Kim Joohyuk had assumed the Secret Vault would be well-preserved.
After all, the specific mana bead he had placed inside, reacting only to his unique sensing method, had responded.
However—
"It's preserved even better than I thought?"
The Secret Vault was in pristine condition, exceeding his expectations.
Of course, I did apply magical preservation treatments, but....
Honestly speaking, Kim Joohyuk had expected some degree of damage due to the long passage of 300 years. He never imagined it would be this clean.
Regardless, the conclusion was that the Vault was preserved better than anticipated, which put Kim Joohyuk in a very good mood.
"Now, shall we take a look?"
[Thump! Thump!]
Kim Joohyuk tapped various spots on the door with his shovel to shake off the dirt. He found the keyhole, smiled, and began to gather mana in his hand.
Vwoooom-
Unlike a few days ago, when using even a microscopic amount of mana caused exhaustion, Kim Joohyuk could now materialize mana to some extent.
"Tsk."
Of course, it was barely enough for materialization. Kim Joohyuk clicked his tongue at his body, which complained of fatigue after using mana for just a few seconds, and began to twist the materialized mana into threads.
Good.
Soon, the mana threads twisted into the perfect shape of a key. Kim Joohyuk's mana slid instantly into the keyhole.
Click!
The door of the Secret Vault, unopened for 300 years, finally unlocked.
"So good~!"
Kim Joohyuk, smiling involuntarily, pushed the door open vigorously, forgetting the fatigue of using mana.
Creaaak-!
The door opened with an unpleasant screech.
Kim Joohyuk smiled upon seeing the items he had filled the Vault with 300 years ago and hurriedly squeezed his body inside.
"Oh shit~!"
An exclamation burst out unconsciously.
It was inevitable. What appeared before Kim Hyeonoh's eyes was a substantial amount of gold bars, various rings, and jewels.
There were also weapons that looked somewhat useful, but truthfully, what Kim Joohyuk was really looking for, more than the cash or weapons, were the black stones placed next to the pile of gold bars.
"Found it...!"
Five black stones, small enough to be grasped in one hand.
They were Storage Stones.
This is exactly why I sought out the Vault a bit early.
Honestly, his initial reason for finding the Vault was to supply funds.
The body he reincarnated into, Kim Joohyuk, was an orphan.
However, after checking his body's condition during the Valhalla entrance exam, he realized he needed the Storage Stones in the Vault more than immediate cash.
Honestly, it's a bit regrettable that there are only five.
Kim Joohyuk felt a pang of regret that he had scattered the Storage Stones infused with his mana across various Vaults in the name of diversified investment. But since it was all in the past, he shook his head and brushed off the thought.
Did I even think I would need Storage Stones in the first place?
The reason he placed Storage Stones filled with his mana into the Vault was strictly to maintain the magic cast on the Vault a little longer using the stone's mana.
Well, looking at it now, it seems one of the five was already used to maintain the Vault's magic... so four remain?
Honestly, four were sufficient for now. It was a bit funny, but the current Kim Joohyuk couldn't even use these Storage Stones properly.
I could use them if I forced it.
But even if he did, Kim Joohyuk's body was in such poor condition that he would fail to absorb most of the mana and just let it leak away.
Still, if I make my body capable of accepting mana first and then absorb the Storage Stones....
Kim Joohyuk smirked as if he didn't need to think further. As a test, he grabbed one Storage Stone and slightly drew out the mana inside.
Swoooosh- Thud-!
Despite only drawing out a tiny amount, he felt the high density of the mana. Kim Joohyuk made a satisfied expression.
"As expected of a Storage Stone. Performance is certain."
Well, what was inside the stone was actually his own mana, but to Kim Joohyuk, who needed a way to fix this body instantly, it didn't matter. He stuffed the stones into his pocket and thought.
Now then, I've secured the Storage Stones... what about the rest?
Kim Joohyuk turned his gaze to the rings and gold bars piled up in the Vault and pondered.
It was a bit difficult for him to carry everything in this Vault.
Leaving it here was unsettling since it was within Valhalla's grounds, even if people didn't wander around much. Yet, burying it again would be annoyingly difficult.
"Hmm...."
After agonizing over it for a while, Kim Joohyuk seemed to make a decision. He swept small jewels and easy-to-carry rings into his pocket and decided to bury the Vault.
It was better than being discovered.
Therefore, Kim Joohyuk dug diligently until nearly dawn to completely bury the Vault.
"Ah shit~! I'm never digging again...!"
Cursing profusely, he returned to the dormitory.
❋ ❋ ❋
Inside the classroom.
"Teach me."
"Welcome, teach-me-parrot~"
"Teach me."
"You don't say 'please' anymore?"
"Please teach me."
"Nope, I won't~"
Replying to Choi Ah-rin's voice, which had now become all too familiar, he closed his eyes with a tired expression.
I'm dying....
Kim Joohyuk was paying the price for the manual labor he performed last night under the moon.
Muscle pain throbbing throughout his whole body.
Unbelievable.
Kim Joohyuk was marveling anew at a body that developed muscle pain just from excessive shoveling. He was currently designing a new schedule for physical training in his head.
Since he had raided the Vault, he was planning to start physical training anyway.
"Please teach me."
However, Choi Ah-rin didn't give Kim Joohyuk time to plan the schedule in his head.
"Please teach me."
"...."
"Please teach me."
"...."
"Please teach me."
"Why?"
Choi Ah-rin snapped her mouth shut, cut off mid-sentence.
"Teach—?"
Kim Joohyuk asked her again.
"Why are you asking me to teach you?"
Honestly, at first, he wasn't curious or interested, but after she chattered beside him for nearly a week, he was now curious about her intentions.
"Honestly, I don't really get it?"
Kim Joohyuk was confident he had spent the week after entering Valhalla very productively.
On the first day, he did nothing thanks to this body's condition. But from the second day, he put on a whole show every night, climbing out the window instead of the main door with a shovel to raid the Vault.
Then what did he do before night came?
He investigated information about this world, which had aged 300 years.
Thankfully, the basic living knowledge remaining in Kim Joohyuk's body allowed him to use a laptop without difficulty.
And after repeating searches for a few days, Kim Joohyuk acquired quite a lot of knowledge and realized that the Five Great Families had a larger presence than he thought.
"You can just ask your family to teach you, right?"
At Kim Joohyuk's question, Choi Ah-rin spoke as if there was nothing to think about.
"No, I have to learn from you."
"So, why?"
"Because I haven't seen anyone wield a Dao 'better' than you until now."
At Choi Ah-rin's words, Kim Joohyuk made a blank expression for a moment, then laughed as if amused.
"Do you really think so?"
Nod.
At Kim Joohyuk's probing question, Choi Ah-rin nodded her head as if there was no need to think twice.
"Then what about your father?"
"...Father?"
"Yeah, isn't your father the head of the Choijin Family, which mainly uses the Dao? Doesn't your father use the Dao better than me?"
At Kim Joohyuk's words, Choi Ah-rin tried to open her mouth, but—
"Kim Joohyuk, come to the faculty office."
Regrettably, Choi Ah-rin's mouth was shut by the words of the homeroom teacher, Kim Yi-gun, who suddenly entered the classroom and called Kim Joohyuk.
Kim Joohyuk flashed a look of pure annoyance.
"The faculty office?"
Kim Yi-gun looked at him with disapproval but sighed as if it couldn't be helped.
"Yes, it's about the request you made last time. Don't want to hear it?"
Kim Joohyuk brightened immediately, rising from his seat.
"Oh, that's welcome news. I should go hear it."
"Ah...."
At that, Choi Ah-rin unknowingly looked at Kim Joohyuk's back with a sullen expression.
However.
"Tomorrow, 6 AM. In front of the training grounds."
"...?"
"If you don't want to, forget it."
Her eyes widened at the words of Kim Joohyuk, who had turned around.
Nod!
-She answered by nodding her head vigorously.
❋ ❋ ❋
Rest area in a corner of the faculty office.
"I have to go to the next class, so I'll speak quickly. First, access to the 'Constellation's Room' you mentioned has been finally approved."
Kim Joohyuk smirked.
"That is indeed good news."
However, Kim Yi-gun spoke without relaxing his stiff expression.
"However, it's only up to Basement Level 1."
"Only up to Basement Level 1?"
"Yes. Regrettably, you cannot enter Basement Level 2, so keep that in mind."
Kim Yi-gun drew a line as if nothing more was possible.
Kim Joohyuk answered lightly.
"Well, okay."
"?"
"Why are you looking at me with that face?"
At Kim Joohyuk's question, he cleared his throat with an unnecessarily embarrassed expression and answered.
"No, it's nothing."
Honestly speaking, Kim Yi-gun thought he would argue about why he could only go down to Basement Level 1, so he had prepared for it in his own way.
...What is this?
Instead, at Kim Joohyuk's appearance accepting it too easily, he asked with a bewildered expression.
"Anyway, we need to decide the day you enter the room. When do you want to enter?"
"Strike while the iron is hot. I'm fine with today."
"Regrettably, today is impossible. Tomorrow would be possible."
Kim Joohyuk gave a light shrug.
"Then let's do it tomorrow. Whatever."
At his appearance, Kim Yi-gun became curious anew about why Kim Joohyuk wanted to enter the Constellation's Room, but he soon shook off the thought.
Since approval was already given to enter the Constellation's Room, even if only Basement Level 1, there was no need for Kim Yi-gun to worry further about the matter.
And above all, he hated troublesome things.
"Then, since I'm done talking, go back. Access to the Constellation's Room will be after tomorrow's class ends."
"Before I go, I have a question. Can I ask?"
"Go ahead."
"Even if, by any very slight chance, I go down to Basement Level 2, I won't become a criminal, right?"
"That goes without saying. Of course, you would be expelled from Valhalla for liability. But if that happens, you should worry about your body, not expulsion."
"Why?"
"If you approach Basement Level 2, you will become a madman unable to withstand the mana contact of the Constellations faster than you get expelled."
At Kim Yi-gun's words, Kim Joohyuk made a very interested expression.
"Aha, then since I heard what I wanted to hear, I'll get going."
He left the rest area without erasing the smile from his lips, as if he liked it very much.
"...What was that?"
Watching that figure, Kim Yi-gun stared at the empty spot for a long time due to an inexplicable anxiety.
And.
"Are you Kim Joohyuk?"
Kim Joohyuk, who left the faculty office and was returning to the classroom, frowned looking at the guys blocking his way.
"Who are these thugs again?"
(End of Chapter 8)
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