Episode 264 Discipline (1)
White magic club.
Manager’s office.
Jeong Jong-myeong was sitting in front of two guests.
Of course, the guests were Dang Gyu-yeong and Hong Ye-hwa.
Although they were all disciplined for this intrusion into the temporary storage facility, there was a fairly friendly atmosphere among the three managers.
Because the gains were much greater.
Jeong Jong-myeong and Hong Ye-hwa were able to recover most of the forbidden items that had been confiscated from the members, including the Book of Chaos.
Dang Gyu-yeong received sufficient compensation accordingly, and the profits from disposing of the remaining banned items would also be considerable.
Of course, if Kim Ho and Dang Gyu-young had not used some means to steal the banned items, they would have gained nothing and only received a lot of punishment.
So, Jeong Jong-myeong smiled as he recalled the events of that night.
“I thought it was over when I saw you guys get caught.”
“Me too. I was halfway giving up, but it didn’t get taken away until the very end.”
Hong Ye-hwa also added a word.
As a manager, I didn’t show it because I had to save face, but when Song Cheon-hye pointed the forbidden item detector at the two of them, I felt uneasy.
Then, when the magnifying glass came out, I really thought it was the end.
But after a while, Kwak Seung-jae came back wearing a magnifying glass and said only one short word.
– I decided to cover it.
Besides, Song Cheon-hye’s complexion was almost ashen.
What on earth happened beyond that door?
The two managers’ eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“How did you do it?”
“Secret. We also need to leave behind some capital.”
Dang Gyu-yeong accepted it calmly.
Of course, I was thinking similar things inside.
‘That’s what I’m most curious about, too.’
Even if you turned the forbidden item detector into the cube of life, how did you solve the magnifying glass?
So I asked Kim Ho directly,
– Young monarch, what did you do?
– I got help from the fraud skill.
– No, how many fraud skills are there anyway?
On the contrary, it only raised more questions.
Still, believing that he would find out someday, Dang Gyu-yeong put his questions aside for a moment.
The two managers also thought it was rude to keep asking about skills, so they just let it go.
Of course, even if it wasn’t a banned item, there was still a lot to say about Kim Ho.
“He really is a bad guy.”
“The more I look at it, the more it feels like I’ve been kneeling for a year.”
“Right? I’m not the only one who thought that, right?”
It was a moment when the opinions of the three managers were in agreement.
In particular, the praise for Jeong Jong-myeong was so overwhelming that it felt excessive.
“The child is calm. He has good courage.”
Even in an urgent situation, there is no sign of tension at all.
Also, even though he was dragged into the Room of Truth and the magnifying glass story was brought up, he was not scared at all, but rather remained calm and instead made a bet and won.
Hong Ye-hwa also added a word as if she agreed.
“It looks like it would be a good idea to become a great wizard.”
“Right, right. Right.”
Dang Gyu-yeong nodded his head repeatedly, feeling pleased.
It was clearly Kim Ho who was receiving the praise, but for some reason he felt good about it too.
In the meantime, Jeong Jong-myeong adjusted his glasses and began to speak.
“So, Dang Gyu-young.”
“why?”
“Is Kim Ho’s main skill wind magic?”
“……maybe?”
Dang Gyu-yeong answered in a slightly ambiguous tone.
From what I’ve seen so far, it seems like he uses a variety of skills, but his main skill is probably wind magic.
Jeong Jong-myeong nodded as if he had expected it.
“First of all, it’s not black magic.”
“… … Hey, wait a minute. You.”
Are you really going to bring that up?
Dang Gyu-yeong narrowed his eyes, feeling an ominous premonition.
Not being a black magician means you meet the requirements to join the white magic club.
As if his suspicion was true, Jeong Jong-myeong raised the corners of his lips.
“I’m thinking of throwing out a recruiting offer. How about—”
“no!”
When Dang Gyu-yeong cut him off firmly, Jeong Jong-myeong looked puzzled and asked back.
“Why doesn’t it work?”
“It’s mine.”
“… …Yours?”
The two managers gave each other strange looks.
Dang Gyu-yeong thought back on what he had said and realized that his choice of words had been inappropriate.
But he corrects himself in a seemingly calm tone.
“No, we said we had it booked. We had already finished the work, so it wouldn’t be right for you to just come and take it all away, right?”
Although he could have easily argued back, Jeong Jong-myeong decided to hold back his words.
I decided that there was no need to ruin the good atmosphere.
Instead, he subtly reminded Dang Gyu-yeong of one fact.
“We allow multiple signups.”
“Still, that won’t work.”
“Why?”
“I feel sick.”
It may seem trivial at first glance, but it was an important issue.
Kim Ho joins the white magic club and then the thieves club,
There was a huge difference between joining the Thieves’ Club and joining the White Magic Club.
In most cases, even if you join multiple clubs, you tend to feel more attached to the club you joined first and participate more actively in it.
Jeong Jong-myeong also understood that point, but
‘Still, the reaction is a bit intense.’
Is there something between you two that I don’t know about?
Then how can we explain the fact that Kim Ho is still independent?
Jeong Jong-myeong remained silent for a moment and came up with several hypotheses.
And I came to a conclusion.
“Okay, I understand. Let’s put the recruitment offer on hold.”
For the time being, I’ll take a step back and watch.
Of course, he didn’t make this decision simply to please Dang Gyu-yeong.
‘There’s no reason to gamble without a chance of winning.’
Kim Ho will definitely be aware of the fact that multiple memberships are possible in the White Magic Club.
If I had been interested, I would have filled out an application form a long time ago.
In other words, it means that even if a recruitment offer is made now, the possibility of it being accepted is slim.
If the odds are so low, is it worth pushing forward and causing friction with the thieves’ club?
Jeong Jong-myeong calculated this far and decided to take a step back.
But he added one thing.
“Just know that we are watching with interest.”
How will the evaluation of Kim Ho change in the future?
It remained to be seen whether the decision he made now would remain the same later.
* * *
Even after absorbing the cute poison, I continued to eat poison and build up mana, then eat poison and build up mana again.
And then, just as I was about to take the next dose of poison, I noticed a notification message popping up.
I guess I missed it because I was half-absorbed.
[The rank of ‘Core’ increases. (C+→B+)]
Finally, the core has escaped the stagnation zone and reached B rank.
‘It seemed like it was going to go up slowly.’
It was an unexpected achievement, but not entirely unexpected.
I ate elixirs like they were rice, and lived in the Mana Training Center every single day.
It was like taking an even bigger dose of elixir, since it absorbed the energy of all the poisons there.
‘Your body feels light.’
I can feel that my mana capacity has definitely increased.
The confidence that you can do anything is a bonus.
Of course, it’s not just a feeling, but the range of things you can actually do has expanded.
You can learn higher level magic, and the burden on mana is reduced.
For example, the [Ice Wall] I recently copied is a B-rank magic spell, and since it consumes a lot of mana, I was planning on using it only once in a while at important moments.
Now, on the other hand, you can use it as much as you need without worrying about that.
And here, if you raise the core one more level and reach A rank,
‘Higher magic is not open.’
A typical example is space-time magic.
[Blink], which Sehun Oh showed off during the chase, is included there.
Of course, achieving an A-rank core is incomparably more difficult than achieving a B-rank core, so you will still have to work hard for a long time.
‘Now let’s finish what we were doing.’
I took a quick look around, but my original goal wasn’t the core.
So I poured the next poison into my mouth and resumed my mana training.
“… … .”
How much more time passed in this state of nothingness?
As the poisons in my inventory were about to run out, another notification message appeared.
[Acquire ‘Immunity to Heal (B)’.]
Invincible.
Now, we have reached a point where we are not even addicted to certain poisons.
This alone should be enough to provide some protection against the Witch of Corruption.
In terms of difficulty, Hell Mode has been reduced to Normal Mode.
However, some of the magic used by the Witch of Corruption is A-rank, so the danger has not completely disappeared.
To lower the difficulty to easy mode,
‘You should prepare at least for Mandokbulchim.’
And the Mandokbulchim is only one step away.
It will be complete once you secure the poison resistor with a pin.
So where do you get that important pin?
[Main Quest 2-3](In progress….)
▷Objective: Collect a sample.
▷Reward: Differential payment based on achievement level
If you continue to progress through the linked quests, you will receive it as a reward.
I took a small test tube out of my inventory.
Given with a quest, you must kill Dark Oobleck and take the sample here.
And to defeat Dark Oobleck, you must first search this dungeon and that dungeon to find them.
‘It would be perfect if I did it while being disciplined.’
I rather like it.
* * *
This punishment was exceptional in several ways, as it presupposed ‘entering the dungeon’.
No matter how much a student breaks the school rules, you can’t just throw them into a dungeon where their life is at stake without any preparation.
There was a significantly higher chance that I would encounter Dark Oobleck while searching, so I had to prepare more thoroughly.
Therefore, rather than forcing people to “enter the dungeon starting tomorrow,” the leadership team showed flexibility and adjusted their schedules accordingly.
And the day I decided to be disciplined was today, Friday.
After school.
While other students were rushing out of the classroom, I approached Song Cheon-hye at a leisurely pace.
“… … .”
At that moment, Song Cheon-hye also got up from her seat and looked back as if she felt eyes on her.
Although his gaze was not very kind, I asked calmly.
“What about the members?”
“There are four of us. You, me, and two more.”
Just as I was about to ask who those two were, a very familiar voice was heard from behind me.
“No, who is this?”
Shin Byeong-cheol, a promising prospect for disciplinary action.
Not only did they confiscate a bunch of banned items during this band wave, they also raided the temporary storage facility without any sign of reflection.
‘It’s brave that you didn’t get expelled.’
I don’t know the details, but I’m sure the disciplinary action will last the entire semester.
Despite such a bleak future, Shin Byeong-cheol just smiled and said,
“If it’s like being punished, then don’t say anything.”
“I know now.”
“I see. Anyway, please take good care of me.”
“Don’t ask for favors, just serve one.”
“Oh, of course I should, one serving.”
Song Cheon-hye looked at us two with displeasure and then joined the conversation.
“We’re not going out to have fun. Please be serious.”
Shin Byeong-cheol and I hardened our expressions as if we had made a promise.
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“Can’t you see that we’re serious right now?”
“Why, why is your face so serious?”
“You too.”
Since we have a common enemy, we can kill them easily.
Song Cheon-hye gave up on the conversation and shook her head.
And then I asked him the same question.
“So who’s the last one?”
“Nazirong!”
This time the answer came from somewhere else.
Han So-mi appeared with a bright voice.
It was as if a sound effect of “Ta-da!” was ringing out.
The supporters ate it all
