“We did it! We really did it!”
iling shouted as she rushed toward Lumina.
“Yeah! We did it!”
The two girls grabbed hands and spun in circles, laughing with joy.
It was understandable—only a short while ago, they had been forced to flee from this very place, utterly outmatched.
“Aren’t you going to join them?”
Seo Yui, standing beside with half-lidded eyes, asked quietly. Her face had returned to its usual calm now that the battle was over.
“I’m happy too, but not that happy,” I replied.
“Hmm.”
“What is it?”
“By any chance…” She hesitated, then continued. “Did you repeat a year?”
“…”
I stared at her, stunned.
“So I was right, wasn’t I?”
“No. I’m really a first-year.”
“Really? It’s just… you’re way too comfortable in dungeons. You know so much about monsters and items.”
Well, of course. I had played Latesai countless tis with all sorts of character builds.
“If it’s sothing you’re embarrassed about, don’t worry—I’ll keep it a secret.”
Seo Yui still seed suspicious.
Her consideration wasn’t bad, but being asked if I had failed a year was not sothing I wanted to hear.
“I know so much because I had soone who taught . I really did enroll as a first-year this year.”
I t her reddish eyes firmly as I spoke.
Seo Yui nodded. “Alright, then I was mistaken.”
“Yein! What are you doing? Hurry and take a proof photo!”
iling shouted over at .
“Let’s go, senior.”
“Yeah.”
The four of us posed for a picture, with the deep-floor portal and the Stonecloud boss materials as our backdrop.
By the ti we left the dungeon, it was late at night. But everyone agreed we should still have dinner together, so we headed to a restaurant for sundae soup.
Once our als were served, Seo Yui muttered drowsily, “It feels like forever since I’ve eaten at a restaurant. Ever since I was sold to Valhall, I only went back and forth between the academy and the arena.”
The rest of us froze, spoons halfway to our mouths.
“Oh, sorry. That’s not exactly pleasant dinner talk.”
“No, Seo Yui,” Lumina said softly. “I want to know. I want to hear how you lived until now.”
It was a gentle, Lumina-like answer.
“…Alright.” Seo Yui nodded.
“I still rember the first al I had in Valhall. Rice and kimchi without seasoning—that was it. And there wasn’t even enough. The owner said if I wanted proper food, I had to fight and win. If I won, I’d get more side dishes or a bigger serving of rice.”
“So they made fighting into motivation,” I said.
Seo Yui nodded. “Not just food. Living quarters, soap, toilet paper, toothbrushes, even free ti. Everything was given only to winners. So kids raised their weapons against each other for the sake of sothing slightly better. I did the sa.”
“Then what made you change?” iling asked.
“In that kind of place, it’d be natural to see everyone as enemies. But you didn’t.”
Even though iling had addressed her casually with “you,” Seo Yui didn’t seem to mind at all.
“At first, I did see everyone else as enemies. But one day, while fighting as usual, I knocked a kid down… and then I heard it.”
“Heard what?” Lumina tilted her head.
“A stomach growling,” Seo Yui said, staring into the steam rising from her soup. “That kid glared at like he wanted to kill , lying on the floor… but his stomach growled so loudly. In that mont, I couldn’t see him as an enemy anymore. After all, my own stomach had been growling all fight long too.”
“Hmm…”
iling pursed her lips. It was an expression sowhere between not understanding and faintly understanding.
That’s incredible, I thought as I looked at Seo Yui.
Sympathy. Empathy. The ability to see others as humans just like yourself.
These were natural feelings, but in a hell where it was kill or be killed, holding onto that humanity was anything but natural.
I wouldn’t have been able to do it.
“After that, I fought even harder. But I also tried to attack in ways that wouldn’t kill. I climbed up all the way to Champion like that, and used my position to slowly change how the kids treated one another. But that day, Bao said he’d already noticed what I was doing. If things had gone on a little longer, Lei Xin probably would have executed . He wouldn’t have tolerated anyone dirtying his fish farm.”
Seo Yui’s eyes turned to .
“I’m glad I t you. Thank you.”
“I’ve heard enough thanks already. And Valhall wasn’t destroyed by alone. Now, let’s eat before it gets cold.”
“…Yeah.”
The soup had cooled just enough to eat comfortably while we talked.
We emptied our bowls quickly, then returned to the academy.
The next morning.
After horoom, I showed our teacher the photo we had taken in Bag Toter Mine.
“Oh my goodness! You really cleared it!”
He gaped in astonishnt, then broke into a wide smile.
“I’ll report this to the principal right away. Send the photo.”
By lunchti, I received a ssage from him.
[The principal was surprised you finished so quickly and praised all of you. She said to rest until the next assignnt.]
The next assignnt, huh. Probably level grinding.
Though we had cleared the third floor of Bag Toter Mine, our levels were still too low for HAUT.
Aside from Seo Yui, the rest of us were only in the mid-twenties.
To clear HAUT smoothly, we’d need to be at least mid-thirties.
I should start planning how we’ll handle leveling.
As I was thinking that, my smartwatch buzzed again.
This ti, it was a ssage from Eleanor.
[I’m reopening Platinum Wings tomorrow afternoon. Want to co by and see the new shop before then?]
Perfect. I was planning to buy new Skill Gems for iling and Lumina at the Hunter Market anyway. We can visit her shop too.
“What’s so interesting that you’re staring at it instead of eating?”
I turned to find iling glaring at from the next seat.
Across the table, Lumina and Seo Yui were watching with curious looks.
“How about we all go to the Hunter Market tomorrow?” I suggested.
Both Lumina and iling widened their eyes.
“The Hunter Market? Why?” iling asked.
“You rember Eleanor, right?”
“Oh, the Crystal president’s youngest daughter?”
“Yeah. She invited to see her new store before it opens. Since I was already planning to get Skill Gems for you and Lumina, I thought we might as well all go.”
“…She didn’t just invite you, did she?” iling narrowed her eyes.
“I’ll ask.”
I sent Eleanor a quick ssage, asking if I could bring others along.
Her reply ca soon after.
[Of course. The more people to celebrate with, the better.]
I showed everyone her answer.
“Then… I’ll go too,” Lumina said, raising her hand. “I’ve always wanted to see what the Hunter Market is like.”
“I’ll co as well,” Seo Yui added with a nod.
“What about you, iling? If you don’t want to, we can just buy the Skill Gems for you.”
“Who said I’m not going? Of course I’m coming,” iling said sharply.
Saturday morning, we headed to the Hunter Market.
Entering the address Eleanor had sent, we found a spot just off the main boulevard.
“Looks like this is it.” I scanned the area.
“Yein, over there!” Lumina pointed.
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
The sign read Ailes De Platine, decorated with a pair of wings.
First floor, and it looks spacious even from outside. She must have invested a lot.
We pushed open the glass doors and stepped inside.
“Oh, welco!”
A man with a neatly trimd beard in a sharp suit greeted us from the center of the shop.
This was Lee Donghyuk, the manager of Platinum Wings.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Hello!” Lumina followed.
“Lady Eleanor is away preparing sothing, but she’ll be here shortly,” Donghyuk explained.
“I see.” I nodded, then glanced around.
Nice.
Of course, a new shop was bound to be clean, but what impressed was the way the equipnt was organized.
Normal- and Magic-grade items were sorted neatly for easy browsing.
Weapons were divided into lee, ranged, and support.
Armor was split by body part, then further categorized into cloth, light, and heavy.
“Very easy to look through,” I remarked.
“Thank you. It took quite so effort to arrange,” Donghyuk replied proudly.
“You did all this yourself?”
“Yes. The shop layout and item displays were all my idea.”
He straightened his chest, clearly proud.
“But… I don’t see any Rare items,” iling said, wandering the shop.
“We’ve reserved a special area for those—right here,” Donghyuk said, gesturing to the empty center.
“Oh, so that’s why it looked so bare.”
He nodded. “Rare items are the crown jewels of an equipnt store. They deserve the most attention. Once Lady Eleanor arrives, they’ll be placed here. This entire section will showcase your creations, Mr. Yein. On that note, there is a favor I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Would you be willing to decide in advance the number and types of Rare items you’ll provide us? That way, we can regulate supply more steadily and sell them at higher prices.”
It was a reasonable and perfectly normal request for a store manager to make.
After all, expecting soone to just dump piles of Rare items without coordination was unrealistic.
The only reason it had worked so far was because the relationship between and Platinum Wings—or rather, Eleanor—was less of a business partnership and more a matter of victor and defeated.
“I’ll discuss that with Eleanor directly,” I said.
“I’d greatly appreciate your positive consideration,” Donghyuk replied with a polite bow.
Lee Donghyuk bowed slightly as he finished speaking.
From that gesture alone, I could sense how sincerely he cared about the store.
“And one more thing. This is just a proposal of mine.”
“What is it?”
“Custom orders. Custors who have seen your work keep asking if you accept commissions.”
Co to think of it, even back when the store was inside the Crystal Hunter Mall, Eleanor ntioned people constantly asking about commissions.
“Custom-made items could fetch at least two to three tis the price. With your skill, Mr. Nam, you can produce a large number of Rare items in a short period of ti. So, if you ever have leeway, I believe it’s worth considering.”
“I’m afraid custom orders aren’t possible,” I refused imdiately.
“May I ask why?” Donghyuk pressed, clearly unwilling to back down so easily.
“I don’t have the luxury of taking orders. I’ll be participating in HAUT this fall.”
“HAUT?” Donghyuk’s eyes widened.
“As far as I know, you’re in the sa first-year class as Lady Eleanor.”
“Yes. But ours is a special case. Everyone here is slated to participate in HAUT.”
Donghyuk’s gaze swept over the rest of my squad. Then he nodded.
“I see. If that’s the case, I won’t insist further. We can revisit the matter another ti.”
“That would be appreciated,” I said with a smile.
The real reason I declined was simple: my Craftsman ability level was still too low.
If I received an order right now for a Rare item above Level 40, I wouldn’t even be able to make it.
Better not to expose my limits.
“What’s with him? He talks more like a businessman than a student.”
“Haha… Well, he is the richest one among us. Not exactly the kind of money a normal student could touch.”
“What? The richest is —ugh. No, fine, it is Nam Yein. Damn it. Lumina, you really know how to stab where it hurts, don’t you?”
“S-sorry! I didn’t an it like that…”
I caught bits of iling and Lumina whispering as the shop door opened again.
“Oh! You’re here!”
“Tch. Nam Yein…”
The cheerful voice belonged to Eleanor. The clicking tongue belonged to Iris.
I nearly clicked my own tongue when I saw her face.
Both girls carried plastic bags filled with what looked like food and drinks.
Behind them ca Iris’s attendants, Rachel and Sally.
Rachel waved brightly in greeting, while Sally only cast us a brief glance.
“The shop looks great,” I said to Eleanor.
“Right? Uncle Donghyuk put in a lot of effort.”
“Eleanor. Are you sure it’s alright to invite him on such an important day?” Iris shot a glare, making sure I could hear her.
“What are you talking about, sis? Of course I had to invite him. Nam Yein is our store’s…” Eleanor hesitated for a mont. “…our supporter. He and I are working together on the items we’ll sell here.”
“Well… if that’s what you say, Eleanor…” Iris muttered, turning her head away.
“Oh, you’re here too.” Her gaze shifted to Seo Yui, Lumina, and iling.
“Yeah. How are they? Haven’t caused trouble, have they?”
“Hmm. Nothing much to report.”
Iris walked over to Seo Yui and struck up conversation with her.
“Nam Yein, can you help out?” Eleanor set her bags down.
When I peeked inside, I blinked in surprise.
Tteok, pig’s head at, and other ritual foods. Among the drinks was even makgeolli.
When I gave her a look, Eleanor grinned.
“It’s the opening day. Gotta make sure only good things happen. This is how Uncle Donghyuk does it.”
“There are things beyond human control, after all.”
Donghyuk appeared, taking the bags from her hands.
Ten minutes later, we had set up a table in the corner of the store for a traditional ritual.
“Alright, let’s eat!” Eleanor handed out disposable plates filled with food, paper cups of drinks, and chopsticks.
Never thought I’d see sothing like this in Latesai…
I felt oddly dazed by the unexpected event.
Sniff, sniff.
“Ah! iling! That’s makgeolli!” Lumina exclaid.
“…A sip won’t hurt.”
“No! Rules are rules!”
“You’re so uptight. Just one sip—”
“I’m afraid not, Miss iling,” Donghyuk interjected, taking the cup from her and handing her soda instead.
“Even if I’m weaker than you, as an adult, I cannot shirk responsibility.”
“….”
iling glared at him, then sulked and shoved food into her mouth.
“Nam Yein.”
I turned. Eleanor had approached while Iris was still busy chatting with Seo Yui.
Lowering her voice, she asked, “Before I ca, did Uncle Donghyuk talk to you about Rare items?”
“You an supply?”
Eleanor nodded, looking tense.
“He’s recognizing you as a business partner now. Of course it makes sense to handle things together.”
When I said that, Eleanor’s face brightened.
“The profit split stays 70-30, though.”
“Yeah. Now that the shop’s open, that’s fine. Thank you for investing this ti. Thanks to you, I not only had the funds but also the push I needed to go independent.”
She looked toward the display stands, where my Rare items were mounted on mannequins and racks.
“For a while, your creations will be our flagship products… but soday, mine will take that spot. Until then, I’ll be counting on you.”
“That’s not a request, that’s a challenge. Not that I think you’ll succeed.”
“We’ll see.”
“Eleanor! Stay away from him! He’s a snake with a thousand fangs hidden inside! Nothing good can co of being near him!”
Iris stord over, paper cup in hand.
“Shut up, sis.”
“E-Eleanor!!”
Her icy tone left Iris pale-faced and crestfallen.
“Keep it up and I’ll ban you from the store.”
Crushed, Iris trudged back to her attendants.
“Anyway.”
Once she was gone, I pulled sothing from my inventory.
“Here. A gift for your shop opening.”
“That’s…!” Eleanor’s eyes widened.
I had handed her a Level 30 Rare ring—the finest item I could currently craft.
“It’s a gift. Use it however you want—keep it, or sell it for shop funds.”
“Are you serious? This could fetch tens of millions.” Eleanor stared at it, awestruck.
“If it feels too much, I’ll take half the price.”
At that, Eleanor quickly pocketed the ring, her face stiff. No doubt she was recalling how she lost a hundred million off her last investnt with a careless word.
Suddenly, a chill draft swept into the shop.
“Excuse , is the store open yet?”
A faint, almost fragile-sounding woman’s voice rang out.
Everyone turned toward the door.
A woman with light violet hair stood there.
!!
I nearly dropped my plate.
This is the worst.
Cold sweat broke out all over .
That face. That hair. The bandages peeking from her sleeve.
There was no mistake.
The Arms Collector.
To right now, she was nothing less than the Grim Reaper incarnate.
(End of Chapter)
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