A large city was living in fear as an S-ranked giant wolf threatened their safety. In desperation, the city called upon the Dragon Fang team to eliminate the beast. As the team waited for its arrival, the wolf suddenly attacked from behind, knocking K away.
Reacting quickly, Gnov, the team leader, ordered Bandana to bind the wolf with a rope. She managed to tie it up, but the wolf’s immense strength allowed it to break free almost instantly. As it pulled on the rope, Bandana was violently slammed into a wall, leaving her injured. Marvelous quickly cast a healing spell on her, allowing her to continue fighting.
Determined, Bandana attacked again, this time successfully restraining the wolf. Seeing the opportunity, Gnov ignited his sword and delivered a devastating strike, finally slaying the beast. The city erupted in celebration, relieved that their nightmare had ended.
After their mission, the Dragon Fang team returned home for a meal. As they ate, Goov threw his food to the ground in frustration. “No one in this village makes decent food!” he complained, before turning to Core and demanding, “Make me something fresh.”
Core agreed, but Bandana made an ominous remark. “This will be the last time we taste Core’s cooking.”
Confused, Core asked what she meant. Gnov coldly revealed the truth: Core was being expelled from the team.
Shocked, Core insisted that he hadn’t done anything wrong, but Gnov scoffed. “That’s exactly the problem. You haven’t done anything at all. You can’t even defeat a weak monster.”
Marvelous explained that their team needed to recruit a magician with special abilities, and since every team was limited to four members, someone had to go. Bandana added bluntly, “You’re a burden.”
Desperate, Core begged to stay, but Gnov kicked him down and cast him out without mercy.
With nowhere to go, Core left the city and traveled to H-Work in search of employment. Upon entering, he was greeted by an employee who asked if he was looking for work or hiring someone. Core replied, “I’m looking for a job.”
The employee asked for his name and age. “I’m Core, 15 years old,” he answered.
Curious about his background, the employee asked if he had prior work experience. Core admitted, “I was part of the Dragon Fang team, but I only did small tasks… and then they expelled me.”
Surprised, the employee asked, “You were in Dragon Fang? The recently promoted team?”
Core nodded sadly. The employee reassured him, “This actually makes your file look good. Having worked with them will impress people.”
Next, Core was tested for hidden talents. The ranking system ranged from A (able to split a stone in half) to G (completely unskilled). Unfortunately, Core scored a G in everything, proving he was unqualified for adventuring work. This devastated him.
Noticing his disappointment, the employee tried to encourage him. “There are other jobs—trading, chemistry, blacksmithing—but these tests take a week.”
Core hesitated. “I don’t have any money to wait that long.”
Understanding his situation, the employee asked him to lift a nearby bag of sand. Though drained of mana, Core managed to lift it with difficulty. The employee smiled. “Not bad. You might be fit for construction work.”
Relieved to have found an opportunity, Core agreed. The employee arranged for his first job.
At the construction site, Core met his employer, who assigned him a simple task: making concrete and fixing the fence. He warned Core that he would return in three hours and expected quality work.
But when the employer returned, he was stunned—Core had already repaired most of the walls in a ridiculously short time.
“How… did you do this?” the employer asked in disbelief.
Core, apologetic, explained, “I ran out of concrete before finishing the rest.”
The employer, still in shock, questioned how Core had even reached the upper parts of the wall.
“I gathered the concrete and directed it with this stick,” Core answered casually.
The employer’s expression shifted from amazement to frustration. “Wait… what? That shouldn’t be possible!”
Realizing Core’s abilities were far beyond what was normal, the employer fired him on the spot.
“You’re working too fast,” he explained. “If you keep this up, you’ll take away work from the other laborers. Your rank could be SS—you should be working in the kingdom, not here.”
Despite having only worked for three days, Core was paid generously before being let go.
The employer scolded Core, telling him that he worked too fast, leaving no jobs for the other laborers. “You’ll finish all the work alone, leaving nothing for the poor workers who rely on this job,” he said. “Your skills are beyond this place. With your speed, you should be working in the Kingdom, not here.” He handed Core the rest of his salary, effectively dismissing him. Core, in shock, thought to himself that his boss had paid him off just to get rid of him.
Core returned to H-Work, where the employee told him, “This job didn’t work out for you. But what are we going to do now? You still have three days left before the other job tests.”
Just then, a woman burst into the office, shouting that she was looking for a worker. The employee approached her, asking what she needed. She explained that she required a worker for a mining job, but warned that if nothing valuable was found in the mine, they wouldn’t be paid. The employee protested, saying that workers should be compensated for their labor, regardless of the outcome.
Core stepped forward, expressing his interest in the job. “I’ve worked in mines before, back in my village,” he said. The employee reminded him that payment was uncertain, but Core was willing to take the risk.
The woman examined him and hesitated. “I need a muscular, slightly short worker, not a young guy like you,” she remarked. The employee responded, “You’ll have to pay 10 silver coins if you want to hire him.” The woman agreed, settling for Core and asking him to follow her.
As Core left, the employee handed Kersha a workload related to him. Kira, upon looking at it, was so shocked by the amount of money that she collapsed to the ground. Another employee rushed over to check on her. When Kirel noticed a stack of heavy bags, she asked, “Who put those sandbags here?”
The employee explained, “These aren’t regular sandbags. They’re used to measure mana levels. They become heavier as a person’s mana increases, and they’re impossible for ordinary people to lift. Only someone with strength like a Royal Court magician can handle them.”
To everyone’s surprise, Kira effortlessly lifted one. As she did, she thought about Core and murmured, “Who exactly are you, Core, to have such strength?”
Meanwhile, Core followed the woman, whose name was Yisha, to the mining site. When they arrived, Core looked around in confusion. “There’s nothing here but a tent,” he said.
Yisha nodded. “It’s big enough for two people.”
Core smirked. “I can’t sleep next to a beautiful woman like you.”
Yisha’s face turned red with anger. “Don’t say such weird things!” she snapped. She handed him food, and as he ate, he smiled. “No one has cooked for me in a long time.”
That night, Core couldn’t sleep inside the tent and chose to rest outside. The next morning, Yisha woke up to find her coat neatly repaired. She turned to Core in surprise. “Did you do this?”
“Yes,” he replied simply.
“When you’re ready, let me know. We need to start working,” Yisha said. “We need 10 gold coins by the end of the week.”
Core nodded. “Okay, but where are we supposed to dig?”
Yisha hesitated. “I don’t know exactly. We’ll just dig nearby.”
Core shook his head. “That’s not how mining works. If we dig randomly, we won’t find anything.” He asked Yisha to follow him, trusting his own experience.
After searching for a better spot, Core began digging and soon unearthed a round stone. He examined it closely before splitting it open, revealing blue gemstones inside.
“This is what we’re looking for,” he said. “These stones can sell for three gold coins each.”
Yisha’s eyes widened. “That’s already a third of what we need!”
Core continued mining, collecting a large number of blue stones. When he was done, Yisha asked, “So, should we sell them now?”
“No, we can’t do that yet,” Core replied.
She frowned. “Why not? You found them by yourself.”
“It’s not about that,” Core explained. “We need to turn them into crystals first.”
Yisha was stunned. “There are only ten blacksmiths in the Kingdom who can refine these into crystals!”
Without hesitation, Core transformed the stones into crystals with incredible speed, leaving Yisha in shock. “I thought each one took an hour to make!”
Core shook his head. “I don’t have that much mana. I can’t do it indefinitely.”
Afterward, Yisha packed her belongings and asked, “Are you sure you’re staying here?”
“I have a lot to do,” Core responded.
“Then I’ll come back tomorrow morning after I sell the crystals,” Yisha said before leaving.
At the guild, Yisha attempted to sell the crystals. A guard asked for documentation proving they were from abroad. When she admitted they were local, he assumed they were made in a workshop. However, when Yisha revealed a necklace, the guard stiffened in fear. “You… you work with the King?”
She ignored his reaction and used a teleportation stone to transport herself to the Kingdom, where she sought out a buyer.
Initially, the merchant told her the crystal was only worth 10 silver coins. But after a closer inspection, the merchant suddenly changed her tune. “Wait! I’ll buy it for 10 gold coins!”
Yisha was baffled. “How is that possible?”
The merchant explained, “This crystal contains an immense amount of mana and prevents mana leakage. It’s extremely valuable.”
Yisha then revealed she had 49 more. The merchant’s eyes widened. “That’s 500 gold coins!”
However, before finalizing the purchase, the merchant made two requests. “First, do not sell these crystals to anyone else. Our Kingdom strictly controls their trade, and no one will appreciate their true power like we do. Second, tell me—who made these?”
Yisha hesitated. “I can’t tell you.”
The merchant frowned. “Why not? Whoever crafted these crystals should be serving the Kingdom. Are you trying to monopolize them for profit?”
“It’s not about that,” Yisha insisted. “I just can’t reveal his identity without his permission.”
The merchant sighed. “This concerns me because I am a Royal Court sorceress. A crystal maker like this must be secured for the Kingdom’s benefit.”
Yisha crossed her arms. “I don’t work for the Kingdom anymore. I’m not obligated to follow your orders.”
The merchant smirked. “Yet you have no issue benefiting from your former rank, I see. Let’s talk as friends, then. Keep the crystal maker away from any city other than ours. Also, inform him that we might offer him a position as the Royal Magic Laboratory manager. If the Kingdom approves, he could even become an honorary count.”
After receiving payment, Yisha left the guild. She now had 500 gold coins and an offer to make Core the head of the laboratory.
She returned to Hall Work, where she met Kersha. Both of them had questions for each other.
Yisha asked first. “Who is Core?”
Kersha refused to answer. “I can’t reveal client secrets.”
Yisha pulled out the Royal necklace and accessed Core’s file. “He was a member of the Dragon Team?” she muttered.
Kira added, “He worked in construction but only for three days. However, his pay was unusually high.”
This intrigued Yisha. Then Kersha dropped another bombshell. “He repaired all the walls by himself… and in a ridiculously short time.”
Yisha nodded. “No wonder they fired him.”
Finally, she instructed Kira to deposit Core’s payment into his account and warned, “Do not share any information about him with anyone.”
Returning to Core, Yisha was stunned to find a newly built house.
“What… is this?” she asked in disbelief.
Core replied casually, “I built it while you were away.”
Yisha was speechless. “You built a complete house in one night?”
Core simply shrugged. “People used to do this all the time. I don’t think it’s a big deal.”
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