As soon as I expressed my intention to et with the president of the magic engineering club, Dang Gyu-young promptly connected with the guy.
I received a ssage from him, but he was too busy to et anywhere else and asked to co to the workshop.
I suppose thats understandable for the magic engineering club.
When the Erald club had asked to co, I had refused and sent Kwak Ji-cheol back with a punch, but that was because they had arrogantly demanded I co even though they could have co themselves.
If they had approached politely, I might have reluctantly agreed to follow.
In contrast, the magic engineering club was genuinely swamped with no ti to spare.
Being in the production field, they were always overwheld with commissions, and especially now that it was the beginning of the sester, they were experiencing a huge influx of orders.
Considering that, it seed right for to make the effort to visit them.
I leisurely finished my iced tea and strolled over.
I lost myself in thought along the way.
Ive laid the foundation.
With the [Blessing of the West Wind], I had a bonus to wind magic.
And with [Wind Force], I added physical power to my wind magic.
From here on, I plan to continue adding more wind magic and traits.
So, the ti had co.
I need to get a weapon.
I couldnt keep making do with the [Earth Staff], which was only a little better than a club.
Just as wearing shoes provided a bonus to movent skills, wielding a weapon granted bonuses appropriate for ones class.
And, in most cases, the bonuses from weapons were stronger than those from other equipnt.
The question then was, where to find such a weapon?
Ill have to make it.
And not just any weapon, but one of a conclusive rank.
I planned to use every hidden piece I knew to craft a weapon worthy of an EX-rank reincarnation quest.
Of course, given the high rank, it wasnt possible to create a top-tier weapon right off the bat.
Thats why my plan was,
Prefabricated.
Like fitting together a puzzle, I would complete it in stages.
Heading to the magic engineering workshop now was part of that lengthy project.
The first workshop was several tis busier than on the first day of the sester.
mbers ran around as if their feet were on fire and blue lights flashed without a monts pause.
As I stood by the door and waited in silence I was soon greeted by a senior.
A freshman? What brings you here?
Id like to et with the president. If you ntion Kim Ho, hell know.
Really? Wait here for a mont.
The senior went inside, and shortly after, another person erged.
This guy was clearly the president of the magic engineering club.
He looked like a company employee worn out by fatigue and he also exuded an air of urgency as if he was always chased by sothing.
I was about to introduce myself but he cut off mid-sentence.
Hello, I
Im Bong Jae-seok. Youre Kim Ho, right? The one who completed the 10x10x10 cube? Lets talk inside. Follow .
He rattled off his words like a machine gun and didnt even pause for a response.
He was certainly an impatient guy.
As if ti itself were chasing with a sword, I was hurriedly led away.
The place we arrived at was Workshop No. 4.
Just like my last visit, it was enveloped in silence.
Bong Jae-seok shattered that silence by flinging the door wide open.
A third-year senior who was working alone inside jumped in surprise and turned around.
I recognized him to be the senior from before.
Bong Jae-seok gestured toward the door.
Out.
Without a word, the senior vacated the space.
Despite being in the sa year, the authority of the club president was unmistakably strong.
Bong Jae-seok watched the departing senior with a look of displeasure and began to speak.
The price for trading the clubs assets without permission has been paid by that guy.
The place where I had unearthed the 10x10x10 cubes blueprint was amidst the clutter of Workshop No. 4.
However, the authority to dispose of even the clutter belonged solely to the club president, and the senior who had just left had exchanged it for a re material worth 1,000 points.
He traded the cube with under the assumption that I would never be able to complete it, but he didnt expect that I would achieve the impossible.
He thought that he had taken advantage of a freshman, only to find himself in an unexpected predicant. Too bad for him.
Bong Jae-seok then unleashed another rapid-fire barrage of his thoughts.
While I do have the right to reclaim it since it was traded without my consent, I dont feel the need to make a fuss about it. Id rather not stir up unnecessary trouble. After all, there was no one else but you who could have accomplished it. Id be satisfied just to have a look at it.
His point was that analyzing the completed [Cube of Life] and learning sothing from it would be rewarding enough.
He implied that rely allowing him to see it would be considered a form of compensation for him.
It was a mutually beneficial and reasonable proposal.
However, the unfortunate news was:
I dont have it anymore.
Already passed it on? To whom? Surely not the thieves club?
The Mother Nature Club.
It beca Park Na-ris cat house.
By now, it likely had dozens of scratches added to it.
Bong Jae-seoks face quickly clouded over with disappointnt.
He abruptly stood up from his seat.
Aichh, what a waste of my ti. Im out of here.
Senior-nim.
I called out to Bong Jae-seok as he was about to rush off.
What?
Do you really think I would co empty-handed? Im not that thoughtless.
Now that you ntion it, what did you bring? Show .
Take a look.
I handed him a piece of paper that had been folded several tis, which Bong Jae-seok took and unfolded.
It was a torn-off corner of a large sheet.
Due to the original size of the paper, even this torn corner was quite large.
As Bong Jae-seok scrutinized the piece of paper from end to end, his expression gradually hardened.
Then, with a slap that echoed in the room, he laid the paper on the table and leaned in close, absorbing it as if in a trance.
Its real, its actually real I never thought soone would actually manage to do this
What was it about this scrap of paper that had Bong Jae-seok so utterly captivated?
The blueprint.
The one for the 10x10x10 cube that consisted of a thousand tiny cubes.
I ticulously recorded the arrangent of each and every cube.
In other words, if one were to follow this blueprint precisely, it would be possible to recreate the [Cube of Life].
In theory, at least.
The construction process would require a significant amount of material and human resources, not to ntion at least a sesters worth of ti but that was for the other party to figure out.
After all, the important thing was that it was theoretically possible.
?!
Bong Jae-seok who had been fervently poring over the blueprint suddenly froze in his tracks.
The blueprint had been torn midway, which was why his movent halted abruptly.
The part I had handed to Bong Jae-seok constituted less than 10% of the whole thing.
Bong Jae-seok asked urgently with a look as if the sky had fallen.
You have the rest right? You do have it, dont you? Tell you do. Quickly.
There was a hint of madness in Bong Jae-seoks eyes.
He looked as if he would bury soone alive if I said that was all there was.
Of course, I have it well in hand.
I pulled out another neatly folded piece of paper.
It was large and thickly folded, hinting that unfolding it would reveal sothing significant.
Of course, I had no intention of giving it away for free.
Since I showed him a sneak peek, it was ti for paid access from here on.
!
Bong Jae-seok quickly grasped my intentions.
Whether it was due to the urgency of ti, his inherently impatient nature, or both, he imdiately moved to negotiate.
Lets not waste ti with this back-and-forth banter. Just tell what you want.
I would like access to the facilities of Workshop No. 1.
The equipnt in Workshop No. 1 was reserved for the elite mbers of the magic engineering club.
Allowing an outsider like to use those facilities was one of the greatest authorities the club president had.
I had expected lengthy consideration and negotiation, but Bong Jae-seok responded without even five seconds of hesitation.
We need it during the day. You can have it from midnight to dawn. How about that?
That works for .
Deal. Now give the rest of the blueprint.
He was indeed a straightforward man.
He unfolded the blueprint I handed over, matched it with the fragnt he already had, and confird it fit perfectly.
Bong Jae-seok was overco with joy.
Aaah!
He carefully folded the blueprint while treating it as if it were a precious heirloom of his family.
Then, he reached out to .
Let see your student ID.
Sure.
I presented my student ID and Bong Jae-seok jotted down a few critical details.
Ill register you for free access. Dont cause any trouble. I said after midnight, but if its crowded, make way, and if its not, you can use it before midnight too. You can manage that, right?
Yes, senior-nim.
Good. Im off then.
Bong Jae-seok abruptly stood up and strode out only to hurry back as if he had rembered sothing hed forgotten.
But youre unaffiliated, right? How about joining our club?
He pointed to the blueprint in his arms and added.
Honestly, this could be submitted as a thesis. The fact that you actually created a 10x10x10 cube is impressive. Youre more than qualified; in fact, overly so.
I appreciate your words, but I must refuse.
So, Dang Gyu-young got to you first, huh? Are you considering joining that thieves club, or are you worried about holding grudges? Ill take care of it all. I have quite a bit of influence, after all.
Its not that. I just dont plan to join anything.
. Alright, then. If you change your mind, let know anyti.
Seeing my firm decision, Bong Jae-seok didnt press any further.
As he turned to leave without any hesitation, he suddenly said,
Oh, and one more thing.
Returning as if sothing had just co to mind, he gestured with his chin towards a corner of Workshop No. 4 filled with various items.
If youre going to make sothing out of that junk, feel free to take it. Just provide the blueprints like you did this ti. Then I wont say a word.
Thank you.
Now, Im really, really, really going. Take care.
Yes, senior-nim. Please go ahead.
I gained a lot thanks to Bong Jae-seoks very friendly approach.
Now that Ive been granted access to Workshop No. 1, Im going to take matters into my own hands if theres a need for magical engineering when making equipnt in the future.
The [Crafting VIP Ticket] I received could be used in other domains like blacksmithing, tailoring, and fine crafting.
Moreover, the permission to take items from Workshop No. 4s collection of various junk turned out to be an unexpected boon.
While I might not stumble upon another jackpot like the [Cube of Life], there was still plenty worth salvaging.
I planned to visit whenever I had so free ti.
***
Throughout the remaining week of the strategy battle session, I dedicated myself to practicing [Wind Force].
Despite my relentless efforts of sending iron dummies flying in every direction, I barely managed to cling to the edge of D-rank, falling just short of reaching C-rank.
I had hoped for a clean rank-up but it was ti to return to classes.
As usual, Professor Lee Soo-dok appeared shortly after the class bell rang.
Every student in class 3 sat in their seats and held their breath.
Everyone learned that the class proceeds smoothly as long as no one ruffles his feathers over trivial matters.
However, today, Lee Soo-dok entered the classroom unusually carrying a stack of A4-sized papers.
Catch.
And he suddenly tossed the stack into the air.
Flutter!
The A4 papers scattered chaotically, yet each sheet miraculously settled in front of an individual student.
[ntoring Application Form]
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