The next day.
Seo Ye-in and I woke up rather late and sluggishly made our way to the student cafeteria.
The campus was as quiet as if it were already vacation.
There was a noticeable drop in the number of people around.
Most of those still here were first-years, while second- and third-years were as rare as a bean sprout in a drought.
Well, it is still midterms.
We got wiped out after just three days, but since the upperclassmen have better specs and skills, their average survival time is longer.
Around 4–5 days for second-years and about 6 days for third-years.
Even now, they were probably still locked in life-or-death battles inside Craft Haven.
Another reason for the quiet atmosphere was the lack of classes during week 12.
Officially, it’s labeled a maintenance week, but it’s practically a rest week.
It’s basically for mental recovery.
The purpose of the Craft Haven midterms is to raise awareness about dragons and solidify our resolve.
But if that process ends up traumatizing hero candidates, it defeats the purpose.
The academy is aware of that, so they give us time to recover in our own way.
That’s why, right after the exam, most of the first-years were probably still sleeping in, and the cafeteria was nearly empty.
Seo Ye-in looked around slowly, then protested to me.
“…You woke me up too early.”
“You slept more than usual.”
“Still wanna sleep more.”
“But you’re already up, so let’s eat breakfast.”
Today’s menu featured mini rolls stuffed with bacon and cheese, along with a variety of soups.
One in particular caught my eye. It had a reddish tint, with bits of seafood and red chunks floating throughout.
I checked the label: Spicy Lobster Seafood Soup.
Doesn’t look that spicy.
The aroma wasn’t too strong either, so it was probably just pleasantly spicy.
So I scooped some without hesitation.
Seo Ye-in, on the other hand, was the weakest of the weak when it came to spicy food. She couldn’t even touch anything remotely hot.
She peered into the seafood soup with curiosity in her eyes but soon gave up and looked elsewhere.
After switching her gaze between the chicken vegetable soup and the mushroom cream soup, she chose the former.
As we sat across from each other eating, I broke the silence.
“You’re out of luck now, right?”
“Mhmm.”
“We’ve got plenty of free time today, so I figured we could look into it a bit more.”
Thanks to the backlash from her ultimate move, her lucky streak seemed to have been suppressed.
Yesterday, after playing dozens of rounds of rock-paper-scissors, her win rate had barely scraped into the single digits.
“Doesn’t seem permanent, and it’ll probably come back with time. Still, it’s better to gather some data in advance.”
Since she’d likely use that ultimate move again in the future, we needed to understand the details beforehand.
Like its scope of effect, how strong it was, how long it lasted, and so on.
“……”
Seo Ye-in nodded readily, seeming to be on the same page.
As she took a spoonful of the chicken soup, I caught a glimpse of something bright red right in the middle of the spoon.
Why was there something from the lobster soup in there?
Did it accidentally get mixed in during cooking?
“Leave that part out.”
“?”
But before I could even finish my sentence, the spoon had already disappeared into Seo Ye-in’s mouth.
She chewed a little, then froze… her gray pupils gradually widened.
“…It’s spicy.”
“Told you to leave it out.”
“……!”
“Quick, drink some water.”
“……!!”
After a brief commotion—
Seo Ye-in, having developed an instinctive aversion to the chicken soup, didn’t even finish half of it before pushing the bowl away.
Who knew when another hidden burst of spice might strike?
She soon wandered over to the dessert corner.
“Something sweet.”
“Yeah, whatever it is, it’s better to eat something.”
“Cake.”
But of course, just her luck. Today of all days, the cake tray was completely empty for some reason.
Seo Ye-in stared at the vacant tray, then looked around for a backup option.
“Cookies.”
But the cookie tray was empty too.
Seo Ye-in’s expression sank.
“Sad…”
Then, as if a thought had suddenly struck her, her eyes lit up again.
“…bakery?”
“You’re going to the downtown area?”
“Mhmm.”
A determination to eat dessert, even if it meant spending precious points.
Thinking I could at least go along with it once, I contacted the bakery downtown.
The result:
“Looks like they’re closed today.”
“Very sad…”
“Let’s just eat some fruit. There are strawberries.”
“Strawberry shortcake…”
Seo Ye-in gazed wistfully at the strawberries.
After finishing our somewhat unsatisfying breakfast, we left the student cafeteria.
Just as we were about to head to our next destination, I noticed Shin Byeong-cheol passing by in the distance and called him over with a wave.
“Boss, got a minute?”
“Oh! If it isn’t my dear customers!”
“You’re up early.”
“Gotta work. Gotta make the most of the opportunity while it’s here.”
Shin Byeong-cheol answered with a grin.
Since the 2nd and 3rd years were in the middle of midterms, he said they were able to monopolize a good portion of the requests coming into the Thief Club.
He explained that the upperclassmen would start returning by tomorrow, so they were trying to do as much as possible before then.
After his explanation, he asked back,
“But why’d you call me over?”
“Wondered if you had any leftover random boxes.”
“I do, actually. Wait… could it be…?”
As if confirming his guess, I nodded toward Seo Ye-in with my eyes.
“She wants to open one.”
“Oh, if it’s that, of course you can!”
Shin Byeong-cheol lit up and began rummaging through his inventory.
Knowing full well about her insane luck, he clearly wanted to use this chance to boost the value of the random box through a proxy pull.
At the very least, it’d be better than opening it himself.
I casually added,
“But her luck’s been a bit off since yesterday. Might not get anything.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine! Go ahead and open it!”
Shin Byeong-cheol, thinking nothing much would go wrong, handed over a D+ rank random box without hesitation.
“……”
Seo Ye-in quietly took it, stared down at it for a moment, then, as usual, placed her hand on the lid and opened it in one smooth motion.
Click.
[Royal Tea Set (E)]
“Haven’t seen a tea set in a while.”
“…No luck, huh.”
While we each threw out a quick comment, Shin Byeong-cheol stood there stunned, as if he couldn’t believe what just happened.
He’d fully expected the rank to skyrocket….only for it to drop instead.
Seo Ye-in tilted her head and asked,
“You angry?”
“Wh-What? Angry? No way. You get low-rank stuff sometimes when opening boxes. Hehe, hehe.”
Shin Byeong-cheol forced a smile.
A commendable display of tact.
If he’d been honest and shown he was upset, he wouldn’t have gotten so much as a crumb from a proxy box opening ever again.
But what came next was enough to wipe the smile off even a master of diplomacy.
“One more.”
“…Come again?”
“……”
Seo Ye-in silently held out her hand.
As if to say, hurry up and give me the next box.
Breaking into a cold sweat, Shin Byeong-cheol leaned over and whispered to me.
“Hey, hey… are you sure this is okay?”
“Want me to be honest?”
“Yeah, be honest.”
“Not okay at all.”
At that, Shin Byeong-cheol promptly closed the inventory he’d half-opened.
Then he clapped his forehead in mock realization.
“Ah, what am I thinking! I’ve still got a commission to finish. That’s enough box-opening for now—”
“You angry?”
Seo Ye-in asked again, tilting her head.
Roughly translated, it meant:
– You’re leaving because you’re angry, right?
And in Shin Byeong-cheol’s ears, it probably sounded more like:
– So you’re just going to leave… and expect me to let you off easy next time?
“Ahem…!”
Shin Byeong-cheol held his forehead, looking like he was seriously agonizing over it. But in the end, he didn’t really have a choice.
In the world of luck, someone with good fortune was the king of kings.
There’s absolutely nothing to gain from getting on their bad side.
Especially if you’re someone who’s lacking in luck yourself.
Before long, Shin Byeong-cheol pulled out an E+ rank random box, his face covered in a well-practiced business smile.
“I’m not mad at all. See? This proves it.”
“Okay.”
“Please, let it be a good one. If not, well… guess I’ll just take the loss!”
Click.
[Royal Tablecloth (F)]
“…….”
“…….”
“You angry?”
“I’m not angry… but… I think I’m a little sad…”
“I’m sad too.”
The two had formed a kind of bond in shared misery.
Though the source of that sadness was slightly different.
Afraid he might get roped into opening another box, Shin Byeong-cheol quickly turned to leave.
“I’m really going now, guys. Not because I’m angry….seriously, I’ve got a commission to finish.”
“Okay.”
Fortunately, Seo Ye-in didn’t press him further and simply waved him off.
As I watched her, I casually asked,
“Be honest. You asked for another one just to mess with him, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Had a good feeling.”
“You thought the second one would be a hit?”
– Nod.
“But it wasn’t.”
“…A shame.”
Seo Ye-in quietly averted her gaze, then stared off in the direction Shin Byeong-cheol had disappeared.
“…Jackpot, later.”
“You’re saying you’ll pull one for him when your luck turns?”
“Yeah.”
It seemed his decision, in the end, had been the right one.
If you can reserve a jackpot with just one D- or E-grade random box, it’s not exactly a losing deal.
“Keep that in mind, and let’s head to the training center.”
After extensive testing across various scenarios, Seo Ye-in’s current luck had been determined to be equal to or possibly worse than Shin Byeong-cheol’s.
Which meant it would definitely have a negative effect on the [Fickle Trap] as well, so we were heading over to test it in person.
“……?”
But Seo Ye-in stopped a few steps after following me, then froze in place.
She stared off into the distance and spoke.
“Wiiing.”
“Luck radar?”
“Wiiing.”
Normally, her “luck radar” came with outrageous instincts, but this time, it gave me more unease than confidence.
You’re not exactly a bundle of luck right now.
So what should I even call that radar? A reverse luck radar?
What in the world is waiting for us at the end of that path?
It suddenly felt like we’d entered a horror story, but I decided to stay optimistic.
Might as well test it while we’re at it.
We’d have to go through it eventually anyway.
There was no rush to test the Fickle Trap, so it could wait.
And with that, I started walking, following where Seo Ye-in was leading.
After some time had passed, we eventually found ourselves turning into a secluded alley.
I’ve been here before.
I remembered facing off against the Jang Moo-geuk/ Wang Cheon-sam duo, who had been hired by senior Mak Dae-wong.
That fight got interrupted when Senior Kwak Seung-jae from the disciplinary committee showed up.
Of course, that only happened because of an anonymous tip-off. Normally, this place is perfect for sneaky business.
– …….
From around the corner, we could hear people murmuring in conversation, but as we approached, the voices suddenly stopped….likely having noticed our presence.
Soon after, a group of students came walking out.
It was Cha Hyeon-joo and her band of guild union lackeys.
Crrrack,
“What are you doing here?”
Cha Hyeon-joo asked through gritted teeth.
Seo Ye-in silently stared back at her for a moment, then turned to me.
“She says mean things.”
“She does.”
Of all the people we could’ve run into…why her?
At the same time, another thought crossed my mind.
Does following the Reverse Luck Radar just mean you end up running into people you really don’t want to see?
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