Chapter 23 (1/2)

Chapter 23: My Roommate, Russell

'damn, you really train until you bleed every day'

This was my 10th day of dorm life Every day, I went into the Iraphy, and culture

And every day, when I returned, I would be able to see Russell on his bed, using thetechnique

'It doesn't matter if your upper danjeon is opened but you don't have a propertechnique It really is hard to accumulate mana that way'

A regular person could train their whole lives to the brink of death and back without opening up their upper danjeon Even if they did, training for further improve technique like I did thanks to o beyond a set limit

'To summon a spirit, you need the help of soht? You also need a spirit suic crystal'

According to the information about spirits I'd researched in the library, a spirit suic circle wasn't too difficult A person with about ascircle

'But still, who said ic circles were easy? Only those fantasy authors…'I read somewhere that anyone with a few tricks and tips could draw a ic circle However, the reality was quite different fro ic array if their Circle level was too low

For exa to the 5th Circle level, they would need 5th Circle mana before the array could be coic array's effect, you would need e

'If I want to summon a spirit, I'll need Russell's help, as well as a spirit crystal and ic crystal'

Arranging a spirit su a summoner's help They also needed to be someone with spiritual affinity

'I have h mana I haven't confirh, I'll also be able to summon a spirit'

An eency weapon was paraic and a spirit, then I would be able to escape with my life no matter what happened

“Phew!”

Having heardHis sh to come from a woman

“You're back?”

After residing together in the same room for a few days, Russell had becoe eyes and acted happy to see me

“Let's go out”

“Hm? Where to?”

“Where do you think? You've got to help this hillbilly sightsee the capital”

“Sightseeing?”

“Once our lessons start, on't be able to leave so freely So before that, we should go out and drink a bit, and if there's soht? I, Kyre, will treat you big today!”

Instead of answering, Russell stared blankly ateyes

“Huhu What, dun wanna? I'll carry you”

“N-no! I'll get ready right away!”

For some reason, Russell really avoided physical touch That's why just walking closer et serious in a hurry

'Oi, are you so?'

Russell had an abnor the distance between us, even though ere both guys He threw on his cloak and coo out in a flurry

“Let's go, my friend~!”

“O-okay Let's go!”

I found out after asking him that he was one year older than me

'But why is his butt so bouncy?'

I swear I wasn't a pervert like Russell said, but his padded bu movements were out of the ordinary

'Today, I'll have a proper beer Kuku,' I thought, recalling the clean taste of the beer from Elmar's Resthouse

It was currently the afternoon If we bought a bunch of ot ourselves a drink, ould be able to come back before curfew

“Are those Skyknight cadets?”

“Wow, so cool”

The streets were so, but it felt very refreshi+ng to walk along on nified azes from everyone as alked

'So this is what influence feels like'

Even the soldiers guarding the capital saluted us We were only trainees, but as Skyknight cadets, we received courtesy given to knights It really was a friendlier world if you had some status

'So this is the Magic Tower District'

After leaving the acade the inner castle and asked theet Ronaldo While I was at it, I also asked for directions to the Magic Tower District As expected of a great eic towers, but also es weren't their only custoic iteredients

“Isn't this the Magic Tower District?” Russell asked, having followed ic tower emblems

“There's so I need to buy”

'Let's buy hi' There was no free lunch in this world And even if there was, it would definitely cos attached

“This place looks good”

I stopped in front of the grandest, 4-story building on Magic Tower Street

“Gauss Magic Tower… They have good quality iteh”

'Hic towers'

Well, it was probably ic towers that were on ales, which was said to be the liathered and cultivated hundreds of fledgling es

Though they th, nored If they all decided to defect to an enedom would come face to face with enormous force

'Magic towers are involved in politics, right?'

This was so I had coerous ned contracts with es involved in politics were liic tower disciple positions and could only receive the title of 'e'

“Let's go in”

“Un,” murmured Russell softly

I hitched Ronaldo to the storefront and ent inside

“How may I help you?”

Even after seeing our Skyknight cadet unifore kept his composure The sleeve of his white robe was enified that he was a 2nd Circle e

'Ah, are these all ic products?'

The interior of the building was in no way inferior to the Eujeon, which was said to be the best in all of Korea A , and countless products that looked like ic items were laid out in this store, which was over 300 sq ht armor, to all sorts of swords and even accessories for wo

“What do you have for auxiliary gear that Skyknight cadets usually wear?”

The clerk was only a 2nd Circle ic tower, and he had surely assisted countless nobles before I didn't want to be hu, so I just asked honestly

“A that you have not yet been issued an airplate?”

'Airplate?' The e mentioned an unfamiliar term

“Haha! We have just enrolled, so we haven't received one yet” The only thing I'd gotten was the cadet uniform

“If so, then please allow me to recommend a shi+eld itehts, iteth are necessary, butat the front rather than at the back, so they often seek shi+eld items”

'Blessed Spear? Close-coht cadet in na I really knew about all this was that Skyknights rode wyverns with flair in the skies

“What do you think? If there's so that catches your fancy, you can have it”

“F-forthe products here and there with curiosity

“To commemorate our friendshi+p, I want to buy you a present True friends shouldn't spare anything for each other, right?”

“But…”

'Dude, take the bait! Huhu' This is probably how Master felt when he baited me with the words “it's free~”

“What do you think about this one, sirs? This is considered quite good aic towers, this is an exceptional ic Tower; it is enchanted with the 4th Circle spell, Wind shi+eld Additionally, unlike ite as the shi+eld is not shattered, it can be used at least 10 times”

Knowing I was buying a present, the 2nd Circle loith blue light

'A 4th Circletime to make'

An itee surface area, like aric circle, so it was easy to make them But to enchant a 4 cm wide object would require a co theic theory in my head

“Do you like it?”

“Huh? I like it, but… won't it be too expensive?”

The ic bracelet for ic crystals were adorning the bracelet, increasing its beauty

“How much does this cost?”

“An excellent choice Most Skyknight cadets use ic Tower offers a special 10 discount to trainees of the Bajran Empire”

'Considering how he's twisting his words in circles, it reed as he stared at Russell and me like some fat prey

Ring ring~

“Haha! Lady Luciella, this is the branch of Gauss Magic Tower”

“I reallyme like this every day In the future, I will be sure to let everyone in the social circle know about your sincerity, Lord Alfonso”

'These morons…'

A pair of ood ht cadet uniforive theuys sireasy mannerisms entered the store

“Welcoreeted a different ht smile

“Ah! You!”

“Hmph!”

They clearly never expected to see me here, so as they saw nant woers at me with her eyes

“Haha! Long time no see

Instead of responding, Alfonso ground his teeth audibly The sight of his distorted face washed awayof displeasure

“You were called Luciella, yes? You're braver than you look, huh? How can you go around without makeup with a face like yours? Tsk tsk, they say the brave are scary, I guess people who came out half-formed from the womb are really two-faced”

“W-what did you say?!”

These two ood” list My verbal assault was only beginning

“Russell, you say hi, too These are your schoolmates ill 100a meal If you run into them at the cafeteria, avoid them, because otherwise, you'll lose your appetite for the entire day”

“You bastard!”

“What, wanna fight?” I didn't fear theht treatment by Imperial law The moment he drew his sould decide the day of his death“Jerk, your personality is bullshi+t even though you have no skills to speak of Heh”

Alfonso and Luciella's expressions couldn't be distorted any more than they already were

Then, Luciella saw the ic bracelet in my hands and loudly exclaimed, “Ah! That bracelet is—!”

“Wait, isn't that the product we arranged for yesterday!”

“I apologize By policy, our Gauss Magic Tower does not keep products on hold Since that is due to the unique properties oftrainee e was firm even in the face of nobles

'Oho, so you ca?'

Apparently, these two also caic item before classes started

Then the young, wicked e clerk anted to eat a chicken whole without even plucking it addresseda 10 discount froinal price, the total comes to 7,200 Gold”

“Cough!”

'Soic item would be expensive, but I didn't expect such a ridiculous price 'The cost of the materials is probably 100 Gold at most'

No matter how I looked at it, the iteht I couldway better if I put my mind to it

“Puhahaha! You poor commoner”

“Hohoho! Seeht he was a rich noble after becoht cadet”

The nasty pair broke into laughter at my noise of surprise

“I told you, it's expensive” Even Russell said so with an ashamed expression

'All of you need to let up'

I couldn't just lettheir frustration by joyfully laughing at my expense

I, Kang Hyuk, had lived up to this point without getting humiliated by money matters And in the future, I would continue to live that way

“Haha! It's cheaper than I thought Alright I will settle the purchase right away”

At ht on their faces

Continuing, I said, “I can't walk around carelessly with so o to the Rubis Merchant Branch to collect the money They ithdraw thewith their executive iven ranted me 100,000 Gold in credit

“R-Rubis Merchant Group's executive er!” burst out Alfonso inadvertently

As a noble, he should know better than anyone about the continent's greatest roups

“Understood I will return right away” The htly bowed He was probably thinking that this was an unforeseen boon

“You… you fricking bastard”

“H already?”

Their faces flushed bright red, the two ground their teeth and turned to leave They didn't even respond towith the saht tone as it had when they entered The tful nobles left, all the while radiating an aura of black rage

'This guy is next… Does he see et?'

The e I inspected the bracelet inthrough it

As I looked closer, unbelievably enough, the weak points of the ic bracelet appeared in my head

'If I put a little ht here, it'll cause an overload for a moment'

An elaborate ram If you supplied the mana circuitry with a certain amount of mana, there would be an overload and it would temporarily lose its function

I carefully drew my mana and inserted mana into an important part of the circuitry

'I did it! Huhu'

A poor e wouldn't be able to find the critical weakness of a ht away

“Wait!” I called out, stopping the e as about to leave the store with my token

“What is the e's mannerisms towards me had become much smoother At my cry, he ran back at full speed

“Nothe purchase? If there was to be a probleic toon't take responsibility, right?”

“Haha! Please do not worry about such a thing Our Gauss Magic Tower has never, not even once, sold a defective item”

“Hohh, but you never knohat could happen Moreover, the life of a Skyknight who defends the empire with their life on the line is more important than an assu the purchase”

I imitated a world-wise adult and put a prudish expression on my face

“If you truly feel that way… then ill check the product Only, if the bracelet is activated, the ic crystals will be consumed and the number of times the product can be usedto scare me a little

“I will take that into consideration,” I responded firmly

'You guys are screwed today'

“Then, I will activate the e took the bracelet from me He put it on his wrist and transferred a little mana, then cast the spell with a cheerful voice

“Wind shi+eld~!”

But after , there was no way the spell would deploy With a surprised cry, the trainee e's face drained of color

“How could this be!”

In order towith a surprised expression

“Wind shi+eld!” The ain

However, only silence greeted the e

“Goodness gracious, what is going on! How could Gauss Magic Tower sell such a faulty product! And it's even an expensive article that costs thousands of gold!” I cried out, h that everyone around could hear

“W-what is happening here??” Hearing olden circles e over

'Should I take the acting up a notch? Huhu'

Suppressing the evil laughter inside ic toanted to fleece me, but today, they had met their match

“To sell such a faulty product in the empire capital itself, where His Imperial Majesty himself rules, and not only that, but to try to sell it to a Skyknight who protects the very frontlines of the E the Bajran Ehtly!”

I pulled the Emperor into it and launched my full-force attack

“T-that's not it–”

“If you have so to say, then say it! If someone believed in this item and tried to use it in battle but was ruined because it didn't activate, then would you take responsibility? If I hadn't checked it here, what do you think would have happened!!”

I loudly interrupted the traineeto make an excuse

“I believe there was a tee He looked to be in his forties Looking like a person who had lived and seen quite a lot, he tried to smooth my ruffled feathers

'Calm downdown like a moron wouldn't benefit me at all

“Do you think I would just lie down and bear this! Can a person's life bearound with the one and only life a person has– would YOU calic item even costs 8,000 Gold!”

My veins popped as I did my best Karen imitation

“Tell the er to coht of the Empire!”

Since I was already yelling, I went all out and exaggerated the issue

“Pl-please allay your anger We will replace it with a different product right away”

'You think I'm stupid?'

“Are you joking with ive such a vicious ic branch! I will inform the Academy at once about this situation! No, I will tell every noble and person passing this store about your lack of ethics!”

“Ack!”

How could I, a person who lived in an age where the custoht noas not that of a commoner, but an intermediate level close to nobles At es inside the branch store turned an ugly shade of yellow

“P-please coent we ht of so me to the back

'If I take the bait here, I could be driven into a corner by so to cut the price'

I couldn't let these guys ere trying to pull the wool over my head off easily

“Are you trying to block le with someone's life?”

“N-no, that's not it I merely wanted to control this situation with a short, very short conversation together”

“I won't stand for it~! I, Kyre, aht cadet who lives and dies by his honor!”