The Support Ate it All

Go Hyeon-woo and I looked at the Golden Merchant Guild Leader with disdain.

“While others are fighting for their lives, you hide here all by yourself.”

“How can a man be so cowardly?”

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

When we took a step forward, the Guild Leader hastily drew his sword and pointed it at us.

But there was no need for me to lift a finger.

“Drag him out.”

“Yes.”

“At your command.”

With the formation broken, the King of Hell Squad had already swarmed the place.

Since the mastermind behind this whole affair was none other than the Golden Merchant Guild Leader, their gazes were filled with killing intent.

“I-I told you not to come any closer!”

The merchant guild leader swung his sword wildly in the air in a desperate attempt to resist.

But the King of Hell Squad rushed in and subdued him in an instant.

And soon, what we had been looking for was found.

After seeing the merchant guild leader being dragged out in a bloody mess, dragged out as a bloody mess, I searched the room thoroughly.

“Here it is, the extra reward.”

“Oh.”

Inside the small wooden box, a few golden pellets sparkled.

[Golden Spirit Pill (C)]

The more elixirs, the better.

That’s how you can quickly raise the rank of a [Core] that’s stuck in a stagnant zone.

If you keep raising the rank of magic while the rank of the core is low, you will struggle with a shortage of mana.

Moreover, learning higher-level magic would be impossible if the core’s level was insufficient.

So, even if a C-rank core was sufficient for the time being, there would be a need for continuous investment.

When we moved outside the manor, the battle had already ended.

Needless to say, it was an overwhelming victory for the King of Hell Squad.

A few members were moving jars covered with numerous talismans.

They had secured the Sealing Demon Chests.

Now, neither we nor the King of Hell Squad had any further business with the Golden Merchant Guild.

And so, the commander gave the order.

“Set it ablaze.”

Whoosh!

Flames erupted from various parts of the manor and quickly engulfed the entire place.

Go Hyeon-woo and I stood there watching the fire for a while.

“Burns pretty well.”

“That’s right.”

Rumble.

Just then, the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and a teleportation portal suddenly opened nearby.

Right in front of it were some chests.

[Sealing Demon Random Box (D)] *3

Go Hyeon-woo handed them to me and said.

“Judging by the open exit, it seems this is the end.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

I glanced back briefly, but the King of Hell Squad members were just bustling around as if they were unaware of the portal that just opened.

We took one last look at them and crossed through the teleportation portal.

***

We exited the dungeon and looked around, but there was no sign of Shin Byeong-cheol.

Instead, I noticed a lone bamboo straw standing upright on the ground.

“…….”

I squatted down in front of it before placing my finger on the tip of the straw.

After a few seconds, the ground flipped open and Shin Byeong-cheol popped out.

“Puhak! Damn it! Are you trying to kill me? Why’d you block that?”

“Why are you even in there?”

“Don’t ask. There was an inspection just now.”

“When was ‘just now’?”

“Uh… about ten minutes ago? Anyway, just now.”

Faculty members or disciplinary committee members regularly patrolled various spots in the underground floors, and it had happened just moments earlier.

If we had cleared the dungeon even a little sooner, we might have run right into the patrolling members.

We were lucky to avoid them.

I handed a random box to Shin Byeong-cheol and said,

“You managed to avoid getting caught too. Here’s your reward.”

“I was hiding as quiet as a mouse. Thanks.”

“Are you going to open it right away?”

Shin Byeong-cheol held the random box in his hand and hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

“No, if I open this now, it’ll be 100% a something-cup. I’ll open it later.”

“You’re holding back, huh.”

Thanks to getting “burned” multiple times, Shin Byeong-cheol had grown more patient.

Humans truly grow through failure.

To take the elevator, we had to get up to at least the F floor.

So we began trudging along while following Shin Byeong-cheol’s lead.

As we walked, I spoke up.

“You know this is a guide service.”

“Yes, customer-nim.”

“What happens if we get caught on the way up?”

“Full refund, of course, customer-nim.”

The underground guide service promised to safely escort the client to the desired underground dungeon and then back to the ground floor once the raid was complete.

If we got caught along the way, we would get penalty points or disciplinary action. This meant that the “safe” guidance failed, and there would be no need to pay the fee.

This time, Shin Byeong-cheol asked,

“But why are you asking that, customer-nim?”

“I think we got caught.”

“…Huh?”

Shin Byeong-cheol and Go Hyeon-woo turned to look at me.

Then their gazes followed mine.

From the ground, a tiny mud dwarf popped its head out.

“There’s a gnome.”

A low-rank earth spirit.

Even in the underground level, this wasn’t the kind of place where something like that would just pop out.

It meant that someone was controlling the spirit.

And that someone was nine times out of ten an Earth Mage, and most likely a member of the disciplinary committee.

“…….”

“…….”

The three of us exchanged silent glances.

There was someone who crossed all our minds at the same time.

As we simultaneously lifted our gazes toward the top of the stairs, there stood Kwak Seung-jae.

“…….”

Step, step,

Kwak Seung-jae slowly descended the stairs, one step at a time.

His eyes were fixed on me the entire time.

We simply stood there in silence and watched him as he approached.

Step, step,

But contrary to our expectations, Kwak Seung-jae did not stop even after reaching us.

He continued down the stairs with his back to us and spoke as if to himself.

“I heard you saved my brother’s life.”

“……!”

During the midterm exams, the ogres infused with Blood Fury Syringe went berserk, and I saved Kwak Ji-cheol who was on the brink of death by using a recovery scroll.

So, he did end up telling him about it.’

– Tell… my brother… that I’m… sorry…

– What are you saying, you idiot.

Though he might have left out that embarrassing last will, he still admitted that someone saved his life and that wasn’t an easy thing to do.

Still, the fact that he mentioned it meant that Kwak Ji-cheol hadn’t forgotten his gratitude, at the very least.

Kwak Seung-jae seemed to be planning to pretend he didn’t see us as a way of repaying that favor.

“Be careful.”

It was unclear whether he meant to be careful not to break the rules or to be careful not to get caught.

With those words, Kwak Seung-jae continued down the stairs until he disappeared from sight.

We stared at his back for a long while before exchanging glances.

“We got caught, right?”

“Looks like it.”

“We’ll have to… get a refund, won’t we?”

“Damn it.”

Shin Byeong-cheol pulled out the random box and held it out again.

Kwak Seung-jae had turned a blind eye purely because of me, but getting caught was still getting caught.

However, I raised my hand and refused to take the random box.

A sudden idea had come to mind.

“Isn’t taking back what you gave a bit low?”

“Oh, absolutely, it’s downright petty.”

Shin Byeong-cheol’s eyes sparkled with hope.

I smiled and made a suggestion.

“How about this then? If you open it and get a D-rank or higher, we’ll let it slide, but if you get a lower rank, you’ll guide us for free for the next two rounds.”

“So you’re saying double or nothing, huh?”

If a D-rank or higher reward came out of the random box, Shin Byeong-cheol wouldn’t owe us anything and would keep the reward.

On the other hand, if an E or F-rank reward dropped, he’d have to guide us twice without any pay.

“It seems you’re fond of that approach too.”

Go Hyeon-woo agreed with an interested expression on his face.

Shin Byeong-cheol didn’t take long to decide.

After taking a deep breath, he spoke in a solemn tone.

“I, Shin Byeong-cheol, have lived my life as a man. A real man doesn’t shy away from a challenge.”

“A real man, indeed.”

“And the odds aren’t that bad for me. Even if you’re not a man, this is the kind of bet you take.”

“That’s true too.”

Since it’s a D-rank random box, the probability of a D-rank reward appearing was fairly high.

It was a risk worth taking.

Shin Byeong-cheol took another deep breath and grasped the lid of the box.

“Watch closely… as I hit the jackpot!”

Flash!

The box shone brightly.

When we saw the results that followed, Go Hyeon-woo and I looked a bit surprised.

“Well, at least you escaped F-rank.”

“Looks like Shin-hyung’s luck is gradually improving.”

Despite this, Shin Byeong-cheol didn’t seem pleased at all.

“No, why this? No way, seriously?”

[Golden Elephant Merchant Guild Teacup Set (E)]

***

The next day.

I contacted Jegal So-so, the vice president of the Swordsmanship Club.

It was to finalize the negotiation regarding the completed Treasure Map.

When I asked her when I could visit, she told me to come right away.

So I headed to the Swordsmanship Club room as soon as class ended.

When I stepped onto the floor where the Swordsmanship Club was, I immediately encountered a familiar face.

Pang Mi-ryeong.

She was the party leader who led the raid for the Black Death dungeon, the victim in this whole situation, and the person I was going to trade the Treasure Map with.

Seeing her waiting there, it seemed she had come out to greet me.

“Hello.”

“Oh.”

When I bowed my head slightly, Pang Mi-ryeong returned the greeting with a light nod.

Because she suffered considerable losses because of me, she initially showed hostility when we first met, but over time, it seemed much of the animosity had faded.

Now, her eyes were glowing with anticipation, likely because she had heard that I had completed the Treasure Map.

“Follow me.”

As Pang Mi-ryeong led the way, even a hint of impatience could be seen in her steps.

She stopped in front of the vice president’s office and knocked lightly.

A soft voice flowed from inside.

“Come in.”

When we entered the office, Jegal So-so greeted us.

She handed over the Dragon Well tea she had previously recommended.

“You resolved it on the first day of the strategy battle week. I thought it would take a bit longer.”

“No point in dragging it out.”

“This is great. Thanks to you, we have more time to prepare.”

After sipping the tea briefly, we got to the main point.

“May I see the pieces?”

“Here they are.”

I handed the Treasure Map pieces A, B, and C to Jegal So-so.

Pang Mi-ryeong stared intently at them while swallowing nervously.

She must have been both excited and nervous.

The method to combine the Treasure Maps was quite simple.

Align the pieces correctly to ignite the True Fire of Samadhi.

Whoosh,

Golden flames rose from Jegal So-so’s hand.

Moments later, she held a completed Treasure Map in her hand.

“This is…!”

Jegal So-so and Pang Mi-ryeong stared at the Treasure Map in a daze.

The front side showed the location of the “secret treasure room” inside Dungeon No. 88, [Gathering of Villains].

While the back side had a map of the inside of the secret treasure room.

Pang Mi-ryeong let out a low exclamation.

“It was real….”

However, perhaps thinking she shouldn’t appear overly excited in front of me, Jegal So-so opened her fan to cover her face.

She then spoke while trying hard to maintain her composure.

“You’ve really worked hard. With this, we’ll consider the bidding rights dispute settled.”

“There’s no longer any bad blood between us. You’ve done well.”

Pang Mi-ryeong added a word of her own.

With this, the conflict I had with the Swordsmanship Club was resolved.

But it wouldn’t be fitting for a stagnant water to end things like this.

“Now, let’s move on to the next deal.”

“……?”

A thick stack of papers appeared from my inventory.

It was a detailed strategy guide documenting everything about the dungeon Pang Mi-ryeong was about to enter.

The [Gathering of Villains] strategy guide.