Chapter 13
“Heh heh… A trip to Germany….”
An unexpected opportunity for a trip to Europe had come my way.
An overseas trip, something I’d never thought I’d have in my life!
And the trip was free…!!
These days, I did earn a lot more than I used to, but traveling on someone else’s dime was sweet, wasn’t it?
Germany, here I come…!
“Bayern Munich! German sausages!! German beer!!!”
“Pant, pant….”
Yeah, the truth was, I didn’t know much about Germany.
For someone whose only overseas trip had been to Japan, this was about the extent of my knowledge.
“……I should research the tourist attractions before I leave.”
“Pant, pant….”
But before that, hold on.
Before entering the competition that would begin in about ten days… there was something I needed to do.
‘I’ll bring it up during today’s regular report.’
I explained the matter to Hunter Yeon Harim.
[ Yeon Harim ] : Whaaat!? All of a sudden? No… Um… It’s a little unexpected, but if it’s for the license… Considering your future activities, it’s right to get it while you have the chance…
[ Me ] : I’m sorry. The competition schedule is about a week in total, so I think I’ll have to close the shop for around ten days.
[ Yeon Harim ] : No… If those are the conditions for issuing the license, it can’t be helped… Just in case, I’ll ask the government or the Alchemists’ Association whether they can ease the regulations for individuals. I don’t have high hopes, though…
That settled that for now…
This time, at Germany’s massive convention center, Messe Frankfurt, the <7th Magitech Technology Expo> would be held.
I would be participating in a competition for Magic Beast Alchemists there.
The competition had three divisions.
They were the three abilities that could be called the fundamentals of a Magic Beast Alchemist.
Design, cultivation, and enhancement.
Each division allowed individual or team entries, and of course, one person could enter all three divisions.
To briefly explain each division.
‘Design’ meant designing a magic beast that met the given conditions within the allotted time.
There were two broad approaches.
Either optimize a blueprint provided by the competition organizers, or create an entirely new design from scratch and use it to create a new magic beast.
Of course, the latter was highly difficult, so most contestants apparently aimed for the former. Efficiently modifying an existing design was certainly an impressive ability for a Magic Beast Alchemist, too.
Naturally, I intended to design a new magic beast. I had to aim for a prize, after all.
Next was ‘cultivation.’
Laypeople probably thought something like this.
‘Isn’t this just something the machine does for you?’
However, cultivation was surprisingly delicate work.
An incubator, the machine used to cultivate magic beasts, merely raised a ‘seed,’ the magic beast’s initial form, into an adult. It didn’t create the seed itself.
Then how was the seed made?
Of course, it was made using a Magic Beast Alchemist’s【 Cultivation 】ability.
Essences extracted from monster materials were synthesized and arranged around the magic core that would become the creature’s nucleus, with components added and removed and the result optimized until the finished seed was produced.
This required extremely delicate manipulation of magical energy, so it was by no means ordinary work.
Of course, for me, with my EX-Rank trait, this wasn’t particularly difficult either. It was a field I had been fairly confident in even before Awakening, to begin with.
Finally, there was ‘enhancement’… but I’m sure you can more or less guess what that involved without an explanation.
I simply had to perform the work I’d done on the Rune Turtle on the magic beast provided by the competition.
Anyway… Although this competition always drew concern because of the ethical issues involved in tampering with living creatures, the magic beast industry was already firmly established, and magic beast companies that donated enormous sums every year sponsored the event, so everyone generally glossed over the ethical concerns.
I had entered all three divisions, and with Dongbaek Guild’s help, most of the administrative procedures proceeded smoothly.
There was also something like a national quota system, so as the only Korean participant, I skipped the preliminaries and advanced straight to the main event.
Of course, there was a basic skills verification, but when I showed them the results of my greatest creation, Jellykko, I passed that as well.
Thus, I spent the time before departure making pets for Moonshadow Guild’s members.
*
Three days before departure
[ Yeon Harim ] : Mr. Yoo Hyun. Please take some of our guild members along as escorts, too. I feel uneasy leaving your protection to Dongbaek alone, you know? I’d love to come with you myself, but I’ve been so busy lately…
“There’s no reason to turn down more bodyguards.”
Hunter Yeon Harim seemed to have been leading incredibly hectic days lately.
With her popularity on the rise, she seemed to be making as many public appearances as possible.
They say you should row while the tide is in, I suppose.
Anyway, two members from Dongbaek and two from Moonshadow were assigned to join my trip.
“Hmm… So the travel party is five people and… one animal, I guess.”
“Pant, pant….”
Of course, I was taking Happy to the competition, too.
[ Name 》 Happy ]
[ Model Name 》 Jellykko MK - 1]
[ Magic Core Rank 》 None ]
[ Lifespan 》 Permanent (Under Contract) ]
Taking this Jelly Dog to an event packed with Magic Beast Alchemists could cause a major incident…
In fact, Happy’s status window… existed in two versions…!
[ Name 》 Happy ]
[ Model Name 》 Jellykko MK - 1]
[ Magic Core Rank 》 None → F+ (Disguised) ]
[ Lifespan 》 Permanent (Under Contract) → 1 year 6 months (Disguised) ]
Astonishingly, Happy’s status window was naturally disguised like that when viewed from the outside.
I suppose this was the Jelly Dog God’s handiwork, as expected.
Anyway, thanks to that, there was no problem with taking Happy along.
F-Rank magic beasts were treated as household pets overseas, too.
Besides, magic beast pets were trendy these days, weren’t they?
Airlines also accommodated Hunters, so bringing a magic beast pet aboard an aircraft wasn’t particularly difficult or procedurally burdensome.
And there was one more thing I hadn’t expected.
I had a German acquaintance, of all things!
Back when I was making Hunter Yeon Harim’s pet.
Ever since I’d asked Victor Kreutz questions about the Ether Cat, we had continued exchanging messages.
He was a bit eccentric, but extremely capable, so we occasionally exchanged opinions when we had time and had grown quite close.
[ YH1234 ] : I’m participating in a competition in your country this time. Are you entering, too?
Since he was a Magic Beast Alchemist, I asked just in case whether he was entering his country’s competition, but…
[ VictorKreutz ] : What? Is that true? That’s wonderful. As it happens, I’m going, too, as a judge. We’ll finally get to meet face-to-face soon. I’m looking forward to it.
[ YH1234 ] : ……A judge…? Hey, you’re not planning to hold a grudge because I gave you some pointers last time, are you…?
[ VictorKreutz ] : Hahaha! I’ll judge fairly, so don’t worry, my friend.
He was participating as a judge, no less.
Creating a special magic beast like the Ether Cat was extraordinary enough, but apparently he was a much bigger shot than I’d thought.
“……Hmm, but there isn’t any famous Magic Beast Alchemist named Victor Kreutz….”
Could he be a reclusive genius?
*
A private research institute in Stuttgart, Germany.
“Clara, tell the competition organizers that I’ll be participating as a judge in this year’s Magic Beast Production Competition.”
A white-coated girl with dark circles under her eyes abruptly informed her secretary and housekeeper.
“What…? The competition is only a few days away!! Why are you only telling me now!!! No, more importantly, didn’t you say you hated making public appearances? What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“I’m going to meet my close friend. He’s Korea’s greatest intellect. He’s almost my equal, you know. Heh heh….”
“Louise… That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say something like that.”
The woman called Louise twirled a lock of her curly, light-green hair around her finger as she spoke.
“Sigh… Clara. Call me Victor Kreutz, not Louise.”
“……Good grief.”
Louise von Berg.
She was Germany’s genius Magic Beast Alchemist and, despite being in her early twenties, an unfortunate soul suffering from a severe case of chuunibyou.
*
And finally, the day of the competition arrived.
The ‘Magic Beast Production Competition’ of Germany’s <7th Magitech Technology Expo>.
Although the competition was being held in Europe, there were magic beast pet enthusiasts in Korea who took an interest in it, too.
In a minor gallery created by a small group of users rather than the main gallery, discussions about the competition were already underway.
【 Magic Beast Pet Minor Gallery 】
- [ Free ] The competition’s about to start!!
- [ Free ] I’m looking forward to it… I wish Korea held something like this, too…
- [ Free ] For real… It’s such a shame that the pet industry was used as a political wedge issue…
- [ Free ] Oh, they’re introducing the contestants.
- [ Free ] They say there were 1,000 contestants in the preliminaries. Are these odds for real? lol
- [ Free ] The pet market suddenly took off recently, I guess. The scale really is unprecedented;;
- [ Free ] Huh? There’s a Korean contestant, too??
- [ Free ] Wait… Isn’t that the owner who developed the Jellykko model?
- [ Free ] Yep, it is. That young owner entered the competition lol
- [ Free ] Hmm, the contestants this time are no joke. Will he be okay? Placing will be difficult, right?
- [ Free ] Still, I’m Korean, so I’m rooting for the boss.
- [ Free ] Kya lol, I was kind of looking forward to it once a Korean entered. Apparently overseas companies treat Korean Magic Beast Alchemists as premium talent, surprisingly. Could he actually place!?!
- [ Free ] Koreans really are pretty talented, yeah. If it weren’t for magic beast regulations, we could’ve become a leading pet nation, too.
- [ Free ] Don’t overdo the national pride lol We’re not that good lol
- [ Free ] Realistically, placing is out of the question. He’s guaranteed to rank near the bottom.
- [ Free ] Teams sponsored by corporations entered, too, but the owner of a hole-in-the-wall pet shop is going to place? Fucking lol Go write a novel.
- [ Free ] Shh… The competition’s starting.
The gallery’s reaction suggested that no one had particularly high expectations for Yoo Hyun, the owner of a private pet shop.
Given the enormous difference in their caliber, it was only natural that they would react that way.
Most of the contestants in this magic beast production competition were either corporate-sponsored or had some degree of renown, whereas Yoo Hyun was just an ordinary contestant given the trappings of a national representative.
Even if the contestants weren’t among the absolute top-tier Magic Beast Alchemists, compared with them, Yoo Hyun’s career was practically that of an ordinary person. For him to place was as absurd as a dragon rising from a tiny stream.
However, as the competition proceeded, the situation gradually began to unfold in an entirely unexpected direction.
- [ Free ] It’s finally the boss’s turn lol
- [ Free ] I just hope he doesn’t embarrass us.
- [ Free ] …But it feels like the judging is taking a while, doesn’t it? The judges were just glancing over the designs and moving on until now….
- [ Free ] ……Huh? What’s going on? Why are the judges acting like that??
- [ Free ] …Um;; It looks like they don’t understand the design?
- [ Free ] Ah lol, I guess he chose the difficult route, then ended up with an absurd design and bombed. What a national embarrassment…
- [ Free ] No no, if that were the case, he’d have been eliminated immediately. How experienced do you think the judges are?;; They’ve been looking at just that one for five minutes now.
- [ Free ] Wait;;; Those eyes look like a miner’s after striking gold. Why do they look like they’re practically drooling? What the hell is going on?????