The Toad with the Burning Heart

When it came to placing bets, Kim Gap-du was as shameless as they came, yet he accepted the outcome without a word of protest.

"We lost."

With that, he opened his inventory and began pulling out elixirs by the handful.

He was skilled enough to serve as a mentor among the third-years, and as the head of a well-established mid-tier club like the Martial Artist Club, his war chest was staggering.

Each and every item was precious enough that he might well have been reluctant to part with them, but an agreement was an agreement, apparently — he distributed them without a shred of attachment.

Looks like I'll be attending school through the Mana Cultivation Room for a while.

The Great Clear Pill boasted a reputation that placed it among the very finest of the Returning Pill lineage, and the 300-Year Wild Ginseng, having spent three centuries soaking up natural energy, was nearly as impressive a grade.

To melt all that vast energy down and convert it into nourishment for my Core, I'd have to be sneaking in and out of the Mana Cultivation Room, burning the midnight oil, for some time to come.

And that was what I alone had received. Our team had four members.

Handing out this many rare elixirs had to sting considerably, but Kim Gap-du didn't stop there — he doled out elixirs to his own mentees as well.

"You all worked hard too."

"Th-thank you, sir."

"Amitabha……."

That his inventory still showed no sign of hitting bottom even after all this gave a glimpse of the true depth of a club president's pockets.

Then Kim Gap-du turned to Dang Gyu-young.

"I'll transfer the privileges I promised right away as well."

"No need to rush."

But Dang Gyu-young slowly shook her head.

There was no need to scoop up all the privileges coming our way in a single lump sum.

If we took everything now, we'd be flush for the moment, but Kim Gap-du's standing within the Martial Artist Club would take a serious hit — and the club presidency might well change hands in the second semester.

And there was no guarantee whatsoever that whoever replaced him would look kindly on Dang Gyu-young and the Thief Club.

If, on the other hand, we received things slowly, one at a time, Kim Gap-du would find it that much easier to manage opinion within the club, and his position would hold secure until graduation.

In terms of keeping smooth relations with an entire club, this way was far more advantageous.

I'm in no hurry anyway.

The shares promised in exchange for showing a glimpse of my ability were the Season Pass for the Special Meditation Rooms in the second semester and the Crafting VIP Ticket.

It was only the middle of the first semester; collecting a second-semester Season Pass this early would just leave it sitting around useless, and as for the Crafting VIP Ticket, there was plenty of time to think about that after gathering the materials.

Kim Gap-du seemed to grasp all of this reasoning as well, because he expressed his thanks.

"Much obliged. Thanks to you, my neck stays attached."

Then he fell silent for a moment, gazing at Dang Gyu-young, before asking with a forlorn expression.

"……Truly, it cannot be me?"

"Yep. Hard no."

Without a second's hesitation, Dang Gyu-young drove the nail deep into the toad's chest.

Kim Gap-du's face crumpled into such abject misery that he came within a hair of bursting into tears on the spot, but he seemed to just barely force it down, his expression returning to normal.

Watching him, Dang Gyu-young answered again, her manner all the more earnest for it.

"I'm sorry. The feeling just isn't there."

"……If that is how it must be, then so be it. I understand. May you live a hundred years in wedded bliss, Dang Gyu-young."

"A hundred years—"

Having tossed out a word practically tailor-made to sow misunderstanding, Kim Gap-du heaved a long sigh and turned his head my way this time.

"Kim Ho, was it?"

"Yes, senior."

"I'd like a word with you, if you can spare the time. Is that all right?"

"Of course."

As I followed Kim Gap-du toward a corner of the Arena, I heard Dang Gyu-young earnestly explaining herself at my back.

"We're not like that. We're not even anything like that. Don't get the wrong idea."

"……"

Judging by the strange looks on Gwak Ji-cheol, Song Cheon-hye, and the others, it was doubtful the explanation had landed.

Still, I trusted Dang Gyu-young to handle the aftermath in her own capable way, left it to her, and kept pace with Kim Gap-du.

We walked a fair distance before he, having confirmed no one was within earshot, finally opened his mouth.

"That was no ordinary skill. I never dreamed you'd neutralize Jo Byeok's cleaving strike so easily."

"Just a shallow bag of tricks, sir. All I did was run around desperately trying not to get hit."

"And that is precisely what skill is. Who knows how much more you're holding back, but what you showed today alone is reason enough to take pride in yourself."

True to his standing as a third-year club president, Kim Gap-du seemed to have seen through the entire course of the battle.

So I gave up on false modesty and accepted the compliment plainly.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me."

"With skill like that, you're unlikely to take a beating anywhere you go. Still, the future is impossible to predict. One must always be prepared for the one chance in ten thousand."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Do you keep recovery potions on hand?"

"I'm ashamed to admit I don't."

The quintessentially veteran mindset: rather than getting hit and then healing, it's simpler to never get hit in the first place.

Besides, recovery potions were worth more than one might ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠think, and the resources it would take to acquire them were better invested in upgrading my specs.

Kim Gap-du, however, was not quite veteran enough to understand where I was coming from, and his brow creased.

"In this respect, you are still too complacent. Take these."

He pulled something from his inventory and held it out.

Receiving it, I found three small glass vials filled with a concentrated liquid.

Elixirs were potions of such potent restorative power that they were known as spare lives.

Granted, this was the mass-produced kind, considerably weaker than the genuine article, but it could still cure most wounds in a single gulp.

It was a tier above even the hi-potion Shin Byung-cheol had used to treat Go Hyun-woo's internal injuries back in the Black Snake Gang.

And there were three of them.

"I don't know what I've done to deserve something this precious."

"It's not that I'm giving them to you because I like you. Don't go getting hurt and causing people worry — keep them on you at all times, and if Dang Gyu-young should ever fall into danger, use them for her. That's what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they're for."

And with that, the Toad Senior grumbled that I should think of it as merely holding them in trust for a while, and not to waste them carelessly.

I raised my assessment of Kim Gap-du by another full notch.

Setting aside the fact that he had catastrophically misunderstood the nature of my relationship with Dang Gyu-young —

very few people would worry after the very person who had made off with their unrequited love, to the point of handing over precious items.

Potions as powerful as elixirs were scarce enough that people could barely spare them for their own use; how many would part with them so readily?

A heart that wished Dang Gyu-young well even if she ended up beside someone other than himself.

Kim Gap-du ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was, in the end, a toad with a very hot heart.

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

"……Keep it secret from Dang Gyu-young. I'll be going now."

Without even properly accepting my thanks, Kim Gap-du turned on his heel and quickly walked away.

Watching his retreating back, I sent a silent cheer after him.

May a good match find you someday.

The mentoring period had already come and gone, and the four-on-four PvP assessment against Kim Gap-du's team had piled a fair amount of fatigue on everyone, so the group scattered in search of rest.

Only Dang Gyu-young and I remained, sitting side by side in the Arena stands.

"What did Kim Gap-du want?"

"Nothing much. We talked about the PvP assessment for a bit."

"He didn't waste your time with any useless nonsense?"

"He mostly just gave me good advice."

Along with three fine elixirs.

That much I left unmentioned, per Kim Gap-du's request.

"Is that so. He's a decent sort, I'll give him that."

Dang Gyu-young seemed more or less satisfied and let it go.

She had no particular desire to get close to Kim Gap-du, but apparently her usual opinion of him was passable enough.

"……"

"……"

For a while, silence settled between us.

Dang Gyu-young stared out at the arena floor with a more troubled expression than usual, occasionally tilting her head my way to glance at me.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, just… a lot of things, I suppose."

Even this senior was only human. No matter how little interest she had in Kim Gap-du, she wouldn't be able to simply erase today's events as though they had never happened.

"Well, there's a highly effective remedy for moments like that."

"……Which is?"

When Dang Gyu-young asked back, intrigued, I answered in a thoroughly serious tone.

"Sparring. Once you start moving your body hard enough, every stray thought flies clean out of your head. It never fails."

"……"

Dang Gyu-young curled a slow smile at the corner of her mouth.

Then she brought both hands up to my face and stretched my cheeks out long.

"There's nothing in that head of yours but sparring, is there, you rascal."

"Ow, thith really doeth work, you know!"

Looking at me with eyes that said I was unbearable, Dang Gyu-young kept tugging at my cheeks without mercy.

So they were nice and squishy, perfect for pulling — and lately it had become a full-blown habit of hers.

Then she burst out in a snort of laughter and rose from her seat.

"Fine. Let's go loosen up, then."

We rode the teleportation magic circle down into the arena and stood facing each other.

Moments later, Dang Gyu-young came charging at me with terrifying momentum, a shadow hammer the size of her own torso clenched in her grip.

As I activated Thief's Step and backpedaled, she brought the hammer down a hair's breadth behind me, thudding into the floor again and again.

"You're feeling awfully aggressive today."

"If I'm loosening up, I might as well do it properly. Huh. This actually works."

"Didn't I say it would?"

Dang Gyu-young already looked noticeably lighter of heart.

When I kept retreating, she seized the hammer she'd been pounding the floor with and hurled it with all her might.

The shadow hammer came spinning through the air, then split into fine pieces mid-flight, transforming into a whole assortment of shadow projectiles that came pouring down.

In response, I leveled Root at the space ahead; the wind gathered, whipped up a fierce whirlwind, and burst outward.

— Whoooosh—!

The falling shadow projectiles tried to scatter in every direction under its force, but their form shifted yet again, becoming a dozen-odd shadow butterflies that fluttered toward me.

I kept backing away with Root extended, and another whirlwind rose before me, yanking the shadow butterflies in toward its center.

— Whoooosh—!

The shadow mass, now clumped into one, stretched out long this time, and Dang Gyu-young slashed away at will with the shadow longsword it had become.

Her movements were just as dynamic as when she'd been swinging the hammer, but her tone was as casual as ever.

"By the way — you haven't forgotten about going out together this weekend, right?"

"It's been, what, a few days since we talked about it? Of course I haven't. You said it was club business."

"Yep. Just stick with me and you'll have fun. Feel free to look forward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to it."

Dang Gyu-young flashed a confident smile.

The idea, presumably, was to pique my interest with this little field trip and get me to join the Thief Club.

Unfortunately for her, I was far too weathered a veteran to get excited over this sort of thing.

I'd caught on long ago that the event they were preparing was the Black Market, after all.

And yet, I couldn't deny that I was looking forward to it.

Just in a slightly different direction than Dang Gyu-young intended.

There's plenty to scavenge in a place like that, after all.

More than in the Temporary Confiscation Storage, even.