HTACS 32

Chapter 32

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Zephrin Central Bank.

The golden fortress that exchanges all outside currency into rin.

It’s said that one-tenth of the Empire’s tax revenue from exchange rate profits and fees comes from Zephrin alone—and this place is protected by a staggering seven layers of grand magic.

The seven Tier 1 grand spells personally cast by the First Emperor interact with each other—if one is broken, the other six activate simultaneously to instantly repair it. Unless all seven are destroyed at once, it will never fall.

A single girl stepped into this bank, boasting such impenetrable security.

“I am Eve von Lohengrin.”

“Your Highness. We welcome you to the Central Bank from the depths of our hearts. What business brings you here today?”

Eve von Lohengrin.

The only Imperial with rank in all of Zephrin.

It would be no exaggeration to say her authority is on par with the Grand Professors, and considering the future where she leaves Zephrin and spreads her fame worldwide as a member of the Imperial family, no one in Zephrin—which is, after all, just a place of learning—can afford to oppose her.

That’s why even the teller is a veteran assigned specifically to Eve.

The only guaranteed check in Zephrin. Incompetent handling is not tolerated.

But today, the atmosphere was different. Eve’s expression was oddly stiff, and she looked somewhat dark.

“I came to break…”

“Huh?”

“I came to break my savings.”

Eve is breaking her savings?

Why?

Is Zephrin’s budget in danger?

The teller tilted her head, but with excellent professionalism, she didn’t ask further.

“Y-yes… Th-then let me check Your Highness’s savings account.”

After checking the account, the teller couldn’t help but tilt her head.

“Yes. I’ve confirmed your account, Lady Eve. However…”

“Yes?”

“The maturity date is next month. Are you sure?”

At those words, Eve’s expression filled with despair.

—

I stared intently at the gloves on both my hands.

The Gloves of Order and Balance—the beginner set.

“Anyway, calling it the beginner set doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.”

This glove set originally had a much more humiliating name.

Official name: [Try Harder More and More Fighting Set].

Players shortened it to: [Tryhard Fighting Set].

It was a cute and nice name, but when newbies who had barely cleared Act 2 posted clear认证 shots, comments like “Tryhard in the house” and “Tryhard respect” would appear. Once the newbies learned the origin, their pride was hurt and they quit, so the name was changed.

The one who named it probably got their salary cut—but I prefer the Tryhard Fighting Set.

Anyway, this Tryhard Fighting Set—I mean, beginner set.

It’s rolled in surprisingly sweet options.

First, the Gloves of Order—which you get from clearing 1-1, though I got them in reverse order.

Its base option is +10% experience gain.

Then the Gloves of Balance, obtained from the Mothman in Act 2, needless to say, supplement lacking stats by +3.

And the set effect has three bonuses.

First: resistance to all status effects.

This is a lifesaver.

In Act 2, the Sleeping Mountain Range, having this set effect gives resistance to all status ailments—making it essential for that area.

Then there’s a hidden option and the random acquisition of one 【8T】 skill.

But it’s not completely random. There’s a tendency.

Players knew roughly what that tendency was, but I know it clearly.

First, it leans toward the highest stat.

So if you have high strength and sword proficiency, you’d get skills like 【Double Slash】, 【Charge】, or 【Nameless Slash】.

If you have high mana and focus on healing, you’d get skills like 【Restoration】, 【Soul Change】, or 【Life Conversion】.

With luck, you might even get an upgraded version of a skill you already have.

So what are Wolfram von Lohengrin’s characteristics?

First, the skills I obtained through skill acquisition are three: 【Cooking】, 【Potion Crafting】, and 【Accessory Crafting】.

Since my base is dexterity, I can roughly guess what skill I’ll get.

【Cooking: Banquet】, 【Magic Craft】, 【Potion Effect Up】, 【Intermediate Herbology】—something like that.

Whatever I get, it’s clearly a win. I built that tech tree, and there are no gaps in my calculations!

And the skill I got was as follows:

【Magical Pâtissier】

【8T】

【When crafting snacks, minor-to-small amounts of magic are imbued.

The more special the ingredients, the stronger the effect.

The probability depends on the user’s dexterity.】

“There are no gaps in my calculations, but…”

The skill I used most was Cooking.

The highest stat was Dexterity.

What I made most was snacks.

“Well, of course I’d get this skill. It’s a thing, but…”

A sigh escapes me naturally.

It’s a useful skill. The characteristics of snacks as recovery items are ‘consumable,’ ‘fast effect,’ and ‘recovery.’ Being able to add magical effects or magical buffs with the Magical Pâtissier skill means it’s indeed a very useful skill.

It is, but.

I read the last line of the skill tooltip.

[A spell that turns everyone’s snacks into dream-colored magic!]

“Are you telling me to become a dream-colored pâtissier or something?”

Annoyingly, the dough seemed to shimmer with starlight.

My head throbbed with pain.

—

The day after my snacks were filled with dream-colored light.

An unexpected visitor came to the convenience store.

“Wolfram! Long time no see!”

“Rudika. This is sudden. What business do you have?”

Small body. Grayish-white hair. Blue eyes.

An assassin who dearly loves spicy flavors.

Agility 22, Tier 1 assassin Rudika Hassan Shadow.

She immediately said:

“I’m out of Red Pepper Herb. Can you get some?”

“That’s difficult. I have little surplus.”

“I see…”

Rudika looked visibly dejected, then perked up and beamed.

“Then we can just go gather some together!”

“Going together is dangerous.”

“…Uh.”

Last time it was safe because we had Nephti—but not now. Quietly go back.

“Really not possible? That’s a shame.”

“I’m disappointed too.”

Last time we only gathered Red Pepper Herb, but the Sleeping Mountain Range’s appeal doesn’t end there.

No.

Wait a minute.

“No—we can go.”

“Really?!”

“But you’re hiring me. I’ll be paid.”

“Fine!”

“I’ll take 1 million rin.”

“Haha. That’s nothing! Rudika has lots of money. I completed two missions.”

Let’s not ask what kind of missions or how she completed them.

And so, we headed toward the Sleeping Mountain Range. Rudika pulled the cart, and while leaving me alone, she charged into a swarm of Sleepies and Mothmen.

“Keeeek!”

“KYAAAAAH!”

The overflowing Sleepies and Mothmen. Rudika cleanly killed them one by one with precise rear-grabs and throat-slits—I was genuinely impressed. She really doesn’t pay me any mind at all.

As a result, one Mothman looked at me first.

Wow, scary. Really scary.

I gripped the gloves on both hands tightly and activated the hidden set option.

**【Active: Play Dead】** has been activated!

This is the true set effect of the Tryhard Fighting Set—the hidden skill.

By lying down on the spot and activating it, the Play Dead effect triggers and the monster’s aggro is released.

The Mothman eventually deemed me dead and simply wandered off.

I lay there looking up at the sky.

The blue was truly beautiful.

—

We gathered Red Pepper Herb like that, and Rudika faithfully followed my instructions, allowing us to secure plenty of other herbs too.

“Red Flame Herb, Peony Herb, Blue Spirit Herb, and True Essence Herb—quite a herbal garden.”

A collection of herbs that raise various resistances, starting with fire resistance.

Ordinarily, these herbs are tricky to handle—but with skills like 【Cooking】, 【Potion Crafting】, and 【Magical Pâtissier】 rolled into one, they can be made into something somehow.

“…Let’s think positively.”

I said that, but still—experience bonus, dexterity 10, 8T skill, all these herbs. Compared to starting from nothing, it’s overwhelming growth.

Let’s live with a positive smile. Thinking that, my heart felt lighter.

“Anyway, I’ve also got something to boast about.”

Recipes for doughnuts and other snacks are risky to reverse-engineer, but magical snacks—ugh, dammit.

Anyway, snacks with magical effects are my own identity. They’ll be a good reason for people to seek out the convenience store.

Now, once Eve brings the signboard she promised, my convenience store will stand tall even among Zephrin’s finest shops.

And Eve said she’d visit today after winning the bid for the sacred wood Elwood.

My empire is just beginning.

“Still, she’s late. When is she planning to make that signboard?”

As I was badmouthing Eve behind her back for a moment—I saw something trudging toward me from afar. It was carrying something too massive to be called just wood, and it approached.

“Eve?”

“Yesss. Wolfram. Eve von Lohengrin is here. And the prepared item is right here too!”

*Thud.* The Elwood dropped to the ground.

“Splendid sacred wood.”

“Right. Do you know how much this cost?!”

Why would I?

“I won’t ask how much it cost.”

“Wh—what are you saying?”

“I’ll simply accept it as a gift from my blood relative. Now you’re as good as free from your debt of the heart.”

“…Do you think my Light Spear won’t pierce through that belly someday?”

Eve scowled deeply. So who told you to do something stupid like solving it with money?

“Then I’ll begin the work. I’ve already drafted the design.”

“…Signboard work.”

“Yeah. You can leave now.”

“No. I’ll help too.”

“What?”

“I bought this item, and I want to see how it turns out. Even if you make the signboard, can you handle the scraping, painting, and final installation with your strength?”

“That’s true. I was planning to ask Nephti.”

“Don’t rely too much on that proud junior from the Knight Department. Are you paying her properly?”

“…I am.”

“Don’t work her too cheaply. I’m saying don’t take advantage of others’ goodwill.”

What a fresh load of nonsense.

But if I asked Nephti, she might demand millions of rin, so I decided to purely rely on Eve’s goodwill.

“…Then I’ll take you up on that. I’ll draw the design now.”

Saying that, I picked up a pencil and began writing out letters.

Before the regression.

Imitating the store I’d wanted to have.

But not enough to be plagiarism.

It’s clearly a convenience store to anyone who sees it—but I wrote each letter with Wolfram’s heart.

Actually, I agonized over it a lot. What name to use.

Let’s see.

If I call it Wolfram’s Convenience, it becomes Wolfram’s Convenience.

The abbreviation would be W.C.?

“The W.C. in Zone 8 is 80 meters ahead on the left.”

Are you insane?

So I settled on Wolfram’s Rest. Abbreviation: W.R.

To me, the convenience store was a truly comfortable place.

Open even at dawn, a place to grab a light meal, plenty of drinks.

Some places sell chicken, others have appealing lunchboxes, and some bake bread fresh in the oven.

Some have bigger toy sections than you’d expect—and when you’re consumed by work and lose track of time, the convenience store shows you the seasons through seasonal products, Pepero Day limited items, Valentine’s and White Day limited items—it was an indicator of the world.

With that heart, I wanted people who came to this store to feel even a little more comfortable and be able to rest.

That was Lee Young-jin’s last remaining wish for the convenience store he’d wanted to build.

**【The most difficult task among repetitive actions was completed with utmost concentration—a great success.】**

**【All conditions—count, difficulty—have been met.】**

**【Dexterity increases by 1. Will increases by 1.**】

Seeing the system message, I smiled lightly.

“Don’t suddenly smirk like that. It’s creepy.”

Eve jeered, but soon looked at my handwriting and shrugged.

“For something Wolfram wrote, it’s pretty good handwriting.”

Even that genius Eve thinks it’s good handwriting, it seems.

“Wolfram. Can I ask you something?”

“Ask.”

“What exactly is this convenience store supposed to be—what kind of store is it aiming to be?”

“Didn’t I tell you? A store for the convenience of all students.”

“Fine. I’ll trust that—and from now on, I’ll provide the service.”

“What?”

Saying that, Eve magically lifted the signboard.

“When you chose Elwood, I thought you were insane. But then I realized—if Elwood becomes a signboard, the efficiency would be incredible beyond expectation.”

That’s right.

Elwood absorbs mana from the atmosphere and can even be used as an energy source. Its output isn’t as good as magistone, but self-repair is entirely possible.

“Then I’ll color it for you now. Do you have a preferred color scheme?”

“Coloring? We don’t have ink.”

“I’m a user of light magic. Fixing a prism is nothing special. Choose from the seven colors of light.”

Ah, I see.

She’s saying she can simply extract one of the seven colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—and fix it in that state.

Is she insane? How is that even possible?

“Then here… in this color, and there in purple. Hmm. Yeah.”

And so, with Eve’s help, the completed convenience store signboard was hung at the very top of the grocery store—no, Wolfram’s convenience store. Eve dusted off her hands and looked at me.

“I made the Elwood emit light on its own, and I also put a self-repair spell on it. I added a protection spell too, so it shouldn’t break easily, and it doesn’t need a separate power source.”

“…I see.”

Honestly, it’s an item closer to an artifact. At its core, it’s just a glowing signboard, but she said it won’t break and even has a self-cleaning function.

“Wolfram.”

“What.”

“I don’t think last year’s evil deeds will be forgiven just because of this. Honestly, it’s hard to believe you won’t do more bad things in the future.”

“I never asked you to believe me.”

“…But if you don’t do any more bad things and genuinely work hard—if you pull off this convenience store thing…”

“……?”

Eve clenched her fist tightly, then let out a deep sigh.

“No. I’ll be going now.”

“…Yeah.”

Eve turned around, and suddenly remembering something, I called out to her.

“Eve.”

“What?”

“Thank you.”

“…Hmph.”

Such a prissy girl.

And so Eve left without looking back, and I looked up at the glowing signboard.

For a long time. Unaware of the passage of time, I kept staring—and when I came to my senses, it was already dusky evening.

*Zap. Zap.*

Bugs would stick to the signboard, pop, and the self-cleaning spell would activate.

Anyway, around the time this gleaming light source started hurting my eyes, I went inside the convenience store and closed my eyes.

The light from the signboard reached even inside the store.

With a small smile, I voiced a question.

“By the way—how do you turn that thing off?”

No, really.

How ARE you supposed to turn it off?