Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 81

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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 (81)

Rising Altitude

“Uwaaaah!”

On the violently shaking ground, Professor Hong Yong-jin screamed in terror.

“S-someone save me!”

It was difficult to even maintain balance. The Magical Engineering Academy grounds rising into the sky. Each time they gradually ascended and the altitude increased, a dizzying sensation brushed against his skin.

What was even more terrifying was that the air became cooler as they climbed higher. The cool breeze rushing into his lungs was making his spine shiver.

“Really, is this really insane…!”

Barely holding on while gripping a building pillar tightly, he glared with wide eyes at the culprit behind this situation.

“If you have energy to scream, focus on not getting blown away!”

‘This crazy bastard!’

Lee Si-hyeok.

The guy Professor Hong Yong-jin was more familiar with by the name ‘Choi Hyeok’.

By now they were getting along quite intimately, even playing various pranks on each other, but it certainly hadn’t been that way from the beginning.

To be honest, his first impression had been closer to the worst possible.

How could it not be?

Hong Yong-jin extremely disliked anyone obtaining something without any effort. That’s why he too had made countless efforts from long ago, and as a result had left behind tremendous achievements.

In that regard, Lee Si-hyeok had seemed like a parachute appointment to him.

A rolling stone. A fool planted by the Association.

So he had treated him somewhat harshly from the moment they first met.

―Ah, and.

―Would it be alright if I point things out in return?

When the guy boldly came back at him instead, Professor Hong Yong-jin’s thoughts gradually began to change. Those had been words meant to crush his spirit, but far from being crushed, his attitude was truly leisurely.

Was he hiding something?

That’s what made him start observing.

And as a result, he created insane works that thoroughly trampled Hong Yong-jin’s discernment, and even performed brilliantly throughout the seminar period.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t shocked.

But even that became completely understandable the moment the guy took off his mask and revealed his identity.

How he had acquired such skills.

Why his name wasn’t known despite having such talent.

It was all because he had been hiding his identity.

Of course, he had suspected midway that it might actually be a fake identity. However, the disguise was so thorough that there was absolutely no way to find out, so he had put the thought aside.

But the surprises didn’t end there.

“…”

The guy had a separate purpose for participating in the seminar.

When he realized it was to expose the incidents buried deep within Eterion to the world, Hong Yong-jin was struck with unprecedented shock.

The method of revealing it, and even the solution, were so extraordinarily creative that as a magical engineer, he felt reverence.

That had certainly been the case.

―Kuguuuuuuuung!

But now he absolutely could not maintain his composure.

Professor Hong Yong-jin gripped the pillar tighter and glanced outside through the window.

The buildings that should normally be visible weren’t there, and instead some sky blue… no.

Literally the ‘sky’ was visible!

The Magical Engineering Academy grounds that had separated from the earth and been rising had now climbed to an even higher altitude.

“Damn it…!”

Moreover, the top of a building suddenly caught his eye in the distance beyond the window.

That was definitely Seoul’s tallest building in South Korea…

Now the Magical Engineering Academy grounds were shoulder to shoulder with that building. Not as a metaphorical expression, but literally shoulder to shoulder.

‘How on earth did it come to this.’

Hong Yong-jin recalled what had happened just a few minutes ago while breaking out in cold sweat.

Lee Si-hyeok and himself had reached the underground central area and faced a dilemma with the core right before their eyes, and while wondering if there was any good solution…

―There is a method.

Lee Si-hyeok had casually declared that.

And the explanation that followed was extraordinarily creative even by the standards of the eccentric Hong Yong-jin.

‘What? You’ll completely separate the core from the ground facilities?’

Specifically, completely severing the connection between the underground space containing the contaminated core and the ground facilities above it.

At first he wondered what on earth he was talking about, but in a way, there was no method more effective than this. Simple and crude, but rational.

It had to be, because if they exceeded the time limit Pyo Jae-hwan mentioned, the core would immediately go berserk due to the influence of the spatial compression device.

But that rampage would occur on the ground, not underground, because the core was connected to the ground facilities, namely the Magical Engineering Academy.

In other words, the mana fracture would occur on the ground.

―So I’m going to float the entire Magical Engineering Academy into the sky. If we cut the connection with the core, the core will naturally lose power, and then the fracture won’t happen either.

Words filled with confidence.

However, Hong Yong-jin couldn’t help but hesitate. He understood it theoretically. But one thing still puzzled him.

So, how exactly?

Separating the entire academy from the ground and making it float in the air wasn’t some trivial matter – it was by no means simple.

All kinds of mana calculations had to be performed simultaneously at once, and the pilot’s dexterity in executing this was also extremely important.

In the first place, despite this being an era that had developed tremendously compared to the past, there was a reason why there still wasn’t a single flying building.

At best, temporarily floating small-scale buildings like containers was the limit of the current era.

And he was going to do that?

―Kuguuuung!

‘He did it…!’

This was the result.

Even though Hong Yong-jin had watched from right beside him, he had no idea how it had succeeded. It was a realm too distant for even him to understand.

He had simply stood beside him and diligently performed the role of assisting Lee Si-hyeok.

“Just how high are we going to go!”

Even knowing this was the only method, he couldn’t help this fear.

Who in their lifetime would have imagined rising to such heights in the sky together with land of this scale.

In the ground-level building, in the research lab where they had evacuated.

Only Hong Yong-jin’s screams echoed pitifully.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile.

Lee Si-hyeok was gazing outside the window with calm eyes. Unlike Hong Yong-jin, there was no wavering. Isaac, hidden behind him in stealth, was supporting him.

“…”

A rapidly changing scene unfolded before his eyes. Flocks of birds, clouds, rooftops of buildings. Things that were usually hard to see appeared in succession, and within that, Lee Si-hyeok observed changes.

‘…The mana density is getting thicker as the altitude increases.’

The opposite property of air, which has higher density on the ground than in the sky.

Heavy mana pressed down on his entire body. This eerie and chilling sensation. Lee Si-hyeok, who had been feeling it with his eyes closed for a moment, finally opened his eyes.

There was something he had to do.

Before learning about the Eterion incident.

One objective that Lee Si-hyeok, having returned from Orbes, had been considering as the next step, and the ‘real purpose’ that led him to attend the seminar.

―Flash.

 

[『Mimicry』 is activated!]

[Please select a 『Mimicry』 target.]

 

A message appeared before his eyes with a whoosh.

And below it, he could see a list of numerous artifacts that Lee Si-hyeok could currently mimic.

Lee Si-hyeok, quickly scanning through them, muttered to himself.

‘Dimensional gate. I’ll create a dimensional gate.’

A dimensional gate to head back to Orbes once more.

 

[You have selected 〈Portal〉.]

[Warning. Perfect creation may not be possible with your current state. It is recommended to attempt this after gaining more experience.]

 

As expected.

Lee Si-hyeok had anticipated this. He didn’t yet possess extensive knowledge about dimensional gates.

However, Pyo Jae-hwan’s mana fracture that he saw in the memory projection documents had sparked a new idea.

When massive mana forces collide with each other, they become entangled and form a ‘passage’ leading to another dimension.

And one more thing.

Ding!

 

[Abnormal coordinate values detected. Examining current state.]

[This is not a normal altitude. Correcting location information….]

[Correction complete.]

[Current location is ‘5km above ground level’.]

[The surrounding mana is in sufficient state. Accordingly, the success rate of 〈Dimensional Gate〉 creation increases dramatically!]

 

The success rate increases due to high mana density.

In a way, it was natural. When mana forces collide, the greater the amount of colliding forces, the larger the energy generated would be.

Lee Si-hyeok’s decision to lift the entire Engineering Academy into the sky had this calculation meticulously hidden within it as well.

‘I can’t forget the original purpose.’

The dimensional gate.

After all, it was for this that he had come this far.

‘Let’s begin.’

Professor Hong Yong-jin’s screams could be heard from the other side. Rather like white noise, which is nice. Lee Si-hyeok’s hands moved slowly as he calmed his mind.

Swoosh.

He pulled out a round object from his chest.

The core’s nucleus that he had secured from the underground space before ascending to the sky.

While what hung from the underground ceiling was also a core, this one from the central district was like a more important nucleus.

The moment he carefully placed it on the desk, the core flashed with blue light.

 

[『Mimicry』 assists your thinking!]

 

Since the connection between the Engineering Academy and underground was severed, the spatial compression device lost its power, so it wasn’t very dangerous in this state.

However, the massive mana dwelling within remained unchanged.

Lee Si-hyeok intended to utilize this.

‘First… coordinate synchronization.’

He searched his mind to recall Orbes’ coordinate values. It wasn’t something he had calculated directly, but rather something he had asked Elec when leaving Orbes.

Using the research lab’s resonance scanner, he carefully approached the inside of the core.

Slightly to the left, being careful not to touch the internal circuits too much.

Whooom!

Next was the energy stabilization phase.

Since the existing core was in an unstable state, this was a necessary process. Normally, the standard method would be to inject large amounts of mana to subdue it.

Lee Si-hyeok chose a slightly different approach.

He took out sleeping Blackie from the front pocket of his research coat.

“….”

As expected, there was no response. It had been in this state ever since devouring the ether. Setting aside his hopes that it might wake up after ascending high into the sky, he placed his hand on Blackie.

After a brief moment of weakness, mana began flowing into Lee Si-hyeok in reverse.

However, he didn’t accept it all the way to his heart area.

He let the mana that traveled through his palm, wrist, arm, and up to his shoulder flow directly to the opposite side.

 

[「Mana Control」 is activating!]

 

He felt a hot energy from within. Perhaps because it was mana mixed with ether, which had destructive properties, it was different from usual. His chest area became hot as if throbbing.

That too was brief, as Lee Si-hyeok’s left hand moved.

His left hand touching the core began releasing the mana that had flowed in.

Whooooom….

With a small resonance sound, mana was sucked into the core’s interior.

It was a small amount of mana.

From a standard perspective, an absolutely insufficient amount.

But….

‘It’s enough.’

The calculations combining in his heated mind made this possible.

He had adopted Pyo Jae-hwan’s idea but had no intention of walking the same path. As safely as possible, ensuring no one would get hurt.

He stabilized the core by going through all the circuits.

 

[Complete. Please create spatial boundaries.]

 

Whew. Lee Si-hyeok exhaled a heated breath.

Perhaps because he had directly transferred mana through his body, he felt dizzy overall. He would have liked to gulp down some cold water, but there was no time for that.

“Wh-where are you going? Leaving me alone….”

“I have work to do.”

Leaving behind the trembling Professor Hong Yong-jin, he stepped outside the building.

Cold air rushed into his lungs. Now the Engineering Academy had surpassed the height of most high-rise buildings and reached the altitude where passenger planes travel.

Glancing down, the Seoul scenery looked distant and far below.

A moment of tension washed over him, but it couldn’t be helped.

Now he had to create the boundaries of the dimensional gate, which was the final stage, and he couldn’t do this in the cramped research lab.

He needed the widest possible space.

‘Where would be good?’

After pondering briefly, Lee Si-hyeok moved his steps.

His destination was Eterion Central Plaza.

Installing it in the space with the fountain would be stable.

Even while staggering, with Isaac’s help he could arrive quickly. The fountain that had been shooting up splendid water streams had stopped flowing, perhaps because it was uprooted from the ground.

He immediately installed the core on the floor near the fountain.

 

[Forming boundary field.]

 

He was creating the portal’s entrance.

He delicately adjusted the surrounding mana to form boundaries with minimal distortion.

Right after creating it, he pressed the switch to activate the core.

Whooom, whooooom.

Vibrations reached his skin. As Lee Si-hyeok had designed, two types of mana rampage began occurring inside the core. Ether and existing ordinary mana. Those two forces.

Soon the rampage that had been gradually spreading.

―Whoooosh!

Created a new form of ‘fracture’.

A dimensional gate. A fracture called by that name.

 

[『Mimicry』 succeeded!]

[〈Dimensional Gate〉 – Spatial Movement Type Artifact / ??? Grade

A gateway that can move between worlds across dimensions. This can only connect to one dimension, and once connected, it allows passage from the other side as well. Violence and war! Prepare for dangerous situations.]

 

Lee Si-hyeok looked at the dimensional gate with the corners of his mouth curled up.

Not a perfect circle, but a slightly twisted elliptical shape.

On the surface he was looking at, mana flowed hazily like liquid. He could feel the mana extending around it vibrating minutely.

Overall, it was tinged with jet black, seemingly influenced by the ether that had been added during the intermediate process.

‘I wonder if it’s dangerous.’

When he lightly touched it, only a few sparks flew and no particular problems were visible. It must have been mixed well.

Originally, it would have been difficult to use ether with its destructive properties, but it was possible because he had adopted the unique design of a dimensional gate caused by mana rampage.

However, it wasn’t in a perfect state yet.

 

[Attempting connection with dimension 〈Orbes〉.]

[Mana is floating through space… Time is required until complete connection.]

 

To put it simply, only the framework had been laid out for now.

With just the coordinate values input on the basic structure, it would probably take quite a long time to enter Orbes.

He wasn’t disappointed. He had expected this much anyway.

Someday that jet black color would be erased, and the day would come when Orbes’ appearance would be reflected in its place.

“It’s a success.”

Finally, he could take a step forward to the next stage.

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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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