Disassembling Junk (4)
Two female students peeked in from outside Workshop 4.
It wasn't hard to guess they'd come to see me — even as they talked between themselves, their eyes stayed locked on me the whole time. And though they were clearly making an effort to keep their voices down, I caught every word of the conversation from clear across the room.
"Are you sure? Him?"
"He's not even one of our members. And I heard he's working here, so it's a hundred percent him."
"Then you go talk to him."
"Come with me, will you? Where's your sense of loyalty?"
It seemed they'd come calling after hearing the rumors about me. Pinning those rumors on me, of all people, wouldn't have been difficult either. Set aside that senior who was all but the resident ghost of Workshop 4 — the one silently tending to her own work in the far corner — and the process of elimination left only me.
The girls finally set foot inside the workshop.
Rather than react first, I chose to play dumb and focus on the task at hand. They, too, approached with careful steps so as not to disturb me, and watched with undisguised interest as I cleanly dismantled one of the failed projects nearby.
Before moving on to the next item, I set my tools down for a moment and lifted my gaze to face them. Faces I'd glimpsed in passing once or twice coming and going through Workshop 1. Besides which, their neckties bore third-year pins.
Third-year seniors of the Magic Engineering Club — and among them, first-string craftsmen at that.
"Hello."
"Hey. We heard you took a commission from Bong Jaeseok — that right?"
Just as I'd suspected, their business was failed-project disassembly. It was a tedious chore through and through, so the moment someone appeared willing to take it off their hands, they were bound to come verify it. All the more so when that someone's skills were said to be pretty impressive.
I nodded without hesitation.
"He's entrusted me with a few failed projects."
"See? Told you so!"
One senior's expression turned triumphant. The other paid her no mind and asked me directly.
"Would you do ours as well?"
They'd just seen my handiwork with their own eyes, so there was no room for doubt. Only the matter of price remained.
"If the pay is sufficient, I don't see why not."
"What did you get from Bong Jaeseok?"
"One high-grade material."
"Same for us, then? What do you need?"
"A [Weather Chip] or [Floating Stone Extract], if you have either."
Like the [Mana Engine] I was set to receive from Bong Jaeseok as my commission fee, these were all core components destined for my weapon. The peripheral parts could come from disassembled items, but the core parts that decided a weapon's performance demanded high-grade materials. I was aiming for EX-rank in the end, after all.
"Oh, I've got that!"
One senior promptly pulled a [Weather Chip] from her inventory and handed it over outright as an advance payment. The other flinched for an instant — which told me she carried the same item — but she was already a beat too late. Her face all but asked whether she could substitute a different item. Coming from a senior, though, that would apparently cost her a little pride.
"Floating Stone Extract... I don't have any on me right now, but I'll get you some by tomorrow."
"Sounds good. Go ahead."
The failed projects were handed over on the spot. Perhaps because these two were Magic Engineering Club members as well, they were refreshingly straightforward — no haggling, no push and pull. Crafting-class types lived perpetually chased by deadlines, and they tended to pay handsomely to buy back their own time.
I bowed my head, gratitude brimming in my heart.
"I'll have them ready by midnight."
"That fast? Take your time."
"I have plenty of it."
"Got it. Thanks~ See you later~"
Having settled their business, the two seniors hurried off to Workshop 1. They had piles of their own crafting commissions stacked up, after all — no time to waste dallying here.
I picked my tools back up. Soon enough, the workbench was awash in blue light.
"Sniff, sniff."
Dang Gyu-young pressed her sleeve to her nose and took a whiff. Then she scrunched her face up hard. Her uniform did seem to have picked up a smell somewhere.
Sewer cleaning duty — the work of meticulously scouring the maze of passages that sprawled beneath Dungeon Island. The objective was to locate and eliminate the monsters that occasionally drifted in from outside. Needless to say, nobody wanted to roam the dark, cramped, humid waterways while breathing in the uniquely foul stench of a sewer. All the more so since, every now and then, you could end up drenched in monster blood.
But left unchecked, those monsters might push their way into the campus proper, so it was a job someone had to do. And so, cleaning the underground waterway typically fell as punishment on students who had broken school rules — exactly as it had fallen on Dang Gyu-young and the members of the Thief Club.
When Dang Gyu-young's crew finished the day's work and climbed back to the surface, Gwak Seung-jae was there to meet them. He always appeared at the precise minute work ended, sharp as a blade.
"Have you finished, Senior?"
"Yeah. Catch."
Dang Gyu-young flung the video-record crystal over in a flick of the wrist. Like the replay crystals used in students' PvP assessments and dungeon raids, this one recorded everything that had gone on down in the waterway, end to end. Only by presenting proof that they'd worked hard without slacking off would the Disciplinary Committee strike a day from their punishment.
Gwak Seung-jae replayed the crystal at high speed and soon gave a short nod.
"Confirmed."
He retrieved the crystal, then took out the terminal he'd brought and began scanning each Thief Club member's student ID in turn. While he did, Dang Gyu-young asked:
"Hey, Seung-jae. How much do we have left?"
She meant the number of punishment days still ahead of them.
The reply came back without a second's delay.
"Nine days of underground waterway duty, five days of building repair work, and two external commissions apiece, Senior."
"...That's a hell of a long way off."
Heavy sighs burst out all around, as if seconding the sentiment. They'd all felt like they were working their bodies to pieces, yet this damned punishment gave no hint of ever running out. Dang Gyu-young was only human — she hated filthy, thankless work as much as anyone. Especially that briny, sour stench. It haunted the tip of her nose long after waterway duty was done, bad enough to kill her appetite altogether.
To her scowling face, Gwak Seung-jae opened his mouth in a level tone.
"I bring a message from the Chief."
"Squinty-eyes?"
"Yes. He believes it will make a fine opportunity for you, Senior."
A message from the Disciplinary Committee Chief, Oh Se-hun — and a good opportunity for Dang Gyu-young, no less. Judging by the flow of the conversation, odds were good it involved lightening her punishment. But a trade, by definition, means giving something up for everything you gain. Dang Gyu-young made her opening play.
"Let me nail one thing down in advance — if that's what this is about, I have nothing more to say."
The banned items lifted during the Temporary Confiscation Storage break-in, along with the masked figure who had used [Inferno Fist], were still being tracked at the Disciplinary Committee level. If Oh Se-hun's message was tied to any of that, Dang Gyu-young resolved never to open her mouth. She had no desire to sell Kim Ho out at this late stage, and the lion's share of the items had long since been cashed out anyway.
Gwak Seung-jae shook his head slowly.
"I wouldn't dream of expecting that."
"Then what is it?"
"See for yourself."
Dang Gyu-young took the documents he held out. Right on the cover, in large letters, it read: Mentoring Activity Proposal.
Flipping through the pages, the gist boiled down to roughly this:
This year's incoming students are of exceptionally high caliber, and the expectations the academy has placed upon them are immense.
Accordingly, we intend to conduct this round of mentoring with far greater intensity.
The goal is to keep the number of new students per mentor at an average of five or fewer.
To achieve this goal, a greater number of mentors is required than in previous years.
Should you meet the qualifications, we sincerely hope you will take part in the mentoring program.
Dang Gyu-young's ability sat in the upper tier of the third years. She was more than qualified to take someone under her wing and lead them. But...
And here comes another headache.
Playing nanny was the very last thing she wanted. Merely wrangling the pack of thieves behind her already gave her enough of one. And now the number of people needing her care would only grow from here? Worse still, the fledglings coming in as mentees would belong to other clubs nine times out of ten — in other words, other people's children. If she handled them the way she handled her thieves, friction with their clubs was all but guaranteed. Which meant she would have to half-wait on them like visiting masters.
The scales tipped sharply toward refusal, but for the moment Dang Gyu-young held her tongue. You should hear a person out to the end before deciding.
"So — if I take it?"
"He says this round of punishment will be waived in full."
"Just me? Or the kids too?"
"Everyone covered under this punishment."
"...!"
"...!"
Not just Dang Gyu-young — every member implicated in the storage break-in would walk free. The Thief Club members fixed her with blazing stares in unison. Anyone watching might have thought laser beams were firing from their eyes.
President, please!
Boss lady, just squeeze your eyes shut and say yes.
Accepting is the only way you live and we live...!
They looked ready to stage a mutiny on the spot if she refused.
What's gotten into these punks...?
Audaciously laying silent pressure on their sky-high President? The moment Dang Gyu-young shot a venomous glare right back, the gazes scattered every which way. She made a quiet vow to herself: one of these days, she was going to pick a date and set aside some time to whip the club's discipline back into shape.
Back to the matter at hand. Dang Gyu-young boiled the Disciplinary Committee's proposal down to its shortest form.
"In one line: 'Be a mentor instead of serving your punishment.' That about it?"
"Expressed bluntly, yes."
"Hm... Do I take this, or not?"
Dang Gyu-young set the punishment on one pan of the scale and the mentoring on the other, weighing them with great seriousness. Neither side was a clear-cut gain. Trade the sewer stench for a handful of newly acquired masters to serve — a burden either way you sliced it.
Seeing her deliberation drag on, Gwak Seung-jae spoke up in a courteous tone.
"Might I offer a word?"
"What is it? Go on."
"I believe accepting is the right call."
"Why?"
"Isn't time the single most valuable thing the Thief Club has right now? There's the errand center to run, and the black market opening soon to prepare for."
Dang Gyu-young whipped her head around toward the back.
"Hey — are we actually fine with security like this? The Disciplinary Committee has our entire schedule mapped out!"
"It's an open secret, is it not?"
About as taken for granted as the fact that the Thief Club would set its sights on the Temporary Confiscation Storage right after the Ban Wave. The errand center's operation and the black market both. And just as Gwak Seung-jae had said, time really was of the essence. If she accepted the Committee's offer, the members' punishments would be wiped clean off the board, leaving them far freer to move — and buying Dang Gyu-young herself a little more breathing room.
"And should you achieve good results in the mentoring, commensurate rewards may well follow. Dragon Slayer Academy is nothing if not thorough about such things."
"Isn't that a rather optimistic view?"
"Which is why I don't set much store by it myself."
"..."
Dang Gyu-young's expression crumpled. Annoyingly honest, this one. Still, his words did help her reach a decision. She answered with a low click of her tongue.
"Tch. Tell them I'll do it."
"A wise choice, Senior."
"By the way — are many people looking to learn rogue-type skills?"
"Not many, as far as I know. And..."
Gwak Seung-jae shook his head, then added:
"...your own specialty lies elsewhere entirely, doesn't it, Senior?"
Dang Gyu-young, the Shadow Weaver. She was a master who had attained total command of every thief's secret technique — and at the same time, a powerful battle mage capable of crossing blades with the department heads of the Magic Tower Association itself.
[56] The Support Ate It All