The weekend.
While I waited at the designated spot near the dormitory, Dang Gyu-young appeared right on time.
Though she was in her usual school uniform, she looked even neater and more put together.
On top of that,
“Did you put on perfume?”
“I always do.”
“It smells different today.”
“You’ve got quite the nose. Take a whiff.”
When Dang Gyu-young brought her wrist to my nose, a fragrance that was somewhere between floral and fruity tickled my nose.
Then she playfully tapped my nose and smiled.
“I put in a bit more effort today.”
It wasn’t just because of me but considering the people we were about to meet, she wanted to present herself a little better than usual.
“Shall we get going then?”
“Yes, senior-nim.”
Taking the shuttle bus would have been convenient, but there was a risk of being tracked.
So we decided to walk to our destination.
I followed closely behind Dang Gyu-young.
The direction we took was slightly away from the downtown area.
We walked along the road and occasionally pushed through parts of the forest where there were no paths.
As I quietly followed behind her, Dang Gyu-young who was walking a little ahead glanced over her shoulder.
“Aren’t you curious about where we’re going?”
In truth, I was more informed than curious, but I didn’t spoil the moment.
“I figured you’d tell me when the time was right.”
“Sometimes I can’t tell if you’re just uninterested or incredibly patient. Anyway, I’ll tell you now.”
At least knowing the basic purpose of our trip would be beneficial.
Dang Gyu-young finally uttered a single word.
“Black market. It’s the black market.”
It’s an event hosted by the thieves club where numerous prohibited items are actively traded.
The biggest reason for holding the black market at this time is because of mentoring.
Most of the mentors coming from outside the dungeon island are graduates of the Dragon Slayer Academy.
That’s why they understood students’ needs better than anyone else, carefully selected items to meet those needs, and filled their inventories to the brim.
“If we sell to the students, the profit margin is quite high.”
Moreover, since the customers were students, there was no need to worry about their purchasing power. Most of them were backed by prestigious families, guilds, corporations, or magic towers.
And so many items were actively traded throughout the four-week mentoring period.
“Trading prohibited items is a bit tricky, though.”
Selling prohibited items could yield much higher profits than regular ones, but if caught, the items would be confiscated, their reputation as mentors would suffer, and the news would reach their respective factions.
Even as graduate mentors, they couldn’t help but be wary of the academy’s watchful eyes.
Some might ask, “Why not just avoid selling them? Isn’t selling regular items enough?”
“But the demand for such items is just that big.”
Another major reason the black market was held at this time was that midterms were just around the corner.
With midterms and finals accounting for a significant portion of their grades, resisting the temptation of prohibited items became even harder.
The mindset was that even if they had to take some risks, achieving good grades in the midterms would make the rest of the semester much easier.
In summary, the mentors aimed to empty their inventories as much as possible before leaving the Dungeon Island after mentoring ended.
The students, on the other hand, wanted to secure useful prohibited items to prepare for the midterms.
The simultaneous and steady increase in supply and demand culminated on the weekend of the eighth week, reaching its peak.
In other words, the black market was held the following weekend.
As for the role of the thieves club as the host,
“We connect buyers and sellers and ensure that we remain hidden from the disciplinary committee.”
The disciplinary committee couldn’t possibly be unaware that the black market was happening.
Just like how the thieves club attempted to infiltrate the temporary storage after the ban wave, the black market had also become an annual event.
Even the slightest hint of trading would make them track it down relentlessly.
“Well, that’s a given, but what’s important is the details.”
How they arranged safe transactions while avoiding the disciplinary committee’s attention.
And if caught, how they severed ties cleanly without being traced.
This strategy varied each year and it would largely depend on the traits of the thieves club’s president and vice-president.
For example, this year, the key players were Dang Gyu-young and Chae Da-bin.
Dang Gyu-young, as a shadow mage, could conceal not only herself but also any allies within her range.
When infiltrating the temporary storage and the depths, the club had significantly benefited from her stealth techniques like [Shadow’s Safe Haven] and [Shadow Pouch].
Chae Da-bin had the ability to effortlessly penetrate and disable the magical engineering systems in the depths of the dungeon.
In my assessment, that alone had already surpassed the student level.
So, they would likely use these strengths to prepare for the black market, and Dang Gyu-young brought me out today to observe this preparation.
“To put it simply, it’s like a preliminary field trip.”
“That’s right, a preliminary field trip.”
Dang Gyu-young nodded her head in agreement.
When she turned her gaze forward, a shabby three-story building appeared before us.
“……”
As we approached the building entrance, I looked up and stared at the rooftop.
Dang Gyu-young was about to ask me why but then seemed to realize something and stared at the same spot.
Then a half-surprised, half-interested voice came from there.
“You have good eyes.”
Then, the air shimmered and a pair of people appeared. It was a man and a woman.
They had been hidden with the help of invisible ghillie suits.
At the same time, they jumped down from the third floor and landed lightly in front of us.
The man had a shrewd first impression similar to Shin Byeong-cheol, but with a full head of hair and handsome features.
The woman had soft drooping eyes and a distinctive tear mole at the corner of her eye which gave her a gentle appearance.
Both of them looked older than us.
Graduates.
As if my guess was correct, Dang Gyu-young bowed at a 90-degree angle when they landed and I followed suit with a nod.
“Hello, seniors.”
“Hello.”
“Mhmm, Gyu-young, you’re here. And who’s this next to you?”
“This is a junior I value.”
“Ah, a junior.”
The shrewd man’s gaze shifted to my chest as if trying to check the color of my tie pin.
The eyes of both the man and woman widened at the same time.
“…A first-year?”
It made sense for them to be surprised since a first-year had seen through their invisible camouflage.
Ahn Jeong-mi had also praised me for detecting her with my stagnant water detection skills.
“Quite talented, aren’t you? Or maybe I’m just past my prime.”
“This one is a bit unusual for a first-year.”
“Right? It can’t be that I’m outdated. The future of the thieves club looks bright.”
To this, Dang Gyu-young just smiled instead of replying.
After all, I wasn’t actually a club member.
She subtly sent me a look asking, “Why don’t you join already?” but when I deliberately avoided her gaze, she pouted with her lips.
However, with the two graduates in front of us, she couldn’t stay distracted for long so she asked the woman with the tear mole,
“Why are you outside? You could be resting.”
“Just couldn’t stay still, wanted to see if anyone was coming.”
They had been keeping watch outside to ensure that the Disciplinary Committee wouldn’t discover the meeting location.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“It’s nothing. Let’s go in.”
“Yes, seniors.”
When we stepped inside the building, those lounging on the sofas and playing cards turned their attention towards us.
Among them were the twins I had seen before, Shin Byeong-cheol, and some second and third-year students.
Across from them, there were more men who appeared to be graduates and they started exchanging light greetings with Dang Gyu-young.
“Hello, Gyu-young.”
“Hello.”
Including the shrewd man and the woman with the tear mole, there were a total of five graduates.
Most of them had previously been associated with Dang Gyu-young or the thieves club or were closely connected with the Thieves Guild which operated outside the Dragon Slayer Academy.
Even if they weren’t closely connected, the mentors had their own personal interests, and on the issue of the black market, they tended to side with the thieves’ club over the Disciplinary Committee.
It seemed likely that Dang Gyu-young had sought out one or two of them for help.
However, it was uncommon for as many as five graduates to help out.
While I didn’t know how many graduates or faculty members would side with the Disciplinary Committee, the five in front of us were already a formidable force.
For me, it was a stroke of good luck.
This should make for a smooth ride.
Isn’t it best to just pick up prohibited items without doing any of the work?
As we moved deeper into the building, the loud humming sound of machinery struck my ears.
The source of the noise was dozens of monitors filling an entire room.
Most of the screens were black but a few displayed images of empty rooms.
On one side, Chae Da-bin was busy tapping away on a tablet.
From time to time, she glanced up at the monitors and then resumed her tapping.
Each time she did so, one of the black screens lit up.
With this level of setup, it seemed they intended to use this place not just as a temporary gathering spot but as a full-fledged control tower.
Dang Gyu-yeong watched Chae Da-bin and seized the moment when she paused.
“Da-bin, step out for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Chae Da-bin immediately put down her tablet and followed her out.
In the adjacent room, which resembled a conference room, the members of the thieves club and the graduates were all gathered.
Surprisingly, the man with the shrewd appearance seemed to have the strongest authority among the five graduates.
Seeing him naturally take the head seat and draw everyone’s attention confirmed this.
After surveying the room, the shrewd man began to speak.
“Let’s start the meeting.”
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