Chapter 1
An age when a small number of humans have awakened and work as Hunters, challenging the Gates.
Not long ago, I joined that small number of humans and awakened, but my ability was utterly pathetic.
【 Magic Beast Alchemist 》E-Rank 】
“……Ah, E-Rank.”
An alchemist… and not just any alchemist, but one in the minor field of creating magic beasts.
Magic beast is the term for magical creatures made using monster materials.
Put simply, a magic beast alchemist could be called a so-called chimera alchemist.
“Sigh….”
Not making equipment, nor creating drugs for doping or treatment… Magic beast alchemy was considered the most commercially useless field in Hunter society.
“I'm screwed….”
It wasn't enough that I awakened with E-Rank, despite the joke that even getting C-Rank could change your life—I had also gained the most useless ability.
But perhaps because Hunter society had grown so stagnant, the atmosphere began to shift in a strange direction.
[General] “Continental Sword Princess” Cheon Rin officially gives up on clearing the SS-Rank Gate…! “I felt the limits of humanity”
[Issue] Japanese solo ranker Asagiri Ren laments, “I've hit a wall”… What will rankers use for their next power-up?
[Breaking] “Even clearing S-Rank Gates has hit a wall”… Rankers worldwide reach the end of their explosive growth, ushering in a ‘stagnation period’?
[Breaking] US Hunter analysis community: “Are magic beast pets the key to the next generation of power-ups?”
[Feature] Is China aiming to monopolize the magic beast pet market? ‘Magic Beast Alchemists’ launch a mass-production offensive
[Stocks] “The pet meta is finally here!” Magic beast pet stocks surge with five consecutive limit-up days
【 Korean Hunter Gallery 】
[Free] What the hell, China's Sword Princess gave up on SS-Rank?
Author : HunterGetter123
Is even the world's strongest damage-dealing lineup unable to handle SS-Rank?
Asagiri Ren was whining about hitting a growth wall too.
Have Hunters really reached the limit of how far they can improve their specs?
[ Comments ]
Anonymous (110.70) : There's a rumor going around that even with Cheon Rin, their damage was severely lacking in the five-person SS-Rank Gate.
└ HunterGetter123 (Author) : WTF… If an SS-Rank Gate has a Break, it'll be an unprecedented disaster;;;
└ Anonymous (39.7) : They couldn't even clear an S-Rank Gate, so what kind of strategy is it to jump into an SS-Rank one?
└└ Anonymous (211.235) : Since the SS-Rank Gate is in Beijing, maybe the Chinese government wants to get rid of it quickly…?
Ten years after the Gates appeared and people began awakening… most first-generation Hunters and rankers had become unable to grow any further.
It wasn't impossible, but as their levels rose, their growth speed became excessively slow, just like in old RPGs.
It wasn't strange that everyone started looking for new ways to improve their specs beyond equipment and doping.
Anyway, I was able to benefit from this trend and get a job at a newly established magic beast research institute.
[ Considering the test results you sent us and your traits, we were very interested in you and would like to invite you to join our newly established magic beast research team. ]
I had tossed out a few resumes, thinking I might as well work as a porter…
But I was unexpectedly hired by a magic beast research team.
“This actually works…?”
*
Six months passed after I got a job at the institute.
I had graduated from a department completely unrelated to biotechnology, so I was a little worried…
But the Magic Beast Alchemist trait fundamentally enhanced my intuition in the field of alchemy and provided basic guidelines, allowing even an outsider like me to adapt to the work with ease.
Although our ranks differed, most of the researchers had the same trait as me, which also helped me settle in because we could communicate without any difficulty.
On my way to work at the Magical Biotechnology Research Institute.
Whirr-
As soon as the automatic doors opened and I entered the institute, I sensed that something was wrong.
‘What is it…? Did the cultivation experiment fail again? No…? The scheduled date should still be a long way off.’
I sensed the serious atmosphere and quietly approached the team leader to ask.
“Team Leader, the atmosphere seems pretty bad today. What happened? Did the KKO model we were cultivating last time cause trouble again?”
“Sigh… That isn't it, Hyeona….”
No matter how difficult the research was, our team leader had always been the mood maker, constantly throwing out unfunny middle-aged jokes. But now he looked utterly devastated.
I had a feeling this was absolutely not an ordinary matter.
“Then don't tell me… a combat magic beast went berserk and blew up its cage again…? Or… gasp… did it escape the institute…?”
“Ha… It would be a relief if a magic beast had destroyed the institute and escaped. We could just catch it again. That's not it, Hyeona… You saw the government's regulations on the morning news, right…? Because of that, the investor finally pulled out… They must've gone crazy again because it's election season! Again!! Magic creatures are always the easiest targets… Those bastards….”
“Huh…? But just a few weeks ago, they said the government was pushing for support because magic beast pets would be essential for improving the abilities of the next generation of Hunters….”
I blinked at the team leader's words.
Ten years ago, the Gates were born in the Great Cataclysm, and the power and knowledge of another world flowed into the modern world.
Naturally, the emergence of the Gates brought tremendous chaos at first. Monsters invading cities, criminals with superhuman strength…
But humanity, having endured the Great Chaos, rebuilt itself quickly and created a civilization even more advanced than before thanks to the Gates.
Among those advancements, magical biotechnology was always a controversial field because it used the corpses of Gate monsters to create creatures, raising the ethical issue of creating life.
Until then, such issues had not been treated as serious problems because everyone was focused on calming the Gate crisis. But now that society had stabilized and life had grown more comfortable, the ethical problems surrounding magic beast pets had finally risen to the surface.
Perhaps it was especially because Korea was sensitive to ethical issues like this… but the timing of the elections had ultimately caused everything to explode.
‘No, come to think of it, this was probably just bound to happen eventually….’
Based on my firsthand experience in the field, magic beasts were essentially biological robots that moved according to their programming. But from an outsider's perspective, creating chimeras was an act of challenging the realm of the gods.
‘…And in reality, we are creating life….’
There was no excuse. Even without souls, they performed the functions of living beings.
On top of that, they used materials from Gate monsters, the enemies of humanity, making them especially repulsive to modern society.
Anyway, the company fell apart, and I became unemployed in an instant.
Of course, the team leader and other researchers with higher ranks were quickly scouted and hired by research institutes in other countries.
Overseas, they still considered the pet business a viable industry that could put them ahead of other countries.
[ Team Leader ] : Hey, Hyeona, come over to Japan too. I'll make a position for you.
[ Me ] : Thank you for the offer, Team Leader. I was thinking of opening a pet shop myself, so I think I'll take this opportunity.
‘…Let's think positively. I've gained my freedom thanks to this, so I'll try doing what I've always wanted to do.’
I decided to take this opportunity to open a shop of my own, something I'd always wanted to try.
*
Another six months passed.
I pooled together my savings and a loan to open a small magic beast pet shop in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu.
As for how a former salaried worker like me managed to open a shop in a place with land as expensive as Gangnam-gu… this neighborhood had the unfortunate distinction of having a history of multiple A-Rank Gates opening here, which had brought the land prices down quite a bit.
‘It's still fucking expensive, though….’
The monthly rent was astronomical, but I deliberately chose to set up shop here.
Magic beast pets had an image of being something the wealthy would raise as a hobby.
Besides, statistics had confirmed that image, so choosing this location was an entirely rational decision.
But contrary to my prediction, the shop was completely deserted.
The cages were packed with small magic beasts, but there wasn't a single customer.
Ding-
“Mister, I came to look around again today. Can I take a look?”
A girl entered the shop energetically around six in the evening.
She was one of my regular customers.
Though she did absolutely nothing for my sales.
“I told you, I'm not a mister… How old are you again, Jia?”
“I'm a high school senior this year.”
Come to think of it, from a student's perspective… I guess I really was a mister…
“Business still bad today?”
“Well, what can I do when something like that has opened next door?”
Someone must have had the same idea as me, because a magic beast pet shop of an incomparable scale had opened right next door.
With such a flashy, luxurious brand store right there, customers had no reason to come to a hole-in-the-wall shop like this.
“Still, Jellykko is only available here.”
“Pant, pant….”
Jia said this while looking at the slime creature inside the cage.
A slime puppy covered in distinctive spots.
“He's cute, but I guess no one wants to buy him? Hasn't he been here for two months already?”
“…Domestic magical creatures have short lifespans because of the regulations… He's an old man now, so no one wants to take him home.”
“I see….”
Jellykko, the slime puppy I had designed and created using all the know-how I had accumulated after opening my shop.
I hadn't originally intended to create a creature like this.
- ‘It has teeth? What if my child gets hurt while passing in front of it? Are you going to take responsibility?’
- ‘What? You use a low-grade magic core as its nucleus? A chimera made from a monster's magic core and monster materials…! Isn't that just a monster!? What? It's not a combat pet? No, no way! If a complaint comes in, are you going to take responsibility!?’
That damn responsibility nonsense.
Regulations on magical creatures were especially strict in South Korea, so the materials available to me as the owner of a private magical creature pet shop were extremely limited.
Naturally, they were right. If this technology were misused, it could cause tremendous damage.
So I had to create a harmless creature that was weak enough for even children to subdue and possessed no means of attack whatsoever…
In the end, the only material I could use was something like a slime.
Since I used a nucleus made by processing a lowest-grade magic core, its lifespan was also extremely short.
Sadly, Jellykko had at most one month left to live.
Jellykko's designed lifespan, based on its use of a lowest-grade magic core, was four months.
It had been three months since I brought him into this world, so he could be considered elderly.
His activity had noticeably decreased recently, so he would soon stop performing his vital functions.
“Pant, pant….”
I took him out of the cage.
“Mister?”
“He won't sell anyway, so I think I'll just take him home.”
Even if it was difficult for him to find a good owner and live a happy life, I should at least let him spend the rest of his life freely as his creator.
…Even if this slime had no soul.
I brought Jellykko home from the cage.
*
“Pant, pant….”
Happy, born with spots because of my inept crafting skills.
Jia gave him his name. Apparently, naming him Spot wasn't allowed.
Jellykko should have been born a solid color, but my mistake caused large and small spots to cover his body. Because of that, customers never chose him, partly because he looked unclean.
“Pant, pant….”
“Sigh… Yeah, let's take good care of each other.”
For a month, I took him on frequent walks and fed him fairly high-quality food and treats, though I wasn't sure whether I had properly implemented his sense of taste.
I think I played with him and doted on him plenty, in my own way.
And one month later.
At last, the day arrived. Happy was four months old—the point at which his designed lifespan reached its limit.
“Huff… huff….”
His breathing was faint and irregular. It felt like the flickering light of a flashlight with a dying battery.
“You probably won't make it through today… I'm sorry. I wasn't capable enough….”
I rubbed Happy's back as his breathing gradually grew shallower.
I had made this jelly dog to earn a living, after all…
But the pet I wanted to create was something that could become a little more a part of life… a companion for life, so to speak.
Not a life that faded away so pointlessly.
“Huff… huff….”
I fell asleep with Happy beside me, unwilling to leave my side.
That night.
Beyond a narrow path shrouded in fog, I heard a voice.
[ Where are you going, you stupid dog! This isn't a walking trail! ]
[ Pant, pant…! ]
[ What…? What do you mean? There's a jelly dog here? Whaaat…!!! What the…!! It's real!! ]
‘…What is this…?’
A black, bipedal Jellykko was walking a blue Jellykko by its leash. The black one even spoke human language.
I quickly realized from the bizarre scene that this was a dream.
‘……Ah, this is a stupid dog dream.’
Was the shock of Happy's vital functions stopping more severe than I thought…?
Was the black one some kind of grim reaper for Jellykkos?
‘……What a strange dream.’
[ A dream? Well, yes, I suppose it is. This is the boundary, after all. More importantly, human, are you the owner of this jelly dog? ]
The jelly grim reaper pointed at Happy, who had appeared there at some point.
“Pant, pant….”
I didn't find the strange sensation unusual, feeling my awareness dull in the way it did in dreams, and answered the voice.
‘…I'm the one who made that puppy.’
[ Hooh… I see? You must have some talent if you can create jelly dogs. I'm intrigued, so let me ask you this: will you continue creating beings like this in the future? ]
……I couldn't answer the grim reaper's question right away.
‘No, I'm done… I don't plan to do it anymore. My abilities are lacking, and I can't take responsibility, so I don't know what I'm doing making magical creatures….’
A failing shop. Magic beasts that were scheduled to be discarded because they couldn't find owners.
‘Looking back on it now, it was the worst… The only comfort was that these creatures had no souls.’
[ Hmm? They do have souls. That's why we came. And this jelly dog is grateful to you. You must have been a good owner. ]
“Pant, pant….”
…What…?
Before I could even think about what that meant, the blue Jellykko circled around me, sniffing.
[ Pant, pant…. ]
[ It seems this blue, stupid dog has taken a liking to you. You're very lucky. It says it's willing to intervene, even at a cost to causality. ]
‘What are you talking about?’
[ There's no time left, human. This is my gift, so take it. It will awaken your talent. I'll come collect this jelly dog's soul next time. ]
The black Jellykko pulled a gray mass of living tissue from somewhere and threw it at me.
At that moment
Ding-!
【 Acquired Evolution Lord's Biological Database #001. 】
[ A large amount of experimental data has been acquired. ]
[ Trait rank increases! ]
[ Trait rank increases! ]
[ Trait rank increases! ]
[ Trait rank increases! ]
[ Trait rank increases! ]
……
【 Magic Beast Alchemist 》 E → EX-Rank 】
[ Some functions have been locked due to excessive alteration of causality. ]
*
Chirp, chirp…
I woke up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat.
“Wow… It really was a weird dream. Huh…?”
As I came to my senses, I felt something licking my face.
Lick, lick-
When I turned my head, I saw a spotted slime puppy licking my face.
“Pant, pant….”
“Huh… Happy?”
The magic core's lifespan had clearly run out, so his vital functions should have stopped…?
Moreover, Happy's activity, which had been flickering like a dying candle, seemed scarcely different from when he had just been born.
…Could it be…?
I desperately tried to recall the fading contents of my dream.
The black jelly grim reaper and the blue Jellykko.
And finally, the system messages I remembered.
If that dream had been real, the beings I saw in it were undoubtedly transcendent entities.
“No… Could the god of jelly dogs really have visited?”
Thinking that was impossible, I opened my status window.
【 Magic Beast Alchemist 》 E……
“…Yeah, just as expected, it's still E-Rank─”
【 Magic Beast Alchemist 》 EX-Rank 】
“Huh…?”
I doubted my own eyes as I stared at the information window that appeared.
What was the highest rank of a Hunter trait again…?