The Support Ate it All

Chapter 45: Magic Engineering Workshop

As soon as I expressed my intention to meet with the president of the magic engineering club, Dang Gyu-young promptly connected me with the guy.

I received a message from him, but he was too busy to meet anywhere else and asked me to come to the workshop.

I suppose thats understandable for the magic engineering club.

When the Emerald club had asked me to come, I had refused and sent Kwak Ji-cheol back with a punch, but that was because they had arrogantly demanded I come even though they could have come themselves.

If they had approached me politely, I might have reluctantly agreed to follow.

In contrast, the magic engineering club was genuinely swamped with no time to spare.

Being in the production field, they were always overwhelmed with commissions, and especially now that it was the beginning of the semester, they were experiencing a huge influx of orders.

Considering that, it seemed right for me to make the effort to visit them.

I leisurely finished my iced tea and strolled over.

I lost myself in thought along the way.

Ive laid the foundation.

With the [Blessing of the West Wind], I had a bonus to wind magic.

And with [Wind Force], I added physical power to my wind magic.

From here on, I plan to continue adding more wind magic and traits.

So, the time had come.

I need to get a weapon.

I couldnt keep making do with the [Earth Staff], which was only a little better than a club.

Just as wearing shoes provided a bonus to movement skills, wielding a weapon granted bonuses appropriate for ones class.

And, in most cases, the bonuses from weapons were stronger than those from other equipment.

The question then was, where to find such a weapon?

Ill have to make it.

And not just any weapon, but one of a conclusive rank.

I planned to use every hidden piece I knew to craft a weapon worthy of an EX-rank reincarnation quest.

Of course, given the high rank, it wasnt possible to create a top-tier weapon right off the bat.

Thats why my plan was,

Prefabricated.

Like fitting together a puzzle, I would complete it in stages.

Heading to the magic engineering workshop now was part of that lengthy project.

The first workshop was several times busier than on the first day of the semester.

Members ran around as if their feet were on fire and blue lights flashed without a moments pause.

As I stood by the door and waited in silence I was soon greeted by a senior.

A freshman? What brings you here?

Id like to meet with the president. If you mention Kim Ho, hell know.

Really? Wait here for a moment.

The senior went inside, and shortly after, another person emerged.

This guy was clearly the president of the magic engineering club.

He looked like a company employee worn out by fatigue and he also exuded an air of urgency as if he was always chased by something.

I was about to introduce myself but he cut me off mid-sentence.

Hello, I

Im Bong Jae-seok. Youre Kim Ho, right? The one who completed the 10x10x10 cube? Lets talk inside. Follow me.

He rattled off his words like a machine gun and didnt even pause for a response.

He was certainly an impatient guy.

As if time itself were chasing me with a sword, I was hurriedly led away.

The place we arrived at was Workshop No. 4.

Just like my last visit, it was enveloped in silence.

Bong Jae-seok shattered that silence by flinging the door wide open.

A third-year senior who was working alone inside jumped in surprise and turned around.

I recognized him to be the senior from before.

Bong Jae-seok gestured toward the door.

Out.

Without a word, the senior vacated the space.

Despite being in the same year, the authority of the club president was unmistakably strong.

Bong Jae-seok watched the departing senior with a look of displeasure and began to speak.

The price for trading the clubs assets without permission has been paid by that guy.

The place where I had unearthed the 10x10x10 cubes blueprint was amidst the clutter of Workshop No. 4.

However, the authority to dispose of even the clutter belonged solely to the club president, and the senior who had just left had exchanged it for a mere material worth 1,000 points.

He traded the cube with me under the assumption that I would never be able to complete it, but he didnt expect that I would achieve the impossible.

He thought that he had taken advantage of a freshman, only to find himself in an unexpected predicament. Too bad for him.

Bong Jae-seok then unleashed another rapid-fire barrage of his thoughts.

While I do have the right to reclaim it since it was traded without my consent, I dont feel the need to make a fuss about it. Id rather not stir up unnecessary trouble. After all, there was no one else but you who could have accomplished it. Id be satisfied just to have a look at it.

His point was that analyzing the completed [Cube of Life] and learning something from it would be rewarding enough.

He implied that merely allowing him to see it would be considered a form of compensation for him.

It was a mutually beneficial and reasonable proposal.

However, the unfortunate news was:

I dont have it anymore.

Already passed it on? To whom? Surely not the thieves club?

The Mother Nature Club.

It became Park Na-ris cat house.

By now, it likely had dozens of scratches added to it.

Bong Jae-seoks face quickly clouded over with disappointment.

He abruptly stood up from his seat.

Aichh, what a waste of my time. Im out of here.

Senior-nim.

I called out to Bong Jae-seok as he was about to rush off.

What?

Do you really think I would come empty-handed? Im not that thoughtless.

Now that you mention it, what did you bring? Show me.

Take a look.

I handed him a piece of paper that had been folded several times, which Bong Jae-seok took and unfolded.

It was a torn-off corner of a large sheet.

Due to the original size of the paper, even this torn corner was quite large.

As Bong Jae-seok scrutinized the piece of paper from end to end, his expression gradually hardened.

Then, with a slap that echoed in the room, he laid the paper on the table and leaned in close, absorbing it as if in a trance.

Its real, its actually real I never thought someone would actually manage to do this

What was it about this scrap of paper that had Bong Jae-seok so utterly captivated?

The blueprint.

The one for the 10x10x10 cube that consisted of a thousand tiny cubes.

I meticulously recorded the arrangement of each and every cube.

In other words, if one were to follow this blueprint precisely, it would be possible to recreate the [Cube of Life].

In theory, at least.

The construction process would require a significant amount of material and human resources, not to mention at least a semesters worth of time but that was for the other party to figure out.

After all, the important thing was that it was theoretically possible.

?!

Bong Jae-seok who had been fervently poring over the blueprint suddenly froze in his tracks.

The blueprint had been torn midway, which was why his movement halted abruptly.

The part I had handed to Bong Jae-seok constituted less than 10% of the whole thing.

Bong Jae-seok asked me urgently with a look as if the sky had fallen.

You have the rest right? You do have it, dont you? Tell me you do. Quickly.

There was a hint of madness in Bong Jae-seoks eyes.

He looked as if he would bury someone alive if I said that was all there was.

Of course, I have it well in hand.

I pulled out another neatly folded piece of paper.

It was large and thickly folded, hinting that unfolding it would reveal something significant.

Of course, I had no intention of giving it away for free.

Since I showed him a sneak peek, it was time for paid access from here on.

!

Bong Jae-seok quickly grasped my intentions.

Whether it was due to the urgency of time, his inherently impatient nature, or both, he immediately moved to negotiate.

Lets not waste time with this back-and-forth banter. Just tell me what you want.

I would like access to the facilities of Workshop No. 1.

The equipment in Workshop No. 1 was reserved for the elite members of the magic engineering club.

Allowing an outsider like me to use those facilities was one of the greatest authorities the club president had.

I had expected lengthy consideration and negotiation, but Bong Jae-seok responded without even five seconds of hesitation.

We need it during the day. You can have it from midnight to dawn. How about that?

That works for me.

Deal. Now give me the rest of the blueprint.

He was indeed a straightforward man.

He unfolded the blueprint I handed over, matched it with the fragment he already had, and confirmed it fit perfectly.

Bong Jae-seok was overcome with joy.

Aaah!

He carefully folded the blueprint while treating it as if it were a precious heirloom of his family.

Then, he reached out to me.

Let me see your student ID.

Sure.

I presented my student ID and Bong Jae-seok jotted down a few critical details.

Ill register you for free access. Dont cause any trouble. I said after midnight, but if its crowded, make way, and if its not, you can use it before midnight too. You can manage that, right?

Yes, senior-nim.

Good. Im off then.

Bong Jae-seok abruptly stood up and strode out only to hurry back as if he had remembered something hed forgotten.

But youre unaffiliated, right? How about joining our club?

He pointed to the blueprint in his arms and added.

Honestly, this could be submitted as a thesis. The fact that you actually created a 10x10x10 cube is impressive. Youre more than qualified; in fact, overly so.

I appreciate your words, but I must refuse.

So, Dang Gyu-young got to you first, huh? Are you considering joining that thieves club, or are you worried about holding grudges? Ill take care of it all. I have quite a bit of influence, after all.

Its not that. I just dont plan to join anything.

. Alright, then. If you change your mind, let me know anytime.

Seeing my firm decision, Bong Jae-seok didnt press any further.

As he turned to leave without any hesitation, he suddenly said,

Oh, and one more thing.

Returning as if something had just come to mind, he gestured with his chin towards a corner of Workshop No. 4 filled with various items.

If youre going to make something out of that junk, feel free to take it. Just provide the blueprints like you did this time. Then I wont say a word.

Thank you.

Now, Im really, really, really going. Take care.

Yes, senior-nim. Please go ahead.

I gained a lot thanks to Bong Jae-seoks very friendly approach.

Now that Ive been granted access to Workshop No. 1, Im going to take matters into my own hands if theres a need for magical engineering when making equipment in the future.

The [Crafting VIP Ticket] I received could be used in other domains like blacksmithing, tailoring, and fine crafting.

Moreover, the permission to take items from Workshop No. 4s collection of various junk turned out to be an unexpected boon.

While I might not stumble upon another jackpot like the [Cube of Life], there was still plenty worth salvaging.

I planned to visit whenever I had some free time.

***

Throughout the remaining week of the strategy battle session, I dedicated myself to practicing [Wind Force].

Despite my relentless efforts of sending iron dummies flying in every direction, I barely managed to cling to the edge of D-rank, falling just short of reaching C-rank.

I had hoped for a clean rank-up but it was time to return to classes.

As usual, Professor Lee Soo-dok appeared shortly after the class bell rang.

Every student in class 3 sat in their seats and held their breath.

Everyone learned that the class proceeds smoothly as long as no one ruffles his feathers over trivial matters.

However, today, Lee Soo-dok entered the classroom unusually carrying a stack of A4-sized papers.

Catch.

And he suddenly tossed the stack into the air.

Flutter!

The A4 papers scattered chaotically, yet each sheet miraculously settled in front of an individual student.

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