I let out a big sigh.
Even I thought it was weird.
‘How could someone who was supposed to submit a professor’s syllabus end up in the lowest floor?’ But there was no other way.
To move up from this lowest floor, you had to have points.
And I didn’t have any.
In the end, it was all about points.
‘How could I even get points?’ There were two weeks left in the course registration period, and I had to gather 5,000 points in that short time.
I recalled the wizards I had heard talking at the tavern.
They said they had gathered their points after two years of hard work.
I couldn’t do that.
Still, I hoped as I made my way to the request mediation office.
It was located in one of the central buildings.
This mediation office was like the heart of the city, witz people coming and going constantly.
The vast space was filled with paper.
Everywhere you looked, on the walls, the floors, and even the ceiling, there were papers stacked with requests.
Whenever someone took a paper, the spot was quickly filled with another request.
I hovered carefully above the papers, scanning them.
None of them looked useful.
They were all hard, low-reward requests.
I supposed that was to be expected.
Requests that came down to the lowest floor were hardly ever in good shape.
People living in these lower floors received these requests, went out to hunt or gather, and gathered points
They would collect enough points and then apply for lectures.
Looking at the pile of requests, I realized something.
Hard work alone would never gather enough points.
I needed quick cash.
Feeling lost, I rummaged through my spatial pouch.
Inside, there were only a few dolls I had made over the past while.
‘Maybe I should sell these.’
I let out a heavy sigh.
‘How many points could I even get for selling these? Maybe 10 points?’ It seemed like nonsense.
Even if I sold the turtle hanging from my chest, I’d be lucky to get 5,000 points.
I left the request mediation office and started walking around the lower floor.
I needed to walk off my frustration.
‘What can I do to earn points? What can I sell?’
Nothing.
I had nothing in my pockets, and no way to gather points.
‘Damn it, should I just go back to the tower?’ The professor would surely break me if he found out I couldn’t register for the lecture.
‘But how could I even register for that expensive lecture?’
Damn it, if only I could sell my way into Professor Irien’s class…
I froze.
I thought about it again.
‘A lecture… I could sell it, couldn’t I?’
I remembered Professor Heisen’s class from earlier.
The enrollment limit was 300, but 800 people had signed up.
It would only grow from here.
Everyone would be waiting desperately to grab a spot.
The thought continued.
The class we were planning to hold would definitely attract more people than that.
‘A treasure hunt? Who would refuse such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?’ Anyway, Professor Irien wouldn’t care who attended her lecture.
‘If that’s the case, there’s no harm in reserving a few spots for myself, right?’
A reluctant smile spread across my face.
This wasn’t like me at all.
This wasn’t my style.
I preferred to plan things thoroughly and move carefully.
Acting on impulse like this might work in the short run, but it often backfired later.
But it couldn’t be helped.
Since I came to the university, every moment had been filled with these challenges
Once things settled down, then I could make my plans.
Right now, I was just a leaf blowing in the wind.
***
In the center of this massive stalactite city stood a colossal building.
It stretched down to the abyss below, its bottom hidden from view.
[Arcana Comprehensive Corporation].
The sign of the organization that ruled this city was clearly visible.
I walked toward it.
“I had heard that you could buy or sell anything there.”
“If that was true, then they should be able to handle what I wanted to sell.”
I stood in line to enter, calmly assessing the situation.
‘Could I sell it? If so, how many spots would I need to sell?’ As I thought, the line quickly started to shorten.
I slowly stepped inside.
As I entered the building, I saw two paths: one for purchasing, and one for selling.
I chose the selling path.
The moment I entered, the space changed, and everyone disappeared.
There was a small desk placed in the middle, and a person was sitting across from it.
I stepped back in surprise, but the door I came through had already shut tight and wouldn’t open.
The person across from me smiled.
It was unavoidable.
I cautiously sat down and faced the person.
I slowly examined the person’s face.
A standard smile, sharp eyes, and a gaze full of interest directed at me.
It was the same person, Hwaryeong, from earlier.
“Ufufu, we meet again.”
She said, offering me a cup of tea.
I numbly took the cup and drank a sip.
“After you left the integrated registration office earlier, I moved here for a bit. I thought you’d come to arrange your points.”
She smiled bitterly.
‘It seemed like I was caught.’
‘My actions were already so predictable to her.’
‘This was the downside of improvisation—anyone could easily guess what would happen next.’
“I came to sell class seats.”
I stated directly.
She smiled brightly.
As I thought earlier, her smile didn’t suit her.
“How many seats are you planning to sell?”
“Please tell me the price first.”
“Alright. At Arcana General Trading, we always conduct our transactions based on trust, so if you leave the calculation to us, we’d appreciate it.”
She said, pulling out a sheet of paper and placing it on the desk.
She then began to write something with a pen.
“Selling class seats happens often. Professors do it, and the students below them also sell them. So the price range is generally fixed.”
She wrote down 5,000 points.
“Does that mean the price for one seat?”
“Usually, the price varies depending on who the target is. The classes are for students on the 1st and 2nd floors, so there’ll be a slight depreciation.”
As she said that, she deducted 3,000 points.
What remained was 2,000 points.
“But based on the class content, I expect there will be a lot of applicants. So the price should increase accordingly.”
She then added 1,000 points, bringing the price to 3,000 points.
I gulped.
3,000 points for a single seat.
It was an enormous amount of points.
Selling just two seats would be enough to sign up for the class.
“This will be Professor Irien’s first class, so the base price is set like this. If the evaluations go well, the price for the next class might go up even more.”
She said.
“It could be sold at an even higher price?”
But that was a matter for the future.
Right now, I had to figure out how many seats to sell.
I cautiously examined the woman sitting across from me.
She had a sharp gaze.
I needed to be careful.
If I tried to sell too many seats, it would reveal how much I was involved in this class.
I had already given away too much information.
Anyone could easily predict that I’d end up here.
I had no idea what would happen if I kept going like this.
“I’ll sell two seats.”
I said.
6,000 points—since I had planned for 200 students, selling two seats would barely be noticeable.
She smiled and nodded.
“I’ll make the payment immediately. Once the buyers are decided, we will send their information to Evron-nim.”
She said, then handed me a ring.
I awkwardly held it in place.
Magical energy surged, and something transferred into my ring.
I hesitantly infused it with magic to check, and my points shot up to 6,025 points.
Before I could even rejoice, a chilling realization set in.
‘How did she know my name?’
I reviewed all the memories from earlier.
No matter how much I thought about it, I had never revealed my name.
It wasn’t on the class plan, either.
Her smile suddenly felt creepy.
She stood up without saying a word and extended her hand.
I hesitated for a moment but stood up and shook her hand gently.
She gave it a light shake.
“Arcana General Trading, 5th Division, Customer Service Department, trainee Hwaryeong. Thank you for the transaction.”
I nodded carefully.
I then turned to leave the room, but all my attention was still on the woman behind me.
“If you have another transaction like this, please come to me. Just submit this.”
It was her voice as I grabbed the doorknob.
With those words, something small landed in my hand.
It was a small medal.
“Of course, I will. Thank you.”
I replied and quickly left the trading hall.
***
I was able to sit down once I entered the alley.
Cold sweat dripped down my back.
But I had cleared my head for the time being.
‘Had this kind of thing happened once or twice before?’
I was used to it by now.
I just needed to handle what I could.
I went toward the [Integrated Registration Office] sign again, a feeling of worry rising in me.
‘What if she was there again?’
Thankfully, Hwaryeong wasn’t there.
I sighed in relief and completed my registration.
My points were now 1,000.
I had somehow managed to register.
As for getting a seat in the class, I would find a way.
I checked the time.
It felt like I had suffered for at least two days, but it hadn’t even been six hours since I arrived in the city.
Time had passed so quickly.
In that short time, I had realized just how dangerous this place was, and how weak I was.
I wished I could stop having these realizations.
‘But what could I do?’ Being weak was a crime.
The points I had earned this time weren’t really my doing.
I had just improvised as the situation went on.
I wondered if the professor had sent me here with this in mind—to make me realize how things worked at the university.
The simple appearance of it all hide such a sharp mind, it was truly impressive.
Of course, I knew it was probably my misunderstanding.
Anyway, I had sold class seats.
There was no turning back now.
I just had to make sure the class went ahead somehow.
For now, I still had points left.
Maybe I could relax and enjoy a beer.
After all, to get your mind working, you need to fill your stomach first.
I justified it to myself and headed to the tavern.