Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 47

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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 (47)

Ugh

“Mang! Mang mang!”

The cotton ball seemed extremely excited.

Not only was it constantly bouncing around on his palm, but it even started wiggling its plump bottom back and forth.

‘…What is this thing.’

He tried poking what seemed to be its belly, but it only cried out happily in response.

After observing it for a while, Lee Si-hyeok finally turned his attention to the message blinking in the corner of his vision.

[You can view information about this creature.]

[Would you like to check?]

He nodded reluctantly.

—Flash.

[〈Unknown Creature〉 – Origin Artifact]

“…?!”

For a moment, he thought he had misread it.

‘Origin Artifact’?

Wasn’t that the new artifact tier he had learned about when he realized the truth about the Imitation World not long ago?

That meant…

‘This tiny thing is on the same level as the Imitation World?’

Si-hyeok looked at the cotton ball with disbelief.

“Maang?”

Sensing his gaze, the round creature tilted its body curiously.

Seeing its insignificant appearance made it even harder to believe.

‘I still only understand a little about Origin Artifacts myself…’

He had somehow managed to create a world for Elec to live in at the end, but that was only possible with the help of the 『Mimicry』 skill.

It was closer to a counterfeit that merely imitated the surface appearance without understanding the specific design.

Yet here was a real Origin Artifact, not even a fake, right in this place.

“Hah, really.”

Si-hyeok let out a brief sigh, then collected himself and continued reading the other text.

[This creature is drawn to mana.]

[To see more detailed information, growth of 『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』 is required.]

That was all the message said.

The only description was the single sentence: ‘drawn to mana.’

It was a very half-hearted explanation, but Si-hyeok narrowed his eyes. There was something he could guess.

The cotton ball had been constantly bouncing around since it woke up. At first, he thought it was just excited. He figured it was the joy of being born.

But that half-hearted sentence became a clue.

As he observed, he sensed a certain directionality from the creature.

“Maaang!”

The creature was bouncing toward Si-hyeok’s heart.

Once he realized this, even its cries sounded rather pitiful. Like a baby duck that had fallen from its nest.

‘Could it be.’

Si-hyeok carefully brought the creature on his palm closer to his chest.

Thump, thump! The faintly audible heartbeat grew closer to the creature.

Just as the distance was almost completely closed.

“Maang…”

The creature smiled happily and flopped down. The soft texture and warm warmth were fully transmitted to his palm.

Mana is mainly located near an awakened person’s heart.

This is because the mana that settles in the body upon awakening spreads throughout the entire body through mana circuits from beside the heart, which is a human’s core organ.

‘So it’s drawn to mana.’

The creature must have sensed the dense mana in his heart.

Si-hyeok chuckled and gently placed the creature in the pocket near his chest.

What exactly was this thing supposed to do?

Seeing that even 『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』 couldn’t accurately identify it, it was definitely some kind of extraordinary being, but it was hard to theorize since it was an artifact form he’d never seen before.

Was it even really an artifact in the first place? For a living creature to be called an artifact…

Such thoughts crossed his mind briefly, but Si-hyeok shook his head.

It was a thought he himself had entertained briefly when entering the Obsidian Mining Site. That humans might not be so different from artifacts when you think about it.

“Hmm.”

In any case, it was an unknown territory for now.

What mattered immediately was that this cotton ball creature regarded him as its master.

He had never really thought about raising anything before.

When he was busy enough just taking care of himself, how could he have time to care for another life? He disliked the idea of being irresponsible. And that was still the case now.

‘What should I do?’

He couldn’t just abandon it like this.

Now that he knew the creature was an Origin Artifact, as unbelievable as it was, it had gained value more precious than anything else. Even if he combined all the artifacts in his subspace, this cotton ball might be more important.

…What about just dissecting it completely?

Instead of thinking of it as a living creature, just treat it as an artifact.

Just like how he usually disassembled and analyzed artifacts, he could do the same with this creature…

“Ma, maang?!”

‘Hmm.’

The creature suddenly bolted upright and looked up at him, so he stopped his thoughts. When did this thing wake up? Where did the creature that was sleeping peacefully just moments ago go?

In the end, he shelved the dissection plan.

“Should I give you a name?”

He couldn’t keep calling it cotton ball forever.

“What would you like to be called?”

“Mang?!”

When he took the creature out of his pocket and placed it on his palm, it seemed terrified and quickly flopped backward.

Then it suddenly started playing dead.

“Why are you acting like this?”

Si-hyeok, who had been pondering alone, finally spoke.

“Let’s go with Blackie.”

“Ma…ang?”

“Your fur is black, and you keep crying ‘mang mang,’ so Blackie. How about it?”

“…!?”

Blackie suddenly stood up and started bouncing. He didn’t know how it could jump without legs, but its movements seemed quite satisfied.

Even if the name seemed too hastily chosen, it couldn’t be helped.

Wouldn’t it be stranger to give Blackie a modern name like ‘Kim Hyun-woo’ or ‘James’? For Si-hyeok, this was quite a carefully considered naming.

As he was observing the excited Blackie, another message appeared.

[You have given a new name to 〈Unknown Creature〉.]

[Accordingly, your mana and 〈Blackie’s〉 mana are now synchronized!]

[〈Blackie〉 devours any kind of mana. The devoured mana accumulates entirely in its body, and you can use that mana.]

‘…It devours mana?’

At the same time, he began to sense a subtle energy from Blackie’s body. A familiar sensation. It gradually became more concrete, and eventually he even felt it flowing into his body.

The mana was linked. It was exactly as described.

The faint mana accumulated in Blackie’s body could be felt by Lee Si-hyeok as well.

He immediately activated 『Mana Control』 to try moving the mana.

Whooom!

But it was different from before.

Though it was the same B-rank Mana Control, the amount of mana flowing into his hands had clearly increased.

‘This, could it be…’

A way to utilize that little Blackie.

Now he thought he understood.

A smile formed on Lee Si-hyeok’s lips.

* * *

In the middle of the Grand Mansion’s Garden.

“Hmph.”

Lee Si-hyeok was standing face to face with the Snow Flame Empress.

She let out a snort and glared at him coldly.

“Why did you call me?”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“Ha! A favor. Do you think I’ll just say ‘oh sure’ and grant it?”

The Snow Flame Empress was in a thoroughly sulky mood, probably because Lee Si-hyeok had evaluated her pasta as the worst during lunch.

Lee Si-hyeok scratched his head and replied.

“Didn’t you come out because you were going to help?”

“No!”

“Then why…”

“You begged me so desperately! I was just curious about the reason!”

Did I do that? Lee Si-hyeok recalled what had just happened.

He had thought of a way to utilize Blackie in the Subspace, and to confirm it, he needed a combat-type awakener who could emit strong mana, so he had sought out the Snow Flame Empress.

But he hadn’t particularly begged during that process. If she had refused, he could have just asked Isaac instead.

The reason he didn’t seek out Isaac was simply because the Snow Flame Empress had obediently followed him out.

“Well. Anyway, thank you for helping.”

“Hmph, just hurry up and state your business.”

At those words, Lee Si-hyeok glanced at Blackie in his research coat’s front pocket.

“Please use magic on me.”

“What?”

“Any magic is fine. Please cast magic at me with all your might.”

“What kind of…”

The Snow Flame Empress seemed not to understand well.

It was a natural reaction. Asking a Hunter, an A-rank Hunter at that, to use magic at full power. Moreover, since Lee Si-hyeok was a non-combat awakener, it was an even more insane request.

But even knowing this, Lee Si-hyeok just smiled nonchalantly.

“You can do it.”

“N-no. Did you suffer some kind of mental aftereffects from going to Orbes? If so, I’ll find someone to treat you…”

“Please.”

It would be fine.

No, it had to be done.

To confirm whether Blackie’s description of devouring any kind of mana was true, this was the most certain method.

If confirmed, the applications would truly be endless.

As Lee Si-hyeok spoke in a clear tone, the Snow Flame Empress’s pupils shook violently.

But that was only for a moment.

She spoke in a much calmer voice.

“You wouldn’t make a pointless request. At least the you I know wouldn’t. You often make frivolous jokes, but there’s always conviction behind them.”

“…”

“I’ll trust you. I just need to cast my most powerful magic, right?”

Lee Si-hyeok nodded. The two of them put appropriate distance between themselves and entered a ready state.

“Then I’ll begin.”

But the Snow Flame Empress’s eyes looked far too resolute. Eyes that looked like they could really kill someone. Despite having made up his mind sufficiently, tension rose to his chin.

Just before mana gathered in the Snow Flame Empress’s hands, Lee Si-hyeok muttered barely audibly.

“J-just a little gently…”

Haha! A smile formed on the Snow Flame Empress’s lips.

She cast her magic. Fire and ice. Snow and Flame. Two attributes collided within a single spell. Once, twice, three times… They clashed dozens, hundreds of times without stopping.

The size wasn’t large.

However, the power was tremendous.

The repeated collisions within the fist-sized mana orb created fierce waves. Thump! Thump! Thump! With each repetition, the ice became sharper and the fire grew hotter.

‘Damn…!’

A direct hit would mean instant death.

He had prepared an emergency artifact in case things went off plan, but this wasn’t a problem that could be solved with that. It was fiercer than expected. At this rate, he might really die.

―Thump, thump, thump!

He pulled Blackie from his front pocket. Blackie, who had awakened at some point, was sparkling its eyes as if sensing the powerful mana.

He gripped the creature and stretched it forward. He felt heat and cold simultaneously. Was it too late? The moment the magic approaching at terrifying speed struck head-on.

“Maaang!”

Blackie’s mouth opened wide.

“…”

“…”

That was the end of it.

When he cautiously opened his tightly shut eyes, he saw the Snow Flame Empress with a shocked expression.

And the heat and cold that had been felt just moments before were nowhere to be found. That tremendous mana had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“Burp.”

Blackie in his hands let out a burp.

Lee Si-hyeok gulped and looked at the creature.

Within the pitch-black cotton ball, golden eyes shining innocently.

A large mouth smiling happily as if it had eaten something very delicious.

And the tremendous amount of mana he could feel from the creature.

“…This is insane.”

That was the only way he could evaluate it.

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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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