Chick 213

213

As the brilliant light blazing from the potato faded, only a pitch-black, charred potato was left in its place.

‘It failed.’

‘It’s burnt to a crisp…’

Facing the jet-black potato, Joorim and Gidan bit their lips, watching Groo for her reaction.

A failed skill wasn’t a big deal, but in the trembling of the child’s lips and the shifting of her gaze, too many emotions played across her face for them to ignore.

Gidan sent a silent look to Joorim, as if urging him to do something.

At last, Joorim managed to open his mouth to comfort Groo.

“Well…at least it’s cooked perfectly.”

“…?!”

Gidan turned to him in disbelief—

“……”

Groo shot him a piercing glare, took a deep breath, and steadied herself.

“…Groo, want me to show you something fun?”

But Groo shook her head and stuck out her lip petulantly.

“I want to go home…”

“I’ll take you.”

“Hyung, I’ll go with Groo.”

Joorim and Gidan both stood up at once.

But Groo shook her head again.

“I want to go with Yoon-siljang-nim…”

Groo looked at them, eyes wistful.

“I want to be alone…”

Leaving the two of them exchanging troubled glances, Groo hurried out of the guild master’s office and slipped into a bathroom far down the hall.

She perched on the toilet, her eyes sparkling as she split open the steaming potato.

Inside the roasted potato, a gemstone-like crystal, shaped like a seed, was embedded.

Within the crystal-clear core, a tiny magic stone blazed like a sun, burning endlessly.

[Achievement: Unlocked!]

—You are the Overlord of Potatoes. You can harvest all potatoes, and harvested potatoes may occasionally rise in grade.

[You have created a substance not found in this world.]

[Please enter a name.]

[]

A prompt to name the new substance appeared.

Groo’s favorite thing: naming!

She had to make it something beautiful and splendid.

[Kriteito]

Combining “crystal”—for the transparent, beautiful jewelness—and “potato,” she entered “Kriteito.”

[Kriteito Reactor Seed Potato (S+)]

A potato infused with the Kriteito Reactor.

The Kriteito power core draws out magical energy from the magic stone far greater and more efficiently than ever before.

When planted, the roots sprout thick tubers beneath the earth, and the grade of potatoes grown will vary according to their environment.

—The name of this new potato variety was also registered.

‘Ohhh.’

A potato seeded with the “Kriteito Reactor” itself becomes a seed potato, meaning when it’s planted, it grows just like any other potato.

Wriggling with anticipation, Groo opened her crafting assistant app for children, pulled up the schematic, and checked the details.

The “Kriteito Reactor” was the fusion of a magic stone and transformation mechanism, turning the magic stone into “Kriteito” and repeatedly pushing it to its limits, boosting energy efficiency up to 80%—an advanced type of magic stone booster.

To squeeze 80% energy efficiency from a magic stone meant wringing out the highest output ever achieved in the modern era.

This was over fifteen times the power of a standard magic stone.

‘Wow…!’

And on top of that, she’d unlocked an achievement that boosted the grade of her harvested potatoes.

Eyes shut tight, Groo clapped a hand over her mouth to keep a scream from escaping.

“~~~!”

If she shouted here, all her efforts would be wasted!

‘Dad will find out!’

The reason she wanted to keep her skill’s success a secret was none other than her father.

That sharp-eyed look Dad had given her!

He was definitely suspicious that Groo had gotten into mischief again somewhere.

‘My data on Dad is flawless now!’

Groo, eyes sharp as a hawk, mimed pushing up imaginary glasses.

If Dad found out her skill had succeeded, he’d definitely start probing into the potatoes.

And then, of course, he’d ask where the transformation item came from.

If she confessed she got it from fighting “a slightly suspicious person” late at night with Chuen-unni, would he even let her use it?

If it came to that, Groo’s feelings about Dad’s reaction would be:

1. If I tell Dad right away:

1) Praise → Feels good

2) “No” → Feels bad

2. If I do it first, then explain after:

1) Praise → Feels good

2) Scolded → Feels unfair, but it’s fun

So, even the Chick Class’s top model student (self-proclaimed) could only choose option 2!

Groo bit her lip tightly, swallowed her tears, and looked up at the ceiling.

‘Dad, I’m sorry. But there’s something I simply have to do.’

With this… with this reactor! She’d prove herself to everyone who had looked down on Groo!

It wasn’t just the vaccination that had Groo pouting these days.

Now, every time she went online, it was all talk about what China or Japan had said about drones. But the content was always the same.

“Railgun drone? Not that impressive.”

“Huff!”

Groo drew a deep breath, cheeks puffed out as she struggled to cool her fiery anger.

Groo was a craftswoman.

She couldn’t stand by while her precious “Mephisto Series Prototype”—proudly named after Mephisto—was so easily denigrated.

The problem with her Chick Drone was its low energy efficiency and the heavy magic stone cost needed for output.

Though the drone hadn’t gone to market yet, in answering countless questions, it had become well known that, as a B-rank auxiliary weapon, it required an A-rank magic stone and could barely fire two shots—an alarmingly low energy efficiency.

Because of this, those who sided with China and Japan now dubbed Groo’s drone the “Emperor Drone.”

A mocking title: “A weapon fit for an emperor and not for ordinary people.”

Groo snorted indignantly.

‘But what if the potato booster appears now?’

Ba-bam-!

If she fitted this into her drone and sold it, it would land a counterpunch to the factions bad-mouthing her baby drone, and all those who believed in it would shower her with praise.

‘More praise = more filial points↑’

She could already see her piggy bank filling up with filial points.

Hehehe.

Of course, once the time came, even Dad would catch on.

But if she mass-produced dozens before they were confiscated, there’d be nothing Dad could do.

With a crop this plentiful, they’d be everywhere.

‘Hee-hee-hee.’

Clutching the halved potato in both hands, Groo grinned slyly.

Just then, an oblivious Mephisto tried to peck at the seed-coated baked potato (S+).

“No, you can’t eat that~”

Groo whispered, quickly extracting the reactor.

[Kriteito Reactor (S)]

Single-use. Depleted after expending all magic stone catalyst.

‘It’s single-use, huh. I wonder if feeding nutrients to the seed potato will help it grow better?’

It was said the grade depended on environment.

Browsing through spots with good sunlight and abundant magic, Groo hummed a potato song to herself.

---

Her first seed potato cultivation test site was the forsythia vegetable patch.

Made with a special soil rich in nutrients and the place where she and Wooju had always grown potatoes, it wouldn’t raise any suspicion.

Groo planted the seed potato in the forsythia patch, gave it plenty of sun, and supplied it with nutritious juice extracted by Wooju.

The next day after school—

Finishing riding lessons, Groo headed to the forsythia garden and froze, her mouth falling open.

‘It grew in just one day?!’

A single long stem had shot straight up.

Groo dug with a seedling spade, grabbed the stalk, and pulled.

But the potatoes didn’t budge an inch, solid as rocks, mocking her pitiful Strength 2.

“H-help!”

At her call, Bailach and Mephisto pitched in to tug at the stalk.

Heave-ho.

Rustle!

[Kriteito Reactor Seed Potato (F+)]

[Kriteito Reactor Seed Potato (F+)]

[Kriteito Reactor Seed Potato (F+)]

……

……

[Achievement ‘Potato Master’ raises potato grade!]

[Kriteito Reactor Seed Potato (E+)]

A status window popped up, showing that among the cluster, one E-grade potato had appeared.

Groo’s eyes narrowed.

Only E+?

Surely that first S-grade was just a fluke?

“Sigh…”

Her face fell in disappointment, but quickly brightened as an idea flashed through her mind.

‘Wait, that’s not it.’

It said the results varied by environment, so maybe she needed a new approach.

Groo pictured different settings.

Soil full of nutrients, warm sunlight, clean water, Groo’s affection, kind words…

Her Chick Class teacher said that saying lots of nice things would help crops grow up strong and healthy.

‘Okay, this time I’ll say “I love you” a whole bunch.’

Her round cheeks glowing, Groo began humming as she worked.

“Mewww…”

“Biiit…”

Mephisto and Bailach, who’d helped dig the potatoes, groaned and leaned against each other, plainly spent from the hard labor.

Stuffing potatoes into her backpack, Groo stuck out her lip at the pile of unsatisfactory tubers.

‘Such a nuisance.’

At this rate, Groo’s backpack would end up a treasure chest of F-grade potatoes!

“Hmph.”

She stroked her chin.

The F-grade reactor could be used only with F-grade magic stones, so it wouldn’t make much difference for the drone.

Still, someone might find them useful. Maybe…

‘I’ll just extract the reactor and sell it.’

If she consigned them anonymously through the agency like before, they’d handle it.

At least it’d be good for some pocket money.

Thinking no more of it, Groo rolled a bright E+ potato in her hand, smiling.