Episode 53
Episode 53
"What were you doing?"
"I was collecting some bread."
"Hmm. Bread..."
"Yes. Bread functions like currency here. Roughly speaking, five loaves can be exchanged for a quill pen, and ten loaves can get you a matchbox-sized lump of sugar."
"......"
Thanks to Lee Han, the students of the Blue Dragon Tower were able to eat and live relatively well, but the students of the other towers had no one like him.
They were engaged in a desperate struggle for survival.
The hard bread that appeared at mealtimes had now become an alternative currency.
A currency that could purchase all sorts of supplies!
"Wow... Is it okay if I take a look?"
"Feel free."
Yoner scanned the items in the black market with keen interest, as if planning to buy anything useful.
Unable to contain his own curiosity, Lee Han also tilted his head to look.
And then he was surprised.
'Wait. There are actually quite a few useful things here?'
He had assumed that the Black Turtle Tower students couldn't have gathered much, but contrary to his expectations, there was an astonishing variety of items.
Of course, food wasn't plentiful.
Aside from various canned goods (likely leftovers from when the priests visited), the place was packed with all kinds of fake food.
Fake cheese, fake milk, fake eggs, fake smoked meat, fake pickled fish, fake coffee, fake tea leaves—so much so that one couldn't help but think, 'Wouldn't it be harder to make fake versions of these?'
But excluding food, there were surprisingly many practical items.
Bags, quill pens, blankets, lanterns, fishing rods, shovels and pickaxes, simple tents and sleeping bags, ropes and chalk, bows and arrows...
And most astonishing of all...
'Why are there so many artifacts?'
Ordinary-looking cloth cloaks, leather belts, stone-braced bracelets, and necklaces.
Though they seemed like common junk, Lee Han could sense the mana emanating from them.
No doubt about it—they were artifacts.
'Even if this school makes artifacts easier to obtain, this is still unbelievable.'
Outside, even the simplest artifact was incredibly rare. Not only were they expensive, but their scarcity made adventurers and mercenaries desperate to get their hands on them.
Having just one artifact was enough to declare, "I'm a seasoned adventurer!"
Even a single artifact imbued with <Darkvision> could serve as a guide in any dark dungeon, and an artifact with healing magic could be a second life in emergencies.
But this school was a different story.
After all, wasn't this a place where people who could—and wanted to—make artifacts gathered?
Of course, since they were made by amateurs, the quality was inconsistent and unreliable, but the sheer number of artifacts was bound to be overwhelming.
Still, he hadn't expected the freshmen to be so resourceful in scavenging and bringing in discarded artifacts like this.
Lee Han couldn't help but admire the Black Turtle Tower students' practicality and skill.
'If I had been placed in the Black Turtle Tower, we would've gotten along much better.'
Had Lee Han been in the Black Turtle Tower, he would've worked with the students to sweep up every last resource in the school.
"Planning to buy something? I checked them out too, but there wasn't much that was actually useful."
Perhaps thinking Lee Han was getting too eager, Ratford whispered quietly beside him.
A Black Turtle Tower student, annoyed at the interference with his sales, glared at Ratford.
'This punk, who does he think he is, ruining my—!'
But Ratford paid no mind and continued.
"That cloak claims to be a 'Bladeguard Cloak' that blocks edged weapons, but when I tested it, it only worked half the time."
"Wait, if it works half the time, isn't that still pretty decent?"
"Truly... what an admirable mindset. Rather than seeing the cup as half-empty, you see it as half-full."
"Randomly throwing out words doesn't count as praise, Ratford."
Lee Han carefully examined the artifacts.
Indeed, there was a reason Ratford said there wasn't much worth using.
Most of them were artifacts whose effects were unknown or hard to verify, and some were gradually losing their mana.
The spells cast on them weren't permanent, so they were fading away.
Among such artifacts, the protective cloak that had just been mentioned was still fairly usable—though not something to get overly excited about.
The problem was...
"By any chance, do you accept payment on credit?"
"Even if a blade were at my throat, I wouldn't accept credit, Wardanaz."
'Why the formal speech...?'
Lee Han was dumbfounded.
He could've just said "No" casually!
But for the students of the Tower of the Black Turtle, the issue of credit was extremely serious.
Other tower students had already tried to strike credit deals with them before.
Lee Han was fully prepared to track down anyone from his own tower who tried to skip out on payment—even if it meant raising hell at their family estates—but the Black Turtle students couldn't exactly march up to the great noble houses of the Empire.
Hence, credit was absolutely out of the question!
After hearing the explanation, Lee Han nodded. It made perfect sense.
"Well, then there's no helping it. Hmm... I brought a bunch of stuff for bartering, but..."
Lee Han lifted his basket.
He had gathered various items after hearing about the barter market, but seeing the current atmosphere, his confidence waned.
Would he have to go back and grab more canned goods?
'I want to buy artifacts before they sell out, though.'
"What did you bring?"
"Well, I've got freshly harvested fruits and vegetables, some eggs..."
"!"
"!!!"
Amidst the sudden clamor, the sound of Black Turtle students scrambling to their feet echoed around him.
Surprisingly, the students of the Tower of the Black Turtle were absolutely ravenous for fruits, vegetables, and eggs.
Not just the student selling artifacts—everyone peddling their wares rushed over, desperate to strike a barter deal with Lee Han.
"This pickaxe and shovel! They might even be dwarf-crafted—you never know when you'll need tools like these—"
"I'll trade you fake pickled fish, fake coffee, and fake tea leaves for just one of those eggs!"
"If I can get an onion, I'll give you this wand!"
While everyone lined up, practically forcing their wares on him, the Black Turtle student who had sold the protective cloak for two potatoes roasted them over a fire, sneering at his friends.
"Idiots. You only profit if you sell the good stuff. What's the point of begging while peddling junk?"
"Shut it! You just got lucky finding that cloak!"
"Hey. Trade me a bite of potato for a few loaves of bread?"
"No deal. Keep your crappy bread."
"I heard potatoes haven't been tasting great lately. Bread might be better."
Despite his friends' taunts, the student who had secured the potatoes roasted them carefully over the flames.
Once fully cooked, he peeled off the skin, revealing steaming white flesh underneath. After blowing on it lightly, he popped it straight into his mouth.
"...!!"
Even without words, it was obvious how the potato melted on his tongue.
Watching this, Lee Han was slightly taken aback.
'Just how starved are they?'
There was no way a plain roasted potato—no salt, no butter—could go down that easily.
Yet that reaction...
"...Everyone, gather around for a sec. I'll cook for you. Yoner, can you help?"
Yoner nodded. The two exchanged a glance.
'Let's not charge them this time.'
'Agreed!'
Though Lee Han was usually meticulous about collecting payment, even he didn't have the heart to tally silver coins after seeing such hunger.
Besides, he had another motive.
'If I treat them to a meal before heading into the mountains, maybe I can win the Black Turtle students' favor?'
While the White Tiger Tower students were already permanent enemies, there might still be a chance to get along with the Black Turtle students.
Lee Han quickly chopped the fresh vegetables and seasoned them simply.
As he tossed them with salt and pepper, the Black Turtle students stared in shock.
But the shock had only just begun.
Lee Han heated oil in the pan and stir-fried the vegetables until they were nicely browned. Already, a mouthwatering aroma was spreading through the air.
One by one, the Black Turtle Tower students gathered around the pot like zombies.
Lee Han opened a can of tomatoes. He scraped every last bit from the can with a spoon, poured it into the pot, neatly layered the vegetables, and let them sizzle away.
What emerged was a thick, tomato-vegetable stew-like dish—so appetizing you'd never believe it was hastily thrown together.
As soon as it was done, Lee Han generously scooped portions into bowls for the waiting Black Turtle Tower students.
Then, silence fell. The only sounds were the scraping of spoons against bowls.
The faces of the students who had finished eating were filled with nothing but gratitude and emotion.
Ah, so this was what a real meal was like!
We'd been living without realizing we'd forgotten something all this time!
"Now. Let's give a round of applause for Wardanaz—"
"Please, just be quiet."
Lee Han shoved a potato into Ratford's mouth. He was about to ruin the good mood.
Though Lee Han adamantly refused, the Black Turtle Tower students insisted on giving him something in return, stuffing all sorts of odds and ends into his pockets.
As a result, Lee Han ended up carrying two backpacks—one slung over each shoulder—with a lantern and fishing rod on one side and a shovel and pickaxe on the other.
"You... look kinda cool, though?"
Yoner marveled at his avant-garde fashion sense. Ratford agreed.
"You look like a seasoned explorer."
Ratford was one thing, but with Yoner, it was hard to tell if he was mocking him or genuinely impressed.
Lee Han sighed and set one of the backpacks down. Inside, a chess set, a deck of cards, and a set of dice clattered noisily.
Aside from the goodwill and trust of the Black Turtle Tower students, he'd gained something else.
In addition to the Cloak of Protection, he'd acquired a few decently useful artifacts.
Low-Grade Boots of Stealth (strangely enough, they muffled sound when worn), Chalk of Smoke (when thrown, it shattered and released smoke around the area), Sight Detection Bracelet (when someone looked at you, the gem on the bracelet would turn red at a certain probability)...
'Wait. But these were definitely made by upperclassmen. Why would they make stuff like this?'
Lee Han eyed the artifacts, suspicious of the intentions behind the senior students' creations.
No matter how he thought about it, this all seemed like an attempt to evade the professors' watchful eyes...?
Clatter-clatter—
"Huh?"
While checking the artifacts, Lee Han turned his head at the sound coming from inside the backpack.
To his surprise, a bony hand was moving, crawling its way out of the backpack.
"...?!"
For a moment, Lee Han thought the Black Turtle Tower students had repaid his kindness with betrayal.
But upon reflection, none of them were capable of setting up such an elaborate magical trap.
Clack!
The bony hand flew out and merged with the mysterious bone fragment Lee Han had received from Professor Mortum.
Now grown to the size of a forearm, the bone floated in the air and waited obediently in front of Lee Han—like a puppy waiting for a treat.
"...No. No. No."
Lee Han tried to deny it, but the bone approached and lightly nipped the tip of his finger, drawing a single drop of blood.
Immediately, he felt a mental connection form with this incomplete Bone Summon.
"Sit." "Stand." "Spin around." "Go fetch."
"......"
"......"
Yoner and Ratford stared at Lee Han with complicated expressions.
Their friend had suddenly pulled out a Bone Summon, started giving it commands, and was now seemingly heading down the path of Black Magic—it was hard not to feel conflicted.
'That professor really gave me something weird. Then again, it's not like he'd give me anything normal.'
"Shouldn't you just get rid of it?"
Thud-thud-thud!
At Yoner's words, the Bone Summon trembled and clung tightly to Lee Han.
Even though it was just a skeletal hand and forearm, it somehow looked pitiful.
"...Ah, no. I take it back. I'm sorry..."
Yoner had no choice but to retract his words.