Episode 230: Byeong-cheol is missing
If random rank up is successful, it would be great.
This means that the two people save time and effort that would otherwise be invested in upgrading their specs.
‘But realistically, two is too few.’
Go Hyun-woo’s luck is not so good when it comes to deciding the match with one card.
The calligrapher had a chance to raise [Bullet Time] to C-Rank in one go, but it’s unlikely that such luck will continue.
‘Now most of them are C rank.’
Going from D to C might be possible with some luck, but going from C to B is not possible with some luck.
This is because we have to overcome a probability that is almost convergent to 0.
That’s why I failed 30 times in a row in the past and why I considered Inferno Fist B-rank a miracle.
So I watched the two of them without much expectation.
The first challenger is Go Hyun-woo.
He smiles bitterly while holding the random rank up.
“I’m a little nervous.”
“Don’t worry. If you fail, you can always try again next time.”
“Okay.”
– Paaaaat!
As Go Hyun-woo used the random rank up, the scroll started to glow brighter and brighter.
– Push push… … .
The light dimmed in an instant and the scroll scattered like ash.
[Rank up failed.]
“Well, I guess that’s how it turns out.”
“Most of them are.”
Go Hyun-woo calmly accepted the failure, and a stamp was automatically stamped on the stamp coupon.
[Stamp Coupon (C)]
▷Stamp 1/10
Naturally, our gazes moved to the remaining calligrapher.
“… … .”
As always, the calligrapher doesn’t show even a hint of nervousness.
He stares blankly at the random rank-up in his hand and uses it.
– Paaaaat!
A scroll that glows brighter and brighter.
‘Will it stick?’
Since Bokdeung had been committing all sorts of ridiculous scams up until now, even I had a fleeting thought of what might happen.
however,
– Push push… … .
[Rank up failed.]
▷Stamp 2/10
Random rank ups turn into ashes and one stamp is added.
“regret.”
The calligrapher’s expression was the same as before.
Judging from the fact that he always acted indifferently at random box opening ceremonies, it seemed like he didn’t really care about the results.
Rather, Go Hyun-woo raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“It’s a rare occurrence. For Miss Seo to fail.”
“I know.”
No matter how lucky you are, it seems impossible to go undefeated until you randomly rank up.
Well, if that happens, it’s not a scam, it’s a bug.
This means that you can have the specs of a 2nd or 3rd year student just by randomly ranking up.
‘But I don’t know yet.’
I’ve only tried twice now.
It remains to be seen whether calligraphers’ success rates will continue to fall in line with the average, or whether they will occasionally commit fraud.
* * *
The extremely harsh odds of random rank-ups applied to me as well.
– Push push… … .
[Rank up failed.]
[Rank up failed.]
The two scrolls in front of my eyes turn to dust and scatter.
These were the things I got by beating Dang Gyu-yeong and Elemental Gapdu,
‘It has now been replaced by a stamp.’
[Stamp Coupon (C)]
▷Stamp 4/10
The good news is that you’re only one stamp away from your first reward.
I guess I can probably fill it up by clearing the next dungeon.
If you get a random box and open it, there’s bound to be at least one blank item.
As if he had read my thoughts, Dang Gyu-yeong sent me a message at an opportune time.
[Dang Gyu-yeong: Young monarch~]
[Dang Gyu-young: (single, smiling fox emoticon)]
[Kim Ho: Yes, sister]
[Dang Gyu-young: (single, smiling fox emoticon)]
[Dang Gyu-young: Come see our vice-president]
[Dang Gyu-young: With a handsome guy]
[Kim Ho: I’ll go]
The ‘handsome guy’ that Dang Gyu-young mentions is Go Hyun-woo.
We’ve seen each other a few times and gotten used to each other’s faces, but I guess he’s not very interested since he hasn’t remembered my name yet.
And asking me to bring Ko Hyun-woo, who I have no interest in,
‘I guess you’re almost ready.’
It must have something to do with conquering the basement.
So I walked to the Thieves Club’s office with Go Hyun-woo.
“Oh my. Welcome, customers.”
“Brother Shin.”
Shin Byeong-cheol welcomes us with excitement.
After Go Hyun-woo answered with a kind smile, he bowed his head deeply to Dang Gyu-young.
“hello.”
“Okay, sit down comfortably.”
The only members of the thieves’ club left in the shack were Dang Gyu-yeong, Chae Da-bin, and Shin Byeong-cheol.
It looks like they sent out all the other members because they were going to have an important conversation.
I looked around the slightly shabby room carefully.
Just a month ago, I was picking up and using things like sofas and chairs that were on the verge of being thrown away, but now I have quite a few.
“You brought in new furniture.”
“I stole it from Kim Gap-du.”
Dang Gyu-young added with a grin.
Mutu said he brought all the club furniture.
‘It’s Ikeya Gapdune.’
I feel sorry for Kim Gap-du all over again, but the world of competition is a cold one.
It was you who bet on the one-day date ticket, and it wasn’t you who raised the stakes too much.
I thought so and got to the main point.
“Did you get a call from the fencing club?”
“Yeah, I talked to Peng Mi-ryeong this morning.”
And of course, the topic of their conversation will be about the B-rank dungeon they are clearing this week, [Gathering of Villains].
The gathering of villains is a large-scale dungeon that can accommodate up to 20 people.
Of these, 15 places will be occupied by the expedition team led by Pengmiryeong, and the remaining 5 places will be occupied by us.
The main expedition team will attack dungeons and secret areas based on the strategy guide and map I gave them, and we agreed to not get involved and only recover the small hidden pieces.
And finally, Peng Mei-ryeong’s side completed all the preliminary preparations and delivered the exact schedule.
“When?”
“Friday night.”
I was expecting it to be Friday or Saturday.
Because there are only 20 people in the garden, the difficulty level is high and it takes a long time to conquer.
I need to invest at least two days, but since classes take two days during the week, I have no choice but to schedule it for the weekend.
Dang Gyu-yeong continued speaking.
“Let the expedition team in first, and we’ll sneak in when we get a chance.”
“I will trust you with that part.”
Because hiding depends entirely on Dang Gyu-yeong’s abilities.
“Then we should discuss it in detail, but for now, are these five okay?”
Dang Gyu-yeong checked the personnel in the department one by one.
There are five of us in total: me, Go Hyun-woo, Dang Gyu-young, Chae Da-bin, and Shin Byeong-cheol.
But I shook my head slowly.
“No. Shin Byeong-cheol is out of here.”
“Huh? Mr. Kim Ho, what do you mean?”
Shin Byeong-cheol’s eyes widened at the shocking words.
I added my explanation calmly.
“I’m telling you this in advance so that there won’t be any misunderstandings. I will save Ghost Mooyoung as promised. He’ll just be left out of the strategy.”
“Oh, then that’s okay.”
Since Shin Byeong-cheol had a contribution in the conquest of Heuksabang, his share of the ghost army is certain.
However, this does not guarantee that you will participate in the attack.
Shin Byeong-cheol seemed to understand up to this point, but he asked with his lips licking his lips as if he was secretly disappointed.
“Could you at least tell me the reason?”
“It’s different from the Heuksabang.”
In Heuksabang, Shin Byeong-cheol was in charge of dismantling the organs and guiding Ko Hyeon-woo to the ark’s secret room.
In terms of combat, the contribution was close to 0.
On the other hand, in a gathering of villains, fighting power is prioritized above all else.
I said, pointing at Go Hyun-woo.
“If you want to get in, you have to fight at least as hard as this guy.”
“… … The cutoff line is high. I guess I have to get out.”
Only then did Shin Byeong-cheol cleanly give up his foolish thoughts.
If you have the skills of Go Hyun-woo, you’re almost like a promising prospect, and that’s even the minimum requirement.
In that case, it would be better to give up your position to the right person rather than stubbornly asking to be included when you can’t even fight.
After the cleanup was over, Dang Gyu-yeong opened his mouth again.
“Then, excluding Byeong-cheol, there are four of them, and the remaining one is?”
“We have to bring them in from outside, mercenaries.”
“I guess you’ve already thought of someone?”
“Yes, we have a very good candidate.”
“Yeah, I’m sure our Kim Ho will do well.”
Dang Gyu-young let it go, thinking that it was because he had built up trust.
Next, I handed out a bundle of thick paper to each person.
[Gathering of Villains] Strategy Guide.
It is written in detail about how we should behave after entering the dungeon, what we should be careful of, etc.
Since it is a B-class dungeon, it was written to minimize risk.
While I was flipping through the strategy book one page at a time, Chae Da-bin asked a question.
“This expedition strategy book is also included.”
“Yes, it’s like a compilation.”
“… … .”
Chae Da-bin furrowed her brows.
Our roles and those of the expedition team are clearly divided, so why did you give us a summary?
I noticed the intention.
“… … Weren’t you and that other side not involved with each other?”
“If they do it well.”
“It sounds like you’re saying I can’t do it.”
“There is a pretty high chance that trouble will arise.”
I don’t know how excellent Peng Mi-ryeong’s leadership is or how thoroughly she prepared the attack.
However, a wise man from a distant island country left this famous saying:
They say that when five people gather, there’s bound to be trash in one place.
‘But there are fifteen people there?’
I wonder if it will be possible to get through this without any problems.
I added an explanation to that.
“Actually, we just do our own thing and it doesn’t matter if we miss out.”
After we retrieve the hidden pieces and take the emergency escape portal, our role is over.
Even if Peng Mi-ryeong asks for help, there is no obligation to listen.
Also, the expedition team’s capabilities are by no means low.
Since there are fifteen third-year students gathered here, they will figure out how to overcome any problems that arise.
“However, expenses may increase somewhat in the process.”
You’ll need to take out any potions or magic scrolls you’ve been hiding.
Then, even if you get the dungeon reward, the loss will be greater.
Dang Gyu-young’s eyes lit up.
“It would be cheaper to lend us your help.”
“It’s a lot cheaper.”
“You help me and get more compensation out of me?”
“If you pretend, it’s pretend.”
“Hey, I’m the president of the thieves’ club.”
While Dang Gyu-young and I were chatting away, Chae Da-bin and Go Hyeon-woo, who were watching, said something to each other.
“I can’t rule out the possibility that it might work out perfectly on the other side, but it’s better to be aware of it.”
“It can’t hurt to prepare for emergencies.”
So, even though it was somewhat unnecessary, I decided to just memorize the thick compilation of strategy guides.
Dang Gyu-yeong looked at me again.
“Now we just need to solve the mercenary problem.”
“I was planning to meet you anyway.”
Who are you taking as mercenaries?
This was a problem that could be quickly answered with just a few conditions.
The first condition is, as I told Shin Byeong-cheol, that he must have at least as much military power as Ko Hyeon-woo.
The second is that you will want to obtain the Ghost Shadow even if it means giving up other rewards.
Finally, there will be some backing.
If we share the ghost story just by participating, we will lose out, because we need to get change.
With these conditions in mind, one person immediately came to mind.
I have shown great interest in Ghostly Night since I first mentioned it.
A promising prospect from the Heukdo side with aliases such as Jang Sam and Jang Cheol-su.
‘Jangmugeuk.’
