Episode 52: Disassembling the Junk (1)
The number one way for students to use their points is through replays of other students.
Next, auxiliary tools used in battles,
Lastly, it is used to enter restricted training areas such as special performance rooms.
Usually, even if you distribute only these three, there are hardly any points left, so there is no room to look elsewhere.
But if you have enough points.
The range of items available for purchase in the Student Store has been greatly expanded.
Of course, weapons are included there too.
Go Hyun-woo checked the back of his student ID and answered.
“I’ve collected about 5,000 points.”
“It’s plenty.”
I poured all my points into the special performance room before I got the season pass, and I already had that many.
He started as the top player in the strategy game, so he has some level of recognition, and although his overall skills are not promising, they are close to the top.
There are probably quite a few people who watch the replay consistently.
Anyway, how should I use these 5,000 points?
I mentioned this with the intention of buying weapons, but there is something more important.
“First, let’s buy three [thermocatalyst reagents].”
The price is 1,000 points each, for a total of 3,000 points.
As a water supplier, Go Hyun-woo asked a natural question.
“What are these used for?”
“It’s a crafting material.”
To be more precise, it is a material that goes into magic engineering.
Two reagents are items that Go Hyun-woo will need in the future.
“Another one is my wages.”
I said proudly.
I need to put some food in my mouth too.
After hearing that, Go Hyun-woo put in 3,000 points without any hesitation.
He hands me the items and asks me questions instead.
“Is this enough for the fee? I think it’s too little compared to the hard work of Brother Kim.”
Objectively speaking, a thousand points is nothing compared to the value of the item I’ll make.
He shook his head at Ko Hyun-woo, who seemed to want to do something more.
“Later. I’m not in a hurry.”
The one who has to solve the problem right in front of him is Go Hyun-woo.
The budget was also drastically reduced from 5,000 to 2,000, so it became tight.
From my perspective, it’s more beneficial to ask for my share of dungeon rewards later on rather than being petty greedy.
I quickly looked through the catalog and picked out one E-rank and one D-rank one-handed sword.
“With the remaining points, I can buy this and this.”
“Okay.”
[Longsword of the Sign (E)]
[Table of Contents Longsword (D)]
If you’re looking for durability, there’s nothing better than this ‘Pyoguk series’.
Another advantage is that it feels similar to a F-class iron sword.
Perhaps that’s why Go Hyun-woo seemed to have adapted to it by just drawing his long sword in the air a few times.
“Not bad.”
“Try them one by one, starting from E-class. How long can you last?”
“There are only two games left in the tournament.”
In addition to the two matches I played today, I still need to play two more random queue matches to complete my quota for this week.
He tried to dissuade Ko Hyun-woo, saying that he would set up a match at any moment.
“No. Let’s stop here for today. I pushed myself too hard.”
“You can still fight more.”
“I guess I can fight. But what if Jang Sam shows up as my opponent again?”
“… … !”
There is also a good chance that he will be competing with other promising players, not just Jang Sam.
Even if you fight in top condition, it’s hard to predict victory, but in your current state, you’re sure to lose.
Go Hyun-woo also realized that fact and coughed slightly.
“Ahem… … . I guess I’m a little excited to try out the new sword.”
“It’s not too late to fight tomorrow. Just focus on recovering today.”
“Okay, that sounds good.”
After receiving treatment at the infirmary, I scheduled a time to have my core refined in the special training room.
So I sent Ko Hyun-woo away.
I called up the notification message that had arrived earlier.
[Sub Quest: 3rd week PvP battle]
▷Goal: Complete 4 rounds of PvP. (4/4 rounds)
▷Deadline: ~Sunday midnight.
▷Reward: Paid differently based on the number of wins. (4/4 wins)
[Accessory Selection (C)]
▷Obtain the C-grade accessory you want.
Thanks to my clean 4-win streak, I was rewarded with a C-rank accessory.
Since I had already decided on something, it didn’t even take a few seconds to choose.
[Obtain Black Mithril Band (C)]
[Black Mithril Band (C)]
▷Very high mana conductivity
A thin metal bracelet with a black sheen.
This item is made by processing high-purity black mithril into a belt shape.
It has a performance that may be ambiguous depending on how you hear it, called ‘very high mana conductivity’.
Wearing the bracelet has a minor effect that helps with [Core] training or speeds up mana recovery.
However, this mana conductivity is the reason why I chose this over other C-class bracelets.
It may be small now, but it will soon give you benefits of C-class or higher.
Wearing a black mithril band,
The next step is to use 3,000 points worth of materials.
I walked towards the magic engineering workshop.
I have already received permission to use Workshop 1 from Manager Bong Jae-seok, but at this time of day, the garden will be packed so there will be no room to even set foot.
Since I was given the exception by the authority of the manager, I have to be a bit mindful of the members.
It would be better to wait until around midnight when it becomes relatively quiet.
Of course, until then, just killing time doesn’t suit my personality,
We plan to complete all necessary preparations in advance.
In the 4th workshop.
* * *
The 4th workshop was no different from the first day, from a few days ago, or today.
As always, there is only one person inside.
He was a third-year senior who traded 10x10x10 cube blueprints with me.
“… … .”
When I sense someone’s presence, I stop what I’m doing and look back.
He doesn’t say anything, but his expression is like, ‘It’s you again?’
As a junior, I bowed my head first.
“hello.”
“Oh, yeah, hi.”
He went back to his usual quivering response.
He makes it seem like he’s really focused on something, as if he wants me to pay attention to him.
Since you were defeated by Bong Jae-seok because of the cube blueprint, you must be a bit uncomfortable dealing with me.
On the other hand, I wasn’t the type of person to be obsessed with such things.
All you have to do is achieve the purpose of coming to the 4th workshop.
‘Copy first.’
[Use ‘Copy-Skill’.]
[Register the target’s skill ‘Magic Engineering (B)’ in the slot.]
▷Copy-Skill [2/2]
1. Magic Engineering (B)
2. Thief’s Step (B)
He sent me [Daesuin], written in short and bold letters.
There are a lot of melee attack skills if you look for them, so you can just get them later.
Next, I approached the mountain of junk piled in a corner.
According to Bong Jae-seok, if you just draw the diagram and submit it later, you can freely look through it and use it.
There are a few more hidden pieces buried inside, but nothing as great as the [Cube of Life] anymore.
It is not nutritionally sufficient to warrant further exploration.
The reason I’m rummaging through the junk right now is for another reason.
‘I need to get the ingredients.’
The materials handed over to Koh Hyun-woo are only a small portion.
To be exact, only the part where ‘points go in’ has been resolved.
In fact, isn’t it greedy to just put in a catalyst and hope that a good item will pop out?
Of course, we need to collect more materials.
And as of now, this is the only place where you can get those ingredients for free.
The items that make up this mountain of junk are usually failures that were left unfinished during production for one reason or another.
In other words, the ‘making’ part is better than expected.
And if you disassemble the good parts, you can salvage the materials.
Even the Magic Engineering Club knows this fact.
So why do these odds and ends pile up day by day?
That’s because the disassembly process is incredibly tedious.
Starting with figuring out what item this half-machine lump is part of, what materials went into it, and at what stage it stopped.
We need to weave a suitable magic engineering formula anew and take it apart piece by piece, like unraveling a tangled thread.
It’s better to just buy new materials than to do this.
‘Of course not me.’
For me, who had completed [Cube of Life] in just a few days, this wasn’t even considered difficult.
To my eyes, it looked like there was a lot of material strewn about.
After collecting only the useful items, take them to the workbench.
When I cast the magic engineering spell, my hand took on a soft blue glow.
In that state, I manipulated the tools on the workbench and dismantled the failed products one by one.
This wasn’t the first or second time I had done this, and my hand movements were unstoppable.
To an outsider, it would look like I was just carelessly swinging the tool around and the items were falling off on their own.
On one side, good materials were piled up, and on the other side, waste that could not be recycled at all was piled up.
The more you repeat the task, the less clutter there is, and the higher the two mountains pile up.
“… … .”
In the midst of all that, I felt eyes on me from behind.
Without even looking, the third-year senior would be peeking at me.
Before our somewhat awkward relationship, he was also a magic engineer.
You’ve probably heard the rumor that I completed the 10x10x10 cube.
The rumor spread less because I did the work behind the scenes and at lightning speed, but for a magic engineer, the creation of the [Cube of Life] is a legendary achievement.
Since I, who wrote such a legend, am also busy tinkering with odds and ends, I can’t help but be curious about what great thing I will create next.
For a while, he seemed to have endured it out of respect for his senior status, but eventually, he couldn’t control his curiosity and sneaked closer.
The way he asked me what I had been told by Bong Jae-seok was very cautious.
“What… … are you making?”
“I’m disassembling it. I’m trying to get some materials.”
“That annoying thing?”
“Even if it’s annoying, I have to do it.”
Of course, contrary to what was said, it wasn’t annoying at all.
The more the results are compared to the effort put into a task, the more motivated you become.
Items pop out as soon as you touch them, so this is not much of a hassle.
“Can I take a look?”
“Yes, it’s okay.”
Before examining the materials, please ask my permission.
Still, he’s not someone who has no cases at all.
In fact, the fact that they could have been stored straight in the inventory was mostly for show.
He looked at the ingredients here and there and exclaimed in admiration.
“It was taken apart, but the materials came out so cleanly? It’s brand new?”
Since it is subjected to magical engineering twice during the process of being manufactured and dismantled, it is possible that minor damage may occur.
There are virtually no defects to be found in these materials.
It is so good that there is no penalty to performance even if it is used to make other items.
Since it contained the experience of a veteran who had trained over a dozen S-class magicians, the disassembly I did with my own hands was perfection itself.
“… … .”
My senior kept giving me envious looks.
I want the materials in front of me, but I don’t have the courage to follow me and disassemble the junk items.
Because he knows that with his magical engineering skills, it will take a long time and there is a high possibility of damaging the materials during the process.
For him, there is no other way but to watch with his mouth watering.
‘It seems like the mood is starting to warm up.’
I intentionally showed them clean ingredients and made them envious.
Now we can move on to the next step.
You will naturally gain luck while manipulating magical engineering tools.
“Senior, would you like to exchange some materials?”
“With this?”
“Yes. I’ll give you a discount.”
“I’m fine.”
My senior was delighted with my suggestion.
Since there seemed to be a lot of good materials, there was no reason to refuse if I opened a barter for them at a cheap price.
“What do you need?”
“[Cooler], [Central axis], [High-strength wire], and… … .”
I recited a list of items I needed, and my senior gave me what he could give me, then took some of the ingredients from the table.
So, if I summarize what I have,
‘One thing solved.’
The first of three items I want to make in the Magic Engineering Workshop.
All the materials for the items to be made for Go Hyun-woo have been gathered.
I received the points from Go Hyun-woo, made up for some by disassembling odds and ends, and finally filled in some of the holes through deals with my senior.
Now, when there is space in Workshop 1, you can take it and make it.
“Hey, but this… … isn’t that what Bong Jae-seok said?”
The senior, who was briefly delighted at being able to easily obtain materials, began to show signs of anxiety.
I guess he’s worried that it might happen again since there was a precedent of it being broken by Bong Jae-seok.
“Everything was approved. There shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Ugh… … . But I still feel uneasy for no reason.”
“It’s not like we’re committing a crime. If you’re really worried, why don’t you just get permission for this?”
“… … Is that so? Then I’ll send a message?”
The senior sent a message to Bong Jae-seok on the spot.
Let me briefly summarize what happened just now.
And shortly after,
– Boom!
Bong Jae-seok kicked open the door of Workshop 4 and rushed in.
