The day of the demonstration.
Gidan grumbled, “I should’ve just hidden my strength like Serhi too,” but true to his nature of never shirking work he was told to do, he flashed a bright smile in the public training ground packed with cameras.
Dignitaries from countries around the world were seated at the demonstration.
What was unexpected was the participation of the Chinese side.
Korea had brazenly prepared seats for Chinese dignitaries at this demonstration.
As if telling them to see with their own eyes that a technician they had spent a fortune to poach meant nothing to them.
Seated beside China’s Minister of National Defense, Isoyeon thoroughly tracked Gidan’s every move with her eyes, wearing special binoculars to measure the railgun’s speed.
‘There must be some trick.’
It was absurd to think that such a small unmanned drone contained the technology to reach Mach 7!
Her pride would not allow it.
She knew how outstanding an ability user the maker known by the ridiculous nickname “Jjapsso” was.
‘Still, this is too much. It’s not some overtechnology you’d only see in a movie (transcendent technology that the era’s technical level could never hope to match).’
At best, it was probably just a slightly faster auxiliary weapon.
But the tension gripping her heart and the cold sweat that kept flowing were already beyond her control.
[“Don’t be nervous. You were the cornerstone of Korean technology. Have confidence.”]
Just then, the Minister of National Defense tapped Isoyeon’s shoulder and spoke.
It was a rather benevolent voice, yet the implied meaning was nothing short of subtle pressure.
‘Damn it!’
Isoyeon bit her lip.
The moment Gidan demonstrated the new weapon’s speed and power, it would be proven that it was nothing special after all, and if so, then surely—
‘I’ll be cast aside.’
Right then, a holographic blueprint shot up.
Soon after, a massive bio-printer began creating a biological structure imitating an S-Rank monster.
The figure of a monster standing tall like a tower.
With a light motion, Gidan casually sliced it apart.
Then, the chick drone identified the target and moved.
Whoop!
The sight of it drawing electricity from the magic stone as if gathering ki looked almost endearing.
Seeing this, Isoyeon smiled, seemingly a bit relieved.
‘No matter how I look at it, it’s too small.’
A toy the size of a fist couldn’t possibly generate an enormous amount of electrical energy.
‘Yes, it’s physically impossible.’
But.
Shhhheeeeaaaaack—
As an electromagnetically induced projectile passed by at a speed impossible to track with the naked eye, the special binoculars spat out an analysis result.
[Mach 7]
Mach 7, seven times the speed of sound.
The bullet fired by the fluffy, cute chick toy—soft as a dandelion seed—traveled 2,381 meters per second.
It was unmistakably a “railgun.”
It felt like a corner of her chest was growing cold.
Shattered pride. An insurmountably vast gap. An uncertain future.
Various facts and emotions surged in all at once like a torrent.
“……I’m sorry, but I think I need to use the restroom, so I’ll step away for a moment.”
Isoyeon spoke to the interpreter and hurriedly left her seat. She had to prepare a new plan before she was cast aside.
*
The state guesthouse after successfully concluding the demonstration.
A single toy drone that had popped out of nowhere became a new weapon that defied common sense, leaving a strong impression on every nation.
The United States and Japan, which had led the hegemony of dungeon industry technology, discussed matters seriously with their delegations at the afterparty with uneasy expressions.
Mixed within were praise for the genius who had appeared suddenly and worry for their own countries.
With the world debut of the genius technician, the Republic of Korea had risen tall as a hegemonic nation chasing after the United States and Japan.
“They are asking what they should call the maker of the railgun.”
Gidan answered the interpreter with a smile.
“Just call him ‘Jjapsso.’”
*
And the person in question sat in the center of the living room, hands tightly clasped with a pious heart.
[Grade evaluation in progress…… 99%]
It was now time for the grade evaluation of the Mephisto Series Prototype MK.1 to be completed.
Mephisto and Vellark sat on either side of Geuru, who was kneeling, watching what he was doing.
“……I’ll at least get an A, right?”
With his face flushed from fervent expectation, he asked—
“Myuu……”
“Peep!”
Vellark shook its head, and Mephisto spread its wings wide and nodded.
“…….”
Geuru looked at Vellark, which was sneakily avoiding his gaze, and pouted.
To crush a child’s dream like this. What a mean hamster.
“Bey, no more zombies now.”
Vellark trembled its front paws with a shocked expression.
“Myut!”
“Hmph!”
Mephisto climbed on top of Geuru’s head, settled into place, and cackled while covering its mouth with its wing.
“Peep peep peep!”
“Myuuuk!” (That sly bastard!)
At that moment, a window announcing the evaluation’s completion appeared along with the results window.
Creativity: S
Destructive Power: A
Software Logic: C
Crafting Proficiency: D
Operational Efficiency: F
Overall Grade: B
‘B?!’
Where did the A go?
It was too great a shock.
‘Truth is, Geuru, truth is!’
He had even been hoping for an S!
So this was the bitter taste of the world……
‘Bitter!’
Geuru swallowed his spinning tears and let the corners of his mouth droop.
Sniff!
Just as he sniffled his nose in utter disappointment, Mephisto and Vellark approached and patted him.
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Rewards are being modified by an (Unknown Title).]
[Reward: Would you like to download the application?]
When he pressed yes, boing! An app appeared on his phone.
“Ooh!”
When he turned on the app, an unfinished teddy bear wearing cat clothes greeted him.
[Hello! I’m Dami, the Crafting App Helper! Press me!]
When he poked the teddy bear, a speech bubble popped up. It contained a simple explanation of how to use the app.
[Geuru, since it’s your first time, Dami will explain a few things! It’s set to a child’s eye level, so it won’t be hard to use! Listen carefully~]
Wings popped out of Dami with a poof and moved to the upper left.
[First, the thermometer on the main screen is our little friend’s crafting proficiency!]
Geuru recalled the name the universe had taught him.
“Mercury thermometer!”
But the thermometer on the app was only about 10 degrees at most.
‘That’s too low.’
Well, Geuru was still five years old, and hadn’t made that many items.
‘I haven’t even fixed Vellark as a hamster yet.’
[If you raise your crafting proficiency, your skill level will also increase and you’ll be able to use more functions, so let’s raise it slowly!]
“Unh!”
[And try pressing here!]
What Dami pointed to was a magnifying glass icon labeled “Encyclopedia.”
When he pressed the magnifying glass icon, a scanning camera appeared.
[Let’s scan the item you made this time!]
When he captured the chick drone with the phone camera, a 3D blueprint appeared on the app screen that had detected the item.
‘Amazing!’
The blueprint could switch to an exploded assembly diagram, and it was possible to separate and view parts individually; parts that could be ranked up were highlighted with arrows.
Eye (😐)→You can increase sensitivity by replacing the eye with a higher-grade part.
Engine (☠)→You can increase efficiency by replacing the magic stone with a higher-grade part.
[Press the highlighted parts to check the info! If you use the materials written below, you can modify the lacking parts and upgrade the grade!]
When he checked the information, materials were listed by grade.
“Oohaaah!”
His heart pounded.
With this app alone, ranking up crafted items would become much easier.
All crafted items!
‘Even the Excellent Syrup©! And the Mephisto Series Prototype MK.1 (B)!’
Then what did he have to do now?
“Shopping!”
If he bought materials and upgraded!
‘An A-Grade—no, maybe even S-Grade crafting could be possible!’
A higher-grade item = more praise!
Great! Geuru stood up vigorously, his eyes blazing.
More praise would bring more filial piety points.
‘I’ll copy the items and sell them at the filial piety factory!’
Then Geuru could become a rich kid again!
This was the eco-friendly rich kid circular economy plan!
“The day has come.”
Geuru pulled out a quokka wallet from his bag.
The wallet was extremely thick.
Because he had been paid handsomely for renting out his items for this Ministry of National Defense demonstration!
“After such a long darkness……”
Now was the time to escape the darkness.
It was time to open the sealed wallet of a rich kid!
Geuru covered one eye and giggled.
Mephisto, sitting on his head, also covered one eye with its wing and snickered slyly, peeping away.
Vellark clicked its tongue at the two fools.