Episode 15
Episode 15: Did You Really Expect Children's Grades to Improve in an Environment Like This? (1)
[Currently Applied Buffs]
▶Gyeongjun’s Posture-Correcting Ash Tree Chair: Tenacity +10%
▶Gyeongjun’s Study Cabin: Tenacity +10%
“Ooh.”
The moment he sat in the chair, Gyeongjun felt a strange sensation throughout his entire body.
A feeling of his hips sticking perfectly to the seat.
This chair had always been comfortable for sitting long hours, but now the seating sensation was noticeably improved.
“I feel like I can study longer somehow. About twenty percent more than usual!”
It sounded like a lie, but it was true.
Gyeongjun opened his second-year Korean language textbook and began reading in that state.
The interior had nothing but the chair, yet the textbook read like a breeze.
There was no desk either, so he was in an uncomfortable position with the book on his knees and his head bowed, but once he started studying, he somehow felt compelled to see it through to the end.
About twenty percent more than usual!
[Intelligence has increased by 1 through continuous studying.]
“Man, my neck hurts.”
The moment a status window popped up, he straightened his neck and stretched.
Sure enough, no matter how much of a Tenacity buff he had, nothing beat proper posture for studying.
“Anyway, the Tenacity buff is real. This would hit the spot when I don’t feel like studying, right?”
“True. It’s a massive gain whether I feel like studying or not.”
Gyeongjun had been steadily studying inside the game all this time, but even so, he hadn’t always studied because he wanted to.
Of course, there had been days when he really didn’t want to study.
There were even times when he had clung to studies that should have taken an hour for over two hours.
Conversely, there were days when he was incredibly focused and studied for over ten hours a day.
Of course, after that he would be completely drained and unable to sit still for even four hours the next day.
But what if a Tenacity buff came into play here?
Even on days he didn’t want to study, if he came to the Study Cabin and sat down, he would be forced to keep going.
Because that twenty percent increased Tenacity would suppress his unwillingness and make his hands move!
And it wasn’t just on days he didn’t want to study.
The Tenacity buff would actually demonstrate even greater power on days when he was in the mood to study.
If today he was in a condition to study for five hours, after receiving the twenty percent Tenacity buff, it would increase by 1.2 times to six hours.
If it was ten hours, it would become twelve hours, and the longer he studied beyond that, the more the Tenacity buff’s efficiency would increase proportionally.
“If the Tenacity buff ever reaches fifty percent or one hundred percent, I could become a full-blown studying machine, couldn’t I?”
Shouting that, Gyeongjun immediately went outside the Study Cabin and into the yard.
It wasn’t because he thought he could goof off more thanks to the Tenacity buff.
“A desk! I’ll make an amazing desk and squeeze the Tenacity buff dry for all it’s worth.”
He only had a chair so far; there was no desk.
“Once I’ve decided, I need to act immediately. Timo, assist me.”
Gyeongjun immediately took materials out of his inventory.
Ash tree lumber that he had cut in bulk to build the Study Cabin.
A type of hardwood with a solid grain that resisted warping and splitting.
Gyeongjun had used this to make the chair and the log cabin called the Study Cabin.
And now he was going to make a desk as well.
[General Skill 『Basic Carpentry (Lv.6)』]
[Consumes lumber durability to perform work.]
※If the lumber’s durability reaches 0, the lumber is destroyed.
Vrrrm.
A blue saw appeared in Gyeongjun’s hand.
Grasping it with practiced ease, he began cutting the lumber into the desired shapes.
Ssk-ssk!
When Gyeongjun had first experienced this work, he had destroyed countless pieces of lumber.
But now it was different.
His hand skills honed by making the chair and the Study Cabin!
[Work completed with minimum durability consumption.]
[Probability of producing a higher-grade work upon completion increases.]
Gyeongjun completed the woodwork by consuming the least durability he had ever used.
Next was the processing stage.
[General Skill 『Basic Processing (Lv.5)』]
[Consumes lumber durability to perform processing.]
※If the lumber’s durability reaches 0, the lumber is destroyed.
This processing step was the most important.
Because every type of lumber had a set durability, and the processing stage was exactly when the most durability was consumed.
[Processing completed with minimum durability consumption.]
[Probability of producing a higher-grade work upon completion increases further.]
But Gyeongjun had already consumed the minimum durability during the work stage.
For Gyeongjun, trained in both theory and practice, the processing stage was a piece of cake.
[General Skill 『Basic Repair (Lv.5)』]
[Restores consumed durability of the lumber.]
The final step was repair work.
It was the process of combining materials that had undergone work and processing, and recovering the consumed durability.
Once this was finished, the target desk would be complete.
“First, the bronze ingots needed for the assembly, and beeswax…….”
“Ah! I almost forgot. Banguli!”
[Summon Water Spirit]
▶Can summon a Water Spirit. The spirit’s grade depends on the skill level.
[Low-grade Water Spirit, Undine (Banguli), has been summoned.]
-Splash!
[Banguli bows its head, happy to see you.]
“Yeah, I’m happy to see you too.”
Gyeongjun petted Banguli’s moist, droplet-shaped head here and there.
Banguli responded by eagerly rubbing its head against him.
“Banguli, can you infuse this lumber with Spirit energy? Like you did before.”
[Banguli nods, indicating it understands.]
“Thanks.”
The moment Gyeongjun finished thanking it, Banguli climbed onto the lumber.
Swoosh, splat!
Banguli instantly transformed into liquid and dove into the lumber.
Then, while traveling throughout the lumber in liquid form, it imbued the material with Spirit energy.
At the same time, Gyeongjun felt mana draining from his body.
[The lumber has been imbued with Water Spirit energy.]
[A special effect will manifest upon completion.]
[Water Affinity has increased by 1.]
The moment Gyeongjun confirmed Banguli’s work was finished, he resumed the repair work.
The process of attaching and smoothing the processed lumber here and there using beeswax and nails.
Before long, he completed the entire process.
[You have completed a Rare work.]
[Dexterity has increased by 5.]
[If your work becomes known to others, your Fame may increase with a low probability.]
[The effect of 『Boundless Study (Lv.2)』 attaches a special effect to the work.]
[Gyeongjun’s Unshakable Ash Tree Desk]
▶The second masterpiece crafted by the novice carpenter Gyeongjun. It is filled with the resolve to never let the desk wobble. The aura of the Water Spirit resides within, providing comfort to body and mind.
▶When used together with a chair imbued with Spirit energy, the chair gains an HP/MP recovery effect of five percent per minute.
▶When used by a seeker of boundless knowledge: Tenacity +10%
▶Item Grade: Rare
An unshakable desk!
After changing seats at school, you usually ended up with a wobbly desk with a high probability.
Even if you traded desks, it was the same.
School desks were mostly old to begin with, and they never got properly replaced.
Gyeongjun had hated that so much while attending school.
When making a desk himself, he wanted to make sure it absolutely never wobbled.
So he had used lumber generously and made it much heavier than a normal desk.
He had worked especially meticulously on the desk legs, too.
“Awesome! It doesn’t wobble! And it’s Rare grade, just like the chair!”
“Yeah. I’ve studied and practiced a lot, despite how I look. Let’s install it quickly.”
Gyeongjun rejoiced greatly and put the completed desk into his inventory.
Now he just needed to place it inside the Study Cabin together with the chair.
A house that kept out the rain!
A desk to place books on!
And a chair to sit in!
Essentially, the basic elements of the Study Cabin were all assembled.
Just as Gyeongjun was about to place the desk and chair roughly in the middle.
“Oh, really? How should I place them to make it better?”
“Oh, that does sound more comfortable. The corner is king.”
Following Timo’s advice, Gyeongjun arranged the desk and chair in the corner while still being able to face the door from the side.
┌──────Door───┐
│De │
│sk │
│ │
└──────────┘
[You have selected a desk and chair arrangement suitable for studying.]
[A bonus is added to the Tenacity buff.]
[Currently Applied Buffs]
▶Gyeongjun’s Posture-Correcting Ash Tree Chair: Tenacity +10%
▶Gyeongjun’s Unshakable Ash Tree Desk: Tenacity +10%
▶Desk and Chair Placement Bonus: Tenacity +10%
▶Gyeongjun’s Study Cabin: Tenacity +10%
“Wow! A ten percent bonus! Timo, you’re pretty awesome!”
The Tenacity buff, originally twenty percent, instantly ballooned to double with the desk placement.
Tenacity increased by forty percent!
In terms of pure numbers, it was no different from his usual study limit expanding by forty percent.
“I’m feeling it. Today, I’m studying without rest.”
Even if he couldn’t sleep tonight, he intended to push himself to the limit.
Just how many hours could he study consecutively?
With all sorts of expectations riding on the forty percent Tenacity increase, Gyeongjun sat before his newly made desk and began studying.
* * *
The next day.
Gyeongjun was waiting for first period with slightly tired eyes.
“Yaaawn~”
It was because he had studied late into the night at the Study Cabin and hadn’t gotten much sleep.
But yesterday, it couldn’t be helped.
The effect of the forty percent Tenacity increase had been so tremendous that he couldn’t stop studying midway.
‘Maximum record: four hours and three minutes. I ended up exceeding four hours after all.’
Maximum consecutive study time!
Yesterday, Gyeongjun had devoted himself to studying continuously for nearly four hours without breaks.
It was the first time in his life.
He had never studied for such a long time without resting.
Even college students took classes of one hour and fifteen minutes and then rested; to think he had studied continuously for nearly three times that long without a break!
It was all thanks to the Study Cabin’s Tenacity buff.
The school bell rang, ding-dong-dong.
The bell for the first-period morning class had sounded.
“Alright, alright, first period Math is starting.”
The first-period math teacher entered a while after the bell had rung.
Thud!
Then he stacked a thick pile of unfamiliar papers on the lectern, on top of the textbook.
“……Teacher, what is that?”
“A worksheet?”
“Are you delivering home newsletters instead of the homeroom teacher?”
“Is everyone curious about what this is?”
The math teacher asked the students with a spine-chilling smile.
“Ah, no. We’re not curious.”
“Hehehe……!”
“Don’t tell me that’s……?”
“Ah, please……! How long has it been since the last one!”
“Teacher! You can’t!”
“Woo-hoo-hoo……!”
Despite the students’ continuous shock, the math teacher only kept laughing like a demon king.
Then he suddenly stopped laughing and soon addressed the students with a very bright expression.
“Today, Teacher has brought a very fun assignment. Everyone, is your stored creativity sufficient?”