TL: SHW
Of course, even though I am an exceptionally competent person, I can't possibly understand and memorize the entire structure of that complicated Mana Meter.
However, the reason I was able to speak confidently about the Mana Meter without hesitation was, of course, thanks to the Mana Watch.
The Mana Meter was manufactured domestically through a license agreement. After the Myeong-dong Dungeon incident in 2021, dungeons came under national management, and after the establishment of the Ability Management Agency, the agency took over. Naturally, the Mana Meters that were manufactured and installed in that process also fall under the jurisdiction of the Ability Management Agency.
It's not my responsibility. But as long as I'm part of the agency, all related data is stored in the Mana Watch. That includes the blueprint for the Mana Meter used in Korea.
I could make one right now if I just copied it down.
But.
Wouldn't that be too suspicious?
The principle behind the Mana Pen is simple. Even if it’s not in the shape of a fountain pen, anyone can make one as long as they have a Mana Stone of at least 3mm, a rod with a diameter of at least 10mm to embed it in, and the blood of an Awakened to use as ink.
But a Mana Meter? That incredible device said to be the pinnacle of modern mana engineering?
It's way too much to have just memorized like a Rune. If I really understood its structure and could explain it... I wouldn’t have needed to fabricate an engineer in the first place.
Maybe I should have majored in Mana Engineering instead of Media and Communication Studies. No, but Mana Engineering? Just the sound of it is boring. I have no interest in it either.
“You’re planning to bring up Ark anyway, right?”
Hearing my concerns, Hong Seok-young replied casually, with a look that said I was worrying over nothing. Around us were scattered beer cans and wine bottles.
“Just say you found it after capturing Alex Hope.”
“…He’s not even a monster though?”
“It gives off a similar vibe.”
Hong Seok-young looked wistfully at an empty beer can.
“You don’t have to pin it on him. Hmm… say you raided a base and found something like this, so you stole it. Since we mentioned a deceased engineer, you could go with the story that you found a message secretly left behind by that engineer.”
If I have Hong Seok-young’s help, making something up won’t be too difficult.
“If you're that worried, just hold back a bit. You don’t need to hand over a complete product.”
“Then how….”
“Wouldn't Daeyeon take care of the missing parts? Even if it doesn’t look like it, they’re number one when it comes to mana engineering.”
Well, they haven’t been established yet.
Sandra Gamble’s Pharos.
What was that woman doing at this point? Wasn’t she running strange experiments in the garage of her house in California?
It would be ideal if we could recruit that genius of the century…. But she’s already known for being eccentric. There’s nothing I can really do about her. Still, if we manage to make the Mana Meter first from this side, she might take interest and approach us herself.
I frowned as I recalled a face I had only seen once or twice myself.
“Is it okay to use such a company for personal matters? Daeyeon is not some neighborhood corner store.”
“They owe me a lot, so it’s fine.”
“…Is this related to Hunter Lee Mi-seon?”
“No. That’s a separate account.”
Hong Seok-young shrugged.
“Didn’t I tell you?”
“You usually don’t share that kind of story. I did wonder if you had some dirt on her since you use her so much, though.”
Hong Seok-young chuckled.
In the past, he wouldn’t have answered my question. But instead of changing the subject, this time Hong Seok-young spoke honestly.
“I can’t just go around talking about someone else’s family affairs.”
“Someone else’s family affairs?”
“It’s not exactly something you’d be proud of either.”
When I just blinked, Hong Seok-young continued speaking with a cheerful tone.
“A while back well, even by today’s standards, it’s been some time, Daeyeon was conducting a rather dangerous line of research.”
“Dangerous research…?”
“They were looking for a way to forcibly close a Gate from the outside.”
They were doing that kind of research at Daeyeon, of all places?
This was the first I’d heard of it.
“But the experiment went wrong and ended up producing the exact opposite result.”
"...Did a dungeon break?"
“Yeah. I was the one who cleaned up the mess.”
“……”
“Outwardly, it was reported that a Gate unfortunately formed within the research facility and then immediately broke.”
“…What happened to the research results?”
“All discarded. I confirmed it myself, so don’t worry. Just to be sure, they ran the experiment again under the same conditions, but it didn’t even put a crack in the Gate. The likelihood is high that it wasn’t because of the research but, as they announced, just a matter of bad luck. Both the chairman and I discarded it just in case.”
My head was spinning.
Triggering a dungeon explosion on purpose? There was an odd sense of déjà vu. Even if I didn’t know about Ark, Daeyeon had firmly established itself as a global conglomerate even twenty years later. If Daeyeon had been involved in an breaking dungeon incident…
“Oh boy, I hear those thoughts spiraling again.”
Snap.
Hong Seok-young snapped his fingers in front of my eyes.
“Daeyeon wasn’t involved.”
He spoke with a face that said he knew exactly what I was thinking.
“The Daeyeon chairman lost his wife and children in a Dungeon Break. That’s why he even started that research.”
“…From what I know, both Hunter Lee and her oppa are doing well.”
“They were originally six siblings. Only three barely survived. It was right when his first granddaughter had just been born, and I heard she died with them.”
“……”
“After that, the man kind of snapped.”
As I quietly listened, I suddenly found myself impressed by something entirely different.
How tightly did Daeyeon manage their people if this was the first time I was hearing this story? I was struck once again by the power Daeyeon held.
“Well, in any case, thanks to me, the situation was resolved without damage, so if a person has any decency, they ought to be grateful, don’t you think?”
“…I don’t think gratitude and this are the same thing.”
“Well, that connection led to all kinds of contracts being made.”
Hong Seok-young also told me about the contracts he had made with Daeyeon. There must have been confidentiality clauses, but he didn’t seem to care.
Not that it was anything impressive. It was the usual talk of sponsorships that Hunters often receive. In return, Hong Seok-young handed over by-products from dungeons. For a place like Daeyeon, which focuses on mana engineering using Mana Stones, it was common to sponsor Hunters to obtain monster by-products. Besides, it’s Hong Seok-young, we’re talking about someone who could bring back rare materials no other Hunter could get their hands on.
Then, with Lee Mi-seon becoming involved in that connection, the current peculiar structure was formed.
If it had been my father, he wouldn’t have told me any of this. Is this the difference between a son and a disciple? It was a feeling that was hard to describe.
“Ah, right. There’s something I wanted to ask you too.”
“Yes?”
It was around the time the conversation shifted from Daeyeon’s contracts to cursing out the Daeyeon chairman.
Hong Seok-young finally put the bottle down. It was a time you’d call early morning rather than night.
“You said you didn’t graduate from Pilot High School.”
“Yes. I went to a regular high school and then attended university.”
“Exactly!”
Hong Seok-young slapped his knee.
“What did you study in college?”
“…Huh?”
I could never figure this man out. Why was he suddenly curious about that?
“No reason, I was just curious. You’re good at doing whatever you’re told, but to be honest, I’m not exactly a kind boss.”
So you were aware of that?
“Maybe it wasn’t that way for you, but I certainly can’t be called a good teacher to the kids either.”
You did know?
Hong Seok-young quietly avoided my gaze.
“All I can teach is how to fight, really. And just teaching how to fight doesn’t make someone a decent human being.”
“You say that, but….”
“That’s why I’m really glad you’re here. Don’t you think so?”
“……”
When I glared at him, Hong Seok-young let out a loud, awkward cough.
“If things had gone according to plan, I would’ve gotten you a proper teacher by now.”
“You don’t mean Han Tae-kyung, do you?”
“No, Han Tae-kyung was only meant to be an assistant of sorts.”
Originally, Hong Seok-young’s plan was to teach only for the first few months, just enough to obtain official approval as an educational institution. Once that was secured, he intended to offer classes in basic subjects like Korean and math as well.
He also meant to teach dungeon-related topics in a structured way.
Yeah. He only meant to.
“Then why didn’t you?”
If he had actually gone through with it, I wouldn’t have needed to do it.
“There was no time because of the Myeong-dong Dungeon incident. We never even got the education license.”
In the end, it all circles back to Myeong-dong again. That damned Myeong-dong! What would they have done if I hadn’t saved the kids there?
…Well, things would’ve unfolded the way I remember them.
"Seeing how you treat the kids, I wondered if you graduated from a teachers' college."
“……”
I did regret not taking a child psychology course as an elective, at least.
“No. I didn’t.”
“Hmm?”
“…I majored in video production.”
“Video?”
Yoo Ji-eun had burst out laughing when she heard what department I’d been in, albeit much later.
She’d said that if it suited me, it really suited me, but if it didn’t, it really didn’t.
“Why? Like film-making and stuff like that.”
“……”
“…What is it?”
“No, I mean… it’s unexpected, but now that I hear it, it kinda suits you.”
I sighed.
I should never mention I double-majored in Political Science and International Relations.
***
World Unconquered Dungeons Forum.
Day 2.
Morning dawned. The living room was littered with empty liquor bottles and beer cans.
And yet, the resilient Awakened did not succumb to alcohol’s effects. As I tied my necktie, I reviewed the previous night’s conversation. Did I possibly slip up? Like calling Hong Seok-young “ajusshi”?
Of course, I hadn’t made such a clumsy mistake.
Just as I finished getting ready, Hong Seok-young emerged from the master bedroom, scratching his stomach. Somehow, he had managed to put on a shirt and dress pants. Though his necktie was slung over his shoulder.
Hong Seok-young yawned widely.
“Youth is a wonderful thing.”
“What are you saying? Stop pretending to be weak and tie your necktie properly.”
“Such nagging…”
Still, Hong Seok-young slowly started tying his necktie.
“Today, the mages will be coming.”
He made it no secret that he disliked the idea.
“As you know, they’re a bothersome bunch. If things get hairy, feel free to throw Teacher Kim’s name around.”
“…Shouldn’t you be telling me to use your name here?”
“My name? Why use mine when Teacher Kim’s name works better?”
It’s not like I think Hong Seok-young’s name carries less weight than an Archmage’s.
I snorted. Still, I didn’t argue. The more backup names I had, the better.
On the way to the conference hall, Hong Seok-young grumbled endlessly about mages. But that was normal, every Hunter hates dealing with mages.
“Oh!”
And by sheer coincidence, we ran into Alex Hope and the Australian Hunters right in front of the elevator.
I glanced at Alex Hope’s hand. He was wearing gloves with exposed fingertips.
“……”
I began to wonder, was this really a coincidence?
“Hello.”
Translation magic is different from a normal translator. It conveys the speaker’s exact intent.
“We were quite rude yesterday.”
“…No.”
“Our Deputy Leader is a little hot-headed. If it’s alright with you, could we speak privately for a moment later?”
Which means that even this deliberately polite demeanor from Alex Hope was entirely intentional.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“I mentioned it yesterday too.”
Hope boldly spoke, ignoring the gestures from his teammates trying to quiet him.
“I owe you a debt, and I wanted to thank you!”
***
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