Episode 200 I’m free these days
Kim Ho’s Bullet Time special lecture was continuing, but at the same time, there was a need to prepare for next week.
Next week is the strategy week.
I’m definitely going to go down to the basement.
So I sent a message to Shin Byeong-cheol.
[Kim Ho: Errands]
Shin Byeong-cheol’s reply came after a long time.
It was strange, considering that he usually responded sharply, almost in seconds.
[Shin Byeong-cheol: Store]
The tone of voice was also not the usual, ‘Where are you, sir?’, but felt stiff for some reason.
I brushed it off as nothing serious, thinking that something depressing had happened today.
Who knows, maybe another wooden cup will come out of the random box.
When I went to the store, Shin Byeong-cheol hadn’t arrived yet.
Instead, a familiar face caught my eye.
Dang Gyu-young waving his hand with a smile.
I bowed my head.
“Hello, senior.”
“Sister.”
“Hello, sister.”
“Huh.”
After exchanging brief greetings, I stood in front of the store and looked into the distance.
Then Dang Gyu-yeong comes up to me and asks.
“Who are you waiting for?”
“I decided to meet Shin Byeong-cheol here.”
“Byeongcheol isn’t coming.”
“Sister.”
“Hello, sister.”
“Huh.”
After exchanging brief greetings, I stood in front of the store and looked into the distance.
“?”
When I gave him a questioning look, Dang Gyu-yeong smiled and spoke again.
“Byeongcheol isn’t coming.”
“… … Has it been purged?”
“Purge, why am I purging him? I came in his place. You’re going to run errands.”
“It’s not a request so grand that a manager would come in person.”
“I know, of course.”
It seems like he had a rough idea of what kind of request I would make.
Actually, I have never done any other requests besides being a guide for the basement.
Dang Gyu-yeong grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
“Let’s sit down and talk. What would you like to drink?”
“I eat everything well.”
The style of giving is one that doesn’t hesitate.
So I ordered my usual coffee, and Dang Gyu-young ordered a latte with lots of syrup and cream.
I often feel this, but I secretly like sweet and soft things.
We each bought a drink and sat down on the second floor terrace.
After exchanging some small talk, Dang Gyu-yeong brought up the main topic.
“You’re coming down next week, right?”
“That’s right.”
The pieces of the Jangbodo I currently have are incomplete, A and C.
You must obtain the last piece and complete the Jangbodo to resolve the conflict with the fencing club.
“Where are you going?”
“It’s 410.”
Dang Gyu-yeong briefly flipped through his notebook to check the dungeon information.
“[Reclaiming the Seal], it’s a D-rank. How long does it take to clear this? You said it took an entire night last time.”
“It’s short, this one.”
In terms of story, it is connected to the previously conquered counter-state and counter-state actions, but the biggest difference is that the rule is not [Escort].
So, just go in, clear it quickly, and come out.
Dang Gyu-young nodded coolly and took a sip of latte.
“Then, Byeong-cheol can be the guide there. Again? Is that the end?”
“I think I’ll add one more.”
“That handsome guy there too?”
“I guess so.”
It was always the case that we would conquer the basement with Go Hyun-woo, so this time was no different.
However, Dang Gyu-yeong tilted his head slightly to the side as if something came to mind.
“Kim Hoya, I have a question.”
“Yes, sister.”
“Why do you only take the good-looking ones, and not the pretty ones with gray hair? You always hang out together.”
Why do you keep on conquering the basement with Koh Hyun-woo while leaving the calligrapher alone?
Actually, from my perspective, it wouldn’t have been a bad thing if I could have brought a calligrapher along.
Among the numerous dungeons in the basement, there are quite a few that are heavily influenced by luck, in addition to the previously cleared story dungeons.
If you take Bokdeungi to that place, the difficulty of the raid will be easy and the rewards will be generous.
But the reason why I can’t do that is,
“There is strong opposition at home.”
“ah.”
When the calligrapher asked, An Jeong-mi not only strongly opposed it, but also repeatedly made requests.
– Can I go too?
– Absolutely not. Only clear dungeons that meet the qualifications.
– … … .
– Miss, you can’t. If something happens to you in the basement, a lot of people, including me, will be sad.
“So, I think we should consider it a no-no at least until permission is granted.”
“Huh, that’s right.”
Dang Gyu-yeong seemed to think for a moment, his chin resting on the side.
And then, as if something had occurred to him, the corners of his lips slightly curled up and he cast a sly glance in my direction.
“Kim Hoya, that handsome guy, wouldn’t he get tired if he keeps attacking you?”
“That is what worries me.”
Even if we just do [Bongma Recapture] in next week’s strategy battle, it will already be two consecutive strategies in one week.
If one more goes in there, it will be three in a row, so even if Go Hyun-woo himself says he doesn’t care, he’ll probably be quite tired.
When I agreed, Dang Gyu-yeong asked quietly.
“Then, instead of a swordsman, how about a skilled thief?”
“Do you want to go down together?”
“Yeah, I’ve been a bit free lately.”
Dang Gyu-young has been extremely busy for the past month.
The third year academic schedule was basic, and I had to prepare for the black market for activities related to the Thieves’ Club, and I was also in charge of mentoring.
It was to the point where even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough.
However, now that the black market and mentoring have been successfully ended, the workload related to the club has also been reduced significantly.
So what I’m saying is, you want to come down to the basement with me during your spare time.
Dang Gyu-yeong and I looked at each other for a while.
“… … .”
“… … .”
As this situation continued, Dang Gyu-yeong narrowed her eyes and grabbed my cheek.
“Hey, don’t just watch. Answer me.”
“Zuya Geumseungheun— I’m grateful, but I don’t think the labor costs will be covered.”
The rewards from the dungeon I’m aiming for probably won’t be enough to please a third-year class president.
But I don’t want to force myself to raise the level of the dungeon.
But Dang Gyu-yeong didn’t seem to care.
“So what? I’m just going because I want to go.”
“Then that’s good.”
“Where are you going?”
“I haven’t decided on that yet.”
“What brings you here?”
Dang Gyu-yeong looked surprised.
Even though I plan everything out, I still haven’t decided which dungeon to enter until now.
“I’ve decided what I want, but I can’t find it.”
“What are you looking for?”
“Dungeon crow.”
Dungeon Crow.
Also known as the Dimensional Crow, it is an intelligent monster and NPC.
There are various types, such as crow masters, merchants, and wise men, but among them, the one I’m looking for is the ‘crow tailor.’
‘It’s time to start paying attention to your equipment again.’
However, dungeon crows cannot be encountered by entering specific dungeons.
This is because they move from one dungeon to another without a set destination, and only appear in one place at a time.
For example, if a Crow Craftsman appears in the Black Sand Dungeons, you will not see the Crow Craftsman in the remaining 999 dungeons.
And if you miss the timing, you will be transferred to the next dungeon in the Black Room.
Dang Gyu-yeong asked.
“How can I find it? I’ve only seen it a few times.”
“We need to analyze it.”
Even if you don’t know where the crows are right now, you can find them if you put your mind to it.
At the time when I was playing
For example, the ‘Crow Sage’ roams through 6x dungeons with a [Magic] theme in ascending order.
Like 36, 72, 84, etc.
And these patterns are stored intact in my head.
in other words,
“You just have to find out where it appeared before.”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
It is also not difficult to identify previous haunting locations.
If you look through the replays of recently cleared dungeons, it will probably be recorded somewhere.
It’ll cost quite a bit of points, but I guess you’ve saved up a bunch for times like this.
“Then let me know what you find. I’ll prepare it right away.”
“Yes, senior.”
“Sister.”
“Yes, sister.”
Dang Gyu-yeong smiled pleasantly, then asked again as if he was curious.
“But Kim Hoya, how did you find that out?”
“I learned this after graduating over 200 times.”
“What invincible logic.”
Dang Gyu-yeong pouted his lips.
I guess he thinks he’ll just hand over his 200th graduation shield every time he gets tired of explaining.
‘It’s true.’
* * *
“Rock, scissors—”
“-paper.”
– Flash!
The calligrapher’s gray eyes took on a sharp light.
He narrowly blocks the hammer I swing at him.
A dull thud is heard from the dented pot.
In the next game of rock-paper-scissors, the calligrapher wins.
The moment I lifted the dented pot,
– Flash!
The calligrapher casts Bullet Time again.
The hammer swung by a hair’s breadth, careening sideways to the pot and lightly brushing the side of my head.
The calligrapher stared at me.
“… … ?”
“Okay, I’ll count this as one win.”
Although it was only a passing blow and not a direct hit, I highly praised the fact that Bullet Time was cast at a very appropriate timing.
After playing the hammer game for several days,
The calligrapher’s bullet time proficiency has increased significantly compared to before.
My hammer’s hit rate, which used to be 100%, had dropped to almost half, and the calligrapher’s attacks were only hitting occasionally.
So the accumulated number of wins is 8.
But when we played rock-paper-scissors a few more times,
“… … ?”
The calligrapher turned his gaze to the side and stared into empty space.
It looks like a notification message has popped up.
I asked to confirm.
“Did you get ranked?”
“huh.”
“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll rank up right away.
As soon as the calligrapher took out Rank Up (E) and used it, a bright light covered the special training room.
– Paaaaat!
Achieve Bullet Time D rank.
I also succeeded in raising my rank by using the bonus from time to time.
Let’s recall the notification message that came to mind a while ago.
[The rank of ‘Buyeo’ increases. (F->E)]
[Use ‘Rank Up (E)’.]
[The level of ‘Buyeo’ increases. (E->D)]
It’s not even halfway through the week, and both the calligrapher and I have already achieved our goals.
So the next step is,
“Now let’s go have a showdown.”
Putting the grown-up Bullet Time to use in real life.
But the calligrapher slowly shook his head and pointed to the hammer and pot on the desk.
“… … Still 8 wins.”
Since you need to win 10 games to get the wish, he said he would go after winning two more games.
Since Bullet Time had reached D-Rank, this kind of repeated training was meaningless.
The skill level has also been raised to the level I intended.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t just leave it like this!
If it’s 2 or 3 wins, then it’s okay, but if all the hard work up to 8 wins goes down the drain, then the motivation of the sloth will hit rock bottom.
It is also important to maintain trust.
After much thought, I came up with a compromise.
“Then, since this is a three-way match, let’s count each time you get first place as one win.”
“… … !”
– Crunch,
The calligrapher loaded the magic gun.
The enthusiasm was already burning.
“It harms.”
