Episode 216 Upgrade (1)
sunday.
Training center.
I was sitting against one wall of the training room.
A kimbap wrapped in a blanket was leaning on my shoulder, and through the end of it, I could see a glimpse of my gray hair and crown.
Today, too, Seo Ye-in is recharging her sloth battery without fail.
I thought so and turned my gaze straight ahead.
There, two iron dolls were facing each other with their weapons pointed at each other.
One guy carried a heavy two-handed hammer, the other a thick broadsword.
The two dolls gradually closed the distance between themselves, and then the one with the greatsword made the first move.
– Boohoo!
A greatsword that draws diagonal lines while shedding piercing energy.
I held on to my deep roots and reached out to the guy with the hammer.
-Whew—
A gust of wind blows into the training room.
The wind enveloped the hammer-shaped iron doll in the shape of a round curtain.
– Kagagak!
When the greatsword touched it, it slowed down momentarily, but soon passed through and finished cutting what it was trying to cut.
A long diagonal mark was carved into the upper body of the hammer-shaped iron doll.
But the training dummy couldn’t feel pain.
Immediately swing the hammer with your whole body and strike down hard.
-Whew—
When the greatsword touched it, it slowed down momentarily, but soon passed through and finished cutting what it was trying to cut.
– Kagagak!
A long diagonal mark was carved into the upper body of the hammer-shaped iron doll.
As I reached out again, this time a wind shield was placed over the head of the greatsword iron doll.
But as before, it was not enough to defend against the hammer falling down, carrying its heavy weight.
– Bang!
“… … ?”
The blanket kimbap swayed faintly at the refreshing sound, and a little more gray hair stuck out at the end.
I said it out loud.
“Where have I heard that sound?”
“… … .”
The blanket kimbap shrank and his gray hair disappeared back into view.
And it didn’t move anymore.
‘He ran away.’
I took my eyes off the calligrapher who had drifted off to dreamland, and again placed wind barriers on the iron dolls one by one.
-Whew—
Current Wind Barrier is F+ rank.
Even though I received double bonuses from [West Wind Protection] and [Jisun], I still allowed myself to be attacked by iron dolls.
‘It’s all like that at first.’
As your rank goes up, your defense will continue to increase.
– Kagagak!
– Bang!
After fighting so fiercely, the two iron dolls ended up being reduced to pieces of scrap metal.
I immediately summoned two new iron dolls to continue the battle, and continuously cast a wind barrier.
After repeating it countless times,
[‘Wind Barrier’ grade increased (F+->E+)]
Since it wasn’t a skill with a high level of difficulty, I was able to quickly escape from F-rank.
‘That’s it for today.’
It’s time to get moving.
I stopped the iron dolls and got up from my seat.
Then, the blanket kimbap that was left behind started to shake, and the calligrapher’s face popped out in a dazed state.
“around…….”
“Let’s get up first. We have somewhere to go.”
“Just one more hour… … .”
“You really have no conscience, Miss.”
“10 minutes… … .”
The extension period was drastically reduced from 1 hour to 10 minutes, as if it had been stabbed.
Still, I shook my head firmly.
“It went into negative a long time ago.”
“That can’t be… … .”
“Wake up quickly.”
If you don’t cooperate obediently, there will be no more Kim Ho pillows.
As a calligrapher, I had no choice.
* * *
[Multicolored Scale Box] obtained from clearing the dungeon with Dang Gyu-yeong.
Opening this will randomly drop between 1 and 3 scales.
And let’s leave that to Bokdeungi,
[Multicolor Scales (C)]*3
I easily picked out three of them.
It would have been perfect if Go Hyun-woo, I, and Seo Ye-in each shared one.
The main use of multicolored scales is as armor.
To be exact, it is an ‘upgrade’.
When I spoke to An Jeong-mi about this, she told me the good news that the Hyesung Group scholarship student could solve this problem.
For this reason, the place I took the calligrapher was the tailoring club where the scholarship student was.
Inside the store, there are hangers densely placed, and all kinds of clothes are hanging on each hanger.
There were students sitting at each desk working, but they couldn’t be seen clearly because they were obscured by the mountain of materials piled up.
‘It’s busy here too.’
Production classes tend to die out wherever they go.
Tailors in particular were busy making armor, which was in high demand after weapons.
Soon, a third-year boy sensed our presence and greeted us.
He has a very thin body, beyond slender, and has dark circles around his eyes.
He recognized us at a glance, as if he was the scholarship student that An Jeong-mi had mentioned.
“Kim Ho, Seo Ye-in?”
“Yes, senior.”
“I got the call. You want me to do the upgrade?”
“Yes.”
I took out two pairs of sneakers first.
Sneakers with a white base and sky blue color scheme.
Everything is the same except the size.
[Cloudwalker (B)]
▷ Bonus to movement skills.
▷Apply ignoring inertia (C).
▷Automatic durability recovery.
▷Upgradeable.
▷Upgradeable.
Two pairs of cloud trampolines, two people.
The scholarship senior gives us two a strange look.
“What, what is the relationship between those two…?”
The calligrapher and I answered at the same time.
“We are friends.”
“I’m a butler.”
“?”
“?”
And they looked at each other.
It was like that in the downtown area, and this time too, they’re trying to sneakily hire someone as a butler.
I drew the line very firmly.
“Not a butler.”
“… … prospective butler?”
“I don’t even have a spare.”
Then, the calligrapher searched through his inventory, took out a thick black card, and handed it to me.
“… … ?”
“… … I said I won’t do it.”
This time it was a little hard to refuse, but what can’t be done, can’t be done.
If you become a butler instead of getting a black card, it’s a losing proposition.
The scholarship senior seemed to want to quickly take care of business and said as he cut off the conversation.
“Anyway, what should I upgrade it to?”
“Please write this.”
I held out two [multicolored scales].
The senior accepts it coolly and asks again.
“Is it the end?”
“Please give me just one more thing.”
As I said that, I took out a single piece of multicolored scale and a set of breastplate from my inventory.
It is made of bronze and has the shape of a crustacean shell.
[Bronze Carapace (D)]
▷Physical Defense (E)
▷Upgradeable
Protective gear that Go Hyun-woo bought at a downtown market.
I received it in advance to use here.
A rare piece of armor called a transparent shell with unnecessary bronze upgrades added.
It is too heavy for an unmanned weapon like Go Hyun-woo to use, and its defensive capabilities aren’t all that great.
So what I’m asking is,
“I would like you to cover the bronze upgrade with these scales.”
The scholarship senior frowned slightly.
“But why did you bring the armor to me? You should have the blacksmith make it for you.”
“I thought upgrading wouldn’t be difficult.”
Granting and removing upgrades can be done by anyone, regardless of the type of production job, as long as the skill level is above a certain level.
The scholarship student in front of you is a third-year student, so of course he would have exceeded the standard.
Another reason is that you have to pay extra to have it done by a blacksmith.
Just as there was a struggle when making roots, it is not easy to delegate work.
Why bother doing something twice when you can just leave it to the scholarship recipient?
Of course, from the perspective of a scholarship student, the increase in workload was not welcome.
He waves his hand with an annoyed expression on his face.
“Okay, ma’am. I’ll take care of it when I have time and contact you. Go.”
But the calligrapher stared at him blankly, tilted his head slightly, and asked a question.
“I’m busy?”
“… … !”
The scholarship student’s pupils shook left and right, then he swallowed dry saliva and looked at the calligrapher.
‘I think I threw it without thinking.’
He probably just asked if I was busy because he seemed busy, but it must have sounded completely different to that senior.
Hyesung Group’s Youngae asked for a favor, but a scholarship student said he was busy and did it hastily or late?
What would happen if this news leaked to the Future Strategy Office?
‘You’re busy. I understand. Then you must be busy working with us too.’
‘that……!’
In the same context, my scholarship status and my employment at Hyesung Group after graduation may also be in jeopardy.
Of course, it seems like a leap in my opinion, but it wouldn’t be a leap from that senior’s perspective.
So, the scholarship student’s senior changed his personality 180 degrees as if he had a split personality, and he spoke to us in a very friendly tone.
“Busy, who? How could that be? Upgrade three items, I’ll take care of it right away. This Wednesday, no, come right away tomorrow.”
“thank you.”
“Okay, go in carefully~”
He was a senior who kindly saw us off until the end.
Seo Ye-in and I exchanged glances as we left the sewing club.
“Strong.”
“Strong.”
* * *
The sewing club was turned upside down by unexpected bullying.
The next place we headed to was the Magic Engineering Workshop.
I recalled the conversation I had with Dang Gyu-yeong a few days ago.
– Bong Jae-seok was looking for you.
– What’s going on?
– I don’t know, just come by when you have time.
Bong Jae-seok, president of the Magic Engineering Club.
Like other production classes, he was always short on time.
To the point where I feel like I don’t even want to waste time pushing and pulling through negotiations.
The fact that he takes the time to meet me is…
‘That means that something that is needed has arisen.’
Then, when you go there, you won’t be treated badly.
He also has a refreshing personality.
I also thought I had a rough idea of what the matter was.
Because I dealt with Bong Jae-seok, it wasn’t much.
And that’s a problem I can definitely solve.
It was a pleasant experience for me in many ways.
So, I contacted him through Dang Gyu-yeong, went through the tailoring club, and then went to see him.
As I took the calligrapher to the front of the first magic engineering workshop, I saw a familiar face.
Park Na-ri, a promising student in the Nature Club, and the mini tiger Beom-i.
“Oh, hello… … ?”
“Meow.”
Park Na-ri waved her hand timidly as always, and Beom slowly waved his forelegs in the air.
Then, she jumped out of Park Na-ri’s arms and rubbed her forehead against my leg.
I was greeted casually.
“Hello. Why are you here?”
“My sister, no, the manager told me to go quickly… … .”
“Who did you come to see?”
“That… … . Manager here… … ?”
I was sent directly by the Nature Club, and Park Na-ri also said she had some business to attend to for Bong Jae-seok.
And even send it exactly when I’m coming.
I became more certain about what Bong Jae-seok wanted to ask me.
“Oh, you’re here.”
“hello.”
At that moment, Bong Jae-seok walked out of Workshop 1.
There was a third-year female student next to me, and I remember her trying so hard to recruit me last time.
‘Probably the deputy manager.’
“Let’s go and talk about it.”
Bong Jae-seok turned around as if every second was precious, as if he was afraid to say hello.
And he started to lead the way towards the 4th workshop.
