[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 162

“Baekseol, how did you end up here?”

“I called you!”

“Me?”

“Yes!”

Well, I was missing you anyway, so it’s a good thing, but I’m not sure how this happened.

“So, the Baekseol over there doesn’t exist anymore?”

*Tap. Tap.*

Baekseol hits me on the head with a soft pillow, telling me not to say weird things.

“Got it.”

“What are you talking about?”

I forgot that Noa was walking right beside me.

“Baekseol is someone who used to live with me.”

“You used to raise a divine beast?”

“Divine beast? Maybe a sacred beast, but not a divine one. I’ve never seen one, so I don’t know what a divine beast is. Right?”

I feel Baekseol rubbing her face against mine from above.

I reach up to pet her, and this time she nuzzles against my fingers.

It’s so soft and fluffy, it makes me feel good.

“Hmm, I don’t really get what you’re saying. So, are you heading to the dorm now?”

“Oh, right. I forgot about the dorm. I was going to go out to find a place for Baekseol and me to stay.”

“Haha. Check your device, your assigned dorm should be there.”

*Beep!*

I touched the device as Noa said, and the information popped up.

It must’ve been updated late because I didn’t see this info this morning.

───

Han Ga-eul

1st Year, Class J

Year Ranking: 1000

Overall Ranking: ???

Cucumber Hall C – Room 301

───

“Rank 1000? And where’s Cucumber Hall?”

“Ga-eul, did you not take the entrance exam?”

Noa’s eyes widened when she heard about the 1000th rank.

“I got in through a backdoor, so I didn’t take it.”

“Ah, I see… Dorms are assigned based on rankings.”

According to Noa, the info queen, Wisdom Academy has seven types of dorms.

Starting with Cucumber Hall, there’s Tomato Hall, Strawberry Hall, Watermelon Hall, Azalea Hall, and then Narae Hall and Taeguk Hall for the top rankers.

“These names are terrible. It’s not even a veggie patty thing. Which one are you in?”

“I’m in Watermelon Hall.”

During the opening ceremony, students buzzed when Noa revealed her stats.

“If I’m rank 1000, does that mean I’m the lowest in my year?”

“Well… yeah?”

There are a hundred students per class, and I’m in the last class, Class J, so I’m literally at the bottom.

This world is crawling with monsters anyway.

What’s common knowledge for people here is completely unknown to me.

Plus, I was late, so I missed out on all the info they probably gave out during the opening ceremony.

“Some students in combat roles join guilds before graduation to fulfill their class requirements through guild activities. The academy even recognizes it.”

So, the question mark in my overall ranking probably means I’m around 6000th.

“Some students aim to become academy professors, so it’s diverse.”

“Got it. Thanks for the info.”

As I walked slowly with Noa, listening to her explain the school, we soon arrived at the dorm area.

“It’s obvious which one’s the best.”

“Haha, yeah.”

I thought they’d at least space them out a bit, but nope, they’re all lined up right next to each other.

This must be why the instructor at the gym told us not to complain about the disparity.

If the dorms are like this, I can guess what the rest is like. This place is survival of the fittest.

If you can’t adapt, you’re out.

If you’re not strong enough, you’re out.

After graduation, you have to go out and fight for survival against monsters with only one life to spare.

So, maybe this is just how it’s supposed to be.

“I’m over there.”

Noa pointed to a building with “Watermelon Hall” written in big letters.

It’s a stark contrast to Cucumber Hall at the end.

It’s like comparing a hotel to a budget motel.

“Alright, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Get some rest!”

Feeling a bit guilty for having the better dorm, Noa gave me a bittersweet farewell before running off.

I don’t know how someone as nice as her will survive in a place like this.

“Baekseol, let’s go over there.”

“Okay!”

Cucumber Hall is still bustling with people, so I guess it’s livable.

If the difference between Level 1 and Level 3 is this big, what’s Taeguk Hall like?

“Wow.”

Taeguk Hall isn’t even a hall—it’s an entire estate.

Behind high fences, there’s a complex of luxury single-family homes.

This isn’t just disparity; it’s a caste system.

“At this point, Cucumber Hall is basically the untouchables.”

“Cucumber!”

“Sigh. Let’s go in.”

“Okay!”

Baekseol and I…

Upon entering the cucumber-shaped building, the inside was more ordinary than expected.

It just looked old. Plus, despite being a tall building, there wasn’t even an elevator.

Quite different from the grandeur of the Taeguk Hall.

“New house!”

“It’s not a new house, just a temporary place.”

“Exciting!”

Still, the entrance looks better than our house.

*Beep!*

*Click!*

When I brought my wrist to the door labeled “Room 301,” it opened.

Seems like this academy solves everything with devices.

“Oh.”

“Ooh!”

It’s small.

Inside the room, there’s a bed and a desk. The room is packed just because of those two things.

At least there’s a tiny bathroom with a shower, probably so we can wash up.

Baekseol, excited by the new environment, starts wandering around as if on an adventure. But, sorry to say, there’s not much space for an adventure.

At best, it’s about 10 square meters.

*Hmm. Honey.*

Baekseol, who was wandering around, perks up her ears.

*Bang! Bang!*

“Hey, you little brats! Take your business outside! You think this is a motel?”

The noise stops after I knock on the wall.

Things are getting out of hand.

I’m used to living in cramped spaces, but this doesn’t seem like a place for Baekseol.

*Bang!*

—Open the door!

After a while, someone knocks on my door. Without looking, I know it’s the neighbor next door.

*Creak!*

When I open the door, there’s an angry man and a woman glaring behind him.

“Who do you think you are? Ugh!”

As soon as I open the door, I grab the guy’s neck, and he quiets down.

“Yikes! Honey! Let go! Let go, ugh!”

“These idiots are going crazy. You wanna fight and make noise in this tiny place? You’re gonna ruin our peace, you brats!”

It’s sad that even these people are supposed to be elite.

“Let’s get along as neighbors, okay?”

The two people who should’ve answered were already rolling their eyes.

“Ugh.”

After throwing them into the hallway and coming back inside, Baekseol snuggles up to me.

“Baekseol, let’s stay here for a while.”

“Okay!”

Baekseol, who always loved rooftops.

She liked the cool, high winds, so maybe we should get a rooftop room here too.

*Hmm.*

As I lie down on the bed, Baekseol crawls up to my chest.

While petting Baekseol, I realize this place seems to be co-ed, with no gender separation.

*Nya nya nya.*

“That tickles!”

When I tickle her with my fingers, she rolls over, showing her belly.

“Baekseol, does time not pass outside?”

“Yep!”

Then there’s no need to rush.

Besides, since Man-wook didn’t eat poison, we can take it easy.

This is kind of like campus life, right?

3:14 PM

Since there’s only one afternoon class, the sun won’t set for a while.

“Baekseol, let’s lie down for 30 minutes, then go out to gather some info.”

“Okay!”

Baekseol, who was playing on my chest, curls up.

Her small body gives off a warm body heat, making me feel sleepy.

***

When I took the subway to the academy, I started seeing buildings I hadn’t noticed before.

“Baekseol, there’s a magic tool shop!”

“Yay!”

The commercial area around the academy has stores you wouldn’t normally see.

While sharing ice cream with Baekseol and walking, I see a lot of interesting things.

Baekseol is also excited and bounces around.

“There’s a material shop over there.”

“Yep!”

Luckily, the material shop I found using my phone map is still there.

*Ding!*

“Welcome.”

When I open the door and enter, a friendly shop owner greets me.

“Shop owner, do you sell monster byproducts?”

“Of course.”

“I’m looking for Lizardman scales and Doek-sini horns.”

The shop owner tilts his head at my words.

“We don’t sell Lizardman scales in a small shop like this. And I’ve never heard of Doek-sini horns?”

“Oh, really? Are Lizardman scales that rare?”

“They’re precious. Lizardman habitats are swamps, so it’s hard to even take a step. Plus, they have poison in their claws, so hunters avoid them.”

One of the hardest things for humans to deal with is the environment.

…

The environment restricts basic movements and is laced with poison, so it’s pretty obvious without even looking.

In class, I heard that most attackers wear heavy armor, whether it’s plate or leather. Fighting in a muddy place while wearing heavy armor is no easy task.

“Are you perhaps a Wisdom student?”

“Yep.”

The school doesn’t even have a uniform, so I wondered how they knew, but then I noticed the shopkeeper’s gaze on my wrist. They must have seen my device.

“Lower-grade students can’t use stores at all. You must be a freshman.”

“Ah, yes. I’m a freshman, so I didn’t know.”

“Haha, Wisdom is so strict that even the merchants were in chaos for a while.”

I thought such a small place would let it slide, but apparently not. They’re taking a surprisingly firm stance.

“But is there a problem if a student buys materials?”

“It’s from a while back, but I heard that a Wisdom student once made a bomb and there were casualties. After that, Wisdom probably went all out.”

“Ah, I see. Thanks for letting me know. Take care.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

If an accident happens, they just ban the whole thing. It’s a solution I’ve seen a lot.

In a world where monster hunters called Hunters dominate, it’s impossible to control all materials.

In the end, it’s just a makeshift solution to prevent tarnishing Wisdom’s image.

Ding!

“Baekseol, let’s wander around a bit more.”

“Okay!”

As I strolled around the city with Baekseol, I noticed many interesting things.

The water from the fountain spouted and twisted into the shape of a dragon.

Even inside the streetlights, something like a crystal was floating.

If I were to step into a world where Dadaism was realized, this is probably how it would feel.

Illogical scenes unfolded one after another.

“Over there!”

Baekseol pointed to a building where many people were coming and going.

I think it was because of the butterfly-shaped statue at the entrance.

It looked like it was carved from stone, yet its wings were flapping.

“Lamis Enchant? Do you want to go there?”

“Okay!”

As we entered the building, a desk employee greeted us first.

“Welcome!”

“Hello. Can we take a look around? We’re freshmen at the academy, just exploring.”

“Of course, thank you.”

The employee smiled brightly and handed me a piece of paper.

The paper had various estimates written on it.

“Hmm. Enchanting means adding magic, right?”

“Yes. At Lamis Enchant, we have an enchanter with 8 years of experience, so you can trust us.”

Eight years seems like a lot, but also not enough.

“Do you have an enchantment that makes items heavier?”

“Of course!”

The employee approached and pointed to one of the items listed on the pamphlet I was holding.

[38. Weight Increase: 1 session, 15 million won]

It was written like a dermatology clinic.

“I’d like to request that.”

“Sure, customer.”

Following the employee, we entered a room on the second floor where a female enchanter wearing glasses was sitting in a chair.

The iron desk was cluttered with all sorts of things.

“Welcome.”

“Hello. I’d like to request a weight increase enchantment.”

“Weight increase is an easy enchantment, so it’ll take about 30 minutes. What item would you like it on?”

“This one.”

When I took out an axe from my subspace, the enchanter’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop.

“Sp-spatial magic!”

Given that Noa had a similar reaction, spatial magic must be incredibly rare.

“Please take care of it.”

“Ah, yes!”

But a pro is a pro. As soon as she placed the axe on the desk, her expression changed.

“Customer, this axe already has a weight enchantment on it.”

“Huh? Really?”

The squiggly pattern on the axe must have been the enchantment.

“Yes. It seems like it was made to enhance strength. Hmm…”

“Is it difficult?”

“No, the enchantment itself is easy. But depending on the material, there’s a limit to how many times you can stack them. Otherwise, it’ll break due to overload.”

After saying that, the enchanter put on something that looked like a magnifying glass and started poking at it with a sharp tool.

“This is Haronium.”

“Is that good?”

“Haronium is somewhat rare, but it has almost zero mana affinity, so it’s not used for Hunter weapons. It’s just heavy and hard, so it’s often used for training tools or by the military. That means you can stack about five more enchantments on it.”

“Ooh.”

The axe had already lost its edge, so it wasn’t great to begin with.

The problem isn’t the weight, it’s the price. I’m debating whether to invest or not.

“If you do it five times, it’ll stack up to six layers, and then you won’t even be able to lift it. The weight enchantment I can handle only doubles the weight. That means the total weight would increase by 64 times.”

“Call! Go ahead.”

“…Huh? No, I said I can’t lift it.”

“Weight equals strength.”

“…What about speed?”

“I’ll take care of the speed.”

Instead of answering, the Enchanter’s dumbfounded expression flew at me.

***

“Exciting.”

“Exciting!”

The upgrade for Ppyongppyong was complete.

I really like how solid it feels.

—Click, click.

“Whew— Should we go get materials now?”

“Magic!”

Baekseol moved like she was rolling a snowball and dropped an ice ball into my hand.

“Pfft, Baekseol, are you going to fight too?”

“Yes!”

If I can’t buy it, I’ll just go get it directly from the source.

“First, we need to figure out what dungeons are like, so let’s just get a taste of the closest one today.”

“Okay!”

If we waste any more time, the sun will set. It seems best to wrap things up at the experience point today.

“Let’s go.”

When I turned on the map app, it showed the dungeon location. What a fascinating world.

***

The dungeon location was floating right in the middle of the city, and when I checked it out, it had completely flipped the surrounding land.

At the gate that seemed to be the dungeon entrance, soldiers stood guard with guns.

Seeing the gate I’d only heard about from Professor Hwang in person felt incredibly surreal.

While Baekseol and I were checking out the dungeon, a group of people suddenly swarmed in.

“Hello.”

The person who randomly greeted us was a man with an ordinary appearance.

Judging by his outfit, he looked like a hunter. If this were real life, I’d have asked if he was cosplaying.

“Yes. What’s up?”

“Wow, you’re really beautiful. I thought you might be looking for party members, so I came over.”

“Ah, I’m fine. Mind your own business.”

Even after I expressed my refusal, the hunter guy smiled and closed the distance.

“Haha, even an E-rank dungeon is dangerous to go into alone. Come with us. What’s your position?”

“No, really, I’m fine. I’m a Supporter.”

“Oh! You’re a precious Supporter! Don’t worry, we’ll protect you. What kind of magic can you use?”

The overacting guy took another step closer and patted my shoulder.

“I’m fine, so go. And take your hand off me.”

“Wow, you’re being so cold. We’re really capable, you know.”

Seeing him act like this even with soldiers around, it seems like hunters really run this world.

“Haha, the rabbit is so cute…”

Not satisfied with just touching me, he reached out to Baekseol too.

“You son of a b*tch. Where do you think you’re putting your hands?”

“Gah!”

When I grabbed his neck, he flailed at my wrist, then his eyes started rolling back.

“Gaaah!!”

“Silence support magic really is reliable. Works like a charm.”

“W-what! Let go of that hand!”

His stunned companion finally rushed over belatedly.

“Blind support magic, you jerk!”

Thud!

“Ahhh, my eyes!!”

“Don’t ever underestimate a Supporter again.”

“I didn’t, you crazy b*tch!”

***

“Delicious.”