Booom—!
An invisible pressure descended.
And in the end, even Seo Ye-in was turned into a flattened sloth.
As I watched her dissolve into particles of light, the match results appeared on the scoreboard.
[Green 1st]
[Gray 2nd]
[Yellow 3rd]
[Red 4th]
Next, a notification message appeared in the corner of my vision.
[Side Quest: Week 1 Placement Test] (Complete)
▷Objective 1: Place 1st in a match (3/3 times)
▷Objective 2: Defeat opponents (9/3)
▷Reward: Fixed Pin ×2
This time, I got pretty lucky.
Winning first place three times in a row and defeating the other participants was definitely the result of my own skill, but there was no guarantee that all nine defeats would have been credited to me.
Take the first match, for example.
Cha Hyeon-joo fired arrows indiscriminately at the other three
She might be a rabid chihuahua, but her actual ability was nothing to scoff at, so there was a good chance one of those arrows could have landed as a critical hit.
In that case, they would have been incapacitated before I even had a chance to do anything.
The second match was the same.
If they had ignored my “Sacred Ground Declaration” and just started fighting among themselves, someone might have been taken out by a stray attack.
Since none of those forced situations occurred and everything went according to plan, I had to admit I was fortunate.
And I got exactly the reward I needed.
Side quest rewards were usually tailored to the recipient, but there was no guarantee I’d get two of them.
It could have been one Fixed Pin plus a rank-up or a selection ticket, and that would have been a little disappointing.
In any case, since I’d obtained an item that was like rain after a drought, I decided to use it immediately.
[Activated ‘Fixed Pin’.]
[‘Celestial Shift (S)’ has been fixed.]
[‘Pulverize Zone (S)’ has been fixed.]
▷Copy – Skills [4/4]
1. Feather Step (A+)
2. Ice Wall (B)
3. (Empty)
4. (Empty)
[Skill – Martial Arts]
▷Celestial Shift (S)
[Skill – Magic]
▷Pulverize Zone (S)
Rather than using them on traits, I secured space in my skill slots, since there were more things worth copying.
I could always take back skills like [Spatial Fold] or [Destructive Gale] from Seo Ye-in.
Feels like I’ll find other uses for them too.
I’d have to see how things played out.
Soon, I stepped onto the teleportation portal and left the arena.
Not far away, Seo Ye-in, Song Cheon-hye, and Hong Yeon-hwa were gathered together, and unsurprisingly, the mood around them was utterly deflated.
Looks like discipline has been properly instilled.
More than instilled. They’d been flattened like hotteok pancakes.
Hong Yeon-hwa looked dejected like a puppy caught in the rain, while Seo Ye-in was sprawled out on the ground without even twitching.
Song Cheon-hye was at least pretending to be fine, probably because she was conscious of the people around her, but it was obvious she was in a foul mood.
The moment she spotted me, she marched over and complained.
“Wasn’t that a little too much?”
“You told me to interfere. Use wind, throw ice, whatever.”
“That doesn’t mean you should stop Blink entirely.”
“Wouldn’t the solution have been to use it before I stopped it? Maybe?”
“That doesn’t even make sen …actually, it does.”
After all, she had personally watched me chain-cast Blink in under a second.
If she could have done the same, she wouldn’t have been stopped by [Caw?] in the first place.
And if she kept whining about how unfair it was, she’d only end up being called a noob again.
Smiling faintly, I looked at the three flattened pancakes.
“Still, I liked the attitude. You need that kind of fighting spirit.”
“……I’ll challenge you again someday.”
Song Cheon-hye shot me a glare as she spoke.
Hong Yeon-hwa nodded in agreement despite still looking downcast, and Seo Ye-in muttered from where she lay face-down.
“Revenge……”
Of course, when that “someday” would come remained to be seen.
I asked the three of them,
“How much of the placement exam do you have left? I’m already done.”
“I still have one more match.”
“You all look pretty rough. If it’s too much, why not take a break first?”
“……No, I’ll do it.”
Letting out a long sigh, Song Cheon-hye looked toward the arena.
The other two sluggishly pushed themselves up as well, which suggested they each had one or two matches left.
So I waved at them and offered some encouragement.
“Good luck. See you later.”
Then I watched the Three Pancake Sisters step onto the teleportation magic circle before turning away.
Since it’s the first day, maybe I’ll just take a casual look around.
There were quite a few clubs I’d built connections with last year.
And several of them were places I’d agreed to do business with going forward.
For example, the Magic Engineering Club was still working on the [Cube of Life] production project.
The club president, Bong Jae-seok, had graduated at the end of last year, but he had mentioned that his younger sibling would be enrolling in his place.
It was probably worth stopping by at least once.
Likewise, I could visit some of the other clubs, run into familiar faces, exchange a few greetings—
Just as I was about to leave the arena, a voice full of delight called out from behind me.
“Well, if it isn’t you!”
The owner of that voice was none other than Shin Byeong-cheol.
My back instinctively bent into a bow.
“Well, if it isn’t President Shin!”
“Well, well, long time no see!”
The two of us repeatedly exchanged exaggerated bows.
A few passing students shot us suspicious looks, as if wondering, “What are those two doing?”
Neither of us was the type to care about onlookers.
“So then, how was your winter break?”
“Ah, what’s there to say?”
Grinning broadly, Shin Byeong-cheol made a circle with his thumb and index finger.
He’d done the same thing after summer break, so it seemed he had spent this vacation making money again.
I studied his face carefully.
“You’re looking a lot healthier. Seems like you’ve even put on a bit of weight. Things must have gone well.”
“They went very well. This time I actually had some capital to work with.”
“Capital? Where’d you get that from?”
“…Ahem.”
At my question, Shin Byeong-cheol cleared his throat and lowered his voice.
“…Dang noonim left a little something behind.”
During the infiltration of the Third Temporary Storage Facility, the alliance of Dang Gyu-young, myself, and Kim Gap-doo had scored an overwhelming victory against the Disciplinary Committee.
And they had secured a staggering amount of prohibited items in the process.
Rather than selling them off for personal profit, Dang Gyu-young had left the proceeds as club funds.
As a result, rumors were circulating that this year’s Thieves Club was richer than it had ever been.
“So you used that money, huh?”
“Now, now, what kind of wording is that? Let’s call it a ‘club-level investment’.”
“Are you sure it was really at the club level?”
“I’m telling you it was. Didn’t I mention it? I’m the vice president this year.”
“Really?”
Dang Gyu-young had repeatedly mentioned that senior Cha Da-bin would become club president, but she had never said anything about a vice president.
Unexpectedly, Shin Byeong-cheol had ended up in the position.
With a slightly smug look, he said,
“I may not look it, but I’m a pretty capable guy. I was elected with overwhelming support.”
“You were always good at whatever was assigned to you.”
Last year alone, we’d worked together on plenty of things. The Underground Level guide job, the Temporary Storage Facility infiltration, and more.
And very few of those operations had ended in failure.
Still, I tilted my head and said,
“But it’s still club money. If your sister hears you used it for investments, won’t she hate that? You’re going to get beaten with a bat.”
“Come on, the results were good, weren’t they? Do you know how hard I worked day and night to make it happen? Getting beaten over that would be unfair.”
For once, Shin Byeong-cheol seemed completely sincere.
In reality, neither Dang Gyu-young nor I had much right to tell him what to do.
We had certainly contributed a lot, but objectively speaking, we were still outsiders.
And Dang Gyu-young probably hadn’t left those funds behind with the intention of reclaiming them later.
“Alright, fair enough. So what did you use it for?”
“I secured a place in the downtown area. We’re running a legitimate business now.”
Shin Byeong-cheol replied with a grin.
Naturally, I had another question.
“So you’re giving up the prohibited-item business?”
“Oh, we’re still doing it. Just on a smaller scale.”
“What about the Temporary Storage Facility?”
“That, we’ve decided to quit completely.”
“Really? I figured you’d at least keep a foot in the door.”
“The numbers don’t work anymore.”
Every time a Ban Wave passed through, the Thieves Club would prepare another infiltration of the Temporary Storage Facility.
Steal confiscated prohibited items and sell them again. It was true economic creativity at its finest.
Even if they got caught by the Disciplinary Committee and earned demerits or disciplinary action, it was still profitable.
But as the vice principal had mentioned during the entrance and opening ceremonies, the regulations had now been tightened.
Since the penalties had become much harsher as well, it simply wasn’t worth it unless they managed to steal an enormous amount of prohibited items.
The Cube of Life route is probably gone too.
Since information about the hidden piece had been shared during the deal with the Disciplinary Committee, they had likely already prepared countermeasures by now.
Measures that could detect the items even if they were smuggled out inside a cube.
From the Thieves Club’s perspective, one of their major sources of income had been cut off.
Yet Shin Byeong-cheol didn’t seem disappointed in the slightest.
Instead, he simply grinned.
“It’s for the best. How long are we supposed to keep bickering with the Disciplinary Committee? It’s about time we started playing in the big leagues, don’t you think?”
“What kind of business are you running downtown that has you talking about the big leagues?”
“We’ve got all sorts of events planned. For example…”
Lowering his voice conspiratorially, Shin Byeong-cheol continued.
“…A casino, perhaps?”
“That sounds slightly concerning. Aren’t you worried the Disciplinary Committee will crack down on it?”
“Quite the opposite. We’ve actually been discussing working together with them.”
“So if you’re going to do it, do it out in the open instead of in the shadows?”
“That’s right.”
Apparently, they were willing to allow something like that as an occasional special event.
From the Disciplinary Committee’s point of view, it was far easier than constantly running around trying to shut down some secret location.
They could coordinate things in advance to keep everything within reasonable limits, and incidents or accidents could be minimized as well.
From the Thieves Club’s perspective, there was nothing to lose from having the support of the Disciplinary Committee. Since it would be an official event, they could attract far more customers.
And they would also be able to use force against any troublesome guests trying to pull something.
So I slowly nodded.
“That’s a good idea. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Then look forward to it, and come visit when we open.”
“Can I bring Lucky Charm?”
At that, Shin Byeong-cheol immediately turned serious and practically jumped out of his seat.
“Whoa there. Come on now. If you have any conscience at all, she’s off-limits!”
“What kind of rule is that? Just because she’s lucky, she can’t even enter a casino?”
“Is she just lucky? Are you trying to bankrupt us or what?”
Come to think of it, I could already picture the scene.
Seo Ye-in casually perched at a table, with mountains of chips piled up on either side of her.
Then, without hesitation, she pushed all of them forward and uttered a single word.
– All in.
Both the Thieves Club and Shin Byeong-cheol were just getting ready for a fresh start downtown.
It wouldn’t be right to bury them under a mountain of debt.
So I offered a compromise.
“Alright, then. I’ll keep her under control and make sure she takes it easy.”
“There’s no such thing as taking it easy. If she shows up, she’s getting turned away at the door.”
“Ooh~ I’ll sneak her in~ We’ll clean you out~”
“Please don’t. Haven’t you already taken enough from us?”
“But I haven’t taken Shin Byeong-cheol’s casino yet.”
“Come on, cut me some slack here.”
Shin Byeong-cheol tried coaxing me, appealing to my sense of sympathy, and even offering deals.
Unfortunately, nothing sounded more appealing than cleaning out a casino.
It was while we were bickering back and forth.
“Hello, Senior~”
A bright, cheerful voice rang out beside us.
Shin Byeong-cheol and I turned our heads at the same time and saw two first-year girls standing there.
Dang Eun-bi, and someone who resembled Dang Gyu-young in many ways while still seeming distinctly different—
Dang Gyu-ri.
“……”
Whether he sensed some inexplicable danger or not, Shin Byeong-cheol’s face suddenly turned pale.
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