Chapter 84
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Club (1)
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I replied to Kang Ju-young, who had asked about the club application, that it was a problem.
"I want to apply right now, but I don't have 500 points."
"Can't you just pool it with the other kids joining the club?"
"That's the hard part. They're only signing up because they can earn points."
If I told them right now that I needed to rent a club room for 500 points and asked for 70 each, they wouldn't react well.
But then Kang Ju-young stared at me intently before furrowing her brow and asking how many people were joining the club.
"Who exactly decided to join the club?"
"Why do you ask?"
"No need to guess—it's all girls, right."
Surprisingly, Kang Ju-young had nailed the club's gender ratio just from this conversation.
"Usually, when a male cadet goes around offering things like that, it's for girls."
She must have figured it out from me saying I had to cover the club room points alone.
Hearing even Lee Seojun say that, I realized I'd answered too carelessly.
But Kang Ju-young merely looked at me with eyes tinged in faint pity and didn't oppose the club itself.
"Besides, issues between guys and girls crop up every year."
"Really?"
"For reference, one guy got full-body burns from cheating and dropped out."
Kang Ju-young's gaze seemed to warn that I could end up the same way next time.
It was also a reminder to be careful since everyone else in the club aside from me was a girl.
Apparently, dropping out after full-body burns counted as a forced withdrawal.
"Anyway, how many points do you have right now?"
"315 points."
"Not bad. For this month, we'll just take what you've got. Prepare 500 for next time."
For reference, even if I scraped together points all month long, I wouldn't hit 450.
I earned points from morning physical training and morning/afternoon classes, but two of my weekday classes were empty.
'And weekends off too...'
I could make 65 points a week.
Even collecting nonstop for a full month, that was only 260 points total.
"I just calculated—if I save every point all month, it's only 260. Couldn't we go with a 200-point club room?"
Kang Ju-young's lips curved up in a smile that said that worked even better for her.
"Perfect. Normally, club members pool their points together to pay."
"..."
From her response, it was clear she had zero intention of budging on the club room.
From Kang Ju-young's perspective, hanging this restriction on my points via one club room made perfect sense.
"Then you'll need to prepare the club room too, so come here at lunchtime tomorrow. Have a club name ready as well."
I stood from my seat with no other choice as she waved me off like I should get going.
'Ah.'
Suddenly remembering why I'd come here in the first place, I asked Kang Ju-young about it.
"When can I get the Multi-Calculation?"
"I'll have that ready tomorrow too."
"Got it."
With confirmation even on the Multi-Calculation Skill Stone, I gave a short reply and left the private instructor room.
As I walked back to the dorm, I pondered how I was going to earn 500 points every month from now on.
"How am I gonna scrape up points...?"
"Then I can't pay them off with cooking."
Lee Seojun looked speechless at that, but he soon returned to his usual expression and spoke seriously.
"I make 260 a month, so 3 would be fitting. But you said initially it was 5?"
Lee Seojun nodded as if to say exactly.
"Then why approve when I asked for 10?"
I fell into thought while listening to Lee Seojun.
In truth, aside from the 500-point club room, Kang Ju-young had accommodated me quite a bit.
'Plus, the club room isn't a total loss.'
We'd be using a 20-pyong space, so the others would like it too.
The question was why she'd done me these favors—and what came to mind was the [Collection Cuisine Summon] I'd passed off as my Innate Ability.
"Nothing comes to mind but the cooking summon."
There was [Warlord's Weapon] too, but Kang Ju-young didn't know its power level.
So when I said it had to be the [Collection Cuisine Summon], Lee Seojun racked his brain and agreed.
"Gates?"
Not wrong, but I doubted it was gates.
"No way she'd take a cadet into a gate."
Lee Seojun seemed to agree it wasn't that and corrected himself.
"Anyway, forget that for now—let's think about how to earn points."
Pretending not to hear Lee Seojun, I racked my brain for other methods as I entered the dorm.
The incident of the sudden gate appearing in the Hero Officer Academy spread like wildfire through word of mouth.
Naturally, tales of the grand mage who dominated the gate followed suit.
"So you're saying this grand mage sent by the Healer cleared the gate?"
Kang Ju-young had gone to Joo Tae-ho after finishing with me and recounted what happened in the gate.
Joo Tae-ho could hardly believe the story, but it was a fact that they'd cleared it without a single casualty.
"Intruding into a History Recreation Gate is shocking enough, but taking down 30,000 to 40,000 monsters solo..."
History Recreation Gates couldn't be re-entered until everyone inside was dead.
Yet the grand mage had not only intruded but completed special conditions before leaving.
"What did this grand mage seem like to you?"
"Not certain, but he didn't seem like a bad guy."
"Makes sense. Even if it was a favor for the Healer, he cleaned up the gate neat and left."
"And..."
Kang Ju-young went on to say that the Healer and the grand mage were from the same organization—and that the Destroyer had joined it.
"The Destroyer, you say?"
Joo Tae-ho had seen the Destroyer's power on video too, so he asked back in visible surprise.
"Yes. The grand mage said their organization boss, who was recovering, suppressed the Destroyer and brought him in."
"Hah... So that means the boss of that group is stronger than the Destroyer."
Healer, Destroyer, grand mage, and now their organization boss.
Joo Tae-ho had no idea where these people were coming from.
"And they seem to be operating in this country."
"The Healer and Destroyer appeared to be active here, but the other two might not be."
"Hm. Fair point. Given their power, no need to limit it to this country."
Joo Tae-ho was convinced they could rampage anywhere in the world without opposition.
The Destroyer alone had more than enough force to topple a nation.
'And now a grand mage and this boss on top.'
Feeling the world shifting around him, Joo Tae-ho turned to gaze at a shelf nearby.
'Might come a day when I have to fight too.'
On the shelf sat the Elixir of Youth the Healer had left behind.
Hero Association President Jeon Il-seop also frowned upon hearing about the grand mage and Destroyer.
"Grand mage? Organization? The Destroyer joined them?"
"Yes. That's definitely what I heard."
A Hero Association staffer who'd overheard Kang Ju-young and the grand mage talking at the gate barricade had immediately reported it to Jeon Il-seop.
Jeon Il-seop had been on edge waiting for the Destroyer to storm the association, so this news shocked him badly.
"Their organization boss suppressed the recovering Destroyer and let him join."
"..."
Thanks to that, Jeon Il-seop could guess why the Destroyer hadn't attacked the association.
The problem was that their boss was stronger than the Destroyer—and they had this grand mage too.
"Alright. How did the grand mage stack up? Stronger than the Destroyer?"
The staffer gave it to the Destroyer, who'd survived a special mana bomb.
"One-on-one, Destroyer wins. But in terms of danger? The grand mage feels riskier."
"Why?"
"Can't say for sure, but... the grand mage seemed to draw on mana scattered throughout the world to cast spells."
In other words, no mana limit.
Jeon Il-seop grasped the implication right away and furrowed his brow.
"How was the grand mage's spellcasting?"
"Incredible. He wiped out 30,000 to 40,000 monsters inside the gate in one go."
"..."
It sounded like if the grand mage turned malicious, a whole city could vanish easily.
"...Got it. Oh—one last thing. How'd the grand mage show up there?"
"Not sure how, but he appeared alongside Instructor Ju-young."
Kang Ju-young?
Hearing her name, Jeon Il-seop immediately recalled the Healer who'd forced a contract on her.
Suspecting the Healer and grand mage might be from the same group, Jeon Il-seop shot to his feet.
'Gotta go see Ju-young.'
It was still just a hunch, but he was mostly convinced—and decided to pay Kang Ju-young a visit.