– Shuffling sounds.
“…What are you doing?”
Seo-joon Joo simply could not focus on the lecture. It was the first class since arriving at Gaon, but the person sitting beside him was making too much noise.
The students from Kalros followed a different curriculum than Gaon, so for the time being, the classes were unified to bridge the gap.
“Stop talking.”
Next to him, Chae-ha Yoon was busy writing something, her head bowed, as she irritably responded.
She wasn’t even taking notes on the lecture but was instead furiously working on something on her desk.
It happened yesterday too. As soon as the mentor activities began, she disappeared somewhere.
‘What on earth is she doing?’
Joo tilted his body slightly to peek at the table.
But the moment his gaze reached it—
Zap.
Like a cat with its fur standing on end hissing, she quickly closed whatever she was working on.
She covered it with her arm, hunched over it slightly, and overtly guarded the book.
It seemed to be some kind of book. Joo decided to let it go, sensing the teacher’s gaze starting to feel piercing.
“Ah.”
But then, he remembered something he hadn’t had a chance to convey yesterday.
He said quietly,
“Keep this Saturday free.”
At this, Chae-ha kept her eyes on the book and replied,
“Why?”
“They’ve arranged a class at the Mage Tower.”
Joo had thought that with the move from Kalros to Gaon, his ties with the Mage Tower would be severed. Luckily, it seemed the Mage Tower looked favorably upon both him and her, offering additional classes. It was a fortunate development for him, too.
In fact, the Mage Tower had already been eyeing their potential. From their perspective, retaining such talents was a far better deal.
Joo naturally assumed she would be excited about it.
“Hmm…”
But Chae-ha rested her chin on her hand, contemplating deeply.
“Why do we have to go?”
She tapped the desk lightly and replied slowly.
“Well, … it’s not exactly something we have to go to…”
To Joo, the Mage Tower was among the few places that piqued Chae-ha’s interest. He thought she would certainly be enthusiastic.
After all, whenever the Mage Tower offered classes or research opportunities, she always reacted positively.
“I don’t feel like going.”
However, this time, she said something different.
And then, as if it were no big deal, she flipped to the next page of her book.
“I think it’ll be boring.”
Joo’s expression turned bewildered.
Some time ago, as a reward for helping to defeat Moras, they awarded commendations a few days back, but there was little news about the actual prize. Now, finally, the recipients were called in.
Truthfully, this was the thing he was eagerly waiting for.
Me, Yeoul Cheon, and Hana Yoo.
We stood in front of the Guild’s armory.
This was where Gaon officially stored its elixirs, artifacts, and weapons.
Then, the Dean, standing in front of us, greeted with a bright smile.
“Go ahead, students, take your pick!”
With a warm smile, he spread his arms wide.
“Thanks to all of you, Gaon has avoided greater disaster. Hahaha!”
It wasn’t an unfounded statement.
Had we three not been there, the school might have been turned upside down.
“Each of you may choose one item.”
The Dean approached me, flashing a grin and tapping my shoulder a few times.
‘Creepy…’
It’s all just showmanship.
He was the one who opposed the ‘Private Military School’ students the most when we enrolled, saying they’d stir up trouble, but now he’s calling us the pride of the school.
“Well, let’s open it then.”
As he spoke, a Guild officer moved his hand towards the terminal.
The scanner by the massive door lit up as the Dean placed his palm on it—
-Kooong.
The massive armory door slowly creaked open.
Inside, an impressive scene unfolded before our eyes.
The interior of the armory was larger than expected.
‘This doesn’t look bad.’
Elixirs, artifacts, and various weapons. Gaon’s armory excelled both in quality and quantity. The founder of Gaon, known for his collection癖s during his lifetime, had amassed these items.
Probably, any item picked would be more than decent. However,
‘Let’s see what the two of them pick first.’
I had already planned what I was going to choose. I’d considered it, and yesterday finalized my decision.
Let’s see what Yeoul Cheon and Hana Yoo go for, and based on that, I can either persuade or recommend something accordingly.
They must get the best deal possible.
So, I waited quietly in the back.
“Feel free to choose!”
The Dean said.
But I couldn’t help but smirk.
‘Look at this.’
Glancing casually didn’t reveal much, but a close inspection did.
At first glance, everything seems decent and appealing.
But upon further examination, the truly good items were cleverly concealed within the piles.
As if they’d deliberately hidden the best stuff.
Hana Yoo was the first to move, heading straight for the weapons section.
She delved into the deepest part of the pile and retrieved a lightweight armband—a kind of wrist guard.
It looked like a regular cloth-made guard.
‘Good choice?’
However, I knew what that wrist guard was.
Not bad. Actually, she made a good pick. I glanced at the Dean out of the corner of my eye.
Though outwardly maintaining his calm, I didn’t miss the slight twitch when she picked up the armband.
Hana came closer and proceeded to put it on her wrist, then turned it around and asked me,
“Any thoughts?”
Good.
What she had chosen was an artifact crafted from one of the tendons of a Titan, one of the Greek deities. It wasn’t an Earthly technology but an item from the dungeons.
It would aid in strength growth and provide overall training support, which would greatly assist her in her current training with the “Flame Receiving Sword” technique.
“Looks good.”
She made a fine choice.
I nodded approvingly, and she smiled, turning to the Dean.
“I’ll take this.”
“Uh… Okay…”
The Dean seemed momentarily flustered but quickly recovered, starting to recommend other items.
“How about that armor, Hana student? It boasts excellent magic resistance and protection…”
What he pointed at was a magnificent set of armor with intricate engravings. It looked impressive on the surface, but in reality, it was not that useful.
She glanced at the armor briefly, then turned to look at me. It was as if she was asking, “What do you think?”
I quietly shook my head. That’s not good.
“It’s fine, I’ll take this.”
“…Alright then.”
There was nothing the Dean could do but agree with a somewhat reluctant expression.
It was Yeoul Cheon’s turn next.
She moved toward the artifact piles, covering her mouth with her palm as she let out a small yawn.
Then, she headed straight to the section where the holy treasures were grouped.
She extended her hand into the artifact pile, rummaged through it a few times to find something, and when she drew it out, she was holding an ornate silver ring with a red gemstone set on it.
“Bah!”
The Dean standing nearby reacted with a start. The item she held was a silver ring with a red gemstone.
“Crazy.”
The Aurora’s Heart.
I didn’t expect it to be here. That’s genuinely great.
As Saints use both mana and sacred force, there’s always a risk of imbalance, but this ring will perfectly balance them, preventing one from spiking.
However, she picked up another potion bottle too.
“Absolutely not.”
That wasn’t good. It was terrible. While it may have been useful for mages to temporarily amplify their mana, it was utterly pointless for Yeoul Cheon.
She approached us with the potion and the ring in her hands.
And she asked me,
“Which looks better?”
It was akin to asking whether gold or gemstones were better.
“Oh, that potion looks amazing.”
The Dean fervently tried to sell the benefits of the potion.
I quietly pointed to the ring on her left hand.
Yeoul Cheon looked at me calmly.
Then, without much thought, she tossed the potion in her right hand behind her.
-Plop.
The potion bottle rolled meaninglessly on the ground.
Meanwhile, the ring on her palm glowed faintly ruby.
“Hey, Cheon, put that ring on…”
Just as she was about to extend her hand,
“Great, Dean. Would you mind helping her put on the ring?”
Hana Yoo interrupted.
That moment, Yeoul Cheon’s hand paused.
She then slipped the ring onto her ring finger and extended it straight toward Hana Yoo.
Hana looked at Yeoul with a puzzled expression and exclaimed,
“Pretty~”
Then Yeoul smiled and said.
“Thank you~”
But there was no sign that she intended to lower her hand anytime soon.
I ignored the tense atmosphere and moved forward.
Both Hana and Yeoul had secured perfect artifacts suited to them.
Now, it was my turn.
I walked over to the corner, toward a more neglected area.
There, leaning against the wall, was a steel halberd.
Its razor-sharp crescent blade, combined with a long spear point.
I crouched down and examined it closely.
Antiquated weapons and treasures lined the walls, but curiously, only this steel halberd seemed unmarked by time.
I approached it slowly and gently placed my hand on it.
!
Suddenly, the temperature around us dropped drastically. But no frost clung to the halberd.
The confirmation was just now complete.
“I’ll take this.”
20 years ago. A civilization-ending creature that descended upon this land.
The monster dragon: Aldebaran’s fang.
“Calamity.”
This was the weapon I sought.
