Episode 217 Upgrade (2)
The 4th workshop arrived following Bong Jae-seok.
It was a place I had visited many times when I was growing roots, but now it was empty and no one was there.
I took a quick look around the interior and asked.
“Senior isn’t here today.”
“Moved to the 3rd workshop.”
I guess you’ve been working hard in one corner and it seems like you’ve seen some results.
Bong Jae-seok looked at me and Park Na-ri and brought up the main topic.
“As you might have guessed, the reason I wanted to see you two was because of the Cube of Life.”
Cube of life.
This item was created by matching the 10x10x10 cube blueprint.
The current owner is Park Na-ri, the occupant is Beom-i, and the Daejayeon Club also owns a certain amount of shares.
Meanwhile, Bong Jae-seok was given a drawing detailing each of the thousand cubes in detail.
His goal would be to create a complete blueprint based on that and then complete the Cube of Life.
“I think there is something that is blocked.”
“okay.”
The Cube of Life is a true S-rank item.
Drawing the blueprint is only the first part of a long chain of quests.
Bong Jae-seok nodded.
Even Bong Jae-seok was blocked in the beginning.
This is because I did not draw the diagram myself, so my level of understanding is quite low.
And that’s why he called the two of us to find that breakthrough.
First, Bong Jae-seok spoke to Park Na-ri.
Drawing the blueprint is only the first part of a long chain of quests.
Even Bong Jae-seok was blocked in the beginning.
“If it’s okay, can you show me the cube?”
“Oh, yes. It’s okay… … .”
Park Na-ri searched through her inventory and took out the Cube of Life.
And I just took out all the life-related items inside and put them into my inventory.
It seems like he has no hesitation in revealing one of his assets, probably because he has already discussed it with Mother Nature.
‘They must be interested too.’
The Cube of Life currently held by Park Na-ri is actually a prototype.
Because it was made with a crude blueprint, the quality is bound to be relatively poor.
However, since it is a B-rank and has amazing performance, it is said that it is playing a big role in helping Park Na-ri get ahead in the promising race.
So what about a fully functional, S-rank cube?
Or, if even a B-rank is successfully mass-produced and distributed to members.
The skills of the Nature Club and even the Nature Guild will greatly increase.
It was no wonder that the Nature Club spared no effort in cooperating and investing.
But the moment Park Na-ri was about to hand over the Cube of Life,
“My dear.”
A mini tiger named Beom-i got stuck in between and went inside the cube.
And then he slammed the lid shut with his front paw.
Park Na-ri was flustered and tried to open the cube,
“Hey, Beom-ah. Come out for a second. I have to show you something to my senior.”
“Aaah!”
Beom-i stretched out his front paw and slapped Park Na-ri’s hand away.
To move into a house, you need permission from the landlord.
And now the landlord looks very uncomfortable.
“Okay, just a moment.”
While Park Na-ri was fidgeting and trying hard to persuade Beom-i, Bong Jae-seok seemed to have decided to end his conversation with me for the time being.
He takes a bundle of documents out of his arms and hands them over.
“Take a look at this. I only wrote down the tricky parts.”
I read them slowly, turning the pages one by one.
From Bong Jae-seok’s perspective, it may be difficult, but from my perspective as a veteran, the answers are obvious at a glance.
However, if you give an answer too quickly, your value will likely drop.
I deliberately kept a serious expression on my face and answered after thinking for a while.
“I think I can help you.”
“Good. Of course, I’m not asking for free help. Just tell me if you need anything.”
Bong Jae-seok starts talking about maintenance right away.
And since I have a personality that hates being pushed and pulled, I think he’ll probably give in to my demands.
As before, he has a refreshing personality.
I too immediately put what I wanted into my mouth.
“I’m looking for ingots.”
One of the priorities I have to tackle right now is the short length of [Deep Roots].
In the battle with Kim Gap-du Fish, I had to bend my knees every time I used a skill, but that was only possible because he was so easy.
For now, I’ve just connected the F-class horizontal bars to increase their length, but I hope to get out of this awkward state soon.
The intention was to quickly manufacture and connect the next part.
Bong Jae-seok asked again.
“What’s the grade?”
“I want to get at least a C+ rank, and preferably a B rank.”
“… … !”
The deputy manager, who was listening to the conversation from the side, frowned for a moment.
It’s not like B-rank ingots can be found by digging the ground, but they want it in exchange for clearing up some of the blocked areas.
But before she could open her mouth to say anything, Bong Jae-seok raised his hand to stop her.
“Yes, I can give you that amount. In return, I believe you will help me sincerely.”
“Thank you. I will do my best.”
“Take your pick.”
Bong Jae-seok opened a large window in front of me.
This is a list of ingots and ingot boxes stored in the club warehouse.
[Refined Iron Ingot (C+)]
[Giant’s Ingot Box (C+)]
[Deldrimore Ingot (B)]
[East Swamp Ingot Box (B)]
… … .
Even though I only picked B, C+ ranks, the list goes on and on.
This is a passage that gives a glimpse into the power of the mid-level production group.
‘I’m sure they have that higher grade too.’
But even the club president can’t abuse that.
Even at B-rank, isn’t the vice-captain looking at me like he’s a thief?
I won’t refuse if you ask me to, but it would require me to delve deeper into this matter.
So, it’s best to compromise with something decent among the B ranks.
But as I continued to scroll down the list, something caught my eye.
‘There’s this?’
[Ghost Captain’s Ingot Box (B)]
An ingot box dropped as a reward from a B-rank dungeon.
However, the main rule of this dungeon is ‘underwater battle’, so clearing it is incomparably more difficult than the Black Sand Dungeon.
It looks like they either dropped it or traded it with another club and stockpiled it in their warehouse.
‘It’s as useful as it is difficult to obtain.’
Although the detailed drop rates have not been disclosed, they tend to be of a higher grade than other random boxes of the same grade.
Even if you’re unlucky, you can get a C+, and if you’re lucky, you can get an A rank.
Also, apart from the rank, the types of ingots that appear are also wizard-friendly.
This means that you don’t have to mix in black mithril like you would with Mannyeonhancheol.
There was no need to look around any further.
“I’ll do this.”
“Captain Ghost? Or something like that.”
Bong Jae-seok accepted it coolly and nodded to the vice-president.
The vice-president still looked displeased, but he couldn’t object now.
So I left the 4th workshop as I was told, and after a while I came back with a pitch-black box.
“… … ?”
The calligrapher was looking at some odds and ends in a corner, and when he saw me receiving the box of ingots, he came closer.
I asked the question subtly.
“Bokdeungi, if I open this, will I hit the jackpot?”
“… … .”
A calligrapher looking down at a box.
He tilted his head slightly to the left and then to the right.
And the answer that came out was.
“……later?”
“If I open it later, it’ll explode?”
“… … ?”
The calligrapher tilted her head again in response.
I guess he himself isn’t sure.
Anyway, there was no need to open it in a hurry, so I kept the ingot box in my inventory for now.
“Meow.”
Meanwhile, Park Na-ri’s hands and arms were covered in bite and scratch marks.
Still, it seems like he’s almost succeeded in persuading Beom-i.
“Seo, my senior is going to remodel it. Remodeling.”
“… … ?”
Since Bong Jae-seok would be doing some maintenance while studying the Cube of Life, the word remodeling was appropriate.
When Park Na-ri pulled out her trump card,
“Let’s have a snack, Beom-ah. A snack. Okay?”
“Meow.”
The tiger, or rather, Mr. Tiger, has finally vacated my villa.
It is clear that being a butler is an extreme job in any industry.
Bong Jae-seok must have had the same thoughts as well, and he looked at Park Na-ri with pity, but soon he started asking questions while pointing at the cat hair and scratches and the documents he had prepared one by one.
“Let’s get started. Why isn’t this the right place?”
“Yes, senior. First, this part—”
I returned the answers one by one, comparing the documents with the cube.
* * *
After a long Q&A, Bong Jae-seok was able to resolve most of his questions.
He speaks to the manager with a satisfied face.
“I told you it was a good idea to call me. Did you pay enough for the ingot?”
“… … That’s right.”
The deputy manager, who had been giving me a displeased look, also had a much more relaxed expression.
Bong Jae-seok immediately got up from his seat, as if he wanted to apply what he had learned as soon as possible.
“Thank you for today. If you have any questions, can I call you again?”
“Anytime.”
“Okay, then I’ll go in first!”
Bong Jae-seok just said those words and ran out of the 4th workshop like the wind.
The vice-president nodded briefly and followed him.
‘It’s quite good.’
I answered some questions and received a B-rank ingot box.
And as Bong Jae-seok confirmed at the end, there will be more blockages in the future.
Each time, we will be able to make a deal that satisfies both parties.
As we left the magic workshop, the calligrapher asked.
“Where are you going now?”
“Senior Tailor, let me see you again.”
The scholarship senior who was supposed to come tomorrow contacted us not long after.
It seems that they have put everything else aside and decided to start with upgrading.
‘The power of authority is truly terrifying.’
The ripple effect of a single word, “Are you busy?” is this big.
With that thought in mind, I headed towards the sewing club.
Soon, a senior scholarship student waiting in front of the dormitory came into view.
He had the kindest smile on his face as he saw us off.
“Hey guys, are you here? I called you because it was over sooner than I thought. I’m not busy at all.”
And while emphasizing that he was ‘not busy’, he handed me two pairs of sneakers and a suit of armor.
If you look at the sneakers, they are all white, but the color of the accent parts sometimes changes to light red, blue, yellow, etc.
[Cloudwalker (B+)]
▷ Bonus to movement skills
▷Ignore inertia (C)
▷Automatic durability recovery
▷Multicolor Defense (C)
▷Upgradeable
The multi-colored scale upgrade adds a + to its own rank, and adds a C-rank multi-colored defense characteristic.
It seems that he doesn’t do things half-heartedly just because he’s in a hurry.
I bowed my head.
“I didn’t know you would finish it this quickly. Thank you.”
“No, no. It’s not that difficult, but I have to finish it quickly.”
“I will explain this to the team leader.”
“Haha, why did you have to go that far? Thank you.”
There was a fairly friendly atmosphere between me and the scholarship senior.
But he would occasionally carefully watch the calligrapher’s expression.
