The Support Ate it All

On Thursday.

During a break between classes, I called Shin Byeong-chul out into the hallway.

“Why, what’s up?”

“You know about the promising students we talked about last time.”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“You mentioned a talented druid from the guild union. Which class is she in?”

“Oh, Park Nari? She’s in the class right next to ours. There she is.”

When I peeked into Class 2, I saw a timid-looking girl sitting at her desk.

While other students were clustered in groups, chatting away, she was like an isolated island, playing with a cat on her desk.

When she waved a pen in the air, the cat batted at it like a punching bag.

According to Shin Byeong-chul, this seemingly shy girl was Park Nari, the strongest talent of the guild union.

The palm-sized cat on her desk, as it turns out, was actually a tiger under a shrinking spell.

As I fixed my gaze on Park Nari for a moment, Shin Byeong-chul’s eyes narrowed into slits and a sly smile appeared on his lips.

“Why, are you interested? Should I call her over?”

“No, there’s no need to call her.”

I can make her come here on her own.

The distance should be sufficient for my plan.

I pulled out the [Cube of Life].

Shin Byeong-chul’s curiosity was piqued at the sight of the small box that was reminiscent of a small jungle.

“Wow… What is that? It looks like a pretty valuable item.”

“Later. Right now, I need you to play along with me.”

“Acting, huh? When it comes to acting, you can’t leave out Shin Byeong-chul. What do you want me to do?”

When I opened the lid of the cube, a fresh green light spread out.

Of course, the inside was empty.

“Let’s just say there’s some really interesting stuff in this box.”

“It’s true. It looks so fascinating, I could stare at it all day.”

“Ah!”

A sudden exclamation from a female student rang out from behind me.

It was likely Park Nari.

I stopped Shin Byeong-chul from turning around and reset his half-turned head to its original position.

“Don’t look behind you.”

“…. Ah, I see what you’re doing.”

He seemed to have half-realized my intention and focused on his acting.

Though our “acting” was nothing more than intently staring into the empty cube.

After maintaining this pose for a few seconds…

Tap, tap

Something small tapped gently on my leg.

I looked down and saw Nari Park’s cat resting its paw on my leg.

Although it was the size of a kitten, if you looked closely, its fur pattern bore a striking resemblance to that of a tiger.

Shin Byeong-chul who noticed the cat a moment later was startled.

“Huh? When did this little one get here?”

Just as I had expected.

The unique vibration emitted by the Cube of Life.

Animals tend to be more sensitive to such things than humans.

If it was a spiritual creature that had accumulated mana over many years, it would be even more sensitive.

I already anticipated that it would detect the cube’s vibrations from afar and approach me.

Watching it approach would only heighten its wariness, so I pretended not to notice until it made contact with me.

As our eyes met, the cat, while keeping one paw on my leg, pointed with the other at the Cube of Life.

When I shook the cube gently and asked,

“What, this?”

“Eowww.”

The cat let out a short cry as if it was affirming my words.

I crouched down, adjusting my height to be level with the cube and the cat.

The cat then lifted the lid slightly and squeezed inside.

It curled up inside and purred contentedly.

It made itself quite at home.

I heard that cats have a habit of being fascinated by boxes, but was it the same for tigers?

“Bum, you can’t do that!”

Park Nari rushed in, chasing after her pet tiger.

I deliberately made a face to show how embarrassed I felt.

Park Nari immediately started apologizing repeatedly.

“Um, that is, sorry. I’ll take it away right now!”

She tried to coax the animal out of the closed Cube of Life,

“Bum, let’s go quickly. You shouldn’t go in there.”

But the cat seemed extremely pleased with its new resting place.

When Park Nari partially opened the lid, a tiny front paw sprang out and swatted her hand away.

After a few more failed attempts,

I kept my embarrassed expression and said,

“I really need to go to class now. It would be great if you could take it away.”

“…I’m really sorry.”

Park Nari’s face fell as she apologized again.

Taking a deep breath, she flung open the Cube of Life and reached both hands in to grab the cat.

The cat viciously bit the hands holding it.

This one has a nasty temper.

Still, it didn’t seem to be biting seriously, and it didn’t extend its claws when swatting, which suggested some kind of understanding with its owner.

Anyway, now that she had it, all she needed to do was take it out,

“…!”

At that moment, Park Nari’s movement stopped abruptly.

A look of surprise flashed across her previously timid face.

In that brief moment, she examined the cube more closely and inspected every aspect of it.

She noticed it.

The life force that resonates best with a druid.

She must have sensed its extraordinary nature from afar, but now after she directly touched the cube, she was likely convinced that it was different from any item she had encountered before.

However, Park Nari quickly composed herself and nonchalantly took the cat out.

The cat struggled but eventually seemed to resign itself as she continued to hold it firmly.

Park Nari offered me another apology.

“Sorry, it has a habit of getting into boxes whenever it sees one…”

“That can happen.”

She glanced at the classroom before us and asked cautiously,

“Are you by chance…from class 3?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, I see. Anyway, I’m sorry.”

Park Nari kept apologizing until the very end, then hurried back to her own class as if escaping.

It seemed like the situation was quite uncomfortable for her, as her expression became much more relaxed after she sat down at her desk.

Now, I have made an impression.

And it all unfolded quite naturally.

Now that she had personally confirmed for herself the extraordinary nature of the [Cube of Life], Park Nari would undoubtedly begin investigating me, its owner.

This investigation would inevitably lead to the Mother Nature Club hearing about it.

And that’s where it all would begin.

“Wow… I’ve never seen ‘Bum’ act like that before.”

For Shin Byeong-chul, this was baffling. No matter how compatible an item from the life series might be with spiritual creatures, how could Park Nari’s cat, or rather, her tiger, so unhesitatingly squeeze itself into a box?

“What kind of item makes it so happy? It looks quite special at first glance.”

“It’s a good item.”

Good enough to attract the attention of someone from the four major powers.

Before Shin Byeong-chul could barrage me with more questions, I quickly stored the Cube of Life in my inventory. Then, I subtly changed the topic.

“Anyway, thanks to you, everything went smoothly. You’re quite the actor.”

“Ah, this wasn’t much of an act. But if you really want to thank me, maybe treat me to a meal? I’d appreciate that.”

“I’ll treat you to a meal another time. For now, I’ll give you a piece of useful information.”

“Information? What is it?”

“Whatever’s in your inventory, leave it in your room tomorrow.”

After all, tomorrow would be the first Friday of the week.

Shin Byeong-chul flinched for a moment but still maintained a smile on his face as he responded.

“Ah, someone might get the wrong idea if they hear you. Do you think I carry dangerous things around? I’m not that kind of person, you know?”

“Well, if you say you’re not, then you’re not. Just consider what I said as nonsense.”

“……”

– ♪♬♩♪♪

As the class began, I moved towards the classroom.

Leaving behind Shin Byeong-cheol, whose expression became strange.

Would Shin Byeong-chul really leave the “items” I told him about in his room tomorrow?

Probably not.

He didn’t seem like the type to take others’ words seriously.

***

Friday morning.

I woke up and sent a message to Seo Ye-in.

[Kim Ho: Awake?]

[Seo Ye-in: Mmmmmm]

[Seo Ye-in: (Sleepy puppy emoji)]

[Kim Ho: Breakfast?]

[Seo Ye-in: Ok]

[Kim Ho: Meet in front of the student cafeteria]

As for Go Hyeon-woo, he would undoubtedly have set up “camp” in the special cultivation room.

Absorbed in cultivating his internal energy, he often resorted to quick meals like protein bars or instant energy packs, so inviting him for breakfast usually ended in him not showing up.

And so, this morning, it was just Seo Yein and me having breakfast together.

“……”

Perhaps because Seo Ye-in had a small appetite, she put down her fork after eating only half of her omelet.

She nibbled on the remaining hash browns while quietly watching me eat.

When I looked up, her gray eyes were intently fixed on me. Then, out of the blue, she asked:

“Do you want anything?”

“……Out of nowhere?”

“There should be a balance of giving and receiving.”

“Who told you that?”

“Our butler.”

“……”

Looking at the level of her equipment, I already assumed she was from a well-off family, but she even had a butler.

In return for the magic bullet lessons I had given her, she was offering to give me an item. Naturally, I had no reason to decline such an offer.

I had been feeling the need to start gathering some things one by one.

Mr. Butler who thought her, I don’t know who you are, but you have a big heart.

I silently sent a word of thanks in my mind and responded.

“If there’s something I really need right now, it might be something to increase my movement speed. I wish I had a pair of shoes.”

“Got it.”

“And by the way, have you finished all your duel battles for this week?”

“Mhm.”

Seo Ye-in answered and showed three fingers.

“Three wins?”

Nod

If she had finished the first week’s duels, unless something special happened, she wouldn’t use her equipment anymore this week.

I asked a bit cautiously.

“Could you lend me your invisible ghillie suit just for this weekend if you’re not using it?”

“Sure.”

Borrowing someone else’s equipment was somewhat considered rude, so I thought there was a good chance she would refuse, but Seo Ye-in readily agreed, making my concerns seem pointless.

She pulled out a neatly folded piece of clothing from her inventory.

[Optical Camouflage Ghillie Suit (B)]

▷Invisibility (B) applied

▷Detection Resistance (D) applied

▷Automatic Durability Recovery

This is indeed B-rank.

Like the [Cube of Life], it’s a high-grade item that freshmen usually can’t even get their hands on.

In addition to stealth, it has [Detection Resistance], which ignores the opponent’s detection skills to a certain extent.

The item also had [Automatic Durability Recovery], which meant it would repair and mend itself over time as long as it wasn’t completely destroyed.

“Thank you. I’ll use it carefully and return it clean.”

“Just give me another special lesson on magic bullets.”

“Sure, let’s find another time to do that.”

***

The teacher of Monster Ecology was an elderly woman known among the students as “Madam Cho Ok-soon”.

Madam Cho Ok-soon was very knowledgeable about the ecology of monsters as a veteran who had spent half her life on battlefields infested with monsters.

“—which is why goblins are often seen as monsters for beginners. But, just like each of us is unique and cannot be solely defined by the word ‘human’, there are also special goblins. You’ll encounter them in various places in the future. For instances of clashes with goblin champions and swordmasters, refer to page 76 of the textbook—”

The fatal flaw of this class was that it was heavily lecture-based, which meant there was a lot of information to absorb and remember.

Additionally, Madam Jo’s slow and soft-spoken manner made it all too easy to feel sleepy just by listening.

Seo Ye-in had already succumbed to the pressure and fell to the table, and many other students were also hanging their heads in defeat.

The few survivors kept their eyes fixed on the clock, fervently wishing for the class to end.

Finally, there were only five minutes remaining.

Soon, everyone would abruptly wake up, as if they had never been asleep, bustling around and chatting animatedly.

However, this break time would be an exception.

I turned my attention to the front-row seats.

The seats of Song Cheon-hye and Han Somi had been empty for some time now.

Specifically, only those of the disciplinary committee.

Five minutes to go.