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Chapter 103

“How many days have it been now?”

“Almost over two weeks.”

“There’s less than a week left until the pre-submission deadline, yet she’s still like that. She definitely won’t make it.”

The fact that Lea sat frozen in the same spot every day, without doing anything, made most of the students feel she was both amazing and pathetic. Her current state was such a stark contrast to when she was the honor student of her department who was both admired and envied.

I’m so done...

Meanwhile, the person in question’s mind was so filled with other thoughts that she couldn’t be bothered to care even a speck about her surroundings.

I thought I could make it work out somehow.... If I had known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have even considered taking on the cursed mass production of sword aura equipment!

In the end, she had bit off more than she could chew, trying to tackle both the student scholarship selection for the Ivory Tower and the mass production of sword aura equipment at the same time.

I should work on the submission for now... wait, what if I layer enchantments that are inscribed on both sides and then increase the mana input... no. The submission first... Right! If I refine the mana used by clashing white light enchantments together... aghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

Her mind knew the submission for the student scholarship selection was due in a week, but her heart was focused solely on perfecting the enchantment for the mass production of sword aura equipment.

Tormented by the seemingly unsolvable situation, her eyes flickered nervously as she continued staring at her blank canvas. At that moment, a concerned voice reached her ears.

“Another blank canvas?”

The speaker, Howard Grant, had blue-tinted hair and a tall stature. Standing by Lea’s side and looking at her canvas, he exuded a mature yet cool demeanor.

“If it’s that hard, why not discuss it with others? That’s what the communal workshop is for, after all.”

“...”

“Or you can tell me what you’re struggling with, and I can help too. There’s no problem with getting advice for the student scholarship selection,” he said gently.

“...”

However, despite his attempt to talk, Lea just continued staring at the canvas without even looking at him.

And that scene made the other students watching her behavior narrow their eyes in annoyance.

Why did she come to the communal workshop if she was going to act like that?

Does she still think she’s the honor student or something...?

Between Lea, who wasn’t known for her sociability, and Howard, the pride of the Department of Enchantments and the third-year honor student of Borsippa, it was clear who the students’ sympathies would lay with. Naturally, a hostile atmosphere would also form around her.

I’m getting tired of this, too, Howard thought, sighing inwardly.

He had actually come to tease Lea upon hearing that she appeared in the communal workshop despite usually confining herself to her own workshop when she didn’t have a major class. But her lack of response made everything seem dull.

Bored, Howard began pondering how to engage her before eventually brightening up.

“Is it because of that ‘incident’ from before?”

“...”

“It’s all in the past now, so you should focus on the...”

“Haah...”

At the sigh that escaped Lea’s lips, the first reaction she showed, Howard looked at her expectantly.

“Why am I hungry even when I haven’t done anything.”

Unfortunately, she was just grumbling discontentedly as she packed her canvas into her void pocket before walking past Howard.

Gazing at her as she walked past, her gaze briefly met his, but it was as if she were examining the scenery around her or avoiding a rock on the road—she hardly acknowledged his presence. Seeing that, Howard realized wasn’t even ignoring him at this point; she simply didn’t even register him properly.

Rude...

Her attitude suggested that she had no interest in anything except enchantments. It was as unpleasant as ever, but a part of Howard was also slightly pleased by that fact.

I thought she would change after she started hanging out with Lee Se-Hoon, but she’s still the same as before.

Thinking that she must have only met Se-Hoon a few times for enchantment-related matters, he assumed that her essence likely hadn’t changed.

Then, as if his thoughts summoned him, a young man appeared at the entrance of the workshop at that moment.

He had dark hair, a fierce demeanor, and a face that students could no longer fail to recognize.

“Lee Se-Hoon...?”

“What’s he doing here...?”

“Wasn’t there a rumor that he’s close with Lea? Maybe that’s why?”

Curiosity filled the air as rumors were heard here and there, but ignoring all that, Se-Hoon scanned the room.

“Sunbae,” Se-Hoon called out, finally spotting her.

“Hmm?”

Unlike her reaction to everyone else until now, Lea immediately looked up, and her eyes widened upon seeing Se-Hoon.

“Uh... um... actually...”

Seeing her eyes trembling and her face stiffening, Se-Hoon nodded in supposed understanding.

“Let’s go outside to talk.”

“...Okay.”

With her head bowed, she walked out with Se-Hoon, leaving behind the students in the workshop who had been watching in wonder.

“So they really are close, huh?”

“I heard that guy has been incredible lately... seems like Lea’s got some serious skills too.”

“She probably tricked him by saying she was the former honor student. Once her actual skills are exposed, it’ll probably all be over.”

How long could a dropout last alongside a genius? The room began buzzing with laughter and gossip about Lea.

“...”

But amidst everyone’s giggles, Howard was silently watching the door that the two had used to exit the room.

***

Now at Cafe Lilac, Se-Hoon ordered some sandwiches and drinks before settling down with Lea and getting straight to the point.

“Okay, then. Let’s hear about how much progress you’ve made.”

“Well, that’s...”

“You’re not going to tell me that you’ve spent over eight hundred million won and achieved nothing, are you?”

The card he had previously given Lea for research expenses was regularly refilled by Meister through In-Cheol, and it didn’t contain a small amount of money.

Don’t you even dare say you’ve got nothing prepared.

Though he didn’t care about how much she spent as long as she didn’t accrue debt, that was only if she used it to achieve something. Achieving nothing despite such an investment was utterly inexcusable.

Feeling the weight of Se-Hoon’s serious gaze, Lea quickly responded, “Of course, I’ve got something prepared! Who do you take me for?”

“Then show me. Or at least explain.”

“I... should. I do need to...”

Lea fidgeted and rolled her eyes for a while before sighing deeply and pulling an item out of her void pocket.

The black ore, about thirty centimeters in length and resembling a short club, that she handed over caught Se-Hoon’s interest as he opened the information message.

[Starweave Stone]

[Tier: Hero] [Quality: Perfect]

[A fragment of darkness that contains mana within.

It can emulate repeated activations of the enchantment inscribed, with the maximum number of uses depending on its structure.

*Can emulate repeated activations of the inscribed enchantment]

“So this is where all the money went.”

“Mass-producing enchantments works best with this.”

When technology was designed for mass production, the entire process tended to focus on the versatility of the product to ensure that it could be used by many people.

And that was especially true for enchantments. When it came to their formulas, which were made of mana, many factors—such as the nature of the material, the mana circuits of the equipment, and the characteristics of the users—all needed consideration.

So to make sure all of that was compatible, Lea decided to use the Starweave Stone for validation.

“If the enchantment pattern is activated twice, the compatibility rate is fifty percent. For three times, it’s seventy percent, right?”

“Right.”

She was utilizing the Starweave Stone’s characteristic, which decreased the number of reuses the more unique and incompatible the structure of the power stored inside was.

Typically, to be recognized as suitable for mass production, the enchantment would need at least a seventy percent compatibility rate, which meant it had to activate three times at the minimum using Starweave Stone.

“So? How many times did it activate?”

“...Once.”

With a compatibility rate below fifty percent, it essentially meant that the enchantment couldn’t be used for mass production as of now.

Pondering this for a moment, Se-Hoon then asked, “And you already etched the enchantments inside this?”

Lea nodded, catching on to his intent. Without hesitation, Se-Hoon infused the Starweave Stone with his mana. As his mana merged with the Starweave Stone, the stored enchantment pattern inside began to be reproduced and activated.

Sss-

A white light wrapped around the surface of the Starweave Stone.

Unlike the blurry White Light Surge of previous attempts, the edges were sharp this time, catching Se-Hoon’s eye.

This is actual sword aura.

It still fell short compared to the sword aura created by heroes due to its mass-produced nature, but it seemed like it could still withstand a few decent hits.

This enchantment could potentially break the absolute compatibility nature of sword aura. Thinking about the technology in front of him, which had been developed much earlier than in his previous life, Se-Hoon became more and more engrossed as the sword aura took form.

Whoosh-

Upon seeing the enchantment in the Starweaver Stone finally dissipate, Se-Hoon set it down on the table.

“...”

Having been watching his every movement, Lea tensed up, waiting for a verdict. Then, as she endured Se-Hoon’s scrutiny, he slowly opened his mouth.

“You’ve done well.”

“I’m sor... wait, what?”

Already planning to apologize, she had her head bowed, but upon hearing what Se-Hoon said, her head snapped up in surprise, revealing her face which was a mix of confusion and shock.

“What did you just say...?”

“I said you did well. The sword aura was properly formed.”

“But it only activated once with the Starweaver Stone?”

If the mass production of sword aura equipment was their ultimate goal, then what good was it if they could only manage to produce a single product?

However, her confusion was met with Se-Hoon’s incredulous expression.

“That would be a problem if you were planning to sell the enchantment. What I asked you to help with was making mass-produced sword aura equipment.”

The only purpose of the enchantment was to produce sword aura. Everything else was simply about creating a blueprint based on that enchantment so that a piece of sword aura equipment could be mass-produced.

“Ah... uh... ah...”

Realizing the misunderstanding, Lea’s expression changed rapidly.

The futility of having torn through dozens of blueprints to increase versatility; the regret that came from sleepless nights fueled by endless cups of coffee; and now, the anger, resentment, and embarrassment toward this detestable underclassman for only clarifying this now—all of that rushed through her head at once.

“Then you should have said that earlier...”

“I thought you would’ve reported back as soon as you managed to produce sword aura. Who would have thought that a business partner wouldn’t update their partner?”

“...”

Lea’s mouth clamped shut. She wanted to complain, but his point was too valid to argue against.

“Ah... ah... ugh...”

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she emitted strange noises before banging her head on the table.

Thud-

And she remained motionless, seeming like she had fainted from being overwhelmed by self-loathing. It was a sight that Se-Hoon couldn’t help but chuckle lightly upon seeing.

People would think her life is ruined.

While it wasn’t necessary to increase the compatibility rate of the enchantment, doing so would make the designing process of the blueprint easier, which wasn’t a bad thing in itself.

For now... this doesn’t look too bad. There are a few disappointing sides here and there, but we can make adjustments as we improve the enchantments.

Since it was only a prototype, there was no need to aim for perfection right from the start. Satisfied, he focused back on the situation at hand.

Then the remaining issue is this one.

He silently observed Lea, who still had her head down, motionless. A moment later, he stood up before returning to their table with the ordered sandwiches and drinks.

“Stop moping and eat your sandwich.”

“...”

Lea, apparently hungry, slowly raised her head and looked at the sandwich with an expression like a deflated balloon.

“...I’m so stressed out that I feel weak.”

“And?”

“Feed me.”

“...”

Hearing her, Se-Hoon briefly considered just grabbing his sandwich and coffee and leaving her, but since she didn’t seem to be joking, he sighed and picked up the knife and fork.

“Open up.”

He cut the sandwich into bite-sized pieces and fed her, who chewed slowly.

Their actions prompted a lot of strange looks from those around them, but Se-Hoon didn’t care and asked her, “So, what’s really concerning you?”

“...What concern.”

“You wouldn’t be making such a fuss over just some extra work. Is there something else that’s worrying you?”

Swallowing the bite of her sandwich, Lea spoke in a deflated tone.

“Do you know about the student scholarship selection of the Ivory Tower?”

“I do know a bit about it.”

The student scholarship selection contest was sponsored by the Ivory Tower, a foundation that sponsored students specializing in magic, which was located in a thirty-story building on campus. It was because of this that Luize suffered mana impairment after falling victim to Gerwin Kruger’s sabotage, who had done it because he was eyeing the same scholarship opportunity.

“I’m planning to participate this time, and the submission is due in a week...”

“And you haven’t created anything yet?”

“...That’s right.”

Noticing that she became even more deflated, Se-Hoon grew more confused.

Why not just not participate?

While receiving sponsorship from the Ivory Tower would be beneficial, he didn’t think it was absolutely necessary for her. However, upon recalling a past conversation, the pieces fell into place in his mind.

“I won’t interfere with whatever you’re up to, but only as long as you don’t forget our promise, okay?”

Lea’s grandmother, Professor Rebecca, had mentioned a promise when talking about the student scholarship selection during the forging session of the Phantasmal Spyblade.

“What did you promise Professor Rebecca?”

“Well...”

After hesitating for a moment, she awkwardly replied, “I promised that I would withdraw from the school if I don’t receive the scholarship.”

“Withdraw...?”

“Yeah.”

“...”

At Lea’s response, Se-Hoon took a sip of his lemonade and grimaced slightly at its sourness.

“Ah, shit.”