Chapter – 14
Inside the armory was noisy with shouting back and forth.
Mikhail stood in a corner out of anyone’s sight and looked toward the counter area.
‘The right time to intervene will be shortly.’
Mikhail’s gaze fixed on the armory owner, Alex.
Alex was examining the cracked sword, then shaking his head at Edwin standing across from him.
“Kid, it’s not just the blade that’s cracked. Look at all these scratches… Something this damaged can’t be refunded. Besides, I warned you to handle it carefully since the blade was weak.”
“Huh? I never heard that! Anyway, give me my money back!”
“Now, this kid…”
Just as Alex was looking troubled at the blatant stubbornness, an old man who appeared from behind the counterāHaeronāchimed in.
“It’s too damaged, he said! Stop throwing a tantrum and leave, you brat! Let me play chess!”
“Hey, old man! Don’t butt in and stay quiet!”
Mikhail looked at another boy who stepped forward.
It was Neil, a problem child with a rough impression.
The worst and most violent one among Edwin’s group.
When his side stepped forward, Edwin immediately became triumphant and raised his voice.
“Negligence, you say. You took ten gold coins and now you want to wash your hands of the problem?”
“It’s not washing my handsāthe blade couldn’t have gotten damaged like this from just one swing.”
“Ah, forget it! No need for long explanations! The receipt said you’d refund without conditions, so process it that way!”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Where does it say that?”
When Edwin coughed unnecessarily and placed the receipt on the counter, Alex picked it up and examined it.
“…Mm.”
After furrowing his brow and blinking three or four times.
Alex soon scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
“Well, I’ll be. …I can’t go back on my word. I’ll refund it, so wait a moment.”
Alex took the ledger and entered the vault.
Edwin, who’d been glancing at that sight, looked around and let out a breath, while Neil grinned and approached the table in the middle of the hall.
“Kukuk, I guess he really can’t see well like the rumors say? I just copied it roughly and he couldn’t even tell.”
“Sir Edwin, come here. You handled that very well.”
“……”
Edwin kept his mouth tightly shut and kept glancing at the receipt on the counter.
Then he hesitantly turned toward his group.
Clatter!
“Wait a moment! Let me check!”
That’s when it happened. Ada, who’d entered the armory, strode forward and snatched the receipt from the counter.
After checking the written contents once.
Ada glared at Edwin and snorted.
“I knew it. Bastards.”
Ada clutched the receipt tightly and approached Edwin, snapping at him.
“Feel good about forging a receipt? You fraud!”
“Wh-what? What nonsense is this tiny thing spouting!”
Edwin raised his voice like a thief with guilty feet, but Ada paid no attention and shot back.
“Think my eyes are knotholes? The handwriting and alignment are completely different!”
“Diff-different how! Open your eyes properly!”
“Heh, why should I open my perfectly fine eyes? If anyone needs to open theirs, it’s you guys who can’t even forge properly!”
“Where, where! Let me see too!”
Haeron, who’d butted in again, snatched the receipt and put on his glasses. The frames glowed faintly.
“Hmm, Ada’s right. The alignment and handwriting are completely different. These guys are total frauds!”
At Haeron’s accusation, Edwin hesitantly stepped back with a clearly flustered look.
Neil sprang up from his seat and pointed at Haeron.
“What do you mean? A senile old man spouting nonsense!”
“You impudent brat! Senile! Do you know what these glasses are! I personally calibrated the spell on these magnifying glasses!”
“What’s all this commotion?”
Just then, Alex appeared holding a pouch of gold coins. Neil barked at Alex.
“My money! You said you’d give it back, so hurry up and hand it over!”
Ada raised her tone even higher and retorted.
“Why is that your money? Get out right now! Before I report you!”
“This bean-sized brat, won’t you shut your mouth?”
“A thief’s feet are always guilty! The way you just keep yelling loudly is exactly like that! You shut up. You fraud!”
The exchanged voices grew increasingly hostile. Mikhail, who’d been watching the scene, narrowed his eyes and gripped what he held tightly.
…There wouldn’t be much time left before Neil exploded.
“You…!”
A heated voice burst from Neil’s mouth.
Neil glared at Ada and raised his eyebrows. Unable to contain his anger, he trembled with his fist, then….
“How dare a worthless thing act up in front of me!”
He swung his fist at Ada.
“Neil! Are you crazy right now…!”
Edwin shouted with a horrified face, and Ada bit down hard with a pale face.
“!”
At that moment, Mikhail swept past Ada’s side.
He swung what he held to block the incoming fist.
Clang!
A clear metallic sound rang through the air.
Along with it, Neil screamed and tumbled down. Neil rolled around on the floor clutching his fist.
“Aaaaah! My hand! My haaand!”
Just as Edwin came to his senses at the departing wail and tried to quickly assess the situation.
Smack!
Mikhail kicked Edwin right in the face.
Crash!
Along with the objects that fell and rolled on the floor, Edwin also rolled helplessly and ended up stuck in a corner.
An unexpected mess that happened in an instant. Everyone standing in the armory couldn’t grasp the situation and kept looking around.
“……”
The only one calm in the midst of it all was Mikhail.
Mikhail pulled back his extended foot and dropped the poker he’d been holding.
Clang!
Mikhail approached Edwin and stood there, looking down pathetically at the groaning victim.
“Cough… which… which bastard did this… just let me find out… the price for daring to hit me….”
“Do it if you can.”
“…!”
Edwin, whose cheek had swollen bright red, raised his head in rage. However, he soon stammered with a dumbfounded face.
“Mi-Mikhail? How are you here….”
“You don’t need to know that far.”
Mikhail cut off the question sharply and looked around.
At Mikhail’s appearance creating an unprecedentedly ominous atmosphere, Edwin’s group was looking around nervously and backing away.
Mikhail turned his head toward Edwin again.
“Disappear with those eyesores. Consider this much fortunate.”
At the chilling threat, Edwin flinched and pulled back his body. But only briefly, as he ground his teeth and retorted.
“You! How dare you boss me around? When you’re nothing now…!”
“Shut up already. There’s no one left to listen to you.”
“A-are you done talking? Even without those other guys, someone like you…!”
“Oh, right. Come to think of it, you have an older sister to tattle to, don’t you? …Unlike her stupid brother, she’s quite accomplished.”
As if his words were blocked, Edwin twisted his face and bit his lip. Mikhail tilted his head and sneered.
“Well, sure, it’s up to you whether you go tattle somewhere or not. …But you’d better think more carefully about whether your sister would enjoy cleaning up after her idiot brother.”
“Sh-shut up! When you’re the most incompetent one, who are you calling an idiot and spouting…!”
“Oh, and.”
Mikhail calmly cut off his words and rummaged in his pocket.
He thrust the document he pulled out in front of Edwin’s eyes.
“Read it.”
Edwin glared at Mikhail but soon scanned the document. His green eyes moved along the written text.
“…Wh-what’s this. Result change?”
Edwin’s expression gradually changed.
As if he couldn’t believe the scene before his eyes, the color drained from his face bit by bit, then his head shook roughly.
His trembling lips babbled incoherently.
“No way, that’s impossible! That can’t be. …Neil too, all the other guys said you became useless! That you were a despicable guy who tricked us! That there really was nothing left to see…!”
Mikhail frowned slightly.
“Hey.”
“…!”
“With what you just saw, think and judge with your own head. If you don’t want to keep being treated like an idiot.”
Edwin gasped roughly with a shocked face. He dropped his head and trembled with his shoulders.
Then he soon looked up. With quite a vicious momentum.
…He must have been quite upset. Mikhail raised the corner of his mouth crookedly and put away the document.
“Anyway, my disinheritance and expulsion aren’t happening anymore. So get lost right now. If you don’t want to be more troublesome.”
In the sharp silence, a standoff passed once.
“……”
The one who lowered his gaze first was Edwin.
Edwin hesitantly got up. After helping up Neil who’d fallen on the floor, he snapped at his group.
“Everyone go back! Get out of here right now!”
When the group led by Edwin rushed out, the armory soon became quiet.
A system message appeared before Mikhail’s eyes as he watched Edwin’s retreating figure for a long time.
ćQuest: [Sub] Stop the Armory Commotion Completeć
- Completion Reward: Shop Currency +1
‘Not much left until shop unlock.’
Mikhail let out a low breath. He picked up the poker he’d dropped and approached Ada.
Ada stood blankly as if she couldn’t make sense of what had happened. Mikhail held out what he was holding toward Ada.
“This, I came to return what I borrowed.”
“…Ah, yes.”
When Ada jumped in surprise and received the poker, Mikhail smiled slightly and turned his head.
In front of the counter. Alex and Haeron standing there blankly.
Eventually, Haeron was the first to react. He widened his eyes as if gradually recognizing him.
“You, you’re the guy who played card games with me back then…!”
Mikhail smiled broadly and brought up the topic first.
“Mr. Alex, Mr. Haeron. Could I ask you two for a favor? I came to buy something that’s not on the counter.”
It was when the sun was crossing over the mountain ridge.
Mikhail left the armory, leaving behind the booming farewells.
“Come again if you need anything! I’ll help you for free next time!”
“Make sure to come back! The thank-you gift was too bland… If you’re up for it, I’ll buy you some good liquor!”
“Kukuk, who’d have thought you’d have both quick thinking and scholarly passion. It’s like seeing my younger self.”
…The last one was pure self-praise.
Mikhail waved his hand to answer the three people’s greetings and walked along the path leading to the dormitory.
He’d just received the items he’d aimed for.
A mithril sword that seemed ready to break any moment.
And two sheets of paper with alchemy formulas drawn on them.
‘With this, I’ll obtain a skill to supplement my mana quality.’
His footsteps continued as if flying. Before long, Mikhail arrived in front of the dormitory and opened the door to enter.
As if they’d been to the forest in the meantime, the sky foxes who’d been removing leaves by the window hopped over.
“I’m back.”
“Kang.”
When Mikhail brushed off the dust and flopped onto the bed, the approaching sky foxes tapped his cheek with their front paws.
His complexion didn’t look great. Mikhail raised his hand to stop the sky foxes and muttered.
“…It’s not from getting hit. I just used a bit too much strength. So I’m just a bit tired.”
“Karung.”
The sky foxes responded as if understanding and curled up beside him. Warmth spread through the touching skin.
At the pouring drowsiness, Mikhail blinked blankly. He wanted to fall asleep like this, but….
Rustle.
He raised his upper body and looked at the calendar on the wall.
Less than a day remained until academic life started.
‘There was one more thing to check before the semester starts.’
That’s when Mikhail recalled it.
His vision flashed and a new list appeared.
ćNew Personal Quest Activation Conditionsć
[Main] Participate in major events of the main storyline
[Sub] Solve real-time quests
- Quest Reward: Shop Currency
After carefully scanning the contents once.
Mikhail touched his chin and smiled slyly.
‘Nothing I can’t do, right?’
Sub quests would appear at an appropriate level while doing growth-related activities, so there’d be no problem.
Main quests would be solved just by subtly getting one foot into the main storyline’s major events.
‘Whether it’s an extra or a side role. Even such a role counts as participating in the main storyline.’
Mikhail flopped down with a slightly relaxed face. He closed his eyes while buried in the soft bedding.
He intended to rest just for a moment before getting up.
While thinking about the first stage of the main storyline that would begin with the new semester….
The next morning, early.
In front of the dormitory’s interior entrance.
“Don’t forget to come to the outskirts after lunch! Both of you!”
“Karung!”
Mikhail left the sky foxes’ cheerful answer behind and rushed out of the lodging.
He adjusted his bag with hurried hands, passed buildings, and ran frantically down the lecture building corridor.
He’d definitely thought he’d just sleep a little bit.
‘Why is it the next day when I open my eyes!’
2-B Classroom: [Integrated Theory Review]
Clack.
Mikhail gasped for breath and entered. He walked slowly inside the classroom. Questioning gazes stabbed sharply at the back of his head.
“What, wasn’t he supposed to be gone from this semester? I heard he got the magic incompetence verdict.”
“Maybe the processing hasn’t been done properly yet? Like the talks with the north aren’t finished… Anyway, he’ll disappear soon.”
“Shh, be quiet. If things go wrong, he’ll cause a scene again.”
They were contents with no benefit to react to.
Mikhail pretended not to hear and sat in the back seat to pull out his textbook. The title written on the cover entered his eyes.
[Practical Theory Final: Geography, Society, Culture]
A summary of the first-year theory curriculum and a theory course that reviewed only the necessary information before full-scale practice.
The regular classes for second year starting soon would have practice as the main activity rather than theory.
In reality, it would be a class with no particular meaning except maintaining attendance points. He knew the content inside and out.
Rather, what was more important than that.
‘What I’ll do after class ends.’
Obtaining a skill to improve the quality of his mana, the Abyss.
And participating in the grade-wide meeting to get mixed into the main storyline’s progression.
Mikhail tapped the book cover.
‘The original Mikhail wouldn’t have participated in any academic activities, so I’ll need to mention attending the meeting separately.’
That’s when it happened.
Clatter.
At the sound of a chair being pulled right next to him, Mikhail turned his head to the side.
As soon as he did, the other person’s face entered his eyes.
“Hi? Have you been well?”
The one who greeted him was a boy smiling with a particularly bright impression.
It was Lloyd Cloelle.
