Having obtained the metal for crafting weapons, there was no reason to delay.
So my next destination was the blacksmith’s workshop.
The rhythmic clanging of hammer on metal resonated and it was interspersed with bursts of intense heat.
Numerous students were evidently busy at work inside yet oddly enough, no voices could be heard.
It seemed everyone was too engrossed in their tasks to spare a moment for conversation.
As an outsider, wandering around the workshop could be quite disruptive, so I opted to stand by the door while waiting for someone to emerge.
As I inwardly matched the rhythm of the hammering sound, a muscular man with bulging veins came to greet me.
His school uniform was partially undone, so the tie pin was not visible, but he was highly likely a senior.
His face simply didn’t look like that of a second-year which meant he was perhaps a third-year student.
In contrast, the blacksmith senior merely needed to glance at the tie pin on my chest.
“First year? What do you need?”
“I came to request a commission.”
The third-year senior casually scratched his back; it seemed I wasn’t the first to approach him with such a request since he looked to be slightly annoyed.
“Sorry, but the queue for this semester is already full. If you place an order now, it might not be completed until the start of next semester.”
“Could I possibly speak with the president of the workshop?”
He acted almost as if he could see right through me and his demeanor suggested he had seen many others with similar requests.
He probably thought I intended to hand the president an item and make a personal request.
“That’s not how it works. Even if you were from some prestigious family, it wouldn’t make a difference. Don’t waste your time and just leave.”
“I’m not from a prestigious family, but I do have this.”
I pulled out a small ticket from within my coat.
Upon seeing it, the previously indifferent senior’s eyes widened in shock.
[Crafting VIP Ticket]
“No way, how does a first-year have something …”
Where else, if not from stealing it from another club.
The VIP ticket was the prize for winning a duel against the Emerald Magic Tower, which became mine after a fierce battle with Kwak Ji-cheol that ended with him being thoroughly defeated.
I had carefully stored it in my inventory for several weeks and now its moment to shine has finally arrived.
I smiled and asked again.
“May I see the president of the workshop?”
“Uh… Yes, okay. Just a moment.”
The third-year senior hurried inside, and shortly after, a different muscular man came out to greet me.
The head of the blacksmithing club looked even older than the senior who had initially met me.
He was clearly a third-year student, yet he didn’t look like a student at all.
Looking back, the blacksmiths I had encountered in the past also appeared rugged and aged beyond their years.
Could it be that wielding a hammer ages a person?
While I entertained this impertinent theory, the head of the blacksmithing club approached me and abruptly said,
When I showed him the VIP ticket, he quickly verified its authenticity without taking it from me.
While the VIP ticket did indeed prioritize me in the queue, the decision to accept the commission rested on the craftsman’s choice in the end.
It meant he would hear me out before making up his mind.
“What are you looking to make?”
“It might be quicker if you see for yourself.”
I handed over the blueprint I had prepared in advance to the president of the club.
A rod slightly longer than a human forearm.
And it was designed to be assembled.
The club president scrutinized the blueprint carefully.
“This is no ordinary rod. The design is unique; it includes components for attachment, and it’s quite elaborate. Is this some kind of magical engineering equipment?”
“You’ve got it right.”
I passed him the E-rank [Levitation Rod] I had made earlier as a reference.
Naturally, I removed the core components.
The club president turned the rod over in his hand while inspecting it from all angles and then nodded his head in approval.
“This looks interesting. Normally, I wouldn’t bother with magical engineering equipment, but I’ll make an exception this time.”
Blacksmiths generally prefer not to work with magical engineering components.
The reason was that it was more manly to process and wield a large heavy lump of iron as a whole rather than crunching on several tiny parts.
Yet, the blueprint I presented must have captured the interest of the president of the blacksmithing club.
He moved on to his next question.
“What about the materials?”
“Please use this as the main material.”
As I pulled out the Millennium Iron Ingot, the blacksmith’s expression subtly changed. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⟡𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕥⟡𝕟𝕖𝕥
Up until now, he had seemed indifferent while barely giving me a glance, but now, for the first time, he looked me in the eye.
“An interesting freshman you are. Asking for something unique to be made, holding a VIP ticket and even possessing Millennium Iron.”
“I’ve been rather lucky in some respects.”
“Luck doesn’t always bring such things… But let’s assume that’s the case. If Millennium Iron is the main material, what do you plan to use as the secondary material?”
“For the secondary material, I intend to use this.”
I took off the [Black Mithril Band] I was wearing and also handed over the [Priest’s Black Bracelet].
Both were mainly made of a metal known as [Black Mithril].
The first advantage of Black Mithril was its exceptionally high mana conductivity, and the second was that you only needed a small amount of it to make a piece of jewelry.
Noticing my intent, the head of the blacksmithing club sharpened his gaze.
“A Millennium Iron and Black Mithril alloy… If done right, we could harness the best qualities of both metals.”
“It’s a combination I’ve never worked with before, but I don’t foresee any difficulties. It will likely take around a week. I’ll contact you when it’s finished.”
However, I was certain.
It wouldn’t take a week; I expected to hear back from the president of the blacksmithing club in just a few days.
It might not unfold as smoothly as he anticipated.
For some, it was just another week of duel battles but,
It was a week that had a little more meaning for others.
From this week on, mentoring sessions were set to begin.
There were no changes to the academic schedule, and only those who had signed up for mentoring were to juggle both.
When the class concluded, Lee Soo-dok made an announcement.
“Students participating in the first round of mentoring are to head to the arena immediately. Check the back of your student ID cards for the exact location.”
Just under half of the students stood up from their seats.
Those who remained seated had their reasons for not signing up for the mentoring this time, but their minds might change once they saw the gap widening between them and those who had enrolled after about a month.
Participation was expected to jump considerably from the second mentoring session onwards.
Go Hyeon-Woo, Seo Ye-In, and I started making our way to the arena at a leisurely pace.
Our destination, the “arena”, was the same for all of us.
Since the mentoring was intended to include sparring sessions, the academic department had designated the arena as the meeting spot.
However, where exactly in the “arena” we were supposed to go varied.
Just as Lee Soo-dok had instructed us, if we checked the back of our student IDs,
I was assigned a seat number in the spectator stands.
Go Hyeon-Woo and Seo Ye-In received different seat numbers.
And each of us was to meet our respective mentors in these designated seats.
Go Hyeon-Woo asked me if something came to his mind.
“Come to think of it, aren’t there others besides oneself who are being taught by the same mentor?”
“Of course, there are. About three or four.”
“Are they also warriors like oneself?”
“Unless it’s a very special case. That’s why I filled out the application form so carefully.”
Since the classes of mentors and mentees have been narrowed down to be as similar as possible, the classes of mentees will inevitably be similar as well.
If there were four other mentees besides Go Hyeon-Woo, it was likely that all four would be swordsmen.
Excitement grew on Go Hyeon-Woo’s face.
“To think I’ll not only see the skills of a senior expert but also those of the other participants, I’m really glad I joined this mentoring program.”
“Look for opportunities to spar as well.”
“Of course, I intend to.”
However, whether there would be a swordsman of Go Hyeon-Woo’s caliber to spar with in his group remained to be seen.
The groups were matched based on the mentor, making the composition of each group entirely random.
It was possible he might end up disappointed if the skill levels weren’t up to his expectations.
Just then, a question came from over my shoulder.
“Did you guys sign up for the mentoring too?”
Turning around, I saw Han So-mi walking in step with us, seemingly out of nowhere.
Given that we were in the same class, it was only natural that we would end up walking together.
Song Cheon-hye who was usually inseparable from Han So-mi was also there, but she had created a little distance and pointedly ignored us from the moment Han So-mi started talking to me.
I nodded nonchalantly in response.
“It’s a good opportunity. There’s no reason not to.”
“You’re in the caster category, right?”
“A Battle Mage, right? An all-rounder.”
“That’s right, but why do you ask?”
When I asked that, Han So-mi answered by pointing to Song Cheon-hye.
It was like, Voila! I think I could hear that sound effect.
“Cheon-Hye has also applied to be an all-rounder! If things go well, the two of you might even receive mentoring together!”
At those words, Song Cheon-Hye who had been pretending to be interested in something far off turned aghast.
“Stop talking nonsense, really!”
“Huh? What’s so strange about it?”
When Han So-mi tilted her head with an innocent look on her face, Song Cheon-Hye seemed at a loss for words.
It appeared she hadn’t divulged all the suspicions about me, like the Inferno Fist or the dungeon intrusion.
Perhaps nothing was conclusively confirmed yet, or maybe the seniors in the disciplinary committee warned her to keep silent.
After closing and opening her mouth a few times, she seemed to decide not to speak after all.
“There’s… Some stuff happened!”
It was somewhere between evasiveness and a sharp retort.
Then she turned around and walked ahead at a fast pace,
She stumbled and faltered on empty ground.
After barely regaining her balance, she shot us a sharp glare before hastening away at twice her previous pace.
I turned to Han So-mi and asked,
“Does she often do that?”
So, it was a regular occurrence.
Just like I had sensed before, she was somehow clumsy.
As we engaged in a few trivial exchanges, the arena came into view right before us.
We decided to split up and find our respective seats.
“Good luck with the mentoring and the team matches; see you later.”
“I wish good luck to Kim-hyung too.”
After Han So-mi cheerfully said her goodbyes and left, Go Hyeon-woo also flashed a smile and walked in the same direction as Han So-mi.
Seo Ye-in lazily waved goodbye and set off on her own way.
Around the stands, third-year students or graduate mentors settled into their spots and warmly welcomed the first-year students who approached them hesitantly.
It appeared that all participants had already gathered in some areas with groups of four or five people sitting around a mentor and listening intently to their explanations.
I too checked the seating chart to find my spot.
163-H should be around there.
Since it was an upper seat, I had to raise my gaze quite a bit.
The area was mostly empty which meant our mentor hadn’t arrived yet.
I decided to head there first and wait so I started walking towards the stairs.
Just as I was about to step onto the first stair,
Song Cheon-Hye who was a bit ahead of me sensed someone behind her and turned around.
Our eyes met, and her expression instantly soured.
“Why are you following me?”
“I’m not following you.”
I walked past the immobile Song Cheon-Hye and trudged up to seat 163-H.
And I sat down in a very comfortable position.
After I settled into my seat, Song Cheon-Hye finally began to move again.
……And when she stopped, it was right in front of me.
With a face full of disbelief, she alternated between checking her student ID and the seat number.
“You’re in 163-H too?”
“How did this happen?”
“How should I know that?”
All I could do was shrug my shoulders in response.
Did I know things would turn out this way?
After letting out a deep sigh, Song Cheon-Hye stood a short distance away with her arms crossed and eyes closed.
Of course, she only pretended to close her eyes. She would occasionally sneak glances at me with half-open eyes.
Let her look; I relaxed and waited for the next arrivals.
Surely Song Cheon-Hye wasn’t the only one joining the mentoring session.
Who else would be coming up?
With a sense of anticipation, I looked down to see.
They’re all familiar faces.