Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 90

90. Upgrade (1)

“What are you checking?”

Rather than explain, Do Won-kyung dragged Hyun-woo away, her expression suggesting she’d rather stick another needle in him.

Hyun-woo was also curious about Do Won-kyung’s unusually docile behavior.

They arrived in front of a huge iron door.

“Is it here?”

“No, that’s a refrigerator.”

Do Won-kyung answered without even looking at Hyun-woo. It was too big to be a simple refrigerator, but she didn’t seem inclined to explain. Instead, she picked up a strange metal object lying haphazardly on the desk.

“What is this?”

“Didn’t Yoo-min come?”

Instead of answering, Do Won-kyung asked a nonsensical question. When Hyun-woo shook his head, she looked disappointed. “That’s too bad. If she had come, she might have explained it better than I can. She’s better at explaining things to clueless idiots than I am. This is called a ‘Muyeol-powered Human-Synchronized Enhanced Exoskeleton.’ To put it simply, it’s a device that artificially adjusts the Cochet threads [a hypothetical network of energy pathways] distributed throughout the body to create a Do Won-kyung effect on an object using a Muyeol power source, or what you guys call mana…”

“Wait a minute. Do Won-kyung effect?”

“I named it after myself because I discovered and organized it. But if you interrupt me one more time…”

“I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you’re saying, so can you just explain what you’re going to do with it?”

“Good. I think that’s better too. That’s what I wanted to do anyway.”

Do Won-kyung, along with her research assistant Lee Si-won, began to fit the enhanced exoskeleton onto Hyun-woo’s body.

After fixing the exoskeleton in various places, it looked quite plausible, unlike the initial impression, but Hyun-woo felt uncomfortable.

“Okay. Now inject mana.”

“Pardon?”

“I said inject mana.”

“No, how do I do that?”

Hyun-woo looked at Do Won-kyung, dumbfounded.

With items, mana is automatically drawn out when you intend to use them or meet the required conditions, and the effect activates automatically. But this wasn’t an item.

What Do Won-kyung was saying was like telling him to fly by exerting force. She frowned and urged him.

“Show your will to inject mana!”

Hyun-woo felt uneasy, but he did as he was told.

‘Inject mana.’

At that moment, he felt mana draining from his body.

Hyun-woo was startled and shrugged. Then he felt his body moving in exaggerated motions.

LED lights lit up all over the exoskeleton, and Do Won-kyung and the other doctors cheered.

It seemed they had succeeded in something.

Hyun-woo was also amazed. He felt his strength increase slightly—maybe about 5% in numerical terms.

It wasn’t an item, but it naturally drew out mana and enhanced his stats. It was quite amazing.

‘But this… is a bit much.’

The problem was the enormous mana consumption.

It was consuming several times as much mana as when Hyun-woo activated Battle Helper.

He could feel most of that mana leaking out.

But the strength was only enhanced by about 5%, so the efficiency was terrible.

Moreover, the joints were unnatural and cumbersome, making it easy to break if he made a mistake.

It wasn’t something he could use. Hyun-woo cut off the mana supply.

When the LEDs went out, Do Won-kyung frowned.

“What, is your mana already depleted?”

“I guess you knew it consumes a lot of mana?”

“Of course. That’s why I asked you, not someone else.”

If it were someone else, they would have been turned into a mummy from mana depletion.

He wouldn’t have been able to withstand it if his mana capacity hadn’t been expanded.

“No, shouldn’t you have warned me about that before handing it over?”

“I calculated that you could handle it, you brat. I’ve been working on this for years to make just one of these. Prototypes were already out a long time ago. It was my long-cherished plan, but no one could handle it, so I couldn’t test it. Only ability users can control mana.”

“There are many high-level hunters, right?”

“But there aren’t any hunters as high-grade as you. The mana of high-grade hunters is also denser, so skill efficiency is doubled. It’s not just that high-grade hunters have a high level limit. According to calculations, even a 4-star hunter would be cutting it close.”

“What are you going to use such a thing for? For a quick suicide?”

“I told you, it’s still a prototype. All that’s left is to increase efficiency. Even though it hasn’t been itemized, I’ve confirmed that it’s possible with an ability user’s body, so considering field tests… it’ll take at least two years.”

Hyun-woo was puzzled by the longer-than-expected time.

“That long?”

“It’s not something made for guys like you to use; it’s something that allows ordinary people to exert the same power as ability users. My goal is to allow ordinary people to exert at least 2-star abilities once the moss crystal battery research is commercialized. But right now, the mana consumption is too severe.”

To make ordinary people exert the same power as ability users. Hyun-woo liked the idea, but he was also wary.

And he could see what Do Won-kyung was aiming for. She was planning a revolution that could raise the abilities of not only hunters but all of humanity.

Although it was still a prototype, it had already succeeded in enhancing all stats using mana as a power source.

Even though the exoskeleton itself was factory-made, it had item properties, so it was a promising item if sufficiently improved.

‘It would be good to attach something like the gun that Priest Johann used before.’

If mass production is achieved, the hunterization of all mankind is possible. The monopoly system of ability users will collapse.

‘But is it possible?’

Do Won-kyung had been doing this research before she met him.

But the future he saw, Difficulty: Hell, had arrived, and there was no trace of her leaving anything behind.

‘Either she failed to improve it, or the difficulty increased faster than the improvement.’

Hyun-woo looked at the workbench where the enhanced exoskeleton was placed. Countless materials, moss crystals, and tools were scattered around.

A large blueprint hung on one wall.

Hyun-woo began to scan the blueprint carefully.

He didn’t know anything about tools or designs, but the moment he looked at the blueprint, the structure of the enhanced exoskeleton was captured in his head as if by magic.

“I’ll use the workbench for a second.”

***

Hyun-woo immediately approached the workbench and took off the enhanced exoskeleton.

The enhanced exoskeleton crumbled under Hyun-woo’s ‘disassembly.’ The researchers all gaped. Do Won-kyung’s mouth was the widest.

Before she could even scream, she had a steel pipe in her hand.

While Lee Si-won stopped Do Won-kyung from hitting Kang Hyun-woo’s head, Hyun-woo took a few moss crystals and activated ‘Crafting.’

Hyun-woo’s hands began to reassemble the enhanced exoskeleton in an instant.

Moss crystals melted into every drive unit, and ‘Smelting’ was activated where welding was needed, connecting them smoothly. In less than 3 minutes, Hyun-woo had completely reassembled the enhanced exoskeleton.

It became a much smoother and more efficient form.

[Great Success!]

[Acquired a shabby enhanced exoskeleton (Common).]

[Shabby Enhanced Exoskeleton (Common)]

[Physical Defense: Medium, Magic Defense: Low, Mana Consumption: Low]

[Special Ability: Increases Strength by 13% while continuously consuming the wearer’s mana.]

It was a rare great success, but it was a common grade. Seeing that the stats weren’t bad, it seemed the benefits of the great success were focused on the stats.

Moreover, the fact that it had a special ability even though it was a common grade was unique. It seemed to be due to the special nature of the enhanced exoskeleton.

“Ah, it’s been itemized?”

Lee Si-won, who approached hesitantly, touched the enhanced exoskeleton and muttered in disbelief. Seeing that she recognized it right away, she must have been an ability user.

After all, that was a crafting skill to anyone who saw it.

“I thought I’d try it since you said you were going to itemize it with crafting.”

Do Won-kyung dropped the steel pipe she was holding and hesitantly touched the enhanced exoskeleton that Hyun-woo had created.

She opened her mouth in a trembling voice.

“How is the performance?”

Hyun-woo explained the performance roughly. Since he had to say it in general terms of high, medium, and low, a detailed explanation was impossible.

To know the detailed specs, he would have to go through several tests. But the enhanced exoskeleton that Hyun-woo made had reduced mana consumption to the point where intermediate-level ability users could wear it.

It was no exaggeration to say that Do Won-kyung’s goal had already been achieved.

“Kang Hyun-woo, you…”

Come to think of it, Do Won-kyung said she had been working on this for years.

But Hyun-woo disassembled and reassembled it in just 3 minutes, and the performance was boosted like crazy.

‘Was I too much?’

Do Won-kyung opened her mouth in a trembling voice.

“You lovely monster! Where did such a lucky guy suddenly pop out from!”

Do Won-kyung rushed at Hyun-woo as if to kiss him. When Hyun-woo ran away in horror, Do Won-kyung hugged Lee Si-won and danced and cheered.

‘That’s a relief.’

Do Won-kyung is also the same type as him. Even if years of effort go into the trash, it’s okay as long as the result is good.

Then Do Won-kyung stopped abruptly and shouted at Hyun-woo.

“Ah, no. Kang Hyun-woo, you punk! I told you not to make it into an item! You!”

“Ah, did I make a mistake?”

“No, I needed an itemized sample too! And you’ve increased the mana efficiency so much that the research period will be greatly reduced…!”

What Hyun-woo did was deny Do Won-kyung’s research from the ground up, but at the same time, it raised Do Won-kyung’s research by three or four stages at once.

Do Won-kyung had a face that didn’t know whether to be angry or happy about this situation.

“I already have the design, so I can make it again soon. If I only focus on mana efficiency and replicate it…”

“Who doesn’t know that! Kang Hyun-woo, you punk! Don’t think you made this alone because you’re so good! Huh! You should have told me you had a crafting skill! You need something to be a blueprint to use a crafting skill, right? So 99% of my effort went into what you made, got it!? Especially Lee Si-won, you, don’t think I’m useless? I’m a very great person, okay?”

“O-of course. Director Do Won-kyung. This is all thanks to Director Do Won-kyung being smart!”

‘Somehow it feels like she’s not praising me but comforting a child, is that okay? This.’

But it was an item that couldn’t have been made without Do Won-kyung. Hyun-woo had no intention of belittling her value. But Hyun-woo thought the cheering was too early.

‘If this is the level of a common grade, I’d faint if I got a rare or legendary grade with high-purity moss crystals or crystal stones in Difficulty: Hell.’

The item that Do Won-kyung created was a development comparable to the invention of the gun because it’s an item that improves overall stats without any special training.

But the problem is that only Hyun-woo can make this efficient item right now, and it’s questionable whether other crafting skill holders can make it.

‘Well, there’s no need to spoil the mood.’

Anyway, Hyun-woo got the necessary design. Now, if he secures the materials and moss crystals in Difficulty: Hell, it will be easier to replicate the same item.

Hyun-woo grinned. The work of securing useful soldiers was speeding up.

“Now, then, Director Do Won-kyung.”

Hyun-woo felt sorry for pouring cold water on those who were happy, but he thought they had been happy enough and opened his mouth.

“Shall we talk about the cost of my ‘effort’ that went into this amazing item for a moment?”

***

Hyun-woo’s demands were not harsh.

It was simply to be the first to acquire a prototype of the developed enhanced exoskeleton and to share the patent rights.

Both were conditions that were difficult for the Sejong Research Institute, which conducts research with taxes, to accept.

But Do Won-kyung, who habitually commits illegal acts for the sake of her goals, eventually accepted, even while getting angry. Cooperation with Hyun-woo was more important than that.

‘The development progress will be slower than I thought.’

Do Won-kyung had already tried to replicate it through another ability user with development skills, but the result was significantly inferior in performance to what Hyun-woo had created.

Do Won-kyung was disappointed, but she had succeeded in lowering mana consumption, so upgrading the performance was only a matter of time.

‘The key is when will they catch up.’

Before that, Hyun-woo had to have items with much more overwhelming performance than the enhanced exoskeleton that Do Won-kyung would improve overall.

He couldn’t lose the initiative in any situation. Hyun-woo has no factory or research institute.

But fortunately for Hyun-woo, there was Difficulty: Hell and his body.