While Seo Ye-in was spending a deeply unsatisfying weekend,

a secret meeting was taking place somewhere on Dungeon Island.

A deserted alley with nothing in it.

Dang Eunbi appeared there.

She slowly scanned the area, then went to one corner and stood there with her arms folded.

“...”

She was pretending to act calm, but anxiety and impatience were already written all over her face.

Her gaze, too, refused to stay in one place, flicking this way and that.

As if she were about to do something bad.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long before a male student entered the alley.

Dang Eunbi bowed her head first in greeting.

“Hello, Senior.”

“Oh my, thank you for calling me.”

The boy rubbed his hands together and bent low in a way that didn’t suit a senior at all.

His identity was none other than Shin Byeongcheol.

On the first day of the semester, he had handed out [Dragonslayer Academy Errand Service!] business cards, and Dang Eunbi had contacted him through one of them.

Under normal circumstances, he would have handed a freshman’s request off to the new club members.

He was already a second-year now, and even the deputy manager of the club.

‘Still, the Dang Family gets special treatment.’

Kids from prestigious clans came with both capital and influence, which meant their cases tended to be big even among customers.

On top of that, she also seemed to be acquainted with Dang Gyu-young, so Shin Byeongcheol had no choice but to move personally.

‘Build a little rapport first?’

If he could get a bit friendlier with her through this opportunity, the odds of her becoming a long-term customer would rise even more.

So instead of bluntly asking what business she had, Shin Byeongcheol started with a casual question.

“So, how’s your first week been? Nothing too hard so far?”

“No, not yet.”

“Well, that makes sense. I heard you’re ranked really high in PvP too? Wow~ Figures. Once the Dang Family gets involved, it’s just, huh?”

“It’s not really that impressive.”

Dang Eunbi answered modestly.

Still, she didn’t seem to dislike being praised, because her expression had relaxed.

That also meant her guard had come down considerably, and Shin Byeongcheol let out a sigh of relief inside.

‘At least this works on her.’

Freshmen were supposed to be young and a little inexperienced.

That Dang Gyu-ri girl, or whatever her name was, felt like someone who had already seen every kind of trouble life had to offer. There was absolutely no opening to wedge himself into.

She also reminded him of somebody way too much.

After that, Shin Byeongcheol kept up the small talk with Dang Eunbi and did his best to create a comfortable atmosphere.

Then he smoothly shifted into the next topic.

“You joined Alchemy, right?”

“How did you know?”

Dang Eunbi’s eyes widened into circles.

As expected, she was an easy opponent for Shin Byeongcheol.

He had heard it while talking to Kim Ho, but instead of revealing that, he simply gave her a mysterious smile.

“Information is power. Once you’re deputy manager level, everything just kind of flows in.”

“Ah...!”

“From the look of it, I’m guessing the reason you contacted me has something to do with the club too.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Dang Eunbi nodded readily.

Joining itself had been very easy.

Even if the field was slightly different, she already had extensive experience and knowledge from manufacturing countless medicines and poisons.

And up until entering the academy, she had worked at the Dang Family’s Medicine Hall and occupied something close to the position of the Clan Head’s personal disciple.

From the Alchemy Club’s point of view, she was exactly the kind of talent they would drool over.

That part had been fine, but—

“Once you got in, there wasn’t actually much you could do, right? Because of the material restrictions.”

“...Yes. Honestly, it’s a little frustrating.”

Dang Eunbi let out a small sigh.

No matter how desirable a talent she was, the authority a club granted to a new freshman member was extremely limited.

They were especially strict when it came to managing magical materials.

And the reasons themselves were understandable. Among them were countless materials that were too rare or valuable to obtain easily, dangerous ones that could cause explosions or poison gas, and others that couldn’t be handled properly unless one’s skills or traits had reached a certain level.

Dang Eunbi’s plan had been to make all kinds of potions and test them out, but right from the beginning, she had run into a major obstacle.

The broader her knowledge was, the more frustrating it felt.

Shin Byeongcheol made a face like he understood all of it and said,

“That’s how groups work. They run properly only if people follow the rules. You’ll probably have to build up some results first.”

For example, supplying potions requested by other clubs, or helping with events like downtown tasting fairs.

Then Shin Byeongcheol’s tone turned subtly suggestive.

“With your skill, I’m sure it won’t take long... but if even that still feels too far away...”

“...!”

“I could get them for you separately.”

Materials she couldn’t use right away, and beyond that even ones on the prohibited list.

Dang Eunbi brightened immediately and asked,

“Could I ask you to do that?”

“Of course you can. Absolutely. That’s what I came here for in the first place, isn’t it?”

“What about the cost... how should I pay?”

But her voice quickly turned cautious.

She had quite a lot of spending money tucked away, and points kept coming in too.

She had finished the placement test brilliantly, and because of the unusual nature of using memorization and poison, her replay sales were steadily doing well.

But magical materials weren’t cheap either, and if they were being brought in secretly, there would naturally be an extra fee.

Shin Byeongcheol knew that too.

‘Still, what matters right now isn’t money or points.’

He felt like he could smell something familiar and welcome coming from somewhere.

The smell of business.

So he spoke in an even more insinuating tone.

“There is a way for you to use as many materials as you want, as freely as you want, without paying a price...”

“...What is it?”

“Just work on one job with me. What do you think?”

Dang Eunbi clearly looked interested, and Shin Byeongcheol began laying out his business plan.

*****

Mo Yongjun and Jeong Jinmyeong had already been the kind of people who occasionally exchanged messages and met up even back when they were first-years.

And now that they had become second-years, they were meeting even more often, because each of them had claimed a position in the Swordsmanship Club and the White Magic Club respectively.

Those had always been the clubs fighting for first and second place, but rather than clashing over every little thing, they more often reached agreements through their officers.

Even just now, they had been talking about raid week and the bidding for underground-floor dungeons.

Jeong Jinmyeong let out a light sigh and said,

“I think we’ve settled things to some extent. Let’s go pass this along, and then adjust /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ the rest again later.”

“Let us do so.”

But just as he was about to brush himself off and stand up, Mo Yongjun abruptly said this.

“There is one thing I would like to confirm.”

“What?”

“Lately, when I look at the seniors, I get a strange feeling.”

“...!”

Jeong Jinmyeong’s face stiffened slightly, and he sat back down again.

Because he too had often felt that same “strange feeling.”

Mo Yongjun continued.

“Last year, they were giants as massive as Mount Tai...”

“But now it feels like they’re at least beatable, is that it?”

“At the very least, it feels as though one could estimate some chance of victory.”

“So you’ve been thinking the same thing too.”

Jeong Jinmyeong nodded, then lowered his voice slightly.

“It’s come up once or twice in the other Mage Towers too. People saying that compared to last year, this year’s seniors feel a little underwhelming.”

“Those people truly were extraordinary.”

There had been stars of the highest caliber stationed among the captains and deputy captains—Zhuge Soso, Jeong Chongmyeong, Kim Gapdu, Dang Gyu-young, Hong Yehwa, and others like them—and the presence of Student Council President Song Cheongi and Discipline Committee Head Oh Sehun had also been immense.

“It’s not that this year’s seniors are lacking. It only feels that way in relative terms.”

“And I assume that ‘relative’ includes us as well.”

The third-years were talented and even called geniuses in their own right, but their own class had been branded the greatest golden generation in history.

Compared to that, they were bound to look lacking.

Mo Yongjun asked,

“Do you remember? There were a few occasions last year when we had the chance to test ourselves against the seniors.”

“The [Uprising] PvP and the midterms?”

“Exactly.”

[Uprising] was a rule where matching ignored school year, and there had been two of them last year.

Once before the Fixed Zone Tournament, and once before the final exams.

A handicap had been applied in consideration of the spec difference, but even so, the result had astonished everyone.

The first-years’ win rate had been a full 40%.

That was more than double the record set by the previous year’s first-years—that is, this year’s current seniors.

It was the same with the midterms held in [Craft Haven].

The goal there had been to survive as long as possible in the Amusement of the Smith Dragon,

and the difference between last year’s second-years and first-years had been only a single day: evening of Day 4 for the second-years, and afternoon of Day 3 for the first-years.

In kill count, the first-years had actually surpassed the second-years.

Of course, most of that had been thanks to Kim Ho’s party.

Mo Yongjun said,

“Now that a full year has passed, that gap must have narrowed even further.”

“We might even surpass them within this year.”

“I agree.”

“Now that the topic’s come up, what about [Core]?”

“I reached A-rank over winter break.”

“So did I. The promising talents and the ones who had over 1,000 points probably all hit it too, I’d bet.”

Considering that students in Dragonslayer Academy’s history usually reached A-rank in the latter half of second year, or as late as third year, that was an incredible pace.

No wonder they were being called the golden generation.

In a calm tone, Mo Yongjun said,

“I bear no ill will toward the seniors. I simply wish to leave it behind as an undeniable fact.”

“That our class has surpassed the seniors?”

“If we succeed, it will be recorded in Dragonslayer Academy’s history as an unprecedented achievement.”

“That definitely sounds tempting.”

An interested smile rose to Jeong Jinmyeong’s lips.

Then, after thinking for a moment, he said,

“What matters is the timing, and the method. No matter what, we can’t just pick a fight with the seniors.”

“As I have said many times, I hold no ill will, so I would prefer to avoid anything too aggressive.”

“Then the best option is to prove it in an official setting first.”

Just like last year, through the [Uprising] PvP and the [Craft Haven] raid.

If, at that time, their results overwhelmingly surpassed the third-years’—

then moving on to the next step would become far easier too.

“The problem is the timing. If it is held at the same point as last year, then it will be in the second semester.”

“That might be too late to do anything else afterward.” 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

“Do you have another plan?”

“There’s no need to make it complicated. We just move it forward.”

There was almost no chance the Fixed Zone Tournament would be held again this year anyway.

Last year had already been unsettled, and this year things were even noisier because of the dragons and the Blood Cult.

Jeong Jinmyeong grinned.

“We are officers ourselves, aren’t we? And there are plenty of us in the other clubs too.”

“Indeed. It seems, as you say, that I was thinking about it too heavily.”

“The hard part is something else.”

“What would that be?”

“There are a few seniors, you know.”

The standout powerhouses.

Even Namgung Changcheon, the Swordsmanship Club captain, had been strong enough in his second year to compete with third-year captain-level students.

The one leading the Black Blade faction was the same.

Letting out a low hum, Mo Yongjun said,

“In the end, we will have to surpass those people too.”

“Otherwise it won’t mean anything.”

“I shall take on Senior Namgung. It has been a personal goal of mine as well.”

“Can you do it?”

“To be honest, I cannot say with confidence. At least not right now.”

“Then it’d be better to prepare some insurance.”

There was no need to even discuss who that would be.

The exact same person had already crossed both of their minds.

‘Kim Ho.’

“That man...”

“That man?”

“Mm, no. Never mind.”

Mo Yongjun couldn’t bring himself to say it.

That Kim Ho had sent his grandfather flying with a single blow.