Episode 22: Searching through the junk (2)
[Cube of Life] The linked quest is one of the processes that must be completed to develop an S-class magic engineer.
In addition, many heroes associated with the keyword ‘Life’ benefit from this quest.
The story is that I have repeated this tiresome task dozens of times.
As I continued to complete the quests, the finished product [Cube of Life] began to look more and more familiar.
Then suddenly a thought occurred to me,
‘Should I just make it?’
Somehow it seemed possible even without a quest.
So I studied. I memorized it.
Each and every arrangement of a thousand cubes.
Of course, just memorizing it doesn’t mean that the blueprint will be transformed into a finished product.
I had to piece it together one by one by hand.
So, at first I struggled a lot, but just like when I raised an S-class hero, I started getting the hang of it as I started completing one or two.
And now, if a quest is not essential for raising a hero, just skip it and just get the cube.
Just like right now.
First, I went to the training center and chose a mana practice room.
You don’t have to go all the way to the special performance room.
Ko Hyun-woo is pouring all his points into [Core] because its growth is more urgent than anything else, but I think it would be more useful to use it elsewhere.
The Manayeon studio is a closed space, no bigger than a few pyeong, similar to a solitary cell.
The only difference is that mana overflows throughout the room.
He sat down in the middle of it and took out the cube blueprint.
To make meaningful changes to the cube, a certain rank or higher of [Magic Engineering] skill is required.
No matter how hard you try to make a cube, if it doesn’t meet the minimum requirements, it’s all in vain.
And the minimum requirement for making changes to this huge 10x10x10 blueprint is A rank or higher.
Even within Yongsal Academy, there are probably only one or two faculty members with A-rank magic engineering.
The president of the Magic Engineering Club will probably be somewhere near the end of B.
So, there is a process of inviting external craftsmen during the linked quest.
The skill I copied from the 4th workshop is also grade B, which also does not meet the conditions.
‘If it doesn’t work, you have to make it work.’
Before we begin, I took a close look at the cube blueprint.
This is to plan in advance how to complete it.
After going back and forth for a while, comparing the finished product in my memory with the blueprint, I started to get a feel for it.
‘Shall we begin?’
[Use ‘amplify’.]
[The grade of ‘Magic Engineering’ increases. (B->S)]
[Duration 00:00:59]
[Reuse Wait Time 00:59:58]
[Amplification] raises it by two levels to S-rank.
With this, the minimum requirements have been exceeded.
My hand holding the cube emitted a bright blue light.
His ten fingers moved like a spider, moving around the cube at incredible speed.
– Clang!
Rotate the cube, fold it, unfold it, take out each little cube and paste it somewhere else, then rotate it again.
The giant puzzle is slowly coming together,
[Duration 00:00:00]
[Reuse Wait Time 00:58:54]
After a minute, I let go.
In the middle, the duration of [Amplification] ran out and the rank was restored to its original state.
The duration of F-rank amplification is 1 minute, and the cooldown is 1 hour.
This means you can touch the cube for one minute every hour.
So what do you do while you wait?
‘The more mana the better.’
Just meditate and refine your [core].
As you level up and your mana increases, the range of magic you can use also expands.
There is no harm in investing from time to time.
I placed the cube nearby and concentrated my mind.
* * *
I meditated for an hour, worked on the cube for a minute, meditated again, and repeated this process without any self-awareness, and before I knew it, the day had passed and morning had arrived.
If you look at the cube, you can see a faint green light coming from one corner.
The breath of life.
This is evidence that the cube is gradually becoming complete.
But this is still only one corner.
I need to invest more time into it, but at this rate of progress it should probably take 3 days to complete?
‘It’s going to be a little tight if we have to finish it by Friday.’
There is a very high chance that ‘that event’ will occur on the first Friday.
You have to finish the work by then to get the full benefit.
Anyway, that’s that,
‘I have to go to school.’
I sat up from my seat.
If we keep doing this, we’ll be late.
* * *
I ordered a piece of toast and a coffee at the student cafeteria and held them in both hands.
As I was walking to the classroom while eating, I felt a sound of someone quickly approaching me from behind.
And since the sound of footsteps is barely audible, you can tell who it is without even looking.
“Shin Byeong-cheol.”
“Oh my, what a surprise!”
Shin Byeong-cheol came to surprise me, but ended up being surprised and jumping around.
He follows along and lets out a loud noise.
“No. Hey, do you have eyes on your back too?”
“Not similar.”
“Well, shouldn’t people know it and still be fooled and react?”
“What kind of reaction is that? I’m holding something to eat.”
If the coffee spills, will you take responsibility?
I’m eating toast too, so please don’t tell me to talk.
However, despite my blunt response, Shin Byeong-cheol continued to stick next to me and tried to talk to me.
“Where did calligrapher Koh Hyun-woo go? Is he going alone?”
“I stayed up all night at the training center. I wonder where he is.”
Go Hyun-woo will also be going to school from the training center, but it seems like there is a slight difference in the timing.
Maybe it’ll be there when you go to class.
Shin Byeong-cheol asked.
“Did you have a good time at the siege? I was busy yesterday and couldn’t even talk to you.”
“You must have seen my name on the leaderboard.”
“That’s because I was checking the top ranks, hehe.”
It means that I didn’t have time to worry about my score because I was only looking at the top rankings.
Actually, I felt the same way, so I didn’t feel any regret.
I didn’t have any expectations for Shin Byeong-cheol, so I figured he’d be somewhere in the lower-middle tier and didn’t pay much attention to him.
I’m still not really curious.
But since he had such a confident expression and it seemed like he really wanted me to ask him for the score, I pretended to lose and asked.
“How many points is it?”
“Hehehe, don’t be surprised. This body did a 50% chin-up with a score of 530, that’s what I’m saying.”
“You? How?”
To be honest, it was a little unexpected.
I expected it to be in the 400s at best, but I guess it was because it was a fixed zone, so I think I did pretty well.
When I opened my eyes, Shin Byeong-cheol’s expression became even more arrogant.
He speaks in a tone that seems to be teaching people.
“Life is all about tricks. Tricks are important.”
“Wow, that’s really amazing.”
“Column, column. How many points do you have?”
“683 points.”
Shin Byeong-cheol’s face became humble again.
“… … Weren’t you a caster?”
“Is that right?”
“No, Song Cheon-hye is 571 and Hong Yeon-hwa is 640, so how did you get 683?”
I repeated what Shin Byeong-cheol said.
“Life is all about tricks.”
* * *
I thought Go Hyun-woo would arrive first and be waiting for me when I got to the classroom, but it seems like I arrived earlier.
Instead, surprisingly, a calligrapher was sitting there.
“… … .”
He looks at me and waves his hand gently.
He asked, sitting next to me with his butt pressed against mine.
“You came early today?”
“I woke up early.”
“How did that happen?”
“… … .”
Instead of answering, he takes out a small paper envelope, opens it, and shows me what’s inside.
Bite-sized dinosaur-shaped cookies.
It smells delicious and is slightly warm, as if it was just baked.
I guess you woke up early and baked cookies.
Come to think of it, we made that promise on the train.
– Sorry. The cookies were delicious.
– I’ll do it again.
– ……really?
– huh.
That promise that was never meant to be kept has already been fulfilled.
After all, it is the law of human nature to live by giving.
When you share strawberry shortcake, you get to enjoy homemade cookies in return.
I picked one up and took a bite, and the taste seemed to have improved a little from before.
It is still mild and not too sweet.
I think they changed their strategy and added black sesame seeds instead of chocolate chips, but I think this is better than the ambiguous 65% pure cacao.
As the calligrapher was staring blankly, I praised him with a very high degree of sincerity.
“Mmm, it’s delicious. It’s rich. The dinosaurs are also cute and adorable.”
“… … ?”
The calligrapher tilted his head slightly.
He stays like that for a while and then asks me.
“……dinosaur?”
“Isn’t that a dinosaur?”
“… … .”
The calligrapher’s eyes seemed to have narrowed slightly.
What is this? If this isn’t a dinosaur, then what is it?
As I reached into the paper bag to pick one up and check it, it was slowly pulled back.
“Why, what is it?”
“… … Teddy bear.”
That was a teddy bear???
I felt momentarily confused, but I tried to calm my mind.
You can’t show your confusion any more.
If that happens, we’ll never see homemade cookies again.
“Somehow. I was a little confused as to whether it was a bear or a dinosaur. I guess it was because I was looking at it upside down.”
“… … .”
“I’ll have just one more. It’s delicious.”
The calligrapher still looked suspicious, but opened the paper bag that had been pulled toward her.
I picked up a cookie and took a quick look at it before putting it in my mouth.
“Looking at it this way, it’s a teddy bear. I was wrong.”
‘Where does this look like a teddy bear?’
The words coming out of his mouth and his true feelings were completely opposite.
But the taste was impeccable, so I kept reaching for the paper bag.
As we took turns eating cookies with Seo Ye-in, Go Hyun-woo also went to school.
“Brother Kim, Miss Seo. Good morning.”
“What does this look like?”
The calligrapher immediately handed Ko Hyun-woo a bear-shaped cookie and asked him.
Go Hyun-woo accepted it with a smile and said.
“Oh! This is a very delicious snack. It looks like the lizard is alive and breathing.”
“… … .”
‘oh my…….’
I sighed inwardly.
The calligrapher’s eyebrows twitched, but Go Hyeon-woo sat down next to me as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t noticed the subtle change.
In times like this, it’s best to quickly change the subject.
“How was it?”
My thoughts on practicing in a special performance room.
Go Hyun-woo showed his admiration without holding back.
“It was a precious experience, the first time I had it. I didn’t know my internal energy would build up so quickly.”
“Isn’t it expensive?”
“I don’t regret spending 500 points at all. Rather, it felt like an excessive amount of luck compared to the effort I put in.”
When I first heard about replays, I was reluctant to have others check out my martial arts skills, but now I think I’ve come to realize that it’s worth it.
Because refining your core in a special training room is as efficient as continuously taking mid-to-low efficiency elixirs.
“If I try a little harder, I think I can get over that wall. I plan to live in the special training room for the time being, as Hyung Kim advised.”
“Okay, just focus on that for now. I’ll get you the season pass as soon as possible.”
“Thank you.”
Go Hyun-woo set an example.
While there was such a warm atmosphere, the classroom as a whole seemed to lack a market feel.
Shin Byeong-cheol’s group is at the center of the chaos, handing out business cards for the
“I can help you with anything!”
“New semester special discount is in effect!”
Song Cheon-hye looks at them with great displeasure, but she cannot come forward because they have not yet broken the rules.
It seems like he’s waiting for trouble to strike.
Han So-mi just smiled bashfully, wondering what she was thinking.
However, this market situation was surprisingly resolved in an instant.
– Knock knock,
As soon as the door opened, the noisy classroom became quiet as if cold water had been poured over it.
Lee Soo-dok was quietly staring into the classroom with the door open.
No one was told to sit down, but everyone found their seats in unison and sat down.
Only then did Lee Soo-dok enter and stand in front of the podium.
— ♩♪♬♩
A melody ringing in the silence announced that it was time for class.
The supporters ate it all
