TRPM 423

chapter 423

The next day.

Sophia, Yeon Mirae, and I, having purchased the materials needed to make the detector, headed to the clearing on the back mountain that we always used for training.

And someone had followed us…

“Oh my, this is heavy.”

For some reason, Maurice Reynolds, the leader of Albatross PMC, had shown up, volunteering himself as a pack mule.

‘Why he’s even in Korea is a mystery, but why on earth did he come today asking to watch us make a detector…’

Albatross PMC, outwardly, mainly operates in the Pan-Pacific Trench, taking on sea monsters, but in reality, it’s practically a direct subordinate unit under Richard, the Chairman of the Global Awakened Association.

Why such a person is in Korea…

“Aren’t you busy these days?”

“I’ve been busy following the chairman, dismantling the subordinate organizations on Earth one by one, but I’m fine now. So I came to Korea on vacation.”

Vacation, huh.

If it’s a vacation, he should be resting. So why volunteer as a pack mule for us? Sophia seemed to have the same thought and asked him:

“If it’s vacation, why aren’t you resting…?”

“I am resting. I planned to rest for about a month in safe Korea, and this is my second week. But yesterday, all the commotion everywhere made it impossible to relax.”

Ah… that makes sense. After all, sudden events, including a hostage situation, broke out in supposedly safe Korea, so it would be hard to rest in peace.

“I’ve heard incidents haven’t stopped even today… I judged that the safest place in this situation would be near the Artist.”

So that’s why he came to me. That seems reasonable.

‘Still, he doesn’t really need to carry the materials himself.’

Although we were delayed because Maurice had already started gathering the materials in front of my house, there was actually a way to put them into an extra-dimensional space and move them. He just got too enthusiastic to mention it.

Thinking this, we arrived at the clearing, and Maurice said:

“Oh, so this is the training ground I’ve heard about.”

Yeon Mirae, Sophia, and I come here for training on weekends if we have nothing else to do.

And since it’s not exactly a secret, the clearing’s existence was known, though outsiders might call it the “training ground.”

“Shall we put them down here?”

“Wait a moment.”

I stopped Maurice from putting the materials on the dirt and instead pulled out a fairly large mat from the extra-dimensional space.

No need to sit on the dirt to make the detector.

Seeing me lay out the mat, perceptive Yeon Mirae and Sophia grabbed the corners and stretched it as wide as possible.

Maurice then set the materials on the mat, which covered about half the clearing.

“Shall we start assembling?”

“Please. I’ll be tweaking the software a bit.”

The detector we’re making today relies more on the software than the hardware. The hardware can be standard, off-the-shelf detector components.

“So, what’s the detection range?”

“One kilometer radius.”

“That’s narrow.”

“That was the limit for what we could get in a day.”

This is just an experimental model, so we didn’t want to spend too much money. Though even this 1 km radius kit is expensive for an ordinary individual.

“…Master,”

“Hm?”

“Were you always this good with computers?”

I don’t recall being noted for that.

“I can handle software like any ordinary high schooler… actually, academy cadet level. Just the basics you learn in an academy liberal studies class.”

As Yeon Mirae pointed out, my programming skills aren’t great. I can handle modern communication principles, my internal energy, and hacking via spells, but creating the detector software from scratch is beyond me.

“Then why are you so confident at the laptop?”

“Hm? Oh, this?”

I showed Yeon Mirae the laptop screen. Not only she but also Sophia and Maurice leaned in, curious, to see it.

“Hmm…”

Yeon Mirae seemed confused about what was on the screen. She doesn’t program, after all. If she had taken a programming course in the academy’s liberal studies classes, she might understand, but apparently not.

“Oh, you plan to use open-source software.”

“Right, that way I don’t have to code a new program.”

Sophia and Maurice seemed to understand from just a glance. Open source is software anyone can freely use. The software I downloaded is among the most widely used for detectors.

… Well, maybe not the most widely used. I picked it because it had the best reviews among detector-related open-source software.

“Just plug in the frequency and waveform of the low-frequency waves emitted from the low-frequency generator, and the basics are done.”

“…Done?”

“Yes.”

It might seem too simple, but that’s it. To measure accurately, you’d need to factor in all surrounding environmental variables, but for now, the goal is just to confirm that it can detect hidden dungeons.

“Can you assemble it quickly?”

“Yes.”

Yeon Mirae, Sophia, and Maurice began assembling the detector. About ten minutes later, it was complete.

“Let’s see…”

I connected the detector to the laptop, installed the software, and then took out a camping power bank to charge it.

“Is that enough?”

Sophia asked worriedly. The detector consumes a lot of power, so a single power bank won’t last long. That’s why she asked.

“It’s fine. It’s just for testing.”

We don’t need to use this detector long-term. It only needs to confirm it can detect hidden dungeons. Later, we can send the information to Chairman Richard of the Global Awakened Association or upload it to the Awakened System database. Then proper detectors will be made by the association or companies.

“It’s ridiculous. The hidden dungeon detector developed by the association’s researchers is supposedly worse than this simple device…”

“That hasn’t been proven yet.”

Maurice’s lament got that response. This detector has limitations too.

“This method can tell that a dungeon exists and its approximate direction, but not its exact location.”

It detects errors caused by low-frequency waves pushing against the dungeon, not the dungeon itself. So for precise location, it’s better to use the association’s devices.

‘Use this to determine the number and rough location of dungeons, then use the association’s device for exact positions… that should work.’

Of course, this assumes the detector works properly.

“Master, can I ask something?”

“Go ahead.”

“To confirm that this detector can detect hidden dungeons, we need to find one, right?”

“Exactly.”

“And the detection range is only 1 km radius.”

“…Right.”

“Plus, hidden dungeons are so rare, there’s no guarantee one will appear nearby.”

“……”

Right. That’s a problem.

“So we’ll need someone to manage the detector, keeping it running until a dungeon appears in range?”

“…We could hire someone. The association knows how important this is, so they’d send a trusted person.”

“Normally, yes, but since incidents have been nonstop since yesterday, all association staff are busy, right?”

……

Yeon Mirae was right. Sophia agreed.

“I’d love to do it myself, but I have Ironblood Guild matters. There’s no trustworthy, available awakened person…”

Sophia trailed off, looking at someone.

Our eyes followed hers.

“…Hm? Me?”

It was Maurice.

“Maurice, you said you came to Korea on vacation. That means you’re free, right?”

“Uh… yes…?”

“You just heard the whole story, so you understand how important this is.”

“Of course…”

“And you’re practically directly under Chairman Richard, so you can report results directly…”

“Sophia…? I’m senior to you, remember?”

Apparently, Sophia and Maurice knew each other. Not surprising, since both work for Chairman Richard.

“So, you won’t help a junior?”

“This isn’t a request—it’s a threat… fine! Okay, okay…!”

Sophia interlocked fingers with Maurice, putting pressure on him. Not romantic—far from it.

Crack!

“(Aaah?! Crazy woman…!)”

Maurice’s fingers seemed broken. He was flustered, switching from fluent Korean to yelling in English.

Click!

A camera shutter sound.

Yeon Mirae was taking a photo of them with her smartphone.

“What are you doing?”

“Planning to show Alex later.”

“…If he sees it without context, he’ll cry blood.”

In the photo, they look hand-in-hand. Alex, who has a crush on Sophia, would be devastated.

“Don’t worry. I’ll gauge his reaction and explain the situation properly afterward.”

“…Explain first before showing the photo, not after.”