Episode 55: Disassembling the Junk (4)
Two female students peeking inside from outside the 4th workshop.
I could easily guess that he had come to see me because his eyes were fixed on me while we were talking.
Moreover, although he spoke in a lowered voice, his conversation could be heard from far away.
– Are you sure about him?
– You’re not even a member of our club. And I heard you’re working here, so I’m 100% sure.
– Then you go and talk to him.
– Let’s go together. Don’t you have any sense of loyalty?
It seemed like he had heard rumors about me and came looking for me.
Of course, it would have been easy to pinpoint that I was the subject of that rumor.
Excluding the 4th workshop’s Ji Bak-ryeong senior who is just quietly doing his job in a corner, naturally, I am the only one left through elimination.
The female students finally stepped into the workshop.
Rather than reacting first, I chose to pretend not to know and focus on what I was doing.
The schoolgirls also approached me cautiously so as not to disturb me, and watched with interest as I neatly dismantled one of my failures nearby.
I put my tools down for a moment before moving on to the next item, and looked up to face the girls.
These are faces I’ve seen in passing once or twice while going to and from the first workshop.
Additionally, there is a third-grade pin on the tie.
They are the third-year seniors of the Magic Engineering Club, and among them, they are the craftsmen who are in the top group.
“hello.”
“Hello. I heard you were commissioned by Bong Jae-seok. Is that right?”
As expected, the seniors’ business was to dismantle the failed product.
Because it is such a tiresome and annoying task, if someone were to do it for me, I would definitely come and check it out.
Even more so if that person’s skills are pretty good.
I nodded coolly.
“You have entrusted me with a few flops.”
“See, I was right!”
One of the seniors had a proud expression on his face.
The other senior didn’t respond to that and instead asked me.
“Would you like to do ours too?”
There is no doubt about my dexterity, as you have just seen it with your own two eyes.
All that remains is to haggle over the price.
“If you have enough resources, there’s nothing you can’t do.”
“What did you get from Bong Jae-seok?”
“I received one high-quality material.”
“Can we give it to you like that? What do you need?”
“Yes, I would like to have [Weather Chips] or [Float Extract].”
Just like the [Magic Engine] that I receive as a commission from Bong Jae-seok, these are all key parts that will go into my weapons.
Even if you use disassembled items for the side parts, you must use high-grade materials for the core parts that determine the weapon’s performance.
Ultimately, I’m aiming for EX-class.
“Oh, I have that!”
One of my seniors immediately took out a [Weather Chip] from his inventory and handed it over to me in advance.
Judging from the fact that the other seniors flinched for a moment, it seemed like they had the same item, but it was already too late.
An expression that makes you want to ask, “Can’t I give you another item instead?”
But now that I’m a senior, I feel a little bit ashamed to do that.
“I don’t have the float extract… right now, but I’ll get it for you by tomorrow.”
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
I was immediately handed a flop.
These people are also part of the Magic Engineering Club, so they are refreshing without any push or pull.
Since production classes are always pressed for time, they tend to pay quite generously for saving their own time.
I bowed my head with a heart full of gratitude.
“I’ll have it ready by midnight.”
“That fast? You can do it slowly.”
“There is plenty of time.”
“Okay. Thanks~ See you later~”
The two seniors were just taking care of business and quickly leaving for the first workshop.
They have a lot of production requests coming in, so they can’t waste any more time.
I picked up my tools again.
Soon the workbench was filled with blue light.
* * *
“Sniff, sniff.”
Dang Gyu-yeong held his sleeve to his nose and sniffed.
And then he suddenly frowned.
Somehow, it seemed like the uniform had a smell.
Cleaning the culvert.
This is a task of thoroughly searching the maze-like passages spread out underground in Dungeon Island.
The goal is to discover and kill monsters that occasionally flow in from outside.
It goes without saying that no one wants to wander through dark, cramped, damp underground passageways, smelling the distinctive, musty smell of sewage.
Even more so because sometimes you end up spilling the blood of a monster.
However, if left unattended, monsters could invade the school grounds, so someone had to do it.
So, cleaning the culvert was usually given as a disciplinary action to students who broke school rules.
Just like it was given to Dang Gyu-yeong and the members of the Thieves’ Club.
As Dang Gyu-yeong and his crew finished their work for the day and came up to the surface, Kwak Seung-jae greeted them.
He was the one who always showed up at exactly the right time.
“Are you finished, senior?”
“Hey. Look.”
Dang Gyu-yeong threw the video record correction ball over to him.
This crystal ball, like the replay crystal ball used in student battles and strategy battles, is used to record in detail what happened in the underground sewer.
Only when you show evidence that you worked hard and did not slack off like this will the leadership remove your punishment for that day.
Kwak Seung-jae quickly played the correction ball and then nodded his head.
“Confirmed.”
After retrieving the crystal ball, he started scanning the student ID cards of the Thieves’ Club members one by one with the terminal he had brought.
Meanwhile, Dang Gyu-yeong asked.
“Hey, Seungjae. How much time do we have left?”
The question is how many days of disciplinary action are left.
Kwak Seung-jae’s answer came back immediately.
“There are 9 days left for the underground waterway, 5 days left for the building maintenance work, and 2 days left for external requests.”
“… … It’s been a while.”
As if in agreement with those words, heavy sighs erupted from all over the place.
I thought I worked myself to death, but this damn discipline showed no sign of abating.
Dang Gyu-yeong was also human, and like other people, he hated dirty and difficult work.
Especially this pungent smell.
After cleaning the culvert, the smell lingered in my nose for a while and almost made me lose my appetite.
Kwak Seung-jae spoke in a calm tone to Dang Gyu-yeong, who had a sullen expression.
“I brought a message from the manager.”
“Squint-eyed?”
“Yes, I think it will be a good opportunity for you, senior.”
A message from the leader of the party, Oh Se-hoon, and a good opportunity for Dang Gyu-young.
Judging from the flow of the conversation, it was likely a way to reduce the punishment.
However, in trading, if you get something, you also have to give something back.
Dang Gyu-yeong hit the player.
“I’ll make it clear in advance, if we talk about it then I have nothing more to say.”
The banned items stolen during the last temporary storage raid and the masked man who used [Inferno Fist] are still being tracked by the Student Guidance Department.
If Oh Se-hoon’s message was related to these, Dang Gyu-young had no intention of opening his mouth.
I don’t want to sell Kim Ho now, and I already cashed out most of the items.
Kwak Seung-jae slowly shook his head.
“I don’t even expect that.”
“Then what is it?”
“Let me take a look.”
Dang Gyu-yeong accepted the documents handed over by Kwak Seung-jae.
It was written in large letters on the cover like this.
If I were to skim through it and summarize the key points, it would be something like this.
The level of this year’s freshmen is very high, and the academic expectations are very high.
So, I would like to conduct this mentoring in more detail.
The goal is to keep the number of new students per mentor to an average of five or fewer.
To achieve that goal, we need more mentors than ever before.
If you are qualified, please consider participating in mentoring.
Dang Gyu-young’s skills are in the top tier of third-year students.
He is well qualified to mentor and lead someone.
but…….
‘Another annoying thing popped up.’
I absolutely hate being a nanny.
Just leading the thieves behind her was giving her a headache.
But what if there are more people to care for here?
Even the new kids who come in as mentees are most likely to be from other clubs, or in other words, ‘other people’s children.’
If you treat them like thieves, there is a very high chance that you will have friction with that club.
It means that you have to treat your subordinates like a master.
The weight was rapidly shifting towards rejection, but Dang Gyu-yeong held his tongue for the time being.
You have to listen to what people say until the end before making a decision.
“So, what if you take it?”
“He said he would completely forgive me this punishment.”
“Just me? Or them too?”
“All those included in this disciplinary action.”
“… … !”
“… … !”
Not only Dang Gyu-yeong, but all members involved in the temporary storage facility invasion incident are released.
The members of the Thieves’ Club all gave each other intense looks.
Anyone who sees it will think there are laser beams shooting out of its eyes.
‘Boss, please!’
‘Sister, just close your eyes and say okay.’
‘Accepting it is the only way for you and us to survive… …!’
If you refuse, he will even rise up to the challenge.
‘But these… … ?’
How dare you put silent pressure on the heavenly manager?
When Dang Gyu-young met their piercing gazes, their gazes scattered.
She made a resolution in her heart.
I think we need to catch up sometime and have some time to straighten things out.
Back to the main topic.
Dang Gyu-yeong briefly summarized the proposal from the leadership.
“In short, mentor instead of punish, is that it?”
“To put it bluntly, yes.”
“Ahem… … . Take this, okay?”
Dang Gyu-yeong diligently weighed the pros and cons of discipline on one side and mentoring on the other.
It was not clear which side had an advantage.
Instead of smelling like a sewer, if you have four or five bosses, the troubles will still be there.
When it seemed like Dang Gyu-yeong’s worries were getting longer, Kwak Seung-jae opened his mouth in a polite tone.
“Can I say something?”
“What is it? Try it.”
“I think you should accept it.”
“why?”
“Isn’t time the most important thing for the Thieves’ Club right now? You have to run the errand center and prepare for the black market that will open soon.”
Dang Gyu-yeong suddenly turned his head and asked from behind.
“Hey, is our security okay like this? The leader knows all about our schedules!”
“Isn’t it an open secret?”
It was as obvious as any that the Thieves’ Club would target the temporary storage facility after the bandit wave.
Running an errand center and a black market.
Besides, it was true that time was important, as Kwak Seung-jae said.
If the leadership’s proposal is accepted, the members will have their disciplinary action waived, which will give them much more freedom of movement, and Dang Gyu-yeong himself will also have a bit more leeway.
“And if you do well in mentoring, you may be given a corresponding reward. Yongsal Academy is thorough in this regard.”
“Isn’t that too positive a view?”
“So I don’t have high expectations either.”
“… … .”
Dang Gyu-young’s expression turned sour.
A shamelessly honest guy.
Still, Kwak Seung-jae’s words helped me make a decision.
He clicks his tongue softly and answers.
“Tsk, tell him I’ll do it.”
“You made a good decision.”
“But, are there many people who want to learn Rogue series skills?”
“As far as I know, it won’t be much. And… … .”
Kwak Seung-jae shook his head and added.
“… … Isn’t there a special area of expertise that you have, senior?”
Shadow Sorcerer Dang Gyu-yeong.
She is a master of all the secrets of thieving, and at the same time,
He was a powerful battle mage who could compete with even the leaders of the Mataphoe.
