I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

While addressing the concerns of the S-class individuals, I resolved the issue of the underground resources in Shinuiju.

In return for my labor, I received 10kg of gold. Using Yumir’s teleportation, I returned to the Ulleungdo pension to check the condition of the gold.

“As expected.”

When I let the Goblin Bat flow inside, magic power began to seep into the gold.

“This is as anticipated.”

Unlike me, who felt the heterogeneity of this gold directly through magic with the Goblin Bat, the other three S-classes seemed unable to directly feel the value of this gold.

“Why is that?”

“This gold can be made into ‘Magic Stones’.”

“……”

Even the two who definitely knew about Magic Stones did so, but Yumir also straightened up and perked up her ears in the same way.

“Yumir, do you know what Magic Stones are?”

“It’s an item from fantasy novels, a stone that contains mana. You asked about it last time, I think.”

“Right. Just confirming it again. Because that Magic Stone is right here before us.”

I then raised the Goblin Bat high and struck down towards the gold.

“Transform.”

As I swung the Goblin Bat down hard, I visualized the structure in my mind.

Discarding all other stray thoughts, I focused solely on one form to create a new object.

From what was just a 10kg lump of gold, into a new form I conceived.

“…How is it?”

“A gold bat?”

A gold bat, similar to the Goblin Bat, a baseball bat, had been created.

“Did you master the ability to manipulate metal?”

“It’s limited to gold. The bat seems to be just gold as it is.”

Despite the three’s expressions that questioned why such a thing was made, I was certain that this bat was definitive proof that gold could be transformed into Magic Stones.

“Hyeon Se-rin, grab this and try infusing mana into it. And then swing it just once.”

“Um…”

Hyeon Se-rin took the gold bat.

“What’s so special about this… Oh!”

Initially skeptical, her eyes changed immediately once she infused it with magic power.

“Seems like it could send the pension flying, so is it okay to swing it towards the open air?”

“Of course.”

“Then…”

Hyeon Se-rin faced the balcony and swung the bat fiercely towards the open sky.

Shwiiiing—!!

The blade-like wind gathered in the bat flew towards the sky.

If anything had been within range, even a flying airplane, it could have been sliced by this wind blade. Hyeon Se-rin fiddled with the baseball bat, her eyes sparkling.

“Can you make this into a sword?”

“A sword might be a bit tricky.”

“Why?”

“It depends on what kind of sword. Should I make you a golden rose sword?”

“A rose sword…? Are you going to add a pattern too?”

Tsk.

“That’s a joke. I’ll make you the sword you use. Put the bat down on the ground.”

Hyeon Se-rin placed the bat on the ground, and I struck down with the Goblin Bat again.

Bang.

With an explosion of magic power, the golden baseball bat instantly transformed into a new form.

“Wow. Se-rin’s sword?”

“This is quite…”

Transformed into the form of a straight sword that Hyeon Se-rin often used, she picked up the sword and tested it by moving it around in her hand.

“Se-rin, how is it?”

“The efficiency of the mana infused into the weapon is no joke. If you put in 100 mana, about 99 of it seems to embed itself directly. It’s become a sword that can truly contain magic power.”

“Other minerals could also contain magic power. But if you ask if they are as efficient as this, then of course not.”

Other minerals could contain magic power.

But forcing them to hold it ultimately leads to its evaporation.

If you put magic power into an ordinary gold bar, that power would seep into the gold and evaporate into the air before even a day passes. But this gold could hold onto the magic power proportionate to its mass.

‘The mass of the gold remains the same, only its form can be changed.’

Using the ability to release mana with the Goblin Bat to create objects, I could change this gold into any form I knew, whether it’s a baseball bat or a blade.

The difference from Taejo was that while I could recreate actual forms on a 1:1 scale stored in my brain’s cloud like blueprints, Taejo could freely manipulate and create forms as he wished.

An advantage I had was that I had many such blueprints stored in my cloud.

“Originally, I had something else in mind to make with this… but I guess I’ll have to make a few more things.”

“What are you planning to change it into?”

“Something that looks like a weapon.”

Bang.

Once more, I swung the Goblin Bat, changing its form.

Technically, it’s ‘creating,’ but the magic power imbued in the gold read my thoughts and completely transformed the gold.

“What’s that, a lance?”

“Something like that.”

I held the handle of the weapon, which was similar to a cone, with both hands.

‘The Keyblade based on the Dissonance Blade.’

It’s called a blade, but its tip wasn’t pointed; it’s more like the end of a laser turret that emitted something, though uniformly golden without any peculiar colors, and it didn’t spin or chant like the original.

‘Indeed, my memory is still intact.’

Whether it’s a replica or not, just having created it brings a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

“Yumir. What do you think this is used for?”

“Um… to concentrate magic power, gather it at the end, and then shoot it at an enemy?”

“Exactly. Want to give it a try?”

“My magic power is depleted right now.”

“Just the feel of it. Try infusing just a bit of mana.”

Yumir, holding the cylindrical sword I handed her with both hands, aimed it at the sky like Hyeon Se-rin had done.

“Um…. Fire!”

Pshh—!

The magic power Yumir channeled inside gathered at the tip of the sword and shot towards the sky.

It was just a mundane magical artillery strike, nothing like the original attack, and the cylinder didn’t even spin.

“How is it?”

“Um… It feels like if I gather mana inside, I can collect and shoot magic power more easily?”

“Right. So, what can we create using this gold?”

The three ability users looked at each other.

“…A specialized weapon?”

“Correct.”

It might not necessarily be called a specialized weapon, but naturally, every ability user wanted their own unique weapon.

Of course, they existed.

However, unlike weapons made with modern technology, objects created using this ‘Mana Gold’ mined from the Korean peninsula were of a completely different dimension.

“If we use the gold secured from Shinuiju, we can create all sorts of mana weapons and tools. It’s akin to processing Maseok.”

“But there were already things like that before, right? It’s not like we’ve discovered a new technology.”

“True. Even Taeguk Watches use these minerals. But what do you think it would be like if such weapons became more common and everyone started using them?”

“……!”

Yun Hye-ra swallowed her saliva.

Hyeon Se-rin’s hair seemed to bristle like cat ears perking up, and Yumir seemed lost in thought as she gazed at the gold.

“It means we can create weapons that can be used efficiently without needing to shape them from mana every time. Especially for someone like me who uses a firmly fixed form of weapon.”

That’s the story of the Goblin Bat.

“And this could be used in such a way, too.”

I cut a chunk out of the gold with magic power, then shaped it into a new form using the Goblin Bat.

“A bead?”

“Yes. It looks just like a bead, but now if you blow mana into it, it becomes a magical orb.”

I tossed the hollow magical orb into the hot spring.

Yun Hye-ra and Hyeon Se-rin clapped as the magical orb dropped into the water.

“A mana battery…!”

“A real magical orb…!”

“So, um, that means… you can charge mana in there and use it?”

“Exactly.”

The applications were endless.

It’s impossible to summarize all the possibilities in just a few lines.

“From now on, we can store mana in this gold and use it urgently when needed.”

“…Or normally use magic power, and when about to transform back, use the power stored here?”

“That’s another way.”

Most importantly,

“Being able to temporarily produce firepower greater than one’s limits is crucial. Perhaps we could even create a weapon capable of delivering more firepower against Gwang Ik Gong.”

It’s clear that an incredible weapon could be made, despite its shiny gold appearance.

“Hey, Director Do. Isn’t this, like, a train-sized shipment currently heading to Busan…?”

“That’s right.”

“Shouldn’t we be taking care of that?”

Seeing goods bred desire.

I also wanted to create new objects using gold.

After creating a splendidly golden fragrant sword, I wanted Yumir to swing it to show a more intuitive bombardment of magic power than Gwang Ik Gong’s attack.

But,

“Looks like you’ve forgotten something. This gold belongs to South Korea. The 10 kg we have was legitimately transferred as a payment for labor.”

This world thrived on national pride.

“If you try to steal or take South Korea’s gold, it’ll immediately start working against us.”

As soon as any action harmful to Korea was taken, unfortunate events would befall the association.

“Hye-ra, are there any goldsmiths among the brewers?”

“Yes. Should I gather them?”

“Yeah. Right now it’s a gold train, but we’ll start cutting it up and disposing of it properly.”

The moment the disposal of this gold was decided,

“We buy immediately when it hits the market. We need to buy it all.”

It must be purchased legitimately.

That was the only way to stay out of trouble in this country.

“Or after eliminating the villains trying to steal it, we take care of the loot.”

If not obtained through legitimate means, the will of mana and national pride will surely punish the unjust.

Why turn back?

Why act so complicated?

The answer was simple.

‘I can’t become a traitor.’

Manipulating or exploiting national resources was the act of a traitor.