Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 64

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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 (64)

A tiger cub

Song Hyeon-gyu’s body trembled violently. As if goosebumps had risen all over his body, he gulped and continued speaking.

―From then on, I just couldn’t go on living normally. The thought that something unknown was wearing human skin and pretending to be ordinary right beside me…

It wasn’t dislike, but rather fear.

―Didn’t you think about investigating more thoroughly? I don’t think you would have done nothing after noticing.

―…I did. Why wouldn’t I? I was on the verge of going crazy if I just stayed still. It was a school I worked so hard to get into, and I couldn’t just drop out.

He said he had dug quite deep, pulling Ryu Se-eun’s personal information from the faculty office and asking around among acquaintances.

―There were no significant results. When I looked into it, all her personal information was prepared. Address, family relations… as if she had been an existing person all along.

―What about the acquaintances then?

―They didn’t know anything. Those people also thought that Ryu Se-eun had been someone they knew from before.

―That’s enough to make even ghosts wail.

―Yes, really. Maybe she actually is a ghost.

Song Hyeon-gyu, who had been vigorously washing his face at the washbasin, let out what sounded like a sigh.

Lee Si-hyeok pondered with a serious expression before adding.

―No. She’s probably not a ghost. It’s magically impossible.

―…Hyung, that’s a joke, right?

Thud. Lee Si-hyeok, who had been about to leave the restroom after throwing away the tissue he used to dry his hands, paused.

―I was joking too.

―…

―Seriously.

On Lee Si-hyeok’s face that Song Hyeon-gyu looked at, there was an unmistakable seriousness.

“Phew…”

Lee Si-hyeok, who had finished recalling his memories, sat up on his bed.

Checking the time, it was already late evening.

Since he was getting a bit hungry, he ordered some simple late-night snacks through the dormitory exclusive app.

‘Eterion really is nice. Even things like this are possible.’

Though he had used this service several times already, it felt new every time. At the same time, he briefly wondered what it would have been like if he had been born with talent a little earlier.

However, he doesn’t dwell on such emotions for long.

After a while, the ramen he ordered arrived, and he quickly finished his meal while speed reading through some interesting research papers.

After brushing his teeth and returning to savor the feeling of fullness, thoughts about Ryu Se-eun circled in his mind.

The incident of exploring Ryu Se-eun with 『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』.

And the sense of discord about her that Song Hyeon-gyu had told him about.

‘In the end, those two things must be connected.’

Then the answer comes down to ‘ether’.

 

[〈■■■〉 – Grade Unclassified

An unidentified existence formed through unknown methods. Though it’s an existence shrouded in mystery, the only thing that can be confirmed is that its interior is filled with ether.]

 

According to the results he had grasped earlier, Ryu Se-eun’s very existence was composed of a substance called ether.

This probably stems from the properties of ether.

Lee Si-hyeok cleared away the dishes and carefully took out Blackie, who was sleeping in his embrace. He gently placed Blackie on the dark brown wooden table.

“Oops.”

In the process, he accidentally poked the plump bottom, but the creature showed no reaction and just kept snoring.

Snore… Snore…

Just in case, he tried tickling the creature’s weak spot, its belly, but it didn’t notice at all.

‘This little guy who would normally be startled…’

Blackie had been in this state continuously for some time now.

Sleeping soundly without eating anything, showing no signs of waking up no matter how much he touched it. This comatose state had been continuing for three whole days now.

He clearly remembers when it started.

‘When it devoured all the ether inside the rift.’

To be precise, not quite all of it.

Though it was limited to the area around where Lee Si-hyeok had been, it was definitely overeating.

Did I push too hard? That thought crossed his mind.

If I hadn’t investigated the ether and had come out a little earlier. Then wouldn’t Blackie be bouncing around beside me right now instead of sleeping like this?

‘…No.’

Lee Si-hyeok shook his head. It wasn’t like making excuses for himself.

Blackie’s current condition was far from simple overeating.

Of course, it was true that it had consumed an amount of mana far exceeding what it usually ate, but even so, it was ambiguous to see this as something that happened just from exceeding quantity.

The evidence for this could be found by sensing Blackie’s mana.

Like now.

―Thump, thump.

Whoosh…

The flow of mana was more stable than ever.

There was no irregularity in the heartbeat, and even in the circuits flowing throughout the body, not a trace of impurities could be detected. It was clear and clean.

‘At this level, it’s actually… closer to being in good condition.’

Like when Hunters fall into long sleep after consuming precious elixirs.

Come to think of it, wasn’t it Blackie who first reacted to ether a few days ago?

Then the possibility of it being harmful to Blackie’s body would be significantly low. If there had been something dangerous, it would have avoided it rather than excitedly running toward it first.

Eventually, after observing Blackie for a long time, Lee Si-hyeok shook his head reluctantly and held the creature tightly in his hand.

‘To think I’d be worrying about something like this in my life.’

I’ve never once thought about raising anything.

Anyway, that’s enough about Blackie’s problem.

Lee Si-hyeok continued kneading with his hands while bringing up a status window before his eyes. Blackie’s soft texture was addictive, making it impossible to let go.

―Flash.

 

[Loading information about the new substance, 〈Ether〉.]

[〈Ether〉 – Substance / Materials

A powerful substance possessing the power of ‘destruction’. It destroys everything it touches and exerts great influence on the mind and cognition. It is also classified as an element.]

[Currently, only a portion has been understood.]

[To load more information, 〈Ether〉 must be investigated further.]

 

Information about ether grasped inside the rift.

Though it had already been several days since today, he was only now given time to organize it due to being so busy with session preparations and such.

Even so, not all the clues had been perfectly solved.

‘…I did penetrate deeper, but the further inside I went, the more unstable it became.’

The depths were more dangerous than expected, forcing him to escape midway.

The sensation of breath rising to his chin, eeriness flashing through his frontal lobe, and his entire body shivering was still vivid.

If only I had one more life! Lee Si-hyeok swallowed his regret and read through the message before his eyes.

‘A powerful substance possessing the power of ‘destruction’…’

Substances, simply put ‘materials’, have inherent properties.

Cutting power, recovery power, flexibility, insulation, etc.

Basically, inherent properties are divided according to what kind of mana circuits and structures they possess, and using these appropriately for the right situation can be seen as the skill of a crafting type awakener.

However…

‘I’ve never heard of something called destruction.’

Of course, there are many indirect ones. Just looking at the ‘cutting power’ mentioned earlier, it has destructive properties like cutting and scraping opponents.

But that’s all.

They don’t specify it with the simple and crude word ‘destruction’. More precisely, they ‘cannot specify it’.

This is a truth and providence established by the engineering world.

The reason is simple.

The cutting power that slices and shaves things had destructive force, as mentioned. But would even the results derived from it also be destructive?

Just because destructive force briefly intervened in the process, does that mean all results lead to destruction?

‘That’s not necessarily true.’

Snip, snip…

As he carefully trimmed the fur of sleeping Blackie with grooming scissors, cutting open his belly, the soft fur fell helplessly to the floor.

Anytime, anywhere, cutting power is used for a wide variety of purposes.

In other words, since the results are infinite, it’s difficult to simply define it with just one property: ‘destruction.’

But what about ether?

 

[A powerful substance with the force of ‘destruction.’ It destroys everything it touches and exerts great influence on the mind and cognition.]

 

“…”

Even the Status Window clearly states it in two words.

Not any other property or use.

Just violent and catastrophic ‘destruction.’

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes grew coldly subdued.

How exactly did dimensional rifts occur in Eterion, and how did this destructive force appear?

And for what reason is Eterion hiding that fact?

In the quiet night.

As soft moonlight seeped through the slightly parted curtains, and only the sound of ticking and Blackie’s gentle breathing filled the room, Lee Si-hyeok thought.

‘…More detailed information should be stored in the Central Records Hall. I’ll have to look there.’

Since he had requested it through Association Staff, an answer would come soon.

It had been less than a week since the seminar started. Though not completely resolved yet, achieving this much progress was already tremendous advancement.

Planning future tasks, Lee Si-hyeok fell into a late sleep.

 

* * *

 

A few days later, the second session began.

Unlike the first, it wasn’t a national competition format, but a collaborative approach with other countries.

However, unlike the beginning when teams were divided through lottery, this time they didn’t designate which countries would team up.

“…How should we handle this?”

So they had to find collaborative teams on their own, which created a serious problem.

Professor Hong Yong-jin, who had been blankly staring at the crowd rushing toward them, muttered as if troubled.

“Do you have any good ideas?”

“Well, I’m not sure either.”

Lee Si-hyeok had no choice but to deliberately avoid Professor Hong Yong-jin’s expectant gaze. He was just as flustered.

“Mr. Choi Hyeok! This time, let’s work with our Australian Team!”

“No, no! Ignore them! How about working with us from the Indian Institute of Technology…!”

“What? Ignore? These bastards! Excuse me, Mr. Choi Hyeok! You know about the hygiene controversy at the institute last time, right! Don’t work with these dirty guys…”

“That was a rumor, you’re crazy!”

—Crash bang!

“…”

“…”

A moment of silence fell between Lee Si-hyeok and Professor Hong Yong-jin. The Grand Auditorium was in chaos. To be precise, just the left corner. Only around where Lee Si-hyeok was sitting.

You bastard!

Move! Get out of the way!

Crash bang…

The Indian Team and Australian Team even started throwing punches.

Lee Si-hyeok distanced himself far from them and whispered quietly.

“We should definitely avoid those two teams.”

“…Right. By the way, this is quite surprising. Do you know who that professor fighting with the Australian guy is?”

“Isn’t that Sandip Malhotra?”

The white-haired elderly man wielding his staff against three Australian Team members, fighting one against three, was indeed Sandip Malhotra.

“As expected, there’s nothing you don’t know. That’s right, Sandip Malhotra. He’s someone I’ve often exchanged with. He was originally famous for being gentlemanly to everyone, not just me…”

Professor Hong Yong-jin looked at Lee Si-hyeok with a bitter expression.

“He must have gone senile because of you. I never thought such an intellectual man would show such disgrace.”

“Ahem.”

Having nothing to say, he could only clear his throat.

—Crash bang! The fight kept spreading, and now even Association Staff had to step in to stop it.

“Don’t you have any method in mind?”

“Well, don’t you have a preferred team, Professor? Since you’re the head of our Research Team…”

“Forget it. That’s nonsense.”

“Pardon?”

When he asked back, Professor Hong Yong-jin laughed as if it were absurd. But somehow, that laugh contained inexplicable joy.

“Look carefully. Among these people, how many do you think came here wanting to team up with me?”

“That’s…”

“Heh, you don’t know either? Let me change the question. Then, how many people do you think came here for you?”

…How many? It seemed like there would be many, but he couldn’t voice those circling thoughts.

Professor Hong Yong-jin answered instead.

“Tsk tsk, being modest again. What are you hesitating about? Such an easy answer.”

“Uh…”

“Obviously all of them. Everyone here came just for you. What you showed in the first session was more than worthy enough.”

He turned his eyes away from the clustered participants and looked around other parts of the auditorium.

“Then what about those who didn’t come? Did they not come because they dislike you?”

There were four groups of people there.

Pyo Jae-hwan’s Chronos Industry, Ryu Se-eun’s Ether Society, and Yoon Seo-jin’s Termion Corporation, who couldn’t team up with Lee Si-hyeok since they were from the same Korea.

And Ray Wen’s engineering team, isolated like a remote island.

“Ah, of course that Chinese guy probably does dislike you. After being so thoroughly beaten by you, he must be shuddering. Plus, he became everyone’s target to avoid because of the disgrace he showed in the last session. Tsk tsk, what a sight.”

Excluding Ray Wen, even the gazes of the remaining people were all focused on Lee Si-hyeok. Every single one without exception.

“And yet you’re asking for my opinion?”

Professor Hong Yong-jin, bringing his gaze back, chuckled.

“You must really look down on me. Are you perhaps deceiving me? Or is it your usual modesty?”

“…I was just curious.”

“About what? This shabby old professor’s opinion?”

“…”

Heh heh, the young tiger is devouring the old one. Professor Hong Yong-jin’s eyes flashed for a moment.

“Now, choose. The choice is your privilege alone.”

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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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