Chapter 688: Material Dungeon (2)
Since we were splitting up across multiple dungeons anyway, there was no reason for all six of us to move together.
We have to go down separately too.
Sneaking in was one thing, but getting back out was the real problem.
Dungeons had the property of collapsing and regenerating immediately after being cleared, so you couldn’t drag things out inside for long.
And the moment you came back out, there was always a risk of being spotted by the Discipline Committee, faculty, or someone else.
Normally, that’s why you leave a guide waiting outside.
The problem was, there was no guarantee the Dang Gyu-ri–Seo Ye-in team would finish before the others.
If anything, since they were taking on a B-rank, there was a good chance they’d finish later.
It’s easier if each team just gets its own guide.
So I sent Shin Byeongcheol a message.
[Kim Ho: Knock knock]
[Kim Ho: Is this place open?]
The reply came back in less than three seconds.
[Shin Byeongcheol: OUR SHOP!!! IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!!]
[Shin Byeongcheol: WHAT DO YOU NEED!?!?]
He sounded about twice as welcoming as usual.
Enough that I could practically feel the desperation leaking through.
Because he’s under intensive observation.
It was only a smokescreen by the Discipline Committee, but ordinary students had no way of knowing that.
For the time being, they’d probably avoid using the errand center entirely, or even [N O V E L I G H T] if they did use it, they’d avoid naming Shin Byeongcheol directly.
[Kim Ho: A guide]
[Kim Ho: Tonight]
[Shin Byeongcheol: Your reservation has been made immediately, valued customer!!!]
[Shin Byeongcheol: See you tonight, valued customer!!!]
Even to the end, Shin Byeongcheol was cramming as much enthusiasm into the messages as he could.
Anyway, that took care of the guide problem.
I turned to Hong Yeonhwa and started,
“There’s one more thing I want to prepare.”
“What is it......?”
“The [Book of Chaos]. Can you borrow it?”
An item that increased dungeon variables and uncertainty.
Naturally, the rewards rose to match.
That was another reason I’d chosen C+ instead of B despite us being fully capable of clearing B-rank dungeons—
because once you added the [Orb of Bitter Cold] and the [Book of Chaos], it was basically the same as doing a B-rank anyway.
Problem is, ownership belongs to the White Magic Club.
Last year, Hong Yehwa had been both the Ruby Mage Tower vice captain and a White Magic executive, and on top of that, we’d recovered it after it got confiscated during the ban wave, so borrowing it had been possible.
This year, though, I wasn’t sure.
Hong Yeonhwa must have been thinking something similar, because she rolled her eyes a little and answered,
“I’m not really...... sure, but I’ll ask!”
Then she started messaging someone.
Judging by the context, it was probably this year’s Ruby Mage Tower vice captain.
I waited quietly, and Hong Yeonhwa’s face gradually darkened before falling into a dejected pout.
“They said no......”
“Really? Then it can’t be helped.”
“Do we really need it......?”
“Not absolutely. But it’d be good to have. For both you and me.”
“Ah...... then wait a second......”
Hong Yeonhwa set her face with determination.
Then she started messaging the Ruby Mage Tower vice captain—presumably—again.
“......! ......!”
She must have been arguing hard for why we needed the [Book of Chaos], because her eyes got sharper and sharper, and the emotion on her face grew more intense by the second.
By the end, she looked like she was about ready to shoot lasers out of her eyes. I was starting to wonder whether she might bite somebody.
The battle through text messages continued for quite a while.
Then all at once, Hong Yeonhwa brightened up and said, her invisible tail swishing behind her,
“They said they’ll lend it to me......!”
“Huh? Weren’t they refusing a second ago?”
“I made them agree......!”
Was it really that easy?
For some reason, I had a strong feeling all kinds of proposals, persuasion, threats, whining, and emotional coercion had probably been exchanged.
But there were some things in life you were better off not knowing.
So instead of asking further, I decided to just praise her.
“You worked hard. Thanks to you, we got it.”
“No....... You picked the ice dungeon because of me, so I should at least do what I can.”
“Good. Let’s go get the rest of the supplies too.”
“Yeah......!”
After that, we stocked up on simple meals and snacks to eat inside the dungeon, cold-weather gear for the frozen dungeon, and emergency items for unexpected situations.
Partway through, Jeong Jinmyeong showed up and handed over the [Book of Chaos] as well.
After that, we had dinner, checked the walkthrough again, and went through our final preparations.
Then, late in the evening, we headed for the dungeon building.
At the meeting place, Shin Byeongcheol was already there waiting for us. The moment he spotted us, he came running over like a bullet.
“Ohooo~ You’ve arrived, valued customers!”
“.......”
Hong Yeonhwa’s expression immediately turned vicious.
It reminded me of a puppy baring its teeth with a low growl.
Looks like some bad memories came back.
All the countless black-mark memories she’d piled up after drinking [T.E.B - 001].
Things had worked out in the end, but he was still the root cause.
It wasn’t hard to understand why she didn’t view him kindly.
Shin Byeongcheol seemed to pick up on that too, because in an effort to escape the danger, he started acting even more familiar with me.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Since you called me to take you down.”
“This year, it’s the first time.”
“You were busy during the last raid week?”
“I was a little busy.”
Busy going down with Dang Gyu-ri.
From Shin Byeongcheol’s point of view, he’d only caught on that something was suspicious. He still had no idea that the junior in question was actually the graduated club captain.
So he seemed to think we just hadn’t done any unauthorized dungeon runs during Weeks 2 and 3.
He rubbed his hands together and said,
“Well, starting now is fine too, right? We’ve got plenty of time.”
“We’ll be heading down regularly from here on.”
“Exactly, exactly. Anyway, thanks for calling me. Business has been dead lately. I’m dying over here.”
“Yeah, if only that bastard Kim Ho hadn’t dragged the Discipline Committee into it.”
When I suddenly went dead serious and started talking like I was discussing somebody else, Shin Byeongcheol frantically waved both hands.
“No! No! I wasn’t trying to blame anybody. I just meant the situation’s rough, that’s all.”
“So Kim Ho made things hard for you?”
“Oh, come on, why are you doing this? Honestly, it is hard, but if it weren’t for you, I’d have been completely shaken down by now.”
“Have people been coming by? From other clubs?”
Shin Byeongcheol let out a heavy sigh like he was exhausted to death.
“Dude, I’m basically a famous hot spot now. Three times the day before yesterday, and even yesterday they came twice.”
“So what happened?”
“I obviously called Senior Gwak.”
Just hearing that much, I could already picture the situation.
People from various clubs surround Shin Byeongcheol and make offers that aren’t really offers, all along the lines of, “Come with us.”
But while they’re doing that, he secretly sends a message, and in the next moment—
RUMBLE...
—a wooden door rises out of nowhere.
Then Gwak Seungjae or one of the Discipline Committee members steps out and says:
— This man is a target of intensive observation by the Discipline Committee. If you have something to say, say it in front of me.
— If not, then leave.
From the clubs’ point of view, there wouldn’t be much choice.
All they could do was click their tongues and promise themselves they’d try again next time.
Shin Byeongcheol added one more comment.
“But those people are something else too. They just keep coming back no matter what.”
“They probably think there might still be a chance. If they keep getting blocked, they’ll eventually give up.”
“That could be true. Anyway, let’s head down.”
Soon, we stepped onto the circular staircase and entered the underground floors.
We took elevators here and there, and to stay discreet, we used side passages too, until before long we reached Floor D.
It was still within our authorized range, but if we went down too openly, it’d be perfect grounds for making the Discipline Committee suspicious.
Shin Byeongcheol must have judged the same way, because from that point on, he became even more careful with the guiding.
Then suddenly, my eyes, Shin Byeongcheol’s, and Hong Yeonhwa’s all turned toward the same place.
There she is again, right on schedule.
Song Cheonhye was out on patrol.
If there was one thing different from usual, it was that somehow she looked aggrieved, empty, and a little bitter.
Well, she did lose two patrol items.
When she’d gone into hedgehog-hamster mode after drinking [T.E.B - 001], she’d fed the [Watcher’s Patch(B)] and the [Knot of Stealth(B+)] into the box robot.
Unfortunately, they’d been completely lost.
Time had passed, and she’d apparently gotten herself mostly back under control, but now that it was time to patrol again, she must have been feeling the absence all over again.
Potion side effects really were this dangerous.
Even so, I quietly warned Shin Byeongcheol.
“Be careful. She’s gotten a lot better.”
“Really? I didn’t notice anything myself.”
Still, he seemed to think there was no harm in being cautious, because his steps became even more careful.
And not long after that—
CRACKLE.
The sound of static bursting from somewhere rang out, and Song Cheonhye instantly whipped her body around toward us.
Then she kicked off the ground and came charging in at terrifying speed.
While summoning the [Lightning Rod] she’d learned not long ago.
Shin Byeongcheol spoke in disbelief.
“No way, we got spotted?”
Even so, he shoved us back behind him and flicked his hand. Chopsticks stabbed into the floor one after another, forming something like a small enclosed space.
A sort of temporary hideout made by combining formations and magic engineering.
So he does come through when it counts.
Whether we’d actually make it out of this was another matter.
A moment later, Song Cheonhye made a clean leap and landed where we’d been standing just seconds earlier.
Then she lit electricity across her gloves and started searching the area.
CRACKLE, BZZZT.
“.......”
Shin Byeongcheol’s face was serious in a way it usually never was.
Strictly speaking, since this was still Floor D, even if we were caught, it wasn’t like we’d be disciplined or dragged off to the Discipline Committee office.
It would just mean postponing our underground-floor raid plans until later.
But for him, this was a matter of pride as a guide.
He absolutely did not want to get caught.
“.......”
“.......”
A little later, Song Cheonhye came all the way up to the front of our hastily made hideout.
She stared straight at our side with narrowed brows, but fortunately, it didn’t look like she actually sensed anything.
Then she turned away—only to stop, hesitate, and look back again.
“......?”
Shin Byeongcheol immediately hunched down even tighter.
Under his breath, he kept muttering, “Don’t come here, don’t come here. Don’t come here.”
Maybe the prayer worked, because after staring our way for a few more seconds, Song Cheonhye finally left with a deeply suspicious look on her face.
Only then did we let out a sigh of relief and hurry onward.
As we went, I said to Shin Byeongcheol,
“Looks like your stealth’s cutting it pretty close.”
“No, this is supposed to be one of my specialties. Honestly, I was confident.”
“You almost got caught twice.”
“She’s definitely gotten better. At this rate, aren’t we really going to get caught on the way back up?”
He’d won, technically, but it was obvious his pride had taken a small hit.
Still, since he had to finish what he’d started as a guide, he led us into Floor C.
Not long after that, we reached our destination.
[No.281] [Lumberjack’s Cabin]
Looking up at it, Shin Byeongcheol asked,
“Should I just wait here? Better than going back and forth and getting caught for no reason.”
“You’d be waiting a long time.”
“How long?”
“Almost a full day.”
“......Ah, forget it. Fine. I’ll come back later.”
“Watch out for Ms. Song.”
“Obviously. Good luck in there.”
We waved him off, then stepped into the teleportation portal.
WHOOOOOSH—
An icy wind hit my face at once.
White snow filled the world in every direction, and dense trees stood packed together around us.
We’d landed in the middle of a forest.
And straight ahead stood a single wooden cabin.
Once I’d confirmed that, I turned to Hong Yeonhwa and asked,
“Want to start by buffing it right away?”
“Yeah......!”
Of course, the thing being buffed wasn’t us.
It was the dungeon.
I casually opened the [Book of Chaos] and tore out one page.
FWAAAASH—!
An invisible force rippled outward like a wave and spread through the entire dungeon.
And darkness began to thicken over everything around us.