The Support Ate it All

Let’s leave Seo Ye-in’s training to Ahn Jeong-mi for the time being.

Go Hyeon-woo also seemed to take a liking to his mentor and fellow group members, so it didn’t seem like I would need to be heavily involved.

If there was anything I could help with, it would be arranging him a sparring match with Han So-mi.

And the opportunity for that arose sooner than expected.

On the way to the arena to train [Distortion] with Dang Gyu-young.

I spotted the figure of Song Cheon-hye in the distance.

But she doesn’t seem to be in good shape.

She looked utterly worn out as if she had been through a tough ordeal.

Unlike her usual diligent and flawless demeanor, she walked unsteadily and sluggishly with a pale face.

It looks like she’s coming back from a mentoring session.

Judging by the signs of fierce combat all over her body.

It was clear she had been put through the wringer by Dang Gyu-young.

Since I have business with Song Cheon-hye anyway, I approached her first and called out.

“Song Cheon-hye.”

“!!!”

Song Cheon-hye must have thought she was completely alone.

When she heard my voice, she was visibly startled and started frantically scanning her surroundings before her eyes landed on me. What followed was a remarkable transformation at an incredible speed.

She straightened her once slouched posture, swiftly tied up her hair that had been half undone and cascading down her shoulders, and smoothed out her uniform from head to toe, all in less than three seconds.

“What? What do you want?”

“You must be coming back from mentoring. Tough day, huh?”

“Tough? I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I just noticed your face seemed to bear the brunt of it.”

“Not at all. Are you sure you’re not seeing things?”

Song Cheon-hye was adamantly denying any hardship. She didn’t show even the slightest sign of strain.

I just shook my head.

“Hmm, I guess so. My mistake. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be.”

…While saying that, I mimicked the actions I had just seen from Song Cheon-hye.

Stumble, stagger, stagger.

When she saw her own disheveled state copied by me, Song Cheon-hye shivered.

“S-Stop it.”

“I should have recorded this impressive scene with a crystal ball, but it’s such a shame, don’t you think?”

“Using crystal balls outside practical assessments is against school regulations. Even more so, filming another student without their consent!”

“I know, I know. It’s just a shame I can’t use it as evidence.”

“…….”

My reenactment just now was so perfect that Song Cheon-hye could no longer say anything in retort.

Yet she refused to admit everything.

“I… may have been a bit tired today. Is that why you called me over, to make fun of a tired person?”

“No, I just happened to see you on my way and thought I’d say hello. And I had something to ask, too.”

“I don’t believe I’m obliged to answer. If you’ll excuse me.”

With that, Song Cheon-hye turned her back coldly, as if to say we should both go our separate ways.

But I couldn’t just let her walk away.

Just when she began to step away, I called out to her.

“You’re not obliged to answer, but it seems you’ve forgotten something.”

“Me? That can’t be.”

Song Cheon-hye scoffed dismissively, but then,

“Wish ticket.”

“……!”

The moment I uttered that word, she stopped in her tracks and stiffened, then her head jerked back to me.

I gave a sly smile and asked again,

“Remember now?”

During the 4th week’s [Clearance] strategy battle, we made a casual bet on who achieved a higher clearance rate.

The stake was a wish ticket that would make the loser respond to a trivial request or question.

However, the outcome of the bet had been almost predetermined.

While I cleared the dungeon cleanly without missing a single item and received the highest score of 100%, Song Cheon-hye fell slightly at 97%.

And now, I intended to cash in that wish ticket.

Song Cheon-hye sighed deeply,

“Ask away. But I’m telling you upfront, I won’t divulge any disciplinary committee secrets.”

“I wouldn’t ask about that. It’s something simple.”

“What is it then?”

“Han So-mi. What does she like?”

“…. Huh?”

Song Cheon-hye’s expression was colored with astonishment. My question seemed so unexpected that it took her aback.

She hesitated before asking,

“So-mi. Are you perhaps…”

“Interested in her? No that’s not it.”

I once heard that she was a disciple of the Sword Marquis, which piqued my interest given her potential as a future S-rank hero.

But Song Cheon-hye’s question now is whether I was interested as a member of the opposite gender so of course I had no choice but to deny it.

Song Cheon-hye furrowed her brows.

“It’s even stranger then. If you’re not interested in her, why would you want to know what So-mi likes?”

I had nothing to hide so I laid out my thoughts honestly.

I explained that Go Hyun-woo and Han So-mi were in the same group and I wanted to arrange for them to have friendly sparring sessions to improve their skills.

“You should have just said that. I’m not so inflexible.”

“I would have, but you wouldn’t listen. Even now, you would have just left if it weren’t for the wish ticket.”

Song Cheon-hye subtly avoided my gaze.

“Anyway, if it’s going to help So-mi, I’m more than willing to assist. Should I start by telling you her favorite snacks?”

“Let’s start there.”

Winning her over with snacks.

It was a simple strategy, but it seemed effective enough to try first.

However, the list of snacks Han So-mi liked was somewhat unexpected.

Red bean jelly, Jeonbyeong (korean pancakes), Bugak, Wagashi, and Candied fruit…

I responded with my mouth watering.

“Red bean jelly, huh… That’s quite the unique preference.”

“Red bean jelly can be quite delicious if you give it a chance.”

“I never said it wasn’t tasty. Just that it’s unique.”

Anyway, this was a good thing for me.

If it were red bean jelly or Jeonbyeong, I luckily had some I had bought earlier from the Black Death dungeon’s marketplace, so there was no need to go through the trouble of finding them.

I pulled out a round container with a set of Jeonbyeong from my inventory to show her.

“Something like this?”

“Yes, exactly like that.”

“Do you think she’ll listen if I give them to her while asking for a favor?”

Song Cheon-hye seemed to run a simulation in her head for a moment before her expression turned doubtful.

She sighed softly and extended her hand.

“Better give them to me; I’ll try talking to her.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Because it would be more effective for Song Cheon-hye to speak out rather than for me.

While I was at it, I took out an armful of the remaining snacks and gave them to her, with the intention of clearing my inventory.

As I was happily watching her move them into her inventory, Song Cheon-hye made a remark as if she did not like the way I looked at her.

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s unsettling.”

“It’s just, you seem kinder than usual.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m doing this to help So-mi.”

“Of course, I understand that. Still, thank you.”

It was a well-used wish ticket.

Having done all there was to do, there was no reason to linger any longer around someone who clearly disliked me.

Just as I was about to walk away,

“Wait a moment.”

This time, it was Song Cheon-hye who stopped me in my tracks.

I mimicked Song Cheon-hye’s way of speaking.

“What? What do you want???”

“Don’t do that.”

“Sorry. Anyway, what is it?”

Song Cheon-hye looked at me with displeasure and then spoke again.

“Do it once more.”

“Do what?”

“Let’s make a bet.”

“I’m all for it. What’s the wager?”

“The duel battle this week. Let’s see who can collect more stickers.”

I’ve already removed all of them, haven’t I?

And if Song Cheon-hye’s skills were only on par with Hong Yeon-hwa, she’d be lucky to remove even one this week.

Song Cheon-hye was digging her own grave, deeper and deeper.

But there was no reason to enlighten her, so I feigned ignorance and inquired about the specifics.

“The same pairs as before, you with Kwak Ji-cheol and me with Hong Yeon-hwa?”

“Yes.”

“And if we tie in the number of stickers?”

“Then the side that completes the duel first wins.”

“Sounds good. What’s at stake?”

“Just like last time, a wish ticket.”

I glanced at Song Cheon-hye’s expression which revealed little emotion.

It seemed there might be another motive behind her challenge, perhaps a desire for revenge after her previous loss to me.

“Why, is there something you want to ask?”

“There is.”

“Then why not just ask, why?”

“Are you going to tell me?”

It seemed like she didn’t think I would answer her question, so she intended to use a wish ticket to ask her question.

I could roughly guess what she wanted to ask.

She had been glancing at my hands frequently, probably curious about the burn scars that were left on my hands when I went in and out of the Black Death last weekend.

After eating a lot of century-old knotweed and diligent mana cultivation, the scars had healed cleanly, leaving no evidence behind. But if she was determined to ask there are many ways.

“How did you get those burns?” She could easily ask that.

I couldn’t help but smirk at the thought.

“Alright, let’s make it interesting and wager a wish ticket on the bet.”

It would certainly add an element of fun to the mix.

***

Another issue needed addressing.

I had received a message from the blacksmithing club.

He said that it would take approximately a week to make the equipment, but he contacted me again after only a few days.

Given the complexity of working with Millennium Iron and Black Mithril, it was unlikely they had finished so soon.

It must be the opposite.

The likelihood was high that they had encountered a problem and needed to consult me.

I already expected this from the time I made the request.

I promptly made my way to the blacksmith’s workshop.

As I waited at the door, a third-year student with a rugged muscular build whom I had met a few days prior approached me.

Today, he was neatly dressed in his uniform, but a closer look at his tie pin revealed he was actually a second-year student.

The theory that wielding a hammer ages a person seemed to gain more credibility.

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

The second year who seemed more like a third year recognized me immediately. He must have been impressed by the fact that I placed a request with a VIP ticket.

“Good day to you.”

“Follow me.”

After a brief exchange of greetings, the senior led me to a small club room set aside within the workshop.

The room was decorated more like an office or counseling room than a typical club space and seemed to be used as such.

It wasn’t long before the president of the blacksmithing club entered the room.

He trudged over, sat down on the seat across from me, and got straight to the point without even a single greeting.

“There’s a problem during the processing.”

With that, he abruptly placed an ingot on the table.

The ingot, gleaming with a dark sheen, was an alloy of millennium iron and black mithril that I had provided.

“Fusing the two items wasn’t the issue. The problem arose afterward.”

A chilling sensation had been touching my skin since the moment the club president brought out the ingot.

Even though I was quite a distance from the table.

“This coldness isn’t normal.”

“Yes. We’ve attempted to process it several times but to no avail.”

Both millennium iron and black mithril are metals inherently imbued with coldness.

When viewed separately, the processing of each metal might have seemed challenging but not impossible.

The president of the blacksmithing club must have thought so too when he accepted the request.

However, the fusion of the two metals far exceeded his expectations.

The level of coldness became so intense that it rivaled that of some of the best ice-element materials which greatly increased the difficulty of processing.

“The forge’s heat was mostly dissipated.”

If the heat couldn’t be properly applied, melting and reshaping were out of the question, let alone fashioning it into a rod.

Especially since what I had requested wasn’t just any rod, but one intricate enough to fit magical engineering components.

After I listened to the explanation, I nodded slowly.

“I see.”

The president of the blacksmithing club narrowed his eyes at my calm nodding.

“You seem almost as if you expected this to happen.”

“I had anticipated it might be challenging to handle. Still, I thought it was possible with you in charge, especially since you mentioned it wouldn’t be difficult. I decided to trust in that.”

In truth, I had placed more weight on the possibility of failure but chose to say otherwise.

There was no need to damage his pride when we would likely meet again in the future.

The president of the blacksmithing club appeared to gauge my true intentions for a moment before posing another question.

“You must have prepared another solution in case of my failure, haven’t you?”

“I do have something in mind, just in case… but honestly, I’m not entirely confident about it.”

This was also a bit of a bluff, as I had prepared a solution from the start but I feigned uncertainty.

“Is that so? Assuming what you have in mind works, tell me what you want.”

Bong Jae-seok, the president of the magic engineering club also didn’t like beating around the bush but this man was even more straightforward.

He wanted me to get straight to the point.

I pretended to think a bit more and finally spoke up.

“There will likely be some material left over after the rod is complete.”

“You knew that much? So, what about it?”

“I’d be grateful if you could use the leftover material to make one small additional item.”

Without hesitation, the president readily agreed to my proposal.

“Fine. If your method works, I’ll make an extra item for you. Go ahead.”

Promises were exchanged as fast beans roasting over a flash of lightning.

Even though it might have looked like a hasty decision from his side, there was certainly a calculation involved.

If one were to become the head of the blacksmithing club, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to start attaching the title of “master” to their name.

In that case, they would want to avoid anything that could tarnish their reputation.

Becoming the laughing stock of the community for abandoning a request due to the difficulty of processing the material was the last thing a craftsman would want.

Therefore, in a situation where a breakthrough was needed, if I knew the solution, it would be more beneficial for them to concede what they could and ease their burden by accepting my offer.

I’m in luck.

Since I already knew the method.

There were mainly two ways to melt the millennium iron alloy.

One was for a powerful fire mage of at least third-year club president level to pour forth their flames at maximum output.

The other was for a fire mage possessing a rare unique trait passed down to only a select few to kindle the flame.

And naturally, the place where both could be found was,

The Ruby Magic Tower.

I fiddled with the large ruby given to me by Hong Yeon-hwa.

Bringing it with me there should at least earn me the treatment of an esteemed guest.