Securing a Powerful Backing

"If you'll wait just a few more days, the paperwork will be processed and your dormitory will be ready. We'll contact you then, and you can start attending right away."

That was what the administrative staff at Manbeop University had told me.

So it takes a few days, huh.

Even in the Hunter Studies department, you couldn't just start attending a new school overnight. Once admission was approved, there was still paperwork to complete and reports to file with the regional education office.

I've got things of my own to take care of in the meantime anyway. From where I stood, there was nothing to complain about.

After receiving the president's warm welcome and leaving campus, I headed back to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the studio apartment I'd been living in. I'd be moving into Manbeop University's comfortable dormitory soon enough, so I needed to pack up and get my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠security deposit back. As it happened, my lease was set to expire in a few days anyway.

The whole rent situation had been a headache in more ways than one. This worked out perfectly.

Dealing with the landlord during my time here had been exhausting. I hadn't even been late on rent, but the old man's nitpicking and neglect had been off the charts. Knowing this was the last time, I felt a genuine sense of relief.

The old landlord of the rundown studio came rushing over the moment I called. Everyone around here knew him as Grandpa Rent. His face was a roadmap of wrinkles, and he wore a white sleeveless undershirt with a floral-patterned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vest thrown over it.

"So. You're moving out, then?"

"This week happens to be the end of my lease, and something's come up, so I need to move immediately. I've never been late on rent, so I'd appreciate a clean settlement of the five million won deposit."

"Hmmmm."

Even as we talked, the landlord had something like a traditional pipe clenched in his mouth, puffing out a foul-smelling smoke.

"Could you put that out? We're indoors."

"This isn't a cigarette! This smoke is good for your health, I'm telling you!"

"Health?"

"Listen here. This is dark-attribute herb powder harvested from the lower levels of the Tower, packed into a wad. You hold it in your mouth and inhale, and the miasma seeps into your body and cures all that aching arthritis. You're supposed to be a hunter-in-training and you don't even know that?"

I was speechless. Miasma was cursed, malevolent mana. There was no universe in which it was good for your health, and yet this man's junk science claimed the exact opposite. I'd never met a single person who bought into superstitions like this and still had all their marbles.

"Anyway, I've already moved everything out. Transfer the deposit and I'll hand over the door code right away."

The loan I'd scraped together with my very soul to buy the magic sword Tyrfing had been exactly five million won. Get the deposit back, and I could wipe the debt clean. Perfect timing.

But the landlord swept a sharp gaze around the empty room and started picking fights in earnest.

"Hold it! You think just because the lease is up I hand over whatever you ask for? A lease end date is a lease end date, but I need to inspect the condition of this room first."

He jabbed a finger at the wallpaper.

"See how the wallpaper's gone yellow? You're paying for that. And those scratches on the floor linoleum! The weak water pressure in the bathroom sink — that's from you using it too roughly, isn't it? Once I deduct all the restoration and repair costs, there won't be any deposit left to return. In fact, you'll owe me money!"

Anyone could see these were things that had naturally worn down over a building that was easily twenty years old. They'd been like that from the start, and now he was pinning it all on a tenant who was trying to leave so he could swallow the five million won whole.

If this had been the old me — broke and powerless — I would have grovelled and begged him to knock a little off. But I wasn't that person anymore.

Grandpa Rent puffed away on his pipe.

So he likes miasma, does he?

I used my skill to summon the entrance to the World of the Sword. Then I cracked the inventory open — just a sliver.

A blood-red mist seeping from the magic sword began to slowly fill the air of the studio.

"Hss. Huh? Wh-what's that smell?"

"Wouldn't that be your pipe, sir? That's why I asked you to put it out."

"No. This feels completely different.... Ugh."

Well, of course it did. This was genuine evil energy flowing from a real magic sword. The amount leaking out was extremely small — even an ordinary person would just get a brief headache and that would be it. But the landlord's physical condition was far worse than that.

This was a man who'd been force-feeding himself crude miasma as a "health supplement," prying open his body's circuits to make them accept the stuff. The malevolent energy of the magic sword Tyrfing soaked right into his aged flesh.

Before long, the landlord had gone quiet. His eyes, exposed to the miasma, turned bloodshot in an instant.

"Aaaauuugh...."

After a moment of babbling, the landlord started screaming at the top of his lungs. At the same time, he slammed his fist into the door beside him.

BOOM!

"I'll smash it all! I'll kill every last one of you!"

Completely consumed by the magic sword's malevolent energy, the landlord let out a roar, snatched up a mop handle that had been standing in the corner, and started smashing the windows and mirrors in the room like a madman.

CRASH!

SHATTER!

I leisurely dodged the flying shards, slipped out of the room, and called the police.

I also made sure to pull out my smartphone and film evidence from various angles.

The police arrived in less than five minutes. When they kicked the door in, the landlord was brandishing a kitchen knife, thrashing around and screaming that he was going to cut the gas valve.

"Let's all die! We're all gonna die!"

"Sir! Drop the weapon right now! Get on the ground!"

When the startled officers tried to subdue him, the landlord immediately switched targets and started swinging the knife at the police.

"Come at me! You know who I am?! You know who I am?!"

"This isn't working. We're using force — obstruction of official duties!"

"Hey! Get the taser out!"

BZZZZT—!

"GRAAAAGH!"

In the end, the wicked landlord took a taser hit, collapsed face-down on the floor, and had his hands cuffed behind his back. Aggravated intimidation, property damage, and on top of that he'd swung a weapon at police officers — obstruction of official duties was a given.

About a day passed after that.

This I hadn't known, but the landlord had apparently always had a filthy temper — he was already on probation.

So he was a violent piece of work even without the magic sword taking over.

The upshot was that the landlord had no choice but to settle. He himself insisted he'd rather go to prison, but his family begged me for a settlement, groveling on their hands and knees. I recovered the five million won deposit I'd nearly been cheated out of, and on top of that I squeezed a hefty settlement payment out of his family.

He was a nightmare of a human being while I was renting. But he sure left me a generous parting gift.

I immediately pulled out my smartphone and paid off the entire loan I'd taken out to buy the magic sword. The debts I'd scraped together from every corner of my soul were settled one after another.

No more debt. This is a real fresh start.

With a light heart, I packed my things and headed for the Manbeop University dormitory.

The VIP-exclusive Royal Room the president had promised.

I opened the door on the very top floor of the dormitory building, and a spacious, comfortable living room and a plush bed were there to greet me.

"Ahhh."

The moment I lay down on the bed, a groan escaped me on its own. A mattress and blankets this comfortable? It felt like the first time in my entire life.

It wasn't as though the dormitory had some incredible magical facilities or special devices that would inflate your stats. Even a VIP room had its limits on the budget of a Tier-2 university sitting on the Tower 1st Floor. You couldn't expect the kind of equipment that only the top-ranked hunters used.

But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this place was heaven in its own right. Decent hotel-grade facilities, provided free of charge. On top of that, if I headed down to the exclusive section in the morning, breakfast was included. That dining hall would have other VIP students just like me, so it would be a good place to build connections too.

A space of my own — spacious, comfortable, with no worry of noise leaking out.

This is perfect for miasma absorption training. No need to worry about anyone watching.

I unpacked with satisfaction, then rolled around on the plush bed with a smile on my face.

The next morning.

On the eve of my first day of classes at Manbeop University, I received a quiet summons to the president's office.

"Well now, Kim Najin. How do you like the room?"

"Yes. It's comfortable and excellent. Thank you for the consideration."

"Haha! You're going to be this school's ace. Of course we'd do at least that much."

President Song Hojin wore a warm, grandfatherly smile, then set down the teacup his secretary had brought and lowered his voice.

"As you well know, Manbeop University and Deokseong University have been bitter rivals for a very long time. Those Deokseong bastards work their students like dogs in low-rank dungeons in the name of 'practical experience' and squeeze them for pocket change. But Manbeop is different. The essence of a hunter is overwhelming mana and raw physical caliber — that is this school's unshakable philosophy."

He was right. If Deokseong University prized grinding practical labor in dungeons, Manbeop University valued the growth of each individual student's own physical caliber above all else.

"Next month, the Mandeok Grand Battle will be held — the event where both universities' pride is on the line."

At Deokseong they put their own school's name first and called it the Deokman Grand Battle, but here it was the other way around.

President Song Hojin continued with a request.

"I'd like you to be our perfect trump card there. So until then, keep the existence of that Mythic-grade magic sword a complete secret."

"I see. No need to show our hand early, is that it?"

"Exactly! On the day of the battle, right in front of Deokseong University and that arrogant bastard Park Mansu, you flaunt that magic sword and smash their arrogance to pieces! Doesn't just imagining it send a thrill through you?"

The president clenched his fist, looking thoroughly pumped up despite his age. My own chest seemed to pound as I pictured the same thing.

Deokseong University students shattering before the power of the magic sword. And Park Mansu's face going utterly blank with despair.

For that day, I could keep the magic sword hidden without any trouble. The blade was excessively ornate and eye-catching just from its appearance. On top of that, I couldn't use it all day anyway.

My vessel still isn't big enough. Use the magic sword for too long and the curse starts eating away at me.

I was already planning to keep it in my inventory and farm stats with a mass-produced iron sword as my everyday weapon. Our interests line up perfectly — mine and the president's both.

Having finished thinking it through, I nodded in front of the president.

"Understood. I'll keep the magic sword put away and live quietly, like any ordinary transfer student."

"I'll hold you to that. But don't bury yourself in that ordinary-transfer-student image. If you need anything, feel free to contact me anytime."

A university president was, at the most basic level, someone who held both money and power in his hands. And President Song Hojin was practically the patriarch of Manbeop University, a school that ranked in the upper tier of the Tier-2 universities.

To build a personal relationship with a man like that, and even receive a promise of his support on top of it...

No matter how I looked at it, this was a win.