I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 77 : Delivery Service (2)

Park Sang-hyun.

Like many men of this era, he was a man who grew up with difficulty in the chaos of the Gate Era, barely supporting his family with only a healthy body and diligence.

His mother, who had struggled all her life, became weak and bedridden after his father passed away six years ago.

His wife, whom he met while they comforted each other in similar circumstances, had been managing their difficult household by taking whatever side jobs she could find.

His two sons, who matured early, were making somewhat bold claims about helping their father's work after graduating from high school.

But after his second son had an accident and was hospitalized, even that modest daily life had completely fallen apart.

Already struggling with living expenses, adding his son's hospital bills meant the meager savings in his account were plummeting frighteningly each month.

In any case.

From this long and typical story, Su-hyeon reached only one conclusion.

'A perfect distributor who cannot refuse money because of his situation.'

Therefore.

It wasn't particularly difficult for Nam Tae-hoon to persuade Park Sang-hyun after properly touching on these facts.

"...Student, who exactly are you? Are you really a first-year cadet?"

"Come on. Can't you tell by what's on my wrist?"

Park Sang-hyun sighed deeply after seeing the watch-like device given only to cadets.

"Ah, seriously, if I get caught, I'm in big trouble..."

"Don't worry. You won't lose anything."

"Everyone says that."

"Hey now. I told you about the route, right? There's no way to get caught if we do it like that. Besides, we're not dealing with drugs or alcohol or tobacco—just cute little items."

Nam Tae-hoon reassured him while gulping down his canned coffee.

'Can I really trust this guy?'

Park Sang-hyun's concerns deepened.

'He said to place the goods under the truck's cargo boxes. And bring them just once a week.'

Then take the car to the internal warehouse, carry the items as usual, and slip the products into a well-hidden secret tunnel before pushing the wall closed to finish the mission.

After that, the goods would travel like a slide through the tunnel to another location, where Nam Tae-hoon and Kwon Seung-yeon, who scheduled their after-school running course in that area, would secure and move them.

The logistics warehouse was Lim Eun-seo's workshop.

"Seriously, when did you establish this route?"

'That's what I'd like to know.'

Nam Tae-hoon, who couldn't understand how long Su-hyeon had been preparing this, could only shrug.

"Being meticulous about these things can't hurt, right?"

"It's too meticulous. What is this, are we the mafia or something?"

"High risks come with high benefits."

"What are you saying?"

Park Sang-hyun grumbled that speaking English wouldn't help since he couldn't understand it.

"Then what about the supplier?"

"Ah, don't worry about that part."

Nam Tae-hoon declared confidently.

"I'll contact you again soon."

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"Anyway, things went smoothly when I did as you said."

I nodded at Nam Tae-hoon's words.

"As expected."

"How did you even know about that secret passage? You didn't create it yourself, did you?"

"Of course not."

I shook my head and asked in return.

"During the academy's fairly long history, do you think I'm the only one who's had this idea?"

"...!"

"I just found the path."

I actually knew who had created that tunnel.

'That person was something else even as a cadet.'

Anyway.

"Now we need to establish our customer base."

"Right."

We can use quite classic methods.

Using Nam Tae-hoon's ability to leave contact information and introductions on buildings such as rooftops, bathrooms, practice rooms, and club rooms.

And removing them at five-minute intervals to avoid trouble.

"I've already identified zones without CCTV."

"If Ma-ins came as prepared as you, what would we have done?"

I laughed at Nam Tae-hoon's pointed joke.

"I wonder."

"Alright. Let's say we establish the customer base that way."

Nam Tae-hoon raised his next question.

"Then who will supply the goods to that man?"

"I have an excellent supplier for that."

"Who?"

"A former workplace colleague."

That's right.

The name of my intended supplier was Park Min-cheol.

A workplace colleague who started this game with me.

The man who was hearing about me from afar and using it as his motivation.

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Park Min-cheol had been extremely busy lately.

"Ugh, I'm so tired."

After sleeping for five hours, Min-cheol woke up, gulped down some supplements with cold water, and sighed deeply.

"Time to get ready for work."

Following Su-hyeon's advice, he had been working tirelessly for a boss who distributed demonic beast carcass byproducts, gaining significant trust in a short time.

It was thanks to his naturally friendly personality, diligence, and a certain inexplicable determination.

As a result, he had even become close with the owner's siblings, occasionally receiving glances from the boss who seemed to be looking for a potential son-in-law, and from the eldest son who was sizing him up as a potential brother-in-law.

In particular, he was praised for his innate talent in sales, somehow breaking into new markets and securing good terms.

'Pleasing clients is much easier than pleasing that director bastard.'

He grinned while brushing his teeth, looking at the articles he had clipped and displayed in his living room.

"This job is nothing compared to the training you went through."

The clippings were various articles that provided glimpses into Su-hyeon's activities.

A brief article about EFAC's entrance exam.

Stories about promising talents with great parents—Seo Jun-seong, Hwang Ji-su, and Lee Yu-jin.

Questionable rumors about the academy circulating in anonymous communities.

And above all.

The small news agency article about the Ma-in attack that moved him the most.

The story of a boy's exploits in that article had somehow been buried without fanfare, becoming an unknown tale of heroism to the public.

But Park Min-cheol was certain the protagonist was Su-hyeon.

'When did you become so strong? Amazing guy.'

Outstanding promising talents like Seo Jun-seong, Hwang Ji-su, and Lee Yu-jin—names even an outsider like himself had heard of occasionally.

And Jeong Su-hyeon, standing shoulder to shoulder with them.

It was a story that always made Park Min-cheol's motivation and determination boil over.

Su-hyeon's earlier joke about "Park Min-cheol's bank balance being a measure of a player's success" was actually quite plausible.

The wisdom to use admiration as a driving force and the right direction.

Those were the virtues of the man called Park Min-cheol.

'I wonder how he's doing.'

Yet he didn't actively exchange messages with Su-hyeon.

'He must be busy.'

Above all, he wondered if his existence would even matter to Su-hyeon, who had already risen so high.

No, would he even remain in his memory...

He didn't want to face the harsh reality.

Isn't it better sometimes to leave dreams as dreams?

That's when it happened.

"...Huh?"

He received a text message from Su-hyeon.

"Hey, hey, Su-hyeon! Long time no see!"

Su-hyeon laughed at Park Min-cheol's greeting, which was half bewildered and half delighted.

[It's been a while.]

"What's the occasion? You're actually contacting me."

[Just wondering how you've been doing.]

Park Min-cheol chuckled.

"Man, you won't believe this. Just like you suggested, I changed industries and now I'm hitting it big."

[Really?]

"It's all thanks to you, seriously. These days I'm working at an intermediary distribution company that procures and distributes processed goods from demonic beast carcass byproducts. And my boss..."

Su-hyeon, patiently listening to the endless stream of updates, nodded his head.

'As expected. Things worked out as I anticipated.'

To summarize Park Min-cheol's long story in one sentence:

He had unparalleled qualifications to become Su-hyeon's supplier.

[Hyung.]

"Yeah?"

[Actually, I have a good proposal.]

"...Huh?"

"Hey. Is this really okay? What if you get caught?"

[Thanks for your concern, but does it seem risky to you?]

"Well, it sounds plausible in theory, but in reality, nothing ever goes exactly according to plan."

[That's why I've set up several safety measures.]

"That's true, but still. Hmm."

Su-hyeon offered a carrot to Park Min-cheol, who was worried about the risks.

[Think about it.]

"About what?"

[Being able to trade with this academy's cadets means creating connections with this generation's finest talents who could aim for team leader positions or higher in the Execution Force in the future.]

"...!"

Park Min-cheol's eyes widened at Su-hyeon's hint about the true implications of this business.

[Even if not directly.]

"I may be stupid, but I can see what an incredible opportunity this is."

Park Min-cheol, wiping the sweat that had formed on his hands onto his pants, cautiously asked.

"...Why are you making this offer to me? There are much better..."

[Business is best done with people you can trust.]

Su-hyeon's answer was concise.

Moreover.

[Don't you think it's much better to discover promising talent early and nurture it together?]

"Hahaha!"

Park Min-cheol laughed with delight.

"So you're saying you'll nurture me? Make a long-term investment?"

[Think of it however you want.]

"Ah, you're something else."

Though he grumbled about how Su-hyeon was treating him, there was a smile on Park Min-cheol's face.

[Let's try to go big.]

"Sounds good. Ambition should be grand."

But more than anything else.

He was pleased that Su-hyeon hadn't forgotten him and had reached out.

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The first customers were two first-year cadets who had contacted them half-jokingly, just in case.

One each from Class 2 and Class 3.

The items they wanted were an N company's dark gray beanie and an R company's body spray, neither of which were sold on campus.

These first orders, containing little utility but reflecting personal tastes, were flawlessly delivered that weekend.

The conditions were even more favorable—for this one-time deal, they charged only the retail price without distribution fees.

Word of mouth from the two satisfied customers led to about 20 successful transactions in just one week.

"Wow, the response is no joke!"

Su-hyeon calmly nodded at Nam Tae-hoon's admiration as they shared celebratory coffee.

"It's an expected result."

"Seriously impressive."

"But our midterms are right around the corner. Is this okay?"

Nam Tae-hoon shrugged at Kwon Seung-yeon's question.

"What's the problem? You don't study anyway."

"What are you talking about? You think I'm like you?"

"I'm just using scraps of time. I'm studying diligently!"

"What! Traitor!"

Leaving behind the shocked Kwon Seung-yeon, Nam Tae-hoon lowered his voice.

"By the way, are people from our class contacting us now?"

Of course, they didn't know the identity of the anonymous person they were dealing with.

"Who's contacting us?"

"So far, Kim Ho-su and Hong In-hyeon."

"Why In-hyeon?"

Kwon Seung-yeon raised her eyebrows in question.

"He ordered several mouthpieces. Instructor Oh beats him up all the time."

"Poor guy."

"And there's one more."

"Who?"

"Choi Mina."

Su-hyeon's eyes lit up at that name.

"She asked if we could get some magic reagents."

"Hey, isn't that dangerous to handle? We should refuse."

"Right? I already wrote that we don't handle that kind of thing yet..."

"No."

Su-hyeon shook his head.

Choi Mina.

The favored disciple of a great mage with a huge reputation not just domestically but worldwide.

A named character who would later develop an interest in battle magic and demonstrate tremendous combat power on par with Seo Jun-seong, Hwang Ji-su, and Lee Yu-jin.

But more important to Su-hyeon now was the existence of her master, who would buy her anything she wanted.

Moreover, magic reagents and potions were products where each item carried enormous added value.

"She's a premium customer. Let's treat her with the utmost care."

The smell of money was strong.