"What were you doing?" "I was gathering some bread."
"Hmm. Bread..."
"Yes. Bread is used like coins here. Roughly, five loaves can be exchanged for a quill pen, and ten loaves can get you a matchbox-sized lump of sugar." "......"
The students of the Blue Dragon Tower were able to live comfortably thanks to Lee Han, but students from other towers didn’t have someone like him.
They were struggling desperately for survival.
The hard bread that appeared at mealtimes had now become a substitute currency.
A currency that could buy various supplies! "Wow... Can I take a look?" "Feel free to look around."
Yoner scanned the items in the black market with an excited expression, as if he was planning to buy something useful.
Lee Han, unable to contain his curiosity, also tilted his head to look.
And then he was surprised. 'Huh? There’s actually a lot of useful stuff here.' He had thought that the students of the Black Tortoise Tower wouldn’t have gathered much, but there were all sorts of things here, more than he expected.
Of course, the food wasn’t abundant.
Except for various canned goods (probably left behind by the priests), the place was filled with all kinds of fake food.
Fake cheese, fake milk, fake eggs, fake smoked meat, fake pickled fish, fake coffee, fake tea leaves—things that made you wonder, "Isn’t it harder to make these fakes?" But aside from food, there were surprisingly many useful items.
Bags, quill pens, blankets, lanterns, fishing rods, shovels and pickaxes, simple tents and sleeping bags, ropes and chalk, bows and arrows...
And what was most surprising... 'Why are there so many artifacts?' Ordinary-looking cloaks, leather belts, stone bracelets, and necklaces.
They seemed like common trinkets, but Lee Han could feel the magical energy emanating from them.
They were definitely artifacts. 'Even though it’s easier to get artifacts in this school, this is still surprising.' Outside, even a simple artifact was extremely rare.
Not only were they expensive, but they were also scarce, making adventurers and mercenaries desperate to get their hands on them.
Having just one artifact was enough to say, "I’m a seasoned adventurer!" For example, an artifact with <Dark Vision> could guide you through any dark dungeon, and an artifact with healing magic could save your life in an emergency.
But this school was a bit different.
After all, it was a place where people who knew how to make artifacts and those who wanted to make them gathered.
Of course, since they were made by amateurs, the quality was inconsistent and unreliable, but the sheer number of artifacts was overwhelming.
Still, it was impressive that the freshmen had managed to find and bring these discarded artifacts.
Lee Han was amazed by the practicality and skills of the Black Tortoise Tower students. 'If I had joined the Black Tortoise Tower, things would have gone much smoother.' If Lee Han had been in the Black Tortoise Tower, he would have gathered all the school’s supplies with the students.
"Are you planning to buy something? I checked too, but there’s not much that’s useful."
Thinking that Lee Han was tempted, Ratford whispered from the side.
The Black Tortoise Tower student, whose business was being interrupted, glared at Ratford. 'This guy, who does he think he is...!' But Ratford ignored the glare and continued, "That cloak is supposed to protect against blades, but when I tested it, it only worked half the time."
"Wait, half the time is still pretty useful, isn’t it?" "Indeed... You have a great attitude. Seeing the glass as half full rather than half empty."
"Just throwing out random words doesn’t make it a compliment, Ratford."
Lee Han carefully examined the artifacts.
Ratford had a point—most of them were either of unknown effect or hard to verify, and some were losing their magical energy.
The magic on them wasn’t permanent, so it was fading.
Among those, the protective cloak was still somewhat useful, even if it wasn’t something to rely on heavily.
The problem was...
"Do you accept credit?" "Even if a knife is at my throat, I won’t accept credit, Mr. Wodanaz." 'Why the formal speech...' Lee Han was speechless.
He could have just said no! But for the Black Tortoise Tower students, the issue of credit was very important.
Other tower students had already tried to trade on credit.
Lee Han was prepared to track down students who ran off without paying, even if it meant going to their families, but the Black Tortoise Tower students couldn’t do the same with the empire’s great families.
So, no credit was allowed! After hearing the explanation, Lee Han nodded.
It made perfect sense.
"Then there’s no other way. Hmm... I brought some things for bartering, but..."
Lee Han lifted his basket.
He had brought various items for the barter market, but now, seeing the atmosphere, his confidence was waning.
Should he go back and get more canned goods? 'I want to buy the artifacts before they’re sold.' "What did you bring?" "Some freshly harvested fruits and vegetables, and a few eggs..." "!" "!!!" The sound of commotion and Black Tortoise Tower students scrambling to their feet could be heard around them.
Surprisingly, the Black Tortoise Tower students were crazy about the fruits, vegetables, and eggs.
Not just the student selling artifacts, but others selling various items rushed over to Lee Han, trying to barter with him.
"This pickaxe and shovel! They might have been made by a dwarf craftsman. You’ll definitely find a use for them..."
"I’ll trade you for fake pickled fish, fake coffee, fake tea leaves, and one of those eggs!" "If I can get an onion, I’ll give you this wand."
While everyone was lining up to push their wares, the Black Tortoise Tower student who had sold the protective cloak for two potatoes was roasting the potatoes over a fire, laughing at his friends.
"You idiots. You’ll only profit if you sell good stuff. What’s the point of selling junk and begging?" "Shut up! You just got lucky with that cloak!" "Hey, want to trade a bite of potato for a few loaves of bread?" "No way. You can keep that bread for yourself."
"I heard potatoes aren’t as tasty these days. Bread might be better."
Despite his friends’ teasing, the student who got the potatoes roasted them carefully.
When the skin was peeled off, the steaming white flesh was revealed.
The Black Tortoise Tower student blew on it and then popped it into his mouth. "...!!" It was clear without words that the potato was melting on his tongue.
Watching this, Lee Han was a bit taken aback. 'How hungry are they?' A potato roasted without salt or butter shouldn’t go down that easily.
But seeing their reactions... "... Everyone, gather around for a moment. I’ll cook something for you. Yoner, can you help?" Yoner nodded.
The two exchanged glances. 'Let’s not charge them this time.' 'Agreed!' Lee Han, who usually insisted on getting paid, didn’t feel like adding silver coins to his ledger after seeing how starved they were.
And he had another motive. 'If I cook for them before we head into the mountains, maybe I can win over the Black Tortoise Tower students.' While the White Tiger Tower students were already permanent enemies, there might still be a chance to befriend the Black Tortoise Tower students.
Lee Han quickly chopped the freshly harvested vegetables and seasoned them simply.
When he sprinkled salt and pepper and mixed them, the Black Tortoise Tower students looked on in shock.
But the shock was just beginning.
Lee Han heated oil and stir-fried the vegetables until they were golden.
The mouthwatering aroma spread around.
The Black Tortoise Tower students gathered around the pot like zombies.
Lee Han opened a can of tomatoes.
He scraped the can clean with a spoon and poured it into the pot, layering the vegetables before letting them simmer.
What emerged was a thick, hearty tomato vegetable stew that looked too good to be a quick meal.
As soon as it was done, Lee Han served generous portions to the waiting Black Tortoise Tower students.
The surroundings fell silent, with only the sound of spoons scraping bowls.
The students’ faces were filled with gratitude and emotion.
Ah, this was what a real meal was like! We had forgotten what it was like to eat properly! "Let’s give a round of applause to Mr. Wodanaz..."
"Please, be quiet."
Lee Han shoved a potato into Ratford’s mouth, who was about to ruin the good mood.
Despite Lee Han’s protests, the Black Tortoise Tower students stuffed various trinkets into his pockets as thanks.
As a result, Lee Han ended up carrying two backpacks, one with a lantern and fishing rod, and the other with a shovel and pickaxe.
"You... look really cool?" Yoner admired the avant-garde fashion.
Ratford agreed.
"You look like a seasoned explorer."
While Ratford might have meant it, it was hard to tell if Yoner was teasing or genuinely impressed.
Lee Han sighed and set down one of the backpacks.
Inside, a chess set, a deck of cards, and a set of dice clattered.
Besides the goodwill and trust of the Black Tortoise Tower students, he had gained something else.
A few more useful artifacts besides the protective cloak.
Low-grade Boots of Stealth (they surprisingly reduced noise when worn), Chalk of Smoke (when thrown, it shattered and spread smoke around), Bracelet of Vision Detection (when someone looked at you, the stone on the bracelet would turn red with a certain probability)... 'Wait.
These were definitely made by upperclassmen.
Why did they make these?' Lee Han doubted the intentions of the seniors who made these artifacts.
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like they were trying to avoid the professor’s eyes...? Clatter clatter— "?" While checking the artifacts, Lee Han turned his head at the sound coming from the backpack.
Surprisingly, a bony hand was crawling out of the backpack. "...?!" For a moment, Lee Han thought the Black Tortoise Tower students had repaid his kindness with betrayal.
But then he realized that none of them could have set up such a complex magical trap.
Clatter! The bony hand flew out and merged with the mysterious bone Lee Han had received from Professor Mortum.
Now, the bone had grown to the size of a forearm.
It floated in the air and waited obediently in front of Lee Han, like a puppy waiting for food. "... No. No. No." Lee Han tried to deny it, but the bone approached and lightly bit his fingertip, drawing a drop of blood.
Then, he felt a mental connection with this incomplete bone summon.
"Sit."
"Stand."
"Turn around."
"Go fetch." "......" "......"
Yoner and Ratford looked at Lee Han with complicated expressions.
Suddenly, their friend had summoned a bone creature and was giving it commands, seemingly heading down the path of dark magic.
It was hard not to feel conflicted. 'The professor really gave him something strange.
Well, it’s not like the professor would give him something normal.' "Shouldn’t you just get rid of it?" Clatter clatter! At Yoner’s words, the bone summon trembled and clung tightly to Lee Han.
Even though it was just a hand and forearm, it somehow looked pitiful. "... Ah, no. I take it back. I’m sorry..."
Yoner had no choice but to retract his words.