Episode 39 Duel (1)
After class, there were guests who came to see me outside the classroom.
First of all, on one side is Kwak Ji-cheol.
Jeong Su-ji, who used to hang out with me, isn’t here today.
He looks at me with hostile eyes, as if he is plotting something.
I took a moment to reflect.
It wasn’t like I was going to bang my head against the alley wall.
‘I should have beaten him a little more and knocked him out.’
I think there will be another opportunity soon.
A little further away, Park Na-ri was holding her cat in one arm and gently stroking it.
Whenever someone passes by, he cringes with an anxious expression.
The two people each had a guardian.
Next to Kwak Ji-cheol is a boy with a nervous expression who seems to be irritated by everything.
Next to Park Na-ri is a female student with a gentle smile.
They both wore third-grade pins on their ties.
Emerald Tower and Nature Club, I guess.
Four people approached me.
The first to speak was Emerald Matap Senior.
“Are you Kim Ho-nya?”
“Hello, senior.”
“This is Emerald Chief Mok Jong-hwa.”
“I’m Ha Su-yeon, the president of the Nature Club.”
Unlike Mok Jong-hwa, who openly looked down on people, Ha Su-yeon maintained a polite and respectful attitude.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether it is ‘just’ polite.
Mok Jong-hwa continued the conversation.
“If you have any business, come here in person.”
“Thank you. I tried talking to the messenger, but the level wasn’t right.”
Kwak Ji-cheol and Mok Jong-hwa’s faces hardened at the same time.
Kwak Ji-cheol is treated like a messenger who doesn’t fit his class, and Mok Jong-hwa is treated like a first-year student who is on the same level as him.
Mok Jong-hwa raised his hand to silence Kwak Ji-cheol, who was about to lose his temper and say something.
“I guess you don’t see anything because you’re a freshman. As a senior, I’ll give you a piece of advice. Always be humble. The world outside the well is bigger than you think.”
“Thank you for the advice. But it doesn’t seem like you’re out of the well.”
“If you think that way, then you lack insight. Properly assessing the skills of your opponent is also a skill.”
“So you sent two rascals?”
“… … !”
Mok Jong-hwa was speechless for a moment.
If, as I said, he had outstanding insight and could properly assess my skills, then Kwak Ji-cheol and Jeong Su-ji should have defeated me.
But here I am, standing there, acting all cocky.
It was like spitting in my face.
Ha Su-yeon, who could no longer stand to watch, stepped in to mediate.
“I think it would be best for you both to stop here. We didn’t come here to argue.”
Mok Jong-hwa looked around instead of saying another word.
Because two department heads appeared, the attention of the first-year students passing by was focused on them.
Everyone was wandering around wondering if there was anything to see, so he probably decided that getting angry here wouldn’t do any good.
“This isn’t a good place to talk. Let’s move.”
* * *
We each bought a drink from the store and sat down on the second floor terrace.
It’s a place that students don’t visit as often as you might think.
Kwak Ji-cheol and Park Na-ri were slightly behind, and the three of us talking were me, Mok Jong-hwa, and Ha Su-yeon.
Ha Su-yeon opened her mouth.
“I heard you have a special item.”
“I guess that’s why you came.”
Actually, I didn’t guess, I made them come.
I took out the [Cube of Life] and placed it on the table.
Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of the box emitting gentle waves of life without even opening the lid.
Park Na-ri’s cat escaped from her arms, jumped up onto the table, and squeezed into the cube.
“Bom, no! Come out quickly!”
“It’s okay. Just leave it alone.”
“……sorry.”
He waved his hand at Park Na-ri, who was hurriedly trying to retrieve the cat.
Since you are going to be the master anyway, why should you be so harsh?
The cat flicked open the cover of the Cube of Life.
He sits in the middle and says something.
“Meow.”
“It was true… … .”
“Beom-i really likes it… … .”
Mok Jong-hwa and Ha Su-yeon make expressions of incredulity as they watch, as if they can’t believe it.
Then Ha Su-yeon regains control of her expression and continues the conversation.
“At first glance, it looks like a very powerful life-type artifact. Would you mind showing me the item description?”
“Umm… … .”
I pretended to be asleep for a moment.
The performance of an item is directly proportional to the power of its owner.
If you show it off carelessly, it’s like revealing your own capital.
I intend to sell it eventually, but I am deliberately holding back because I am afraid that if I show it to them right away, they will think it is strange.
Ha Su-yeon and Mok Jong-hwa added, as if to ease my worries.
“I promise on the name of the Nature Club that I will never let this information out.”
“I also promise on the name of Emerald.”
“… … Then that’s good.”
I reluctantly pretended to accept and disclosed the item information.
Four people crowded around the cube.
My eyes widened in amazement as I read the description.
“The performance of the life series items being stored… … is 1.3 times?”
“There is no limit to the number. With this capacity, you can put in at least 10.”
“This is such a ridiculous thing… … .”
“There’s no way this is a B-rank. Where on earth did you get it?”
The four of them were chatting excitedly, as the performance was more shocking than they had expected.
Even Park Na-ri, who is timid and reserved, actively participates in the conversation.
I waited leisurely, sipping my iced coffee.
After the excitement died down a bit, Ha Soo-yeon returned with a soft voice.
But the burning heat in his eyes cannot be hidden.
“Let me get straight to the point. Are you willing to give up this cube?”
“Well, it’s a good item to have.”
Mok Jong-hwa spoke in an arrogant tone.
“Items shine in the hands of those who know how to use them properly. Even if you have them, they are just two life items. Pearl necklaces on pigs’ necks. Don’t let them rot away somewhere like that. Give them to us. We will pay you a price that is more than you deserve.”
“Director Mok Jong-hwa’s words may be excessive, but I agree with him to some extent.”
Ha Su-yeon added detailed explanations.
“The Emerald and Nature Clubs have plenty of life-type items. This means they can maximize the effects of this cube.”
On the other hand, even if I work hard to collect life series items in the future, they will fall behind them in terms of grade and quantity.
In that case, wouldn’t it be better to exchange it for equipment of similar value that I could utilize? That was the argument of the two managers.
‘I would be so grateful if you would do this.’
It’s pretty similar to why I decided to sell the cube.
Because life series items don’t work well with me.
Of course, even if the reasons are similar, there is a huge difference between saying it from the perspective of the person selling it and from the perspective of the person buying it.
If it looks like I’m selling it because I don’t need it, the value will drop, but if it’s the same as now where they buy it because they want it, I can continue to occupy the high ground.
“I understand what you mean, but I can’t help but hesitate.”
“Tell me what you want and I’ll try my best to accommodate it.”
“Umm… … .”
I played a freshman who was full of agony, wondering whether to sell or not, and how much to sell.
Everyone was silent and just looked at me, waiting for my next words.
And my answer was set long ago when I first brought up the season pass topic to Ko Hyun-woo.
After pretending to think hard, he shows four fingers.
“4 special performance hall season passes. I think that’s enough to pass.”
“That’s nonsense.”
Mok Jong-hwa responded immediately.
“Don’t you think I’m being too greedy? I’ll trade you two season passes right away.”
“There is no bargaining.”
“… … .”
Mok Jong-hwa was impressed, and Ha Su-yeon was engaged in conversation.
“You probably don’t need four season passes, and you’re just trying to exchange them for equivalent items, right?”
“I would like to receive one season pass to be exact, and the other three as items.”
“You can trade up to three at a loss. But four seems excessive, even to me.”
“Then I’m sorry, but I think we’ll have to pretend this deal never happened.”
Ha Soo-yeon’s eyebrows also frowned slightly.
I said it with a clear expression that I had no regrets.
“As I said at the beginning, I think it’s enough to just have this cube. If you really want to sell it, you can go to the fencing club or the white magic club… … or you can put it up for auction.”
“… … !”
“… … !”
In terms of ranking, the level of Emerald and Mother Nature is in the upper-middle ranks.
Compared to the power of traditional martial arts clubs such as the swordsmanship club or the white magic club, they have to give up a little.
There’s no guarantee that they’ll get the value of three season passes or more when they take the [Cube of Life] to them, but given the difference in power, Ha Soo-yeon might be hoping for something.
Auctions are in a similar vein.
If the cube were to fall into someone else’s hands, it could cost more than four season passes.
Ha Su-yeon sighed as if she was embarrassed.
“Ha… … . Before that, I’d like to hear what you would exchange the three season passes for. What items would you exchange them for?”
This means that if it is an item that they can obtain relatively easily, they are willing to trade even if it means taking on more losses.
But things in life aren’t that easy.
“I want the [Blank Skill Book].”
“… … !!”
Blank skill book.
You can think of it as a skill book version of a blank check.
When you fill in the contents, a skill book is created, and when you use it, you can learn skills.
Even if you write an existing skill, its great strength is that you can customize it to suit the writer’s taste.
Of course, it is extremely rare.
I wonder if there are five or six books in Yongsal Academy right now.
If you add in the effort to get those items, it would probably be worth about 3.5 season passes.
The two managers also shook their heads because they knew that fact.
“If you keep trying, there’s no end to it. I can’t give in to that condition.”
“I think we need to think about it a bit too.”
“Yes, if you change your mind, please let me know.”
I answered calmly.
I think that might change sometime this weekend.
1.3 times will continue to linger before your eyes.
however,
“Over there, over there!”
Park Na-ri suddenly joined the conversation.
As people’s attention focuses on him, his voice instantly becomes as quiet as a mosquito.
“I have… … one copy… … .”
“Nari, think carefully. There aren’t many opportunities to create skills. Wouldn’t it be a waste to spend it like this?”
Although Ha Soo-yeon tried to dissuade her, Park Na-ri took a deep breath and made a determined expression.
“It’s been a long time since I… … got that blank skill book… … .”
“That’s right.”
“But I still can’t think of a good skill. If it continues like this, I’ll just keep putting it in my inventory.”
The blank skill book holds endless possibilities and demands a great deal of creativity from its users.
If you handle it carelessly, you may not be able to fully utilize its potential and may end up creating a low-level skill at best.
There is no such thing as waste, so the creators have to put in a lot of thought.
Park Na-ri has been struggling to develop any significant skills so far.
I’m arguing that it’s better to exchange it for a Cube of Life rather than just keeping it in your inventory.
“And… … . Beom-i likes it like that.”
“Meow.”
The cat, Beom-i, responded with a short meow.
Rest your chin on the corner of the cube.
As someone who is extremely efficient, I didn’t think it was for that reason, but isn’t that how a butler feels?
A pet cat… …who wants to do whatever the tiger wants.
It’s not something that’s completely incomprehensible.
Moreover, judging by Park Na-ri’s rather serious expression, it seemed like she had thought it through and made the decision.
Ha Soo-yeon read it in Park Na-ri’s eyes, staring at her for a moment before letting out a sigh.
“Whew… … . Okay. If that’s what you want.”
“Thank you, sis.”
Ha Su-yeon turned her head to me and asked.
“Do you want to trade right now?”
“If you do it, there is no reason to delay.”
“great.”
Park Na-ri handed me a skill book that was blank and shining white, and Ha Soo-yeon handed me a card that had “Season Pass” written on it in fancy italics.
With that, [the Cube of Life] became the property of Park Na-ri and the Nature Club.
As Park Na-ri hugged the cube with a happy expression, the cat inside the cube also made a satisfied motorcycle sound.
He already starts to scratch and grovel, thinking that it is his property.
“Hey, don’t scratch! Don’t scratch!”
Looking at the expressions on the faces of the people watching the scene, I think their thoughts are probably similar.
‘There really is no such thing as a real cat… … .’
“Tsk.”
Mok Jong-hwa clicked his tongue.
He may have changed his mind later and paid for the four season passes, but once ownership was transferred, it was over.
But it seemed like I still had something to say.
“We came to see you for business other than that cube.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
What brings you here again?
The next words were spoken by Kwak Ji-cheol.
“I challenge you to a duel.”
The supporters ate it all
