CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!

Formless pressure came crashing down.

And in the end, even Seo Ye-in got turned into a flattened sloth.

As I watched her dissolve into particles of light and vanish, the scoreboard displayed the result of the match.

[GREEN 1st]

[GRAY 2nd]

[YELLOW 3rd]

[RED 4th]

Next, a notification message rose at the edge of my vision.

[Sub Quest: Week 1 Placement Test] (Complete)

▷Objective 1: Place 1st in matches (3/3 times)

▷Objective 2: Defeat enemies (9/3 people)

▷Reward: Fixed Pin*2

This time, I got decently lucky.

Getting first place three times in a row and taking down the other participants had definitely been skill.

But the exact setup where I personally defeated all nine might not have happened.

Take the first match, for example.

Cha Hyeonju had sprayed arrows indiscriminately at the other three.

She was a rabid chihuahua, sure, but her actual skill deserved recognition. There was more than enough chance one of those arrows could have landed as a critical hit.

Then someone might have gone combat-incapable before I even got to make a move.

Same with the second match.

If they hadn’t believed my “sanctuary declaration” and had just started brawling among themselves, one of them might have gotten clipped by a blind attack and gone down on the spot.

Since none of those forced, awkward situations happened and things flowed the way I intended, that meant I’d been lucky.

And the reward gave me exactly what I needed.

Sub Quest rewards usually tended to be tailored, but I couldn’t be sure it would go as far as giving me two of them.

It could have been one Fixed Pin and then a Rank Up or a selection ticket. If that had happened, I would’ve been a little disappointed.

Either way, I’d gotten an item that was like rain after a drought, so I used it immediately.

[‘Fixed Pin’ will be used.]

[‘Dipper-Shifting Star-Transposition(S)’ will be fixed.]

[‘Pulverize Zone(S)’ will be fixed.]

▷Copy-Skill [4/4]

[Featherstep(A+)]

Ice Wall(B)

(Empty)

(Empty)

[Skill - Martial Art]

▷[Dipper-Shifting Star-Transposition(S)]

[Skill - Magic]

▷[Pulverize Zone(S)]

I had secured room in the skill slots rather than the trait slots, because there were more things worth copying there.

I could bring back [Space Fold], [Destructive Gale], and things like that from Seo Ye-in too.

Feels like I’ll find other uses for it as well.

I’d have to confirm the details later.

Before long, I stepped onto the teleportation portal and exited the arena.

Not far away, Seo Ye-in, Song Cheonhye, and Hong Yeonhwa were gathered together, and naturally, the mood had sunk all the way to the floor.

Looks like discipline’s been hammered in properly.

More than hammered in. They were in a state beyond that, pressed flat like hot pancakes.

Hong Yeonhwa looked as dejected as a puppy caught in the rain, and Seo Ye-in was stretched out long on the ground, not moving an inch.

Song Cheonhye at least seemed to be pretending she was fine, probably because she was conscious of the eyes around her, but it was painfully obvious she was in a foul mood.

Then she spotted me, walked over, and demanded,

“Wasn’t that too much?”

“You told me to interfere. Whether that meant blowing wind or throwing ice.”

“That still doesn’t mean you get to block ★Blink★.”

“Wouldn’t the answer have been to use it before I blocked it? Maybe?”

“That makes no sen... no... it does.”

She had watched with her own eyes as I flicked ★Blink★ in and out in under a second.

If she could’ve done that too, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) then she wouldn’t have been blocked by “Caw?”

If she complained that she couldn’t, she’d obviously just get told she was lousy.

I smiled faintly and looked at the trio of pancakes.

“Still, your mindset was good. You need that kind of spirit to take a challenge.”

“......I’ll challenge you again later.”

Song Cheonhye glared at me as she said it.

Hong Yeonhwa, still downcast, nodded in agreement, and Seo Ye-in muttered while face-down on the ground,

“Revenge......”

Still, when exactly that “later” would be—that was another matter.

I threw them a question.

“How many placement-test matches do you have left? I’m completely done.”

“I still have one more.”

“None of you are in great shape. If it’s rough, go rest before you go back in.”

“......No. I have to.”

Song Cheonhye let out a deep sigh and looked toward the arena.

The other two were also wobbling to their feet, so it looked like they had one or two matches left as well.

So I waved a hand and sent them off with encouragement.

“Good luck, then. See you later.”

Then I watched the trio of pancakes step onto the teleportation magic circle before turning away.

Since it’s the first day, maybe I’ll take a light look around.

There were quite a few clubs I’d built ties with last year.

And several places I’d agreed to keep trading with in the future.

For example, the Magic Engineering Club was probably still working on the [Cube of Life] production project.

Bong Jaeseok, who had been the club president, had graduated at the end of last year, but he’d said his younger sibling would be enrolling instead.

That alone made it worth dropping by at least once.

Same with the other clubs. I could stop in, and if I ran into familiar faces while I was at it, I could trade a few casual greetings too.

So I was just about to leave the arena when a voice overflowing with delight called out from behind me.

“Well now, look who this is!”

The owner of that voice was Shin Byeongcheol.

My waist bent forward on its own.

“Well, well, if it isn’t President Shin.”

“Well, well, it’s been a long time indeed.”

The two of us kept bowing exaggeratedly at each other.

The students passing by looked over with suspicion, like, What the hell are those two doing? but neither of us was the type to care about other people’s eyes.

“So then, how was winter break treating you?”

“Ah, what’s there to even say?”

Grinning, Shin Byeongcheol made a circle with his thumb and index finger.

He’d done that right after summer break too, so it looked like he’d made money again this time.

I studied his face closely.

“Your complexion looks a lot better. You’ve even got a bit of grease on you now. Things must’ve gone well.”

“They went very well. This time I had some capital.”

“Capital? Where’d you get that?”

“......Ahem.”

At my question, Shin Byeongcheol cleared his throat, then lowered his voice as far as it would go.

“......Well, there was some stuff left behind by Big Sis Dang.”

During the third temporary storage infiltration, the Dang Gyu-young–me–Kim Gapdu alliance had scored an overwhelming victory against the Discipline Committee.

And we’d secured an overwhelming number of prohibited items too.

Instead of disposing of them and stuffing their own pockets, Dang Gyu-young had left them as club funds,

and because of that, there were even rumors going around that “this year the Thief Club is absurdly rich.”

“So you dipped into that money, did you?”

“Now, now, what’s with that wording? Let’s call it a club-level investment.”

“Was it really on the club level?”

“I’m telling you it was. Didn’t I mention it? I’m the deputy manager this year.”

“Really?”

Dang Gyu-young had mentioned multiple times that Senior Cha Dabin would be taking the manager position, but I’d never heard anything about deputy manager.

Unexpectedly, Shin Byeongcheol had landed the seat.

He spoke with a little swagger.

“I may not look it, but I’m a very capable guy. I had overwhelming support behind me, that’s what I’m saying.”

“You were always good at whatever you got assigned.”

Even last year, there had been a lot of times I moved together with Shin Byeongcheol, from guiding us through the underground floors to infiltrating the temporary storage, and there had been almost no failures.

Still, I tilted my head and said,

“Even so, it’s club money. If Big Sis hears you used it for investments, wouldn’t they hate that? At this rate, you’re going to get beaten with a stick.”

“No, but the results were good. Do you know how hard I worked, running around day and night? Getting beaten with a stick would be unfair.”

Unusually, Shin Byeongcheol sounded sincere.

In truth, it wasn’t really something either I or Dang Gyu-young had the right to order around.

We’d contributed a lot, sure, but looked at coldly, we were still third parties.

And Dang Gyu-young hadn’t left behind club funds because they planned to come back later and reclaim them.

“Fine, I get it for now. So how are you using it?”

“I got us a place in downtown. We’re doing business legally now.”

Shin Byeongcheol answered with a grin.

So I asked again,

“Then you’re shutting down the prohibited-item business?”

“We are and we aren’t. We’re just reducing the proportion.”

“What about the temporary storage?”

“That, we’re shutting down completely.”

“Now that’s unexpected. I figured you’d at least keep one foot in.”

“The margins don’t work anymore.”

Every time a banned wave passed, the Thief Club used to get ready to infiltrate the temporary storage.

Sneak out the confiscated prohibited items and sell them again—now that was real creative economics.

Even if they got caught by the Discipline Committee and took demerits or disciplinary action, it was still a profitable business.

But like the vice principal mentioned during the entrance ceremony and opening ceremony, the relevant rules had now been tightened.

And with the punishment level rising along with them, unless they stole out a truly ridiculous quantity of prohibited items, it would probably be a losing proposition.

The [Cube of Life] route probably got blocked too.

Since they’d shared information about hidden pieces while dealing with the Discipline Committee, by now they had probably prepared a countermeasure.

So that they could detect it even if it was smuggled out sealed inside a cube.

From the Thief Club’s perspective, that meant one stream of money had been cut off, but instead of looking disappointed, Shin Byeongcheol only grinned.

“It worked out nicely. How long are we supposed to keep squabbling with the Discipline Committee? It’s about time we started playing in the big leagues, don’t you think?”

“What exactly are you doing in downtown that makes you call it the big leagues?”

“We’ve got a variety of events in the works. For example......”

Shin Byeongcheol lowered his tone and continued.

“......A casino, maybe?”

“That sounds a little worrying. Aren’t you going to get caught by the Discipline Committee?”

“On the contrary. We’ve actually been talking about linking up with them.”

“If you’re going to do it, do it openly instead of in the shadows?”

“Exactly.”

It seemed like they were willing to allow something like that if it was held once or twice as an event.

From the Discipline Committee’s perspective, that was bound to be easier than running around trying to crack down on some mystery location.

They could coordinate beforehand so things didn’t get too extreme, and they could minimize incidents and accidents too.

And from the Thief Club’s side, having the Discipline Committee’s support wasn’t a bad thing either, because being an official event meant they could draw in more customers.

And it also meant they could use force against customers who tried to pull stupid tricks.

So I slowly nodded.

“That’s a good idea. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Then look forward to it, and when we open, come visit.”

“Can I bring Lucky Charm?”

At that, Shin Byeongcheol went dead serious and jumped.

“Hey now, hold on. If you have any conscience at all, she’s absolutely not allowed.”

“What kind of rule is that? If someone has good luck, does that mean they can’t enter a casino?”

“Is her luck just ‘good’? Are you trying to wipe out somebody’s entire livelihood?”

Well, I could already picture it.

Seo Ye-in sitting carelessly at the table, mountains of chips piled up on both sides of her.

Then pushing all of them forward in one motion and saying just one short line.

All in.

The Thief Club and Shin Byeongcheol were only just about to make a fresh start in downtown. I couldn’t exactly bury them under debt from day one.

So I offered a compromise.

“All right, then. I’ll control her properly and keep it light.”

“What do you mean keep it light? If you bring her, she’s getting cut at the entrance.”

“Oh~ I’ll sneak her in~ She’ll win huge~”

“Please don’t. Haven’t you already taken enough from me?”

“But I still haven’t taken Shin Byeongcheol’s casino.”

“Come on, give me a break here.”

Shin Byeongcheol tried coaxing me, pleading with me, even offering deals.

Unfortunately for him, there was almost nothing more tempting than cleaning out a casino.

That was when, in the middle of our bickering—

“Hello, Senior~”

A bright, refreshing voice struck my ear.

So Shin Byeongcheol and I both turned our heads at the same time, and saw two first-year girls standing there.

Dang Eunbi.

And someone who resembled Dang Gyu-young in many ways, yet also looked distinctly different—

Dang Gyu-ri.

“.......”

As if he had sensed some kind of incomprehensible crisis, the color drained from Shin Byeongcheol’s face.