Special Grade Treasury
Soul Stones possessed tremendous value as materials for crafting armaments.
If it was the Soul Stone belonging to I Gahyeon, the Puppet Demoness who had seized her place among the Six Demons of the Majin Association, there was even less need to mention its worth.
It was a material that would make any armament craftsman drool.
To the point where they would grab me by the pant legs and beg to be the one to craft the armament.
Even those called Maestros, equipped with world-renowned skill, would likely be no different.
No matter how proud or haughty they were, they would kneel before this Soul Stone.
'So finding someone to craft an armament from the Soul Stone isn't difficult….'
The problem was that Soul Stones were notoriously difficult to handle, so I had to consider the possibility of failure when using it as a crafting material.
Furthermore, if it succeeded, I also had to consider how much of the power dwelling within the Soul Stone would be reflected in the armament.
Therefore, the craftsman's skill, their understanding and resonance with the Soul Stone, their intuition in selecting compatible materials, and various environmental variables were all deemed important.
This meant I couldn't carelessly request just anyone to make it, even if they were highly skilled.
'Most of all, I have to be able to trust them with it.'
A Maestro connected to the Divine Sword Doga would at least be somewhat trustworthy….
Setting aside the probability of success, I couldn't rashly guess how much of the power dwelling in the Soul Stone they would be able to draw out.
'Since I can't know the result, sigh… Unlike in a game, I can't return to a save point right before failing and try crafting again….'
The Soul Stone I possessed had a 6% success rate and a 94% failure rate.
I had no choice but to be cautious.
In that situation, there was one person who came to mind.
'Come to think of it, Hanbyeol's childhood friend's noona said she was coming to watch the Geumgang Festival.'
Gang Hanbyeol's childhood friend's noona, Sin Seora.
She was the granddaughter and successor of Sin Jongho, the dedicated Maestro of the Fighting Ghost Seo Jeongjin.
By now, she had become properly independent and was recognized for her skill, being called a prodigy Maestro.
'I'll request it from that noona.'
The person whom Seo Jeongjin—who was utterly obsessed when it came to weapons—had kept as his dedicated Maestro for decades was none other than Sin Jongho.
If Sin Seora had inherited his techniques, it seemed I could trust her with the Soul Stone.
Moreover.
'I don't know if it was a bug or not, but if you requested an armament crafting from Sin Seora when she visited the first-year Geumgang Festival, it was guaranteed to succeed.'
The first and last time Sin Seora appeared in the game was during the first-year Geumgang Festival.
At that time, through an encounter event with her, the player could craft an armament exactly once.
Regardless of the material's failure rate, with a 100% success rate.
Naturally, this included armaments crafted using Soul Stones as material.
In the game's 1st and 2nd playthroughs, you couldn't obtain a Soul Stone in the first year, so you couldn't craft it then.
Regardless, armaments crafted that way were superior in performance compared to normally crafted ones.
'That's why I could frequently see posts in the game community worshipping Sin Seora as a Mountain Spirit. They said she would turn what should have been a regular axe into a golden axe, a silver axe….'
The meme of Sin Seora with white-dyed hair, a grown beard, and a white dobok saying, "Is this armament yours?" was also famous.
There were many who called her not Gang Hanbyeol's childhood friend's noona or a prodigy Maestro, but Mountain Spirit Noona.
In that sense.
"Hanbyeol, could you introduce me to that noona who's coming during the Geumgang Festival too?"
"What?"
I asked Gang Hanbyeol to let me forge a connection with Sin Seora.
At that, he twitched his eyebrows as if asking what I was talking about and repeated himself.
For some reason, he didn't look pleased.
"I think I misheard, so say it again. What?"
"I mean, let me meet that noona…."
"No. Absolutely not."
"…."
"Seora-noona is mine. No matter how much you're my friend, I can never yield her to you. I'm really disappointed in you. Hey, how could you do this to me?"
Gang Hanbyeol growled at me in a low tone, baring hostility.
Having been suddenly threatened, I couldn't help but be bewildered.
He seemed to be under some misunderstanding; I felt I needed to clear it up.
So I opened my mouth, but…
"Gyeonu?"
"…."
Behind me, Yeo Haneul was smiling.
Her head tilted to the side.
Her face was full of shadows.
In that state, her red eyes gleamed.
"Who did you ask to be introduced to?"
"…Hanbyeol's childhood friend's noona."
"Why that unni?"
"…."
I had to answer well.
Otherwise, for the time being, I wouldn't be able to get a single proper word in with her.
Let alone a kiss, even holding hands would be difficult.
Having learned this through several past experiences, I had to sweat bullets trying to explain myself to Yeo Haneul.
* * *
I wasn't the only one who received rewards for the merit of taking down I Gahyeon.
Everyone who participated in the operation received appropriate rewards, though the amounts varied by individual.
In particular, those who fought I Gahyeon directly and contributed greatly to the subjugation were given exceptional rewards.
They were granted the authority to borrow one artifact from the Geumgang Academy's Special Grade Treasury.
As an aside, I had asked So Hyeyul for permission to bring my friends along to enter the Treasury.
'I was subtly self-conscious about being the only one to receive a Soul Stone, so this is good.'
One of the reasons Geumgang Academy received top evaluations in the academy city was precisely the artifacts accumulated over its long history and stored in the Treasury.
Students could rent them using Geumgang Coins.
The Treasury was divided into Third Grade, Second Grade, First Grade, and Special Grade.
Naturally, the higher the Treasury's grade, the more Geumgang Coins were required to rent artifacts from it.
Meanwhile, for the Special Grade Treasury, one had to accomplish feats recognized by the board of directors to gain access.
My friends, who could now enter such a Treasury and even borrow artifacts without spending Geumgang Coins, couldn't stop beaming day after day.
"This is apparently one of the treasuries our Master was dying to steal from…! As expected, it's incredible! I'll have to brag to Master later!"
"I now know why people say to go to the Special Grade Treasury if you want to truly feel the glory of Geumgang Academy. The most valuable artifacts among those donated by the academy's founders and alumni over the ages are on display here…."
That day, we visited the Special Grade Treasury located in the deepest part of the Hall of Nobles, along with No Hyowon and Do Sieun, and couldn't help but marvel.
Gang Hanbyeol and Bak Sagun's eyes sparkled as they looked at the artifacts displayed everywhere.
The other friends also looked around with satisfaction.
"I can feel a delicious aura."
…It seemed Cha Eunsol, who had been completely absorbed in eating dumplings even while riding the elevator down, was now curious.
'But a delicious aura… isn't that just the smell of dumplings coming from your body?'
According to the person managing the Special Grade Treasury, if you didn't know what to choose, you should listen to the aura drifting through the Treasury.
Then, artifacts that suited you and that you needed would call out to you, apparently.
'In the game too, when you visited the Special Grade Treasury and checked the categories for what to withdraw, there were armaments with recommendation marks suited to each character. I wonder if that function is replaced in this world by sensing the aura of the armaments.'
The game's recommendation feature was reliable.
So I intended to leave the choice to my friends as much as possible.
If I forced my picks on them one by one, I might incur their resentment.
But that Cha Eunsol….
'I'm worried.'
I was worried she might choose a strange artifact and waste this good opportunity.
She was truly a person to keep an eye on.
I kept in mind that I might intervene in Cha Eunsol's decision if necessary.
On the other hand, there were a few people I wanted to get involved with, including Gang Hanbyeol.
One of them was Go Eunbi.
"Eunbi, what about this?"
Go Eunbi, who had been saying she wanted to get a good bow even before entering the Special Grade Treasury.
I showed her a pure white bow as she examined the area where bows were stored.
[Demon-Breaking Bow – Daylight]
◆ Equipment Classification
— Bow (Gukgung)
◆ Detailed Description
— A treasure of Geumgang Academy.
— A gukgung made from the horn and hide of a Radiant Dragon by the greatest Maestro of the era 100 years ago.
— Contains the power to destroy evil.
◆ Detailed Effects
— Strength +2, Agility +2
— When equipped, increases the power of all skills classified as archery by 10%.
— When equipped, decreases the mana cost of all skills classified as archery by 10%.
— When equipped, increases the acquisition rate of all skills classified as archery by 10%.
— Grants a counter-attribute to attacks against Villains when channeled through Daylight.
— By consuming a certain amount of mana, can grant the light attribute to attacks channeled through Daylight.
— Skill 「Solar Claw」
— (Unlock Condition: Strength 50, Agility 60, Mana 55 or higher)
I Gahyeon disguising herself as a visiting instructor and infiltrating the academy with Villains was only the beginning.
Going forward, we would frequently become entangled with the evil hordes led by the Majin Association.
In that sense, the Demon-Breaking Bow Daylight that I recommended to Go Eunbi demonstrated effective power against them.
It could grant an attribute with opposing polarity against Villains to her attacks.
'The other effects are good too. Daylight should help Eunbi grow stronger.'
I handed the bow to Go Eunbi.
After examining the bow this way and that, she soon drew the string.
Twang!
"It's light, and the sound is nice too. I feel drawn to it… I think it'll suit me well."
"Looking at the description here, it seems you can shoot arrows with an attribute that effectively acts against those with wicked hearts. The imbued magic is Solar Claw, like a dragon swinging its claws…"
"Oho. Where, where?"
Fortunately, Go Eunbi seemed to like it.
She found the spot where Daylight had been displayed and carefully read the description written there.
'Eunbi will probably pick Daylight on her own even if I leave her alone now, so I don't need to worry anymore.'
The problem was Lisa.
I looked at her as she walked through the section with stone spears.
'What should I do….'
Lisa seemed to want to choose a stone spear, but I wanted her to choose something else.
It was an elixir called the Witch's Crystal.
'In the game, this was an elixir you could only obtain after clearing the story up to at least the 2nd playthrough… If not now, I don't know when I'll be able to enter this place again before graduation. This might even be my last chance….'
The Witch's Crystal, which was also used as a material for crafting armaments, possessed the effect of randomly increasing all physical stats by 1 to 5.
However, when used on Lisa, it also strengthened her Gift.
'To be exact, it was an effect commonly applied to those who inherited the blood of the Grace Imperial Family.'
Lisa's Gift was the Blessing of Platinum.
As a Gift that currently assisted her understanding of time and space, raising related stats such as accuracy or healing magic effectiveness, it could undergo two awakenings.
One was by resolving an episode in the Grace Empire and receiving the World Tree's blessing.
The other was by the player obtaining the Witch's Crystal from the Special Grade Treasury and using it on her.
However, elixirs like the Witch's Crystal were consumables by nature, so they couldn't be borrowed and required more Geumgang Coins than other artifacts.
That was why you had to complete at least a 2nd playthrough in the game to obtain the Witch's Crystal.
'In practice, the 1st playthrough ended in the first year, so it was more like one-third of a playthrough and then the 2nd playthrough.'
But an opportunity to obtain the Witch's Crystal without proceeding to a 2nd playthrough had arrived.
Since I couldn't repeat playthroughs like in the game, I had long since given up on it, and thus there was no way I wanted to miss this chance.
'Lisa acquires the ability to handle space in her first Gift awakening, and the ability to handle time in her second awakening. So if Lisa chooses the Witch's Crystal here, and receives the World Tree's blessing in the Grace Empire as the story progresses, going through two Gift awakenings….'
Her combat power would surely rise significantly.
I sought a way to divert Lisa's interest.
It was then.
'Huh?'
Lisa, who had been lingering around the staffs as if nothing had truly drawn her in, suddenly turned.
Then, without a hint of hesitation, she headed toward the section where the elixirs were stored.
‘No way, could it be…?’
I followed after Lisa.
Even after entering the section, she did not stop once, heading straight toward a certain box.
On the display stand where the black box sat, there was a placard describing the elixir inside.
[Witch’s Crystal]
◆ Consumable Classification
―Elixir (Crystal)
◆ Detailed Description
―A crystal presumed to be an elixir, obtained from Veronica, the Witch of Ignorance, the boss monster of the blue gate “Izelin Fortress V.”
―Presumed to contain the power of Witch Veronica.
―Extreme caution required when absorbing.
―….
◆ Detailed Effects
―Presumed to contribute to the overall growth of the body.
Good. This worked out.
After reading the placard, I inwardly cheered.
It seemed Lisa had been drawn by the aura emitted by the crystal.
‘That aside, the explanation is lacking. Did appraisal not work properly…?’
It would be better to check with the information window.
Quietly approaching Lisa, I focused my eyes and stared at the dark red jewel inside the box.
A message appeared in my vision.
[Witch’s Crystal]
◆ Consumable Classification
―Elixir (Crystal)
◆ Detailed Description
―The crystal of Veronica, the Witch of Ignorance, the boss monster of the blue gate “Izelin Fortress V.”
―It is strongly imbued with the wish of one who resisted despair and never abandoned hope.
―Reacts strongly to those of the Grace imperial bloodline.
―“Can you resist fate? Are you prepared to shoulder the world?”
◆ Detailed Effects
―Randomly increases Stamina, Strength, Endurance, Agility, Magic Power, and Luck by +1–5. (For characters who inherit the Grace imperial bloodline, +3–5 instead.)
―For characters who inherit the Grace imperial bloodline, greatly enhances the Gift “Platinum Grace.”
The fact that the description contained quotation marks was one thing, but the detailed explanation itself was extremely meaningful.
That was why, in my past life, gaming communities often brought up all sorts of theories about the Witch’s Crystal.
Some said the line inside the quotation marks didn’t sound like something the witch would say, while others speculated that Veronica herself might have been of the Grace imperial bloodline….
Unfortunately, since the developers never gave an official answer, nothing had ever been confirmed.
At any rate.
“Are you going with that?”
Although I welcomed Lisa’s decision, I feigned ignorance as I asked.
Then, as if she had finished deliberating, she slowly nodded.
“…Yes. The explanation isn’t very detailed, so that does bother me… but I’m going to trust my instincts. And seeing the name Izelin Fortress, I think it must be an item related to Grace. Izelin Fortress was a fortress that existed before the empire crossed over into this world.”
In the game, you could withdraw elixirs as long as you paid Geumgang Coins.
In this world, however, if you withdrew an elixir that could not be rented out from the treasury, you had to pay an additional price besides Geumgang Coins.
For example, participating in academy promotional activities while enrolled or after graduation, accepting requests, or agreeing to terms that did not violate a lifetime contract.
Lisa was no exception.
She left, saying she was going to meet the manager of the special-grade treasury to discuss the conditions for withdrawal.
After seeing her off, I watched—or interfered with—what the others chose.
“I like this artifact that lets you consume mana inside your body to make red bean buns….”
“You can buy those anytime, and you can put them in your pocket and take them out to eat too. No. Choose something else… Actually, I’ll just pick for you.”
“You’re seriously so mean. You’re awful.”
Just as I had worried at first, Cha Eun-sol startled everyone by picking an absurd artifact out of nowhere, but somehow, I managed to persuade her.
I felt like ten years had been shaved off my life.
Meanwhile, compared to her, the others did not cause any particular problems.
And so, the treasures my friends decided on were as follows.
Go Eun-bi: Anti-Magic Bow – Daylight.
Lisa: Witch’s Crystal.
Yeon Haneul: A necklace that constantly applies a damage shield equal to 20% of the HP gauge.
Kang Han-byeol: A ring that, once per day, strengthens magic of the 5th rank or below by 20% and reflects it back at the caster.
Min A-rin: A cape boasting outstanding defense against both magical and physical attacks, with the ability to perform auxiliary attacks.
Yong Hae-rang: Gauntlets embedded with multiple earth-element spells.
Nam Yu-ri: A bracelet embedded with the Weapon Breaker skill.
Cha Eun-sol: A necklace that reverts a given state to its previous state depending on proficiency.
Park Sa-gun: An axe-and-shield set embedded with magic that resists pressure.
The triplets: Swords that could respectively imbue attacks with water, flame, and wind attributes.
Do Si-eun: An elixir that increases a spirit’s affinity for the five major attributes.
No Hyo-won: Earrings embedded with multiple wind-element spells.
* * *
The path connected to the Doll Ghost Woman had been severed.
It had not merely become inactive.
It had vanished entirely.
What that meant was obvious.
“It seems the Doll Ghost Woman has died. Now, how in the world did that happen?”
The leader of the Demonfolk Association, Tacheon, found it profoundly unexpected.
Given that she could split her soul, the Doll Ghost Woman should have had the tenacious hold on life among the Six Demons.
And yet she had been completely annihilated.
“She said she would infiltrate the academy, but it seems she was caught. Just how could she have been caught…?”
To Tacheon, it was nothing but a mystery.
Lost in thought, he clicked his tongue.
“I would like to know what happened at the academy, and who killed the Doll Ghost Woman.”
His intuition was telling him.
There was an adversary at Geumgang Academy who would obstruct his path.
“…”
Feeling both unease and interest stir within him, Tacheon decided to personally observe the situation at Geumgang Academy.
“Still, I had only just filled the vacant seat among the Six Demons, and now one has been reduced again. How troublesome….”
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss