Discipline Rule 15: The Disciplinary Committee Leader Gets a Custom Weapon (2)

I slid the Platinum-grade receipt card into the slot.

The AI on the Deus Atelier screen spoke in a courteous tone.

"Yes."

Oh Baek-seo and I moved to the room the AI indicated and waited there. Five minutes later, a large case came sliding down a rail until it stopped in front of me.

Chiiiik.

The case opened with a hiss, venting a pale cloud of heat.

Inside the case, the three-section staff lay fully extended, held fast by friction locks.

Its exterior was meticulously sheathed in the scales of the black Iron Armored Dragon. Grooves lined the mana circuits running along it, angled like electronic circuitry. It was a touch thicker than the staff I'd been using, and a bit longer as well.

Within the staff's interior, the petal fragments of the Lightningbloom would be installed in a row.

The Lightningbloom was a mystical flower that bloomed only at the heart of the domain of the Thunder Beast — a creature from which lightning poured like a rainstorm. Its petals rippled like waves, dramatically amplifying the power of lightning mana.

Because the petals were so extraordinarily valuable, the bulk of my Platinum mileage had gone toward acquiring them.

That said.

'Cheollyonggon... the Iron Dragon Staff?'

I stroked my chin, thinking it over.

The name was pretty damn cool, actually.

Iron and dragon. Wasn't it a name built entirely out of awesome elements?

Since the scales of the Iron Armored Dragon were plainly visible on its surface, it even felt like a fitting name.

'I was originally going to name it "Superior Means of Dialogue."'

That had been my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠backup name, chosen because I didn't want to saddle my equipment with something cringe-worthy.

'I stand corrected...'

The moment I actually heard the AI say "Iron Dragon Staff" aloud, the blood of a man began to boil in my veins.

"Superior Means of Dialogue" failed the romance check before anyone could even evaluate its cringe factor. As a matter of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠male pride, it was a shameful proposal I could never accept.

After all, cringe and romance are separated by the narrowest of lines. Now that I finally had my own custom equipment, giving it a magnificent name was only right and proper.

"I like it. Iron Dragon Staff. It's good."

Let's see how it feels.

I gripped the Iron Dragon Staff.

'Ahh, this cool, weighty sensation...'

A strange feeling traveled up my palm and coursed through my whole body. It was almost as if the staff were evaluating whether I was worthy of becoming its master.

Well, that's the romantic way of putting it, anyway.

In plain terms, 'mana resistance' was being tested.

The lower my mana compatibility with a piece of equipment, the harsher the resistance became. As a result, channeling mana through it grew difficult, and it could even cause pain. Use it, and you'd be forced to jump through hoops.

But my mana compatibility was top-tier.

The sensation the staff fed back to me didn't fight me at all — it simply resonated, amplifying within me like the pipes of an organ and lending itself smoothly to my mana circulation.

'Thickness, length, durability, weight, grip. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠All satisfactory.'

As my mana flowed through the staff's circuits and circulated back through my body, I could feel, almost instinctively, just how sturdy a weapon this was.

The AI had said so, hadn't it? That I'd be able to wield this staff as though it were an organ of my own body.

Now I understood why.

Even before I'd used it once, it fit my hand perfectly — as if it had been made for me.

"Yes. Please."

"The sturdiest one."

Screeeech.

A wall panel rose, and the massive training dummy came into view. If I recalled the game correctly, that dummy boasted a hardness that shrugged off nearly any attack — a shotgun blast or a cannon shell would barely manage to scratch it.

Whirrr.

A holographic projection activated, and the dummy took on the shape of a monstrous beast. It roared.

The dummy's hardness was identical across all of its attacks and defenses at every level — you couldn't very well grade your sandbags when testing freshly forged equipment.

And Level 10 was a level worth attempting only for someone in the upper ranks of Tier 5 at minimum, and someone carrying equipment of at least Platinum grade.

'Good.'

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have given this level a second glance.

And yet, the moment I took hold of the Iron Dragon Staff, I felt certain that only Level 10 would do for a proper test.

"I'll go give it a whack."

"Go right ahead. Fighting."

Baek-seo smiled warmly.

I approached the training dummy and activated my mana circuits. The mana coiled in my lower dantian spread evenly through my whole body, and I channeled it into the staff.

Tszzt! With the crackle of running current, a cyan glow lit up along the staff's mana circuits.

'Let's go.'

PAHT!

I kicked off the ground and swung the staff at the training dummy with everything I had.

WHAM!!!

CRAKLE!!!

Thunderous noise erupted outward. Along with a bone-rattling impact, wave after wave of electric shock crashed over the dummy.

The mana amplified by the Iron Dragon Staff discharged with tremendous force. Fierce lightning danced in the air, and the violent pressure surge swallowed the atmosphere whole for a moment.

BOOM! The beast shrieked and was smashed flat against the wall in a single blow — the training dummy's ankle, bolted to the floor, had simply torn away.

Bzzt. The hologram flickered with static, and the dummy's true form, hidden ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beneath the monster skin, stood revealed. From a single hit, its entire body had been folded in half.

"Wow..."

Baek-seo's admiring murmur drifted over from behind me. It was the first time I'd ever heard such a genuine exclamation of awe from her.

I was just as stunned.

'It really works...'

That last strike — my mana had been amplified several times over, hadn't it?

I couldn't even gauge by how much.

'...So gear really does carry a person, huh.'

Awakening once more to this eternal, unchanging truth, I looked down at the black staff in my hands.

Composed of Iron Armored Dragon scales, it kept sending pulses of cyan current along its perfectly aligned mana circuits, as if savoring the afterglow.

'This thing rocks.'

The corner of my mouth crept upward. My heart had started racing without my permission.

"Thank you. I'll put it to good use."

I would have loved to leave it there for enhancement as well, but without Platinum mileage, that was impossible.

The Federal Board had sent official word that they would reward the Shin Yongsan Street incident with Platinum mileage. However, by regulation, it would only be deposited after the final exams — still a ways off. For now, I'd have to be content with my +0 Iron Dragon Staff.

Rrrrip.

I fed a tiny trickle of mana into the grooves of the grip and pressed the staff's tip, and the sections retracted inward. I slid the shortened baton into the holster hanging at my belt.

"Baek-seo, let's head back."

Baek-seo smiled brightly and tilted her head at me.

"Leader, you seem awfully giddy."

"Hm? No way...? I'm the same as always."

We left Deus Atelier.

"Are you happy with it? That power was no joke."

"Beyond my expectations."

With the Iron Dragon Staff, I might actually be able to land a real hit on Kim Dal-bi.

The reason she came to mind as a benchmark was simple — my attacks hadn't been effective against her last time.

It might have been different if I'd unleashed a continuous barrage, but against someone who could deflect even Baek-seo's combinations, my own flurry never stood a chance.

Not that I wanted to hurt Dal-bi. But if a situation ever came where I had to subdue her, I would ultimately have to swing this staff.

"It fits my hand perfectly. And I love the solid heft of it."

Come to think of it...

This thing would need practice in restraining my strength, wouldn't it? Swing it at your average rule-violator and they wouldn't stop at a fracture.

"That's a relief."

Baek-seo smiled contentedly.

"I'd hate to be on the receiving end."

"Painful... I see... right..."

It was the kind of answer that made me acutely aware of the skill gap I sometimes wished I could forget.

Even with the Iron Dragon Staff, I doubted I could beat Baek-seo.

Still, there was no reason to be discouraged. I had finally obtained the custom weapon I'd long yearned for. With it, I might even develop new techniques. The only direction left for me was upward.

Well, that could wait for now.

'Good timing, too. Soon I'll have to deal with the Six Sinners.'

In the game, the Six Sinners had stirred up incidents all across the academy city, generating constant buzz.

The game was designed so that players would naturally encounter news of the Six Sinners — enough to make them think, 'Fighting this one would be fun.'

The academy schools were one of the stages where the Six Sinners caused their incidents. Our protagonist Lee Tae-sung's Sein High School never saw a Sinner appear, but the other schools weren't so lucky.

'Sooner or later, one of them will invade Ahseong too.'

I didn't know why.

In the game, all that was reported was news that one of the Six Sinners had infiltrated Ahseong High. The specifics of the incident were never revealed — perhaps because Ahseong was a far cry from the game's main stages. Who knows.

Even if the details had been available, I might never have learned them, being the casual player I was.

Either way, I had to prepare.

Except...

'I have no idea how Ahseong's security gets breached, though...'

It remained a question with no clean answer.

One of the Six Sinners did appear in the game, so Ahseong's security would be breached. But having actually attended Ahseong, I couldn't help but doubt it.

As one of the major academies, Ahseong's systems were meticulously designed to guard against outside intrusion.

Heck, after the incident last year where a magic beast broke in mid-exam, security had been tightened even further. Even I found it reassuring.

'...I'll shelve that question for now.'

There was no clear answer to be had at the moment anyway.

Time to eat.

"I'm starving. Want to grab some food?"

"Leader."

"What is it?"

"I have somewhere to stop by today. Should I go on ahead?"

?

Baek-seo said it with a gentle smile.

Normally, Baek-seo was quite specific. When she declined to mention something, it meant she didn't want to talk about it — so I didn't bother pressing with 'Where?'

'Something to do with her private life?'

Just recently, I'd been reminded that Baek-seo had a private life she preferred to keep hidden from me.

Even if it weren't that kind of matter, I had no desire to pry. I was just a little wistful that our date here had fallen through.

Apparently our date here would have to be postponed until I came back to enhance the staff.

"Got it. See you later."

"Mm. I'll make dinner for you later, so wash your hands properly and wait for me like a good boy."

?

Are you my mother?

The deep blue of the sky was pushing out the sunset. It was that brief hour when night was falling.

Listening to the chirring of crickets in the grass, Oh Baek-seo climbed the hill and arrived at a small playground — a quiet one, furnished with nothing but a slide, a seesaw, and a set of swings.

One girl was already there.

Creak, creak. The sound of a swing. She sat on it demurely, the tips of her toes resting on the sand.

Pastel-pink hair rippling down like a wave. A Hanyang Federal Academy uniform with no name tag.

"You came. It's been two weeks, hasn't it?"

Kim Dal-bi — one of the academy city's terrorists — greeted her without meeting her eyes.

Baek-seo stopped and looked at Dal-bi with a placid face. Only her left hand stayed resting on the blade at her hip.

"Hello."

Baek-seo returned the greeting with a soft smile.

"A face I've been wanting to see."

"You missed me? How sweet of you, I'll take it that way."

Dal-bi reacted with playful aegyo.

"......"

Baek-seo narrowed her eyes.

"It's rather convenient being high-tier, isn't it? There are presences that only Tier 6s can sense from each other."

"Tell me about it. You were broadcasting your presence loud and clear."

Baek-seo gave a slight shrug of one shoulder.

"Why did you call me? Unless it's something special, I'll be drawing my sword right away."

"And if it is something special?"

"Then I'll draw it a little later."

"Either way, it's coming out."

Baek-seo had deliberately not summoned the Disciplinary Committee — Dal-bi was clearly in the mood to talk.

Besides, Baek-seo had wanted to speak with her before capturing her anyway. There was something she absolutely had to ask, and information she wanted to draw out. Given the current mood, it just might be possible.

"Wellll... I'm not here to fight today. I have things to talk about."

Dal-bi looked at Baek-seo and spoke firmly.

"Give me just three minutes. I have something to say about your Disciplinary Committee Lea—"

In the blink of an eye, Baek-seo plopped down onto the swing beside Dal-bi.

She'd moved so fast it was as if she'd used flash-step.

"Go ahead."

"Whoa... you're surprisingly blunt, you know that?"

Dal-bi let out an awkward laugh, marveling.