While Seo Ye-in was having a thoroughly unsatisfying weekend…
A secret meeting was taking place somewhere on Dungeon Island.
In a secluded alley with nothing around.
Dang Eun-bi appeared there.
She slowly scanned her surroundings before walking over to one corner, folding her arms as she leaned against the wall.
“……”
She tried to appear calm, but her face was filled with anxiety and unease.
Her gaze refused to settle in one place, constantly darting from side to side.
As though she were about to do something she shouldn’t.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long before a male student entered the alley.
Dang Eun-bi bowed politely first.
“Hello, Senior.”
“Ah, thank you so much for calling me.”
Despite being the senior, the male student rubbed his hands together deferentially as he greeted her.
It was none other than Shin Byeong-cheol.
On the first day of the semester, he had handed out business cards advertising the “Dragon Slayer Academy Errand Service!”, and Dang Eun-bi had contacted him through it.
Under normal circumstances, requests from first-year students would have been passed along to the club’s newer members.
After all, he was now a second-year student and even served as the club’s vice president.
Still, the Dang Clan was a special case.
Students from prestigious clans possessed both considerable wealth and influence, making them some of the club’s biggest clients.
On top of that, she seemed to be acquainted with Dang Gyu-young, so Shin Byeong-cheol had little choice but to handle the request personally.
Maybe I should build a little connection first?
If he could become even slightly closer to her now, the chances of gaining a long-term client would only increase.
So instead of immediately asking why she had called him, Shin Byeong-cheol started with some casual conversation.
“How’s your first week been? Everything going okay?”
“Yes. So far, I haven’t had any problems.”
“Well, I heard you were at the very top of the rankings in the duel battle evaluation too. Wow… I mean, once the Dang Clan gets their hands on someone, that’s just it, right?”
“It’s not that impressive.”
Dang Eun-bi answered modestly.
Even so, judging by the way her expression softened, she clearly didn’t mind being complimented.
That also meant her guard had come down a little, prompting Shin Byeong-cheol to breathe a sigh of relief inwardly.
At least this works on her.
First-year students were supposed to be fresh and inexperienced, after all.
That Dang Gyu-ri girl, on the other hand, felt like she’d already been through everything life had to offer. He hadn’t been able to find even the slightest opening with her.
She also reminded him an awful lot of someone else.
After that, Shin Byeong-cheol continued chatting with Dang Eun-bi about everyday topics, doing his best to create a relaxed atmosphere.
Then he smoothly steered the conversation to the next subject.
“So, I heard you joined the Alchemy Club.”
“How did you know?”
Dang Eun-bi’s eyes widened in surprise.
As expected, she was an easy person for Shin Byeong-cheol to read.
He had actually heard it while talking to Kim Ho, but instead of revealing that, he simply offered a mysterious smile.
“Information is power. Once you’re a vice president, news just has a way of finding you.”
“Oh…!”
“I’ve got a feeling that’s probably why you contacted me too. Something to do with the club?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Dang Eun-bi nodded without hesitation.
Joining the club itself had been remarkably easy.
Although her specialty wasn’t exactly the same, she had extensive experience and knowledge in preparing countless medicinal herbs and poisons.
On top of that, she had worked at the Dang Clan’s Medical Hall until enrolling in the academy and had effectively been the clan head’s top disciple.
From the Alchemy Club’s perspective, she was exactly the kind of talent they wanted.
That part had gone well, but…
“Once you got in, there wasn’t much you could actually do, right? Because of the material restrictions.”
“…Yes. To be honest, it’s been a little frustrating.”
Dang Eun-bi let out a quiet sigh.
No matter how promising a recruit was, the authority granted to first-year club members was extremely limited.
The club was especially strict when it came to managing magical materials.
The reasoning was understandable. Many ingredients were either too rare or too valuable to obtain easily, potentially dangerous because they could cause explosions or release poisonous gas, or required one’s skills or traits to reach a certain level before they could be handled safely.
Dang Eun-bi had planned to experiment by brewing all kinds of different potions and testing them, only to run headfirst into a major obstacle from the very beginning.
The more knowledge she possessed, the more stifling the restrictions felt.
Wearing an expression that said he understood completely, Shin Byeong-cheol spoke.
“That’s just how organizations work. They only function if everyone follows the rules. You’ll probably need to build up some achievements first.”
For example, by brewing potions requested by other clubs or helping out at events like potion tastings in the commercial district.
Shin Byeong-cheol’s tone then became subtly more suggestive.
“With your talent, I’m sure you’ll get there before long. But if even that feels too far away…”
“โฆ…!”
“I can get the materials for you myself.”
Not just the ingredients she wasn’t yet authorized to use, but even those on the prohibited list.
Dang Eun-bi’s face lit up.
“Would it be alright if I asked you to?”
“Of course it would. That’s why I came in the first place, isn’t it?”
“…How should I pay you?”
Her voice quickly turned cautious again.
She had a fair amount of spending money saved up, and her point balance was steadily growing as well.
She had performed exceptionally well on the placement exam, and thanks to the unique appeal of her poison techniques, recordings of her matches were selling consistently.
Even so, magical materials weren’t cheap, and smuggling them in would naturally come with an additional fee.
Shin Byeong-cheol knew that as well.
Still, money and points aren’t what’s important right now.
He could almost smell something both familiar and welcome.
The scent of business.
With that in mind, he lowered his voice even further.
“There is a way for you to use as many materials as you want without paying for them…”
“…What is it?”
“Work on one job with me. What do you say?”
Seeing that he had piqued Dang Eun-bi’s interest, Shin Byeong-cheol began laying out his business plan.
***
Moyong Jun and Jeong Jin-myeong had often exchanged messages and met up even during their first year.
Now that they were second-years, they met even more frequently, having each secured an executive position in their respective clubs. The Swordsmanship Club and the White Magic Club.
Those two clubs were perennial rivals for first and second place, but rather than clashing over every issue, they usually reached agreements through their officers.
They had just finished discussing Strategy Battle Week and the bidding process for the Underground Dungeon.
Jeong Jin-myeong let out a light sigh.
“I think we’ve settled most of it. Let’s report this to our clubs first, then work out the remaining details afterward.”
“Agreed.”
However, just as he was about to stand up and leave, Moyong Jun suddenly spoke.
“There’s something I’d like to confirm.”
“What is it?”
“Lately, I’ve had a rather strange feeling whenever I look at the upperclassmen.”
“โฆ…!”
Jeong Jin-myeong’s expression stiffened slightly before he sat back down.
He had been experiencing that same “strange feeling” himself.
Moyong Jun continued.
“Just last year, they seemed as immovable as mountains…”
“And now… they actually feel beatable?”
“At the very least, it seems like we’d have a fighting chance.”
“So you feel the same way after all.”
Jeong Jin-myeong nodded before lowering his voice.
“It’s come up once or twice in the other magic towers too. People have been saying this year’s upperclassmen feel just a little lacking compared to last year’s.”
“The upperclassmen back then really were exceptional.”
The club presidents and vice presidents alone were formidable, and on top of that there were towering talents like Jegal So-so, Jeong Chong-myeong, Kim Gap-doo, Dang Gyu-young, and Hong Ye-hwa. Student Council President Song Cheon-gi and Disciplinary Committee President Oh Se-hoon had also been imposing figures.
“It’s not that this year’s upperclassmen are weak. It’s just that they seem that way by comparison.”
“And I assume that ‘comparison’ includes us.”
The third-years were certainly considered gifted in their own right, but their own year had earned the reputation of being a “once-in-a-generation golden year”.
Compared to them, it was only natural that the older students would seem somewhat overshadowed.
Moyong Jun asked,
“Do you remember? We had several chances to face the upperclassmen last year.”
“The Challenge Matches and the midterms?”
“Exactly.”
The Challenge Matches used a matchmaking system that ignored year levels, and two of them had been held the previous year.
One before the Fixed Zone Tournament, and another before the final exams.
Although handicaps had been applied to account for the difference in strength, the results still shocked everyone.
The first-years had posted an astonishing 40% win rate.
That was twice the record set by the previous year’s first-years. The students who were now this year’s upperclassmen.
The same had been true of the midterm exam held in Craft Haven.
The objective had been to survive as long as possible during Craftsman Dragon’s Game.
Last year’s second-years had made it until the evening of Day Four.
The first-years had survived until the afternoon of Day Three.
Only a single day’s difference.
As for kill count, the first-years had actually outperformed the second-years.
Of course, most of that achievement had belonged to Kim Ho’s party.
Moyong Jun continued,
“Now that another year has passed, that gap has surely narrowed even further.”
“We might even surpass them before this year is over.”
“I agree.”
“Speaking of which, how’s your Core?”
“I reached A-rank over winter break.”
“Same here. I bet all the promising students and anyone who was over a thousand points have hit A-rank by now.”
Considering that Dragon Slayer Academy students of previous generations typically didn’t reach A-rank until the latter half of their second year, or even their third year, the pace was extraordinary.
The title of “golden generation” was well deserved.
In a calm voice, Moyong Jun said,
“I bear no ill will toward our upperclassmen. I simply want it to stand as an undeniable fact.”
“That our year has surpassed theirs?”
“If we succeed, it will be an unprecedented achievement, one that will be recorded in the history of Dragon Slayer Academy.”
“Now that’s a tempting thought.”
An intrigued smile spread across Jeong Jin-myeong’s face.
He fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
“The important part is the timing… and the method. We can’t exactly pick a fight with our upperclassmen.”
“As I’ve said many times, I bear no ill will toward them. I’d rather avoid taking any extreme measures.”
“Then the best approach is to prove ourselves in an official setting first.”
Just like last year, through the junior-versus-senior duel battles and the Craft Haven raid.
If their results far surpassed those of the third-years…
Moving on to the next step would become much easier.
“The problem is the timing. If it’s held around the same time as last year, it’ll be in the second semester.”
“That might be too late to accomplish anything else.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“You’re overthinking it. We just need to move it up.”
In any case, there was almost no chance the Fixed Zone Tournament would be held again this year.
Things had already been chaotic enough last year, and this year was even worse with the dragons and the Blood Cult.
Jeong Jin-myeong grinned.
“We’re executives ourselves, aren’t we? There are plenty of them in the other clubs too.”
“Indeed. It seems I was making it more complicated than it needed to be.”
“The real challenge lies elsewhere.”
“And what would that be?”
“There are a few upperclassmen, aren’t there?”
“Those who truly stand out.”
Even Namgong Chang-cheon, the president of the Swordsmanship Club, had been capable of fighting on equal footing with third-year club presidents when he was only a second-year.
The one leading the Black Faction was no different.
Letting out a low hum, Moyong Jun said,
“In the end, we’ll have to surpass them as well.”
“Otherwise, none of this will mean anything.”
“I’ll take on Senior Namgong. It has been a personal goal of mine as well.”
“Do you think you can?”
“To be honest, I can’t say for certain. At least, not yet.”
“Then we’d better prepare a backup plan.”
There was no need to discuss who that would be.
The same person’s face had already crossed both of their minds.
“Kim Ho.”
“That man…”
“That man?”
“…No, never mind.”
Moyong Jun couldn’t bring himself to say it.
That Kim Ho had defeated his grandfather with a single blow.
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