—Scratch, scratch.

—Scribble, scribble.

“...What are you doing?”

Ju Seojun couldn’t focus on the class at all. It was the first lecture he was attending since arriving at Gaon, but the person sitting next to him was making way too much noise.

Kalos students had a completely different curriculum from Gaon’s. To adjust that imbalance, the classes had been temporarily unified.

“Don’t talk to me.”

Yoon Chaeha, sitting beside him, snapped irritably without even lifting her head, completely engrossed in whatever she was writing.

She wasn’t paying attention to the class at all, not even taking notes—just furiously scribbling at her desk.

Same as yesterday. The moment mentor activities began, she had disappeared somewhere.

‘What the hell is she doing?’

Ju Seojun subtly leaned over to glance at her desk.

But the moment his eyes shifted toward it—

Zap.

Like a cat baring its fangs with fur bristling, she whipped her arms over the book, shielding it, curling over it like a predator on edge.

It looked like some kind of book, but that’s all he could tell. Ju Seojun gave up. The professor was already starting to glare daggers at them.

“Oh.”

Just then, he remembered something he hadn’t had the chance to mention yesterday.

He lowered his voice.

“Keep your Saturday free.”

Still looking down at her book, Yoon Chaeha responded.

“Why.”

“The Magic Tower’s offering us a class.”

They’d thought they’d lose their connection to the Magic Tower after transferring from Kalos to Gaon. But luckily, the Tower still had a favorable impression of the two of them and promised them an additional session. It was a fortunate outcome.

The Magic Tower had already been keeping an eye on their potential. For the Tower, holding onto talent like this was good business.

Ju Seojun naturally assumed she’d be thrilled.

“Hmm...”

But Yoon Chaeha rested her chin on her hand, visibly thinking it over.

“We don’t have to go, do we?”

She tapped lightly on her desk, replying slowly.

“Well... yeah, it’s not mandatory exactly...”

Yoon Chaeha rarely showed interest in things, but the Magic Tower was one of the few places that genuinely intrigued her. So he had expected her to be excited.

She always responded positively to research opportunities and advanced classes offered by the Tower.

“I’m not going.”

But this time, she answered differently.

And casually turned a page.

“Sounds boring.”

Ju Seojun stared at her, stunned.

***

The reward for taking down Moras.

The commendation ceremony had been held a few days ago, but the actual reward still hadn’t arrived. They’d been wondering when it would finally come—and today, they were summoned.

Honestly, this was the part I had been waiting for the most.

Me, Cheon Yeoul, and Yu Hana.

We stood before the armory run by the Association.

This place stored the weapons, elixirs, and artifacts officially owned by Gaon.

Just then, the chairman greeted us with a beaming face.

“Please, pick whatever you like! Anything at all, students!”

He spread his arms wide, wearing that warm signature smile of his.

“Thanks to you all, Gaon avoided greater disaster. Hahaha!”

He wasn’t wrong.

If it hadn’t been for these three, the school would’ve been in ruins.

“You can each choose one item you like.”

The chairman walked over to me, winked, and patted me on the shoulder a few times.

‘Creepy bastard...’

Pure showmanship.

This was the same guy who, during admissions, objected to letting in “non-Academy” students because they’d “taint the system.” And now he’s parading us around as school heroes.

“Alright, I’ll open it now.”

As he spoke, an Association staff member placed a hand on the terminal device.

The chairman pressed his palm to the scanner next to the massive door—

—Rumble...

The enormous vault slowly opened.

And the staggering sight inside was revealed.

The armory was even bigger than expected.

‘Not bad.’

Elixirs, artifacts, all kinds of weapons. Gaon’s vault was impressive both in quantity and quality. These were items collected by Gaon’s founder—famous in life as a collector.

No matter what we picked, odds were we’d walk away with something above average...

‘Let’s see what they pick first.’

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I already knew what I was going to take. I’d debated for a while, but yesterday I finally made my decision.

Still, I wanted to see what Cheon Yeoul and Yu Hana picked first.

If it wasn’t great, maybe I could steer them toward better options.

Might as well clean this place out while we’re here.

So I quietly watched from the back.

“Pick whatever you like, no need to hesitate!”

The chairman encouraged us.

But I couldn’t help smirking.

‘Well, well.’

I hadn’t noticed at first glance, but now that I looked closer—it was obvious.

At first, everything looked great. Seemed high-quality.

But the real stuff—the truly rare and powerful gear—was subtly buried under piles of junk, as if someone had deliberately hidden them.

Yu Hana ran straight toward the weapon section.

Then, from deep within one of the piles, she pulled out a lightweight-looking wrist guard. A kind of protective armband, made of what looked like ordinary cloth.

‘Nice pick.’

But I knew exactly what that armband was.

Not bad. Actually, it was a very solid choice. I glanced at the chairman out of the corner of my eye.

He tried to keep a neutral expression, but the moment she grabbed that armband, I caught the slight twitch in his face.

Yu Hana walked over and strapped the armband onto her wrist.

Then, rotating her wrist this way and that, she asked me,

“How is it?”

“Looks good.”

What she picked was an artifact made from the tendons of a Titan—one of the Greek gods. Not earthly tech—most likely something dropped from a dungeon.

It boosts physical strength and supports overall training. It’d be a great help to the Flower Butterfly Sword technique she was currently mastering.

“Not bad.”

She chose well.

I nodded.

And with a smile, she turned to the chairman.

“I’ll take this one.”

She said it plainly.

“...Ah, yes...”

The chairman looked momentarily flustered.

But he quickly pulled himself together and immediately tried to recommend something else.

“However, Hana, how about that armor over there? It’s got outstanding magic resistance, and its defensive properties are—”

He gestured to a lavishly decorated suit of armor. Visually impressive, at least. But the truth? Flashy garbage.

“....”

She glanced at the armor briefly, then turned her head to look at me—as if silently asking, “What do you think?”

I quietly shook my head. That one wasn’t worth it.

“It’s fine. I’ll stick with this.”

“...Very well, then.”

The chairman reluctantly gave his approval, looking slightly bitter.

Next was Cheon Yeoul.

She covered a yawn with her hand and walked toward the artifact pile.

Without hesitation, she went straight to the area with holy-class relics.

She reached into the artifact pile. After a few swipes ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ through the clutter, she pulled something out.

“!!”

The chairman, standing beside her, nearly had a fit. What she had picked up was a silver ring with a red jewel set into it.

‘Holy shit.’

The Heart of Aurora.

Didn’t expect that to be here. That thing’s the real deal.

It balances both mana and divine power—a vital tool for Saints who require both and often suffer from imbalance. This ring levels it all out perfectly.

But then she reached for another vial.

‘No. Don’t.’

That one was junk. A one-time-use elixir that temporarily amplifies mana—a decent buff for mages, maybe, but absolutely useless for someone like Cheon Yeoul.

She held both the elixir and the ring and walked straight toward us.

Then asked me,

“Which one’s better?”

It was like asking me whether gold or gravel was the better treasure.

“Oh, that elixir looks great,”

The chairman said, desperately trying to sell it to her.

I silently pointed to the ring on her left hand.

Cheon Yeoul stared at me for a moment.

Then, without hesitation, she tossed the elixir in her right hand behind her.

—Thunk.

The vial rolled uselessly across the floor.

Meanwhile, the ring in her palm glowed with a soft red light.

“Haein, then you put this on—”

As she raised her hand slightly to offer it to me—

“Perfect timing, Chairman! Would you mind helping her put it on?”

Yu Hana butted in.

In that moment—

Cheon Yeoul’s hand stopped.

Then she took the ring and slipped it directly onto her middle finger.

And immediately—she held that middle finger out toward Yu Hana.

Yu Hana tilted her head and smiled in admiration.

“So pretty~”

Cheon Yeoul smiled back and said,

“Thanks~”

But her hand showed no intention of lowering.

Leaving that icy tension behind, I walked forward.

Yu Hana and Cheon Yeoul had both secured the perfect artifacts for themselves.

Now it was my turn.

I walked toward a more secluded, unremarkable corner.

There, leaning against the wall, was a steel halberd.

A sharp crescent blade and a straight, unwavering spear tip.

I crouched down for a closer look.

The artifacts and weapons around it all showed signs of aging, of wear and rust. But this steel halberd—only it remained completely unblemished, untouched by time.

I approached slowly and laid a hand on it.

“!”

In that moment, the temperature around me dropped dramatically. And yet, not a single trace of frost formed on the halberd’s surface.

The check was complete.

“I’ll take this.”

Twenty years ago, a world-ending beast descended upon this land.

The fanged relic of the monstrous dragon Aldebaran.

Catastrophe.

The weapon I’d been looking for.