Chapter 303: The Sculptor’s Club

The Book of Chaos.

A book composed of dozens of [Chaos Scrolls]. It had the effect of increasing both the uncertainty and rewards of a dungeon.

Ownership belonged to the White Magic Club, but they secretly shared it with a few other clubs they frequently interacted with.

Ruby Magic Tower was one of them, which was why Hong Ye-hwa had it.

Normally, borrowing it required being a member of the affiliated club, but I was an exception.

I had made a deal allowing me to use up to two pages in exchange for retrieving the Book of Chaos from the temporary storage.

Since Hong Ye-hwa had been present during that agreement, she wasn’t particularly surprised when I suddenly brought up the book.

Instead, she responded casually as if she had been expecting this moment.

“No reason to say no. It’s not really ours to begin with. But do you remember the condition I set?”

“Yes, I remember.”

– As long as it doesn’t interfere with our raid, you can use it.

– I can work around that.

I had only secured the right to use it. The priority still belonged to the Ruby Magic Tower.

If my plans clashed with their raid schedule, I would have to step aside.

Hong Ye-hwa continued.

“As you know, things have been a bit chaotic with the Dark Oobleck and the Witch of Corruption. But we’re finally getting back on track. We’re using it for Thursday’s raid.”

“That actually works out perfectly. I plan to use it tomorrow.”

Tomorrow was Tuesday.

At most, the dungeon run would take less than a day, meaning I could return it with plenty of time to spare.

Hong Ye-hwa’s eyes gleamed as if she had realized something.

“Oh, right. You’re heading down with Yeon-hwa tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I plan to use it in that dungeon.”

“You sure about this?”

“Yes, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”

I answered confidently, and Hong Ye-hwa silently stared at me for a while.

She seemed to be considering various possibilities.

Using the Book of Chaos would inevitably create unforeseen variables, and there was a chance her younger sister could end up in danger.

But I had already proven myself capable. Didn’t I handle the Dark Oobleck without much difficulty?

After a brief pause, Hong Ye-hwa reached into her inventory and pulled out the Book of Chaos.

“I’ll trust you with it this time as well.”

“Thank you.”

“And—”

She started to say something else but hesitated and closed her mouth again.

Then she continued with a small smile.

“Never mind. Just take care.”

“Yes, senior.”

I didn’t press her for more and simply bowed my head.

***

There was one more thing I needed to prepare.

At some point, when I crafted an item using [Crow Branch], I would need to prepare something as payment for the Dimensional Crows.

Since they liked shiny things, the first thing that came to mind was gemstones.

But—

A few wouldn’t be nearly enough.

Considering that they would be dealing with an S-rank material, a significant amount is needed.

Securing that many gemstones was unrealistic, and even if I could, it wouldn’t be efficient.

So the alternative I had in mind was—

Artwork.

Something that sparkled and also held artistic value.

If I crafted even just one or two properly, they would be enough to catch the Crow’s attention.

And sitting idly in my inventory was an item that fit both criteria.

Kraketite.

An A-rank rare metal that Lucky Charm had pulled from a random box. It was an absolute jackpot.

Originally, it had been a large ingot, but most of it had been consumed when upgrading my weapon into the sapling. What remained was only slightly larger than a fist.

The president of the blacksmith club had attempted to refine his skills by shaping it into something resembling a sculpture, but the result was… unimpressive.

To put it nicely, it was surreal. To be blunt, it looked like something a Seo Ye-in cookie.

In other words, it was a disaster.

Bringing it to a Crow as it was wouldn’t earn a good reaction.

So my goal was to turn this Kraketite “sculpture” (or whatever it was) into a true work of art.

It would be a meticulous and time-consuming task, but I wasn’t particularly worried.

I could just leave it to someone else.

Back at the start of the semester when I had nothing, I had to do things myself. But now I had plenty of cards to play.

And so, I made my way to the sculptor’s club.

In the neighboring district, a legendary sculptor had carved phoenixes, ice dragons, and even moonlight. But unfortunately, in this area, sculpting was considered a niche class.

The club was so small that it took me a while to even find their clubroom.

Still, in the end, I managed to spot a sign tucked away in a secluded corner.

<Sculptor’s Club>

I stood at the door and knocked lightly.

Knock, knock, knock.

…But no sound came from inside.

It felt like someone was there but just wasn’t responding, so I knocked again.

Knock, knock, knock.

This time, a slightly irritated voice came from within.

“Come in.”

I slowly opened the door and stepped inside before bowing my head slightly.

“Hello.”

“……”

At the center of the small clubroom, a female student sat with her back turned to me.

The faint scraping sounds suggested she was carving something. Somehow, she gave off the impression that if I disturbed her any further, she’d get annoyed.

So instead, I glanced around the room.

Sculptures were packed tightly on every side.

Compared to other clubs, the room was already small, but even so, the sheer number of sculptures was overwhelming.

There was barely enough space to step inside.

Among the sculptures were human heads, busts, various monsters, and even legendary items.

The materials used were just as diverse.

Various minerals and metals stood out, along with chunks of ice and flames that had been magically fixed in place.

As I took my time observing them all, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Could it be that the girl in front of me was the one who had created every single one of these sculptures?

At that moment, the scraping sounds stopped, and the girl turned around.

A quick glance at her tie pin told me she was a second-year student.

Her eyes shifted to my chest where my own pin was, and after realizing I was a first-year, she immediately dropped formal speech.

“What do you want?”

“I’d like to see the club president.”

“That’s me. If you’ve got something to say, say it.”

It seemed that the club president was a second-year student.

I wasn’t sure whether that meant there were so few members or if this girl was simply skilled enough to hold the position despite her age.

Probably both.

Either way, since she told me to speak, I got straight to the point without hesitation.

“I’d like to commission a sculpture.”

“I don’t take commissions.”

It wasn’t a rejection; she simply didn’t accept commissions in the first place.

But it was still too early to give up.

“If you see what I’ve brought, you might change your mind.”

“Alright, show me. What is it?”

As soon as the club president showed a hint of curiosity, I retrieved a piece of Kraketite from my inventory.

The moment she saw it, her eyes briefly gleamed with interest. But almost immediately, her expression twisted into a deep scowl.

“Who made this?”

“I had the blacksmiths’ club handle it.”

“This is exactly why you can’t trust those hammer-swinging idiots. They have zero sense of delicacy.”

From a sculptor’s perspective, it must have been infuriating to see such a rare material turned into a complete mess. It was no surprise that her opinion of it wasn’t positive.

Still, I had at least managed to catch her interest. The club president began inspecting the chunk of Kraketite from various angles.

She was already picturing a design in her head.

“This… yeah, this might be worth making. What about the commission fee?”

“Skill experience should be enough, don’t you think?”

I answered casually.

Being given the chance to work with Kraketite was the payment.

Since it was a high-rank rare metal, it would greatly help with skill and trait rank progression.

That was why I hadn’t paid the blacksmiths’ club president a commission, so there was no reason I couldn’t make the same demand of the sculptors’ club.

The president frowned again.

“You’re pretty shameless, first-year.”

“It’s a material that justifies being shameless.”

I didn’t look away, and for a moment, we locked eyes in a silent standoff.

“…Tch.”

In the end, it was the sculptors’ club president who surrendered first.

Maybe she wasn’t the type to care too much about commission fees, or perhaps her desire to work with rare materials simply outweighed everything else.

“Fine, I’ll make it. But I need more materials.”

“What should I prepare?”

“Sapphires. Three big ones.”

She was probably planning to process them and add decorative accents to the sculpture.

But from my perspective, it was a rather inconvenient request since I had no real connection to the Sapphire Tower.

Han Gyul-woo, who had accompanied me during the infiltration of the temporary storage, seemed to have some ties to the Sapphire Tower, but at best, we had only met once.

We weren’t close enough to be exchanging gemstones.

So I asked cautiously.

“Would rubies work instead?”

“No. The colors wouldn’t match.”

The sculptors’ club president shook her head firmly.

I wasn’t sure what she was planning to make, but it seemed like she wanted to pair Kraketite’s dark blue color with the deep blue of sapphires.

In that case, rubies would definitely stand out too much.

Looks like I’ll have to find some sapphires.

It would be a bit of a hassle, but if I put my mind to it, getting three shouldn’t be too difficult.

However, perhaps misinterpreting my silence, the sculptors’ club president made an offer.

“I’ll use mine, so bring me rubies instead.”

“That would be a huge help. Thank you.”

I immediately accepted the deal and handed over one ruby first.

It was one I had received from Hong Ye-hwa earlier when I stopped by the Ruby Magic Tower.

“I’ll get the other two as soon as possible.”

“You’d better. By the way, is this urgent? Do you have a deadline?”

“No, take your time.”

The statue was an offering to be presented to the Dimensional Raven.

Since more materials were needed to craft the item, there was still a long way to go.

Besides, artworks always turned out better the more time was spent on them.

Rather than rushing, it was best to wait patiently.

The sculptors’ club president seemed to agree and nodded her head in response.

“Good. I’ll take my time starting on it, so drop by now and then to check on the progress. And don’t forget to bring the rubies.”

“Yes, I understand.”

***

Tuesday evening.

As I made my way to the dungeon building, I saw Hong Yeon-hwa waiting for me.

She had been staring blankly at the night sky, but when she sensed my presence, she turned to look in my direction.

Then she quickly ran over and greeted me.

“Ah, hello.”

I simply waved in response.

Hong Yeon-hwa hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I heard… you stopped by our club yesterday.”

“Yeah, I had something to ask the president.”

“You mean… Unnie?”

“Yeah, I’ll explain the details later.”

Since the Book of Chaos was strictly a prohibited item, I needed to be careful about mentioning it.

Of course, once we entered the dungeon, she would naturally find out, so I had no problem telling her then.

However, it seemed her real concern wasn’t my request; it was something else entirely.

She glanced around as if she was lost in thought before cautiously asking,

“Umm… did unnie… ask you anything?”

“Nothing in particular. Why?”

“Huh? Oh! N-No reason! Never mind!”

Hong Yeon-hwa hastily mumbled something and averted her gaze.

Hong Ye-hwa also seemed about to say something earlier but stopped. Did something happen between the sisters again?

Just as that thought crossed my mind—

“Oh my, you’re here, customer-nims!”

Shin Byeong-cheol approached us while making a fuss.

I simply waved lightly in response.

“You look absolutely radiant these days. Your face is glowing!”

“This is my golden age, my golden age.”

With the trap duel battle, trap strategy battle, and even the trap final exam, it was indeed a golden age for him.

Shin Byeong-cheol glanced between the two of us, but he didn’t seem to pick up on the strange atmosphere that had lingered just moments ago.

Then he turned around and took the lead without hesitation.

“Let’s head down right away.”

“Let’s do that.”

I decided to set my curiosity aside for now.

There would be plenty of time to talk once we entered the dungeon, and if there was something to say, it would come up eventually.

We followed Shin Byeong-cheol’s lead and stepped into the underground floor.