Episode 208 No. 410 Reclaiming the Seal (3)
Go Hyun-woo and I looked at Geum Young-sang with pitiful eyes.
“While others are fighting to the death, you are hiding here, trying to survive alone.”
“How can a man be so cowardly?”
“Oh, don’t come!”
As we took a step forward, the leader hurriedly drew his sword and aimed it.
But I didn’t have to do anything myself.
“Pull him out.”
“yes.”
“Your name.”
Because the King of Hell had gathered after seeing that the formation had been destroyed.
Since the mastermind behind this incident was none other than the owner of Geumyoungsangdan, their gazes were filled with murderous intent.
“Oh, I told you not to come!”
The Golden Sword Master resisted by swinging his sword in the air.
However, the King of Hell rushed in and subdued him in an instant.
And I quickly found what I wanted.
I glanced at the top of the stairs being dragged out like a blood clot, and then I searched around the room.
“Here you go, extra rewards.”
“oh.”
Inside the small wooden box, a few golden grains were shining.
[Golden Spirit Altar (C)]
The more elixirs, the better.
This way, you can quickly raise the rank of the [Core] that is stuck in the stagnant zone.
If you continue to raise the rank of your magic while your core rank is low, you will suffer from a lack of mana.
Also, high-level magic is impossible to learn if the core level is low.
So, even if a C-rank core is enough for now, you will need to invest steadily.
When we moved outside the palace, the battle had ended.
Needless to say, it was a great victory for the King of Hell.
Several of the men were carrying jars filled with talismans.
The seal has been secured.
Now, neither we nor the King of Hell had any more business with the Geumyeongdan.
So the lord gave the order.
“Put the fire on.”
– Whoosh whoosh!
Flames burst out from all over the palace and soon engulfed the entire palace.
Go Hyun-woo and I were watching the fire for a while.
“You ride well.”
“That’s right.”
– Gulp.
Then, the ground began to shake as if an earthquake had occurred, and a teleportation portal opened nearby.
There were boxes right in front of it.
[Bongma Recapture Random Box (D)] *3
Go Hyun-woo handed them to me and said.
“I guess it’s the end since the exit is open.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
I looked back for a moment, but the King of Hell was just moving around busily, seemingly unaware that the portal had opened.
We caught a glimpse of them and passed through the teleportation portal.
* * *
I came out of the dungeon and looked left and right, but Shin Byeong-cheol was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, I found a bamboo straw standing up on one side of the floor.
“… … .”
I crouched down in front of him and placed my finger on the end of the straw.
After a few seconds, the floor flips over and Shin Byeong-cheol jumps out.
“Phew! Hey, sir! Are you going to catch someone? Why are you stopping me from doing that?”
“Why are you standing there?”
“Hey, don’t be ridiculous. The police just came out to crack down.”
“Just when?”
“Has it been… ten minutes? Anyway, just now.”
The faculty and staff members regularly patrol the basement floors, and that was just a moment ago.
If we had cleared the dungeon a little earlier, we might have run into the patrolling leader.
Luckily, it avoided the impact.
I said to Shin Byeong-cheol as I handed him a random box.
“How did you get through without getting caught? Here’s the maintenance.”
“You hid like a dead mouse. Thank you.”
“Would you like to open it right away?”
Shin Byeong-cheol hesitated for a moment while holding the random box in his hand, then shook his head.
“No, if I open this now, the cup will come out 100%. I’ll open it later.”
“I can’t stand this.”
Shin Byeong-cheol, whose patience had grown thanks to being hit on multiple times.
After all, humans grow through failure.
You had to go up to at least the F floor to take the elevator.
So we started to walk diligently, following Shin Byeong-cheol’s guidance.
Then, I opened my mouth.
“There is a guide service, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What happens if I get caught while going up?”
“Of course, a full refund, sir.”
The purpose of the underground guide service is to ‘safely’ guide the client to the underground dungeon they want, and then to the ground floor after completing the raid.
If you get caught along the way, you will receive a penalty or disciplinary action, so your ‘safe’ guidance will be considered a failure and you will not have to pay any compensation.
This time, Shin Byeong-cheol asked.
“But why do you ask that, sir?”
“I think we’re stuck.”
“……yes?”
Shin Byeong-cheol and Ko Hyeon-woo looked at me.
And then my gaze shifted to where I was looking.
A small mud dwarf suddenly popped his head out from under the ground.
“There are gnomes.”
A spirit of the lower earth.
Even if it’s the basement, he’s not the type of guy to pop out of a place like this.
That meant there was someone who could summon spirits.
Also, whoever is summoning that spirit is most likely a woodcutter and is intentionally a leader.
“… … .”
“… … .”
The three of us looked at each other in silence.
It’s because there was always someone who crossed my mind.
And at the same time, when I looked up at the top of the stairs, Kwak Seung-jae was standing there.
“… … .”
– Slowly, slowly,
Kwak Seung-jae slowly came down the stairs, one step at a time.
With his eyes fixed on me the whole time.
We just stood there in silence, watching him approach.
– Slowly, slowly,
But contrary to expectations, Kwak Seung-jae did not stop walking even when he arrived in front of us.
As he was going down the stairs, he turned his back on us and opened his mouth as if talking to himself.
“I heard you saved my brother’s life.”
“… … !”
During the midterm exam, the ogres injected with blood bombs ran wild, and I revived Gwak Ji-cheol, who was on the verge of death, with a recovery scroll.
‘How did you say that?’
– Tell… your brother… that he… is… sorry… .
– What are you talking about, Deungshin?
I would have left out the embarrassing last words like the one above, but it is still not easy to confess that someone saved my life.
But the fact that he spoke about it means that at least Gwak Ji-cheol has not forgotten his gratitude.
As a way of paying back that, Kwak Seung-jae seemed to be trying to ignore us and move on.
“Be careful.”
I couldn’t tell if he meant to be careful not to break the rules or to be careful not to get caught.
Kwak Seung-jae just said those words and continued down the stairs, disappearing from sight.
We exchanged glances after looking at his back for a long time.
“Did you get caught?”
“I got caught.”
“I guess I should get a refund…?”
“Arai.”
Shin Byeong-cheol took out the random box and handed it over.
It was all thanks to me that Kwak Seung-jae turned a blind eye to it, and it was something that had to be done.
But I raised my hand without receiving a random box.
Because a good idea suddenly occurred to me.
“Isn’t it a bit fatal to give and then take away?”
“Oh my, it’s true, it’s fatal.”
Shin Byeong-cheol’s eyes shone with hope.
I suggested with a big smile.
“Then let’s do this. If you get a D-rank or higher, you can skip it, but if you get a lower rank, you can do the next guide without pay.”
“Let’s ask and double it, okay?”
If a D-rank or higher reward comes out of the random box, Shin Byeong-cheol doesn’t owe us anything and takes the reward.
On the other hand, if an E or F rank reward drops, you will have to do two guides for free.
“I like that method too.”
Go Hyun-woo also agreed with an excited expression.
Shin Byeong-cheol’s worries did not last long.
He takes a deep breath and speaks in a solemn tone.
“I am Shin Byeong-cheol. I have lived as a man up until now. A man does not avoid challenges.”
“What a true man.”
“And I don’t have a low chance of winning. Even if I’m not a man, I deserve this.”
“That’s true too.”
Since it is a D-rank random box, the probability of a D-rank reward appearing is also relatively high.
That means it’s worth walking around.
Shin Byeong-cheol took another deep breath and held the box cover in his hand.
“Watch carefully… … . This body will hit the jackpot!”
– Flash!
The box lit up brightly.
After seeing the results that were revealed, Go Hyun-woo and I looked a little surprised.
“Hey, at least Class F escaped.”
“It seems like Shin Hyung’s luck is getting better.”
However, Shin Byeong-cheol did not look happy at all.
“No, why is this? No, my goodness. No.”
[Geumyoungdan Teacup Set (E)]
* * *
The next day.
I contacted the vice president of the fencing club, Jegal Soso.
The purpose is to conclude negotiations with a completed report.
When I asked when I could come, he said he would come right away.
So, as soon as class was over, I went to the fencing club’s office.
As soon as I entered the floor where the fencing club was located, I immediately ran into a familiar face.
Pengmiryeong.
He is the party leader of the Heuksabang raid team, the victim, and the person with whom Jang Bo-do will be traded.
I guess they came out to greet me since I was waiting here.
“hello.”
“uh.”
When I bowed my head, Peng Mi-ryeong also greeted me briefly.
He seemed hostile to me when we first met because I had caused him a lot of harm, but as time passed, the ill feelings seemed to have diluted a lot.
And now her eyes were shining with anticipation, probably because she had heard the news that I had finished carving the Jangbodo.
“Follow me.”
Even the impatience was evident in the footsteps of Peng Mi-ryeong, who was leading the way.
Paeng Mi-ryeong stopped in front of the vice-minister’s office and knocked lightly.
Then a soft voice comes from inside.
“Come in.”
As we entered the office, Zhuge Liang greeted us.
I’ll give you the Yongjeongcha I recommended earlier.
“You solved it on the first day of the attack. I expected it to take a little longer.”
“What good will come from dragging it out for so long?”
“It’s a blessing. Thanks to you, we have more time to prepare.”
We sipped some tea and then got down to business.
“Can you show me the piece?”
“Here it is.”
I handed over the pieces A, B, and C of the Jangbodo to Zhuge Liang.
Peng Mi-ryeong stared at it intently and swallowed dry saliva.
It’s going to be both exciting and nerve-wracking.
The method of putting the Jangbo pieces together is very simple.
It involves properly overlapping the pieces and then causing a three-stage evolution.
– Whoosh, whoosh,
Golden flames shot out from Zhuge Liang’s hands.
A moment later, she was holding a completed brochure in her hand.
“This is… … !”
Zhuge Liang and Peng Meiling looked at Jang Bo-do absentmindedly.
The front side shows the location of the ‘Secret Vault’ in dungeon 88, [Gathering of the Wicked].
On the back was a map of the interior of the note.
Peng Mi-ryeong let out a soft exclamation.
“It really was… … .”
However, perhaps because he thought he shouldn’t continue to show his excitement in front of me, Zhuge Liang fanned himself and covered his face.
And he said, trying to keep his composure.
“Thank you for your hard work. Let’s make this a case where there was no violation of bidding rights.”
“There is no more ill will between us. Thank you for your hard work.”
Peng Mi-ryeong also added a word.
This marks the end of the conflict with the fencing club.
But if it ends like this, it won’t be a dead end.
“Now let’s move on to the next transaction.”
“… … ?”
A thick wad of paper came out of my inventory.
It was a detailed strategy guide that recorded everything about the dungeon that Peng Mi-ryeong would enter, [Gathering of Villains].
