.’

A technique that adds specific circuits to existing artifacts to grant them ‘magic’.

The magic here literally refers to magic used by mages. By granting it to artifacts, it increases power and enhances efficiency.

This alone was an incredible technique. He had never seen it once on Earth.

Since it allowed adding desired functions to any artifact, its usefulness goes without saying.

‘However…’

Lee Si-hyeok was thinking of taking it one step further.

“Enchant is a technique that grants magic, right? Like adding fire magic to bullets, that kind of post-processing enhancement.”

“You understand it perfectly.”

“But then wouldn’t there be limitations?”

“Limitations?”

Elec’s eyes widened at the unexpected point.

“To grant magic, you need a mage. Basically, only mages can use magic.”

On Earth, if you don’t obtain the skill called ‘Magic’ when awakening, you can’t use magic.

Of course, theoretical aspects like circuits for magic activation or design formulas can be understood, but the activation itself is only possible for the chosen ones.

After investigating for several days since falling into Orbes, it seemed like status windows or awakenings didn’t exist in this world, but he understood that the ability to use magic was similar to Earth.

“That naturally makes you dependent on mages. Moreover, with the prerequisite of granting ‘magic’, the range of choices also narrows.”

“Range of choices… That’s not wrong. No matter how vast magic is, its types aren’t infinite after all.”

“But magical engineering is different. Unlike magic, which has inherent limitations like attributes or mana properties, you can create anything depending on how you design the circuits.”

“Don’t tell me.”

As if finally understanding what he was trying to say, Elec’s expression began to fill with shock.

“I’m going to expand the scope of enchanting. Instead of magic, I’ll embed circuits into these grooves in the gun bore.”

“But… would that be better than magic? Even if you replace it with power amplification circuits, they wouldn’t surpass fire magic, would they?”

Lee Si-hyeok smiled and tapped the pistol.

“We can stack them. What if we embed power amplification circuits in all three grooves? If we enhance the power like that, and enhance it again?”

“…”

Elec’s eyes spun round and round. His thoughts expanded at tremendous speed.

After a moment, Elec, having found the answer, opened his mouth as if he couldn’t believe it.

“…You’re crazy. Crazy, really.”

It was simpler compared to granting magic.

However, the result would be incomparably greater.

“B-but is that really possible? It sounds easy, but stacking circuits is incredibly complex…”

“I’m done.”

“What?”

“I finished it all while we were talking.”

“…”

After checking the completed artifact, Elec had no choice but to doubt his own eyes once again.

 

* * *

 

After finishing confirming that the artifact worked properly.

“What kind of person are you?”

In the small kitchen of the workshop, Lee Si-hyeok calmly asked while looking at Elec sitting across from him at the table.

Elec, who had been sipping steaming tea, only blinked his eyes.

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“I thought it was strange.”

“What is?”

Lee Si-hyeok paused for a moment before adding.

“As you know, I’m a foreigner. So I don’t know much about this region. But I can tell this much for certain.”

He looked straight at Elec.

“Elec, you don’t have the kind of skills that should be running a shabby workshop in these back alleys.”

“What do you mean…”

“I can tell by looking. Not just enchanting, but all the other techniques I learned earlier. No matter how much I’m learning them for the first time, these are definitely not ordinary techniques. Moreover, to go beyond simply learning them and teach them to someone else would be impossible without proper education.”

But this place was a run-down back alley. No matter how much of a foreigner Lee Si-hyeok was, he knew that proper education couldn’t take place in a place like this.

“What’s your identity?”

Once he realized that, Elec suddenly became suspicious.

“…”

A moment of silence flowed.

Elec set down his tea cup with a clatter and scratched his cheek.

“Seems like there’s been some misunderstanding.”

“I know you meant no harm. If you had intended to hurt me, you wouldn’t have personally served me food for several days, nor would you be offering me tea like this now.”

“If you understand that sincerity, why don’t you try drinking some?”

Elec gestured with his chin toward the tea cup placed in front of Lee Si-hyeok. The steam that had been rising had already cooled.

“I’ve brewed it for you several times now, but you’ve only taken three sips in total. The poor tea cup is suffering needlessly. So am I.”

“…You were counting all of that?”

“I’ve been keeping track since you first took a sip and spat it all out.”

“…”

Lee Si-hyeok was at a loss for words.

As Elec said, he had indeed spat it all out after just one taste. It was supposedly tea brewed with tea leaves called Kyllis that only grew in Orbes, but it tasted terrible. Astringent, bitter, and salty…

But how could he ignore such words? Lee Si-hyeok mustered his courage and took a sip of the cold Kyllis Tea.

“Heh heh! How is it?”

He didn’t answer the cheerful question. Instead, he forced his naturally frowning eyebrows straight and continued with his earlier question.

“So. You have no intention of revealing your identity?”

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s a misunderstanding. I’m just an old man running a small workshop in the back alleys.”

“…An old man. Are you talking about that invisible years thing again?”

“Think whatever you like.”

Having said that, Elec seemed to have no intention of opening his mouth further.

“…”

In the end, he couldn’t get an answer to his question.

Lee Si-hyeok lowered his head to look at the tea cup for a moment, then drank all the tea in one go.

‘Damn bitter.’

Then he gathered his coat and stood up from his seat.

“Hmm? Where are you going?”

“I have some business to attend to.”

He was planning to wander around the Royal Capital and gather some information.

He had followed Elec out of curiosity about the magical engineering here, but finding a way back to Earth was the priority anyway.

Originally, he had planned to obtain various information through Elec, but since he seemed unwilling to talk, there was no choice.

There had been no particular progress for several days, so he had no choice but to work on foot.

“Wait a moment. I also have business at the library. Let’s go together.”

Following Elec to the Central District, they had various conversations.

Most were about mana structures and circuit design, but occasionally topics about Orbes’ current situation were mixed in.

“I hear the Alchemy Society is recruiting alchemists these days.”

“The Alchemy Society?”

“Don’t you know? It’s a research organization directly under the Royal Family. It’s a place that conducts royal-level research and creates artifacts.”

“Oh…”

“Aren’t you thinking of trying? I hear that even the so-called geniuses there realize they’re ordinary. I’m curious how you would fare.”

Hearing that made him curious. A place where only the pinnacle gathered, even in such an advanced world.

However, Lee Si-hyeok shook his head.

“I have too much to do.”

Work has priorities.

“Is that so? Well, then it can’t be helped.”

Walking like that, they soon arrived at the Central District of the Royal Capital.

Just as he was preparing to part ways with Elec, tremendous commotion could be heard from the middle of the plaza.

Quickly turning his head, he could see people running away and something like black smoke wildly tearing through the sky.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

“Ca, call the Security Guard!”

The smoke looked ominous at first glance.

It writhed violently, then suddenly penetrated straight through a passerby’s head.

Afterward, the passerby became blank-faced and started drooling from his mouth.

“Uh, uhhhhh…”

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes instantly turned cold.

This wasn’t the first time he’d seen this. During the few days he’d been wandering around the Royal Capital, he’d witnessed situations like this quite often.

“Damn it, when is the Security Guard coming!”

The smoke appeared without warning, and people were indiscriminately attacked by it.

Those who were invaded seemed simply mentally deranged at first, but gradually lost their sense of self as time passed.

Like monsters that appeared from Gates.

They lost both their ego and humanity.

They were even similar in that they lost their reason, showed intense hostility toward humans, and exercised tremendous monstrous strength.

 

[However, lately an unknown ominous energy has been randomly settling into people, causing considerable harm throughout the entire city.]

 

Recalling the message he had seen at the inn, Lee Si-hyeok clicked his tongue and watched the fleeing passersby.

Soon after, the invaded passerby began causing a disturbance, and the Security Guard that happened to be passing by arrived and immediately killed him.

“How unfortunate, truly unfortunate.”

Elec sighed.

“Lately, the frequency of ‘Infected’ appearing has been rapidly increasing. Even the Alchemy Society can’t figure out the cause…”

From what Lee Si-hyeok had heard, that black energy penetrated humans without distinguishing between friend and foe.

If that were all, it would be somewhat manageable, but it didn’t stop there and even attacked people like monsters, which was the problem.

He was worried because he himself could be in danger if things went wrong.

While narrowing his eyes and watching the corpse being dragged away.

Murmur murmur.

Suddenly, he could feel it getting noisy from the outskirts of the plaza.

This time it was a different kind of commotion from before, something that brought vitality to the sunken atmosphere.

Glancing over, he could see a long procession entering the plaza along with a carriage.

“Ah, it seems the Princess is passing by.”

“Princess?”

“Serena del Lumiere. The only bloodline of the Lumiere Royal Family…”

However…

Right now, Lee Si-hyeok couldn’t hear any sound.

Not the cheers people were shouting, not the Security Captain’s roar to quickly remove the corpse, not Elec’s explanation about the Royal Family.

All that noise was instantly blocked out.

The interior of the carriage had been momentarily revealed through the slightly parted window curtains.

Lee Si-hyeok’s face was colored with shock.

Velvet cushion seats decorated with golden embroidery.

And a single girl sitting demurely in the center.

Snow Flame Empress Cha Yu-rim.

She was there.

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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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