Level Up Machine

Chapter 101 Business Preparation (4)

“Hairdryer…?”

Ara looked at Yeong-sik with a puzzled expression.

Yeong-sik took out a massager and a shaver from his inventory.

Yu-na frowned as she looked at the massager.

“You’re going to start a business with that?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

“But, isn’t that something only you can use?”

Yu-na glanced at Yeong-sik’s right arm.

Without using the 220-volt socket in his right arm, electronic devices couldn’t be used.

Yeong-sik chuckled at her question and turned on the massager.

-Vrrrrrrr.

“Huh?”

“How…?”

The guild members looked at the electronic devices operating without being connected to an outlet, their faces filled with surprise.

“I recently acquired a new skill called ‘Modification.’ I can now change devices to be rechargeable, using batteries instead of electric sockets.”

“Wow…”

“So, now anyone can freely use them?”

Han-seong picked up the hairdryer with an intrigued expression. Warm air flowed out of the hairdryer.

“Yes. But since they use rechargeable batteries, they’re not completely free. You have to replace the batteries periodically.”

“Well, wouldn’t the cost of batteries be a continuous expense, making it not very good?”

“If we were on Earth, that would be a problem.”

Yeong-sik’s eyes shone sharply as he continued in a low voice.

“But we are on the continent of Elnote.”

“Oh?”

“Indeed.”

The guild members nodded in understanding at Yeong-sik’s words. It wasn’t because they thought the Elnote continent’s civilization was low or its economic structure was lax.

“Even the most common magical tools on the continent need to have their magic stones replaced periodically to be used.”

Han-seong said, adjusting his round glasses.

Unlike Earth, where there was an established electrical infrastructure, on the continent of Elnote, using magical tools through periodic replacement of magic stones was common.

This meant that the economic structure was already established to accept the distribution of electronic products using batteries without much resistance.

“But… wouldn’t that actually be a problem?”

“In what way?”

Yu-na tilted her head and asked.

“Wouldn’t it be enough to just make and sell these machines?”

“Hmm. It’s not that simple. Due to the spread of magical tools, this world already has a fairly advanced civilization. It would be difficult to grow a business that can compete with the already common magical tools with just massagers or hairdryers.”

Massagers and hairdryers were convenient for daily life but not essential. It would be too challenging to start a business with just those two products.

“Yes, so I don’t consider these two as my main products.”

“Then what?”

“First, what I’m preparing is this.”

Yeong-sik took out a rather large item from his inventory. The object was large enough to nearly fill his inventory, which had a capacity of level 99.

“What is this?”

The guild members’ eyes sparkled as they saw the item.

It was a common item on Earth but nonexistent on the Elnote continent.

An item that had once transformed human life itself.

“Yes, it’s a refrigerator.”

Yeong-sik tapped the refrigerator, which was as tall as a person, and smiled broadly.

“A refrigerator!”

“If it’s a refrigerator, then definitely…”

The guild members nodded in admiration.

While a hairdryer or a massager was convenient to have, a refrigerator was on a completely different level.

The ability to store food without it spoiling was a revolutionary business item that could transform the entire food industry.

“And along with the refrigerator, I plan to sell this.”

Yeong-sik took out the last item that was in the corner of his inventory.

The guild members immediately understood why he planned to sell it with the refrigerator.

“Wow… to see a microwave here…”

“If you can freeze food, naturally you need something to thaw it.”

Yeong-sik placed his arm on the microwave, looking pleased.

“Why are you all reacting like that to those items?”

Only Tiria looked at the refrigerator and microwave with a puzzled expression.

The guild members chuckled at her reaction.

“A refrigerator is an item that keeps food cold to prevent it from spoiling, and a microwave can thaw frozen items in minutes.”

“Such magical tools exist in this world?”

“These are not magical tools.”

Yeong-sik continued with a broad smile.

“They’re machines.”

“Machines? They’re different from magical tools?”

Tiria tilted her head in confusion. Yeong-sik nodded and explained.

“They operate with a power other than magic.”

“Such tools exist?”

Tiria, accustomed to the concept of magical tools, looked at the refrigerator and microwave in disbelief.

“Let me show you simply…”

Yeong-sik went to the kitchen and brought back some leftover stew from dinner. He put the cold stew in the microwave and heated it for a minute.

Vrrrrrr.

As the microwave emitted a bright light, the savory smell of stew spread throughout the meeting room.

“Oh? The stew is really heated!”

Tiria looked at the stew taken out of the microwave with an expression of disbelief. The stew was steaming hot, as if it had just been made.

“To think this is possible without magic…”

With a feeling of half doubt, she used magic detection, but she couldn’t feel any of the unique magical energy from the device called a microwave.

Tiria expressed her amazement as she carefully touched the microwave.

The guild members chuckled at her reaction.

Seeing her amazed by Earth’s technologies, they felt an inexplicable pride and a peculiar sense of superiority.

“Hehehe, isn’t it fascinating, Tiria? Where we used to live, there are many more amazing things like this.”

Chae-rin boasted as if she had created the items herself.

“Indeed…”

Tiria smiled somewhat wistfully as she looked at the guild members.

It hit her that they were beings from a world different from the one she lived in.

Chae-rin was taken aback by Tiria’s reaction, which was different from what she had expected.

“Wh-what? It’s okay, Tiria! When we kill the Creator, we’ll be able to travel freely between the two worlds! Then I’ll introduce you to the place where we used to live!”

Chae-rin and Yu-na approached Tiria with flustered gestures.

Tiria smiled broadly and nodded.

“Hehe. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Hehe. There are so many fascinating things. You’ll definitely love it!”

Yu-na smiled brightly, imagining introducing Tiria to Earth.

She got up from her seat and walked over to the refrigerator.

As she enjoyed the cool air from the open refrigerator, she seemed to remember something and asked Yeong-sik.

“Yeong-sik! Can you make an air conditioner too?!”

“Yes. I can make it. I’m planning to make and sell those as well later.”

“Yay!”

Yu-na cheered at his words that he could make an air conditioner. She excitedly patted Yeong-sik’s shoulder with sparkling eyes.

“If you can make an air conditioner, wouldn’t it be much more profitable to sell air conditioners than refrigerators or microwaves?! It’d be like Watson inventing the incandescent light bulb!”

Her shout brought a heavy silence to the meeting room.

“Watson…?”

“Yu-na, you don’t mean…”

The guild members looked at her with puzzled expressions. Yu-na tilted her head at their reaction.

“What? Don’t you know who invented the light bulb? Hehe, the light bulb was invented by…!”

“Sister?”

Chae-rin, who had stood up, approached Yu-na, who was proudly showing off her knowledge(?). She gently hugged Yu-na, speaking in a trembling voice.

“You must have gone through a lot. Don’t worry. From now on, I’ll take care of you.”

“Huh? Wh-what are you talking about?”

Yu-na looked confused, not understanding what was happening. Chae-rin, with an emotional expression, shouted.

“Don’t pretend! It must have been tough not even being able to attend elementary school properly!”

“Huh? I was a college student before I came here…”

“Don’t lie!”

“I’m not lying! I was really a college student!”

“There’s no way! How could someone as ignorant as you get into college!”

“Aren’t you being a bit too harsh, Chae-rin?!”

Yu-na, shocked, took a step back. Chae-rin, with a look of complete understanding, patted her back.

“Sigh…”

Han-seong let out a deep sigh, as if he couldn’t bear to watch their skit any longer, and turned to Yeong-sik.

“What are your plans for distribution? As you said, we need to stay hidden right now.”

No matter how good the products were, they wouldn’t sell if the distribution and promotion weren’t up to par.

However, for the Salvator Guild, currently wanted and in hiding, it was impossible to sell the products directly.

“I have a place in mind for that.”

“Where…?”

“The Goldrun Guild.”

A short gasp escaped from Han-seong.

The Goldrun Guild.

With significant influence over the entire East, the Goldrun Guild was more than capable of handling distribution.

“It seems there’s also a connection with the Leviathan Guild Master.”

Considering various conditions, there was no merchant guild with better terms than Goldrun.

And it was unlikely that the guild master running such a major guild wouldn’t be interested in selling revolutionary items like refrigerators and microwaves on this continent.

“The business items are definitely good. With summoners from Earth, it shouldn’t be too alien and will spread quickly. But…” Han-seong looked at Yeong-sik with a worried expression.

“Are you okay with this, Yeong-sik? Even if you can create them with your skill, if refrigerators and microwaves become popular, you’ll have to spend all day making them. Expanding the business to include air conditioners or other products would make it even worse.”

Currently, the only person who could make these machines was Yeong-sik, who had the hidden class of a mechanical engineer. This meant he had to produce all the necessary items for the business by himself.

“Indeed, doing it alone is impossible.”

Yeong-sik nodded calmly.

Using his crafting skill, he could create even large items like refrigerators in a few minutes, but mass production on his own was impossible.

Moreover, Yeong-sik had plans to use the profits from the business for ‘other things,’ so he couldn’t afford to spend all his time manufacturing refrigerators.

“Then how will you…”

Han-seong looked at him, unable to imagine the solution.

“We’ll build it.”

“Build what?”

Yeong-sik shrugged and opened his mouth.

“A factory.”

In the face of the term that once led the Industrial Revolution, Han-seong wore an expression of utter disbelief.

“These are refrigerators and microwaves. You know how to use them, right?”

“Wha… How did Earth’s products end up here…?”

“I made them myself.”

Park Si-a opened the refrigerator door with a look of astonishment. Familiar cool air flowed out from inside.

“Do they run on magic stones?”

“No. They have replaceable external batteries. If you want to keep using them, you’ll need to replace the batteries every four months.”

Park Si-a gulped as she looked at the refrigerator and microwave. She envisioned the tremendous impact these two items would have if they spread across the continent.

It was like having the latest smartphones suddenly hit the market while people were still using walkie-talkies.

“Yeong-sik.”

Park Si-a looked at him with a serious gaze.

“Can I purchase a few more?”

Having purchased land from the Leviathan Guild, Yeong-sik headed to the spacious open area. Several guild members, curious about the factory he was about to build, followed him with bright eyes.

“Alright then.”

Yeong-sik stretched out one hand and focused his mind. He recalled the new recipes he had acquired upon reaching level 7 in his manufacturing skill.

[Would you like to install an ‘automatic manufacturing device’ in this area? The materials required for the installation of the automatic manufacturing device vary depending on the item to be manufactured. What item would you like to manufacture automatically?]

“Refrigerator.”

Yeong-sik answered in a calm voice.

A clear chime echoed in his ears.

[The automatic manufacturing item has been set to ‘refrigerator.’ Once an item is chosen, it cannot be changed. Would you like to proceed with the installation of the ‘automatic manufacturing device’?]

“Yes.”

-Vrrrrr!

Bright light emanated from Yeong-sik’s hand. The metal materials he had left behind before setting out on the dungeon raid turned into glowing blue powder and gathered in the air.

*Ding!*