Episode 239 No. 88 The Gathering of Villains (3)
We are currently stopped in the middle of the C floor.
Also, since the vanguard is constantly patrolling, there is no point in being lazy.
‘I guess we’ll have to go with Plan B.’
I was hoping that this would not happen, but I was prepared for it just in case.
I whispered to Dang Gyu-yeong.
– I need you to make a round trip.
– What, four times?
C-rank Shadow Leap can move two people at a time.
If Dang Gyu-yeong were to move five people by himself, he would have to make four round trips.
The risk increases enormously, but
– Twice is enough.
– how?
– I can use it too.
It’s much better if you copy the shadow leap and move it together.
▷Copy – Skill [3/3]
1. Thief’s Step (B+)
2. Overheat (C)
3. Shadow An-ga (B)
[Overheat] is a skill copied from Hong Yeon-hwa.
[Shadow An-ga] is essential to maintain the party’s stealth.
Therefore, it is best to cover the [Thief’s Step] slot.
Anyway, the source of the thief’s footsteps is Dang Gyu-yeong, so you can just copy it later.
Of course, even if we do this, it is inevitable that the risk will increase somewhat since Dang Gyu-young will have to go back and forth twice.
Cha Da-bin will also wonder why his performance suddenly dropped.
‘But it’s better than getting caught.’
Wouldn’t it be better to take a little extra risk than to collapse before reaching your destination?
Just as I was about to cast the copy spell with that thought in mind,
“!”
The patrolmen stopped dead in their tracks as they received some kind of call.
And then, after exchanging messages with serious expressions on their faces, they hurriedly kicked the ground and climbed upwards.
Dang Gyu-yeong looked at the scene and then turned his head towards me.
– … … Did you see that coming out? That.
– I think so.
It seems that a party that was clearing a C-rank dungeon encountered Oobleck and requested rescue.
Some of the leading members were mobilized for that structure.
The rest were still patrolling without leaving their designated locations, but from our perspective, it felt like a hole had been punched in the suffocatingly tight security net.
Cha Da-bin’s navigation guided us with great enthusiasm.
– This way.
The depth reached in that way.
I thought that since the leading group was concentrated in the C and D floors, the security would be relatively lax, but the deep part was still the deep part.
Outposts erected here and there, crystal balls placed closely together, and patrol officers.
But who are our group?
‘You become the president and vice president of the thieves’ club.’
The two of them already had a history of breaking through this place during the Black Death Squadron raid.
It’ll probably be the same this time too.
Soon, Dang Gyu-yeong raised his mana and Chae Da-bin started tapping on the tablet at an incredible speed.
[Shadow Pouch]
The shadow that rose from Dang Gyu-yeong transformed into a large pocket and swallowed up the first-year students, including me.
Go Hyun-woo and I didn’t move because we had already experienced it, and Jang Mu-geuk only briefly blinked in surprise and stayed in place.
After giving in to the commotion for a while, the shadow pocket spat us out right in front of our destination.
[No.88] [Gathering of the Villains]
Dang Gyu-yeong quickly waves his hand at the teleportation portal.
– Come in, come in, quickly, quickly.
We rushed inside without saying who would go first.
The view changed abruptly and we found ourselves standing in a forest on the outskirts of the city.
Only then did the group feel relieved.
The attack hasn’t even started yet and they’re already showing signs of exhaustion.
On the one hand, there was also a sense of accomplishment from overcoming a great hurdle.
In particular, Dang Gyu-young and Chae Da-bin looked very proud.
“Wow, this is a real human victory, a human victory.”
“As expected, there is nothing that cannot be achieved if you try hard.”
When we made the plan the day before, we were half in doubt as to whether we would succeed, but as we joined forces and desperately searched for a breakthrough, we were able to break through the ironclad security of the leadership.
It was quite an achievement, even taking into account a bit of luck at the last minute.
But the joy was short-lived, as worry appeared on Cha Da-bin’s face as if she had remembered something.
“But I don’t know if I can get through it the same way on the way back.”
“… … I’m already getting tired.”
Dang Gyu-yeong’s face was covered with worry.
I have to do the same headache-inducing thing when I go up.
As for me, I had to keep the morale of the group up, so I decided to intervene at this point.
“I’ll think about that later. After I’ve gotten everything I can from here.”
“That’s true too.”
There are a lot of things to do right now, so there is no need to worry about things far in the future.
Dang Gyu-young and Chae Da-bin agreed, and I continued speaking.
“I think it would be best to contact Senior Peng Mi-ryeong first.”
“Okay, then. Just a moment.”
The 15 members of the Pengmiryeong Expedition have already entered the dungeon.
You need to hear from them how far the attack has progressed so you can figure out how much time is left and where the safe zone is.
Dang Gyu-yeong took out a communicator from his inventory.
This is a special item that allows you to contact others even within the dungeon, and Go Hyun-woo bought it from the student store.
Cha Da-bin connected the communicator to the tablet so that everyone could hear, and soon contacted Peng Mi-ryeong.
Dang Gyu-yeong spoke into the communicator.
“Hey, Peng. We’re here.”
– Wow, how did you get through that? I thought you guys couldn’t get in.
Peng Mi-ryeong’s voice of admiration was heard.
The corners of Dang Gyu-yeong’s mouth slightly went up, but he soon answered in a nonchalant tone.
“It was tough. How far did it go?”
The main rule of the villain gathering is [Boss Rush], which is one step further from [Boss Raid].
You must kill a number of B-rank mid-boss level demons.
‘The clear condition is to kill at least 12 out of 20 people.’
Of course, those madmen don’t run around in droves.
They are the ones who like to act alone, but their goal is the same, so they are spread out all over the large dungeon.
In order to deal with a large number of them efficiently, the Pengmiryeong Expeditionary Force also had to split up its personnel, so the 15 people were divided into three groups of five.
And the current progress is,
– For now, we’ve caught four people. Two from our group, and one from the other two groups.
One third of the clear conditions have been achieved.
Of course, the purpose of the Pengmiryeong Expedition is not just clearing dungeons.
Dang Gyu-yeong asked.
“Are you going to get into the rain soon?”
– Yeah, I’m only going to take eight people.
Using the Jangbo-do to investigate the secrets of the Blood Demon Demon is also their main goal.
However, if you consume too much power in the rain, it may cause problems in your subsequent attacks, so you want to catch eight people early.
I also mentioned that in the strategy book I gave you.
Dang Gyu-yeong nodded.
“It looks like everything is going smoothly. Well, take care. If anything comes up, let me know.”
– Yeah, you too.
Contact with Peng Mi-ryeong was cut off there.
It seems like we’re following the strategy without much trouble in the early to mid-game, but we’ll have to wait and see if there are any variables in the later stages.
But for now, it doesn’t seem necessary for us to intervene, so let’s just each do our own thing.
“Let’s start moving slowly.”
In this dungeon, I was implicitly assigned the role of party leader.
It’s probably because they thought they knew at least one more thing since they created and distributed a strategy guide.
So, as I went, everyone in the group started moving along with me.
The starting point is a forest on the outskirts of the city, with pavilions visible not far away.
But since there was nothing to do in the city right now, I turned my back on it and led the group deeper into the forest.
As I climbed up and down the short hill, I noticed tall bamboo trees one by one.
The bamboo continued to grow until eventually a dense bamboo forest appeared.
Even at first glance, it seems like there’s something there if you go in further,
“It must be around here.”
Before that, there’s something small to take care of.
After turning 90 degrees and walking a little, a small open space appeared.
It’s extremely messy with so many wild flowers and weeds.
“Okay, then take them one by one.”
What I gave away was a Grade F iron hoe.
And there’s only one thing to do with a hoe.
“Capsida.”
“… … .”
The good thing about distributing a strategy book is that you don’t have to explain and convince people in detail every time you do something.
For reference, the strategy manual states the following:
[An elixir comes out of a weed field near the bamboo grove.]
No matter how much you have, it’s not enough.
Besides, since it came from a B-rank dungeon, a certain rank was guaranteed, so everyone sat down without saying a word and started stirring up the weeds.
However, Jang Moo-geuk looked somewhat skeptical.
“I guess I’ve done all the farm work in the dungeon.”
“Haha, this is also an experience.”
“You have a positive attitude.”
“I hear that often.”
Jang Moo-geuk thought it would be difficult to gain sympathy, so he kept his mouth shut and focused on his work.
After a while, he finds something and pulls it out by the roots to show it to me.
“Isn’t this poisonous?”
[Blood clotting herb (D)]
It has the effect of coagulating the blood, and is located somewhere between a medicinal herb and a poisonous plant.
If refined, it can be used as medicine, but if eaten raw, it is poisonous.
In addition, there are poisonous plants of grades C to E mixed in among the weeds.
In terms of proportion, it would be 80% weeds, 19% poisonous plants, and 1% elixir.
I answered nonchalantly.
“Collect the poisonous weeds separately. They’re a waste to throw away.”
“Okay.”
It was not a wrong statement, and Jang Moo-geuk readily agreed.
In fact, saving poisonous plants is also one of my minor goals.
The more you save for your next plan, the better.
Meanwhile, Dang Gyu-yeong was handing a hoe to the shadow hands and working several times more comfortably and quickly than others.
Then he slowly came closer to me and tickled my cheek with a weed that looked like dog’s paw grass.
“Young monarch, tell me honestly.”
“What?”
“You, do you know where you are?”
Dang Gyu-young has learned through numerous experiences that his eye for detail is like that of a ghost.
So I can’t find the elixir that’s somewhere in the weed patch, so I order the whole party to dig a hole?
The conclusion is that you know but pretend not to know.
I admitted it readily.
“I got caught.”
“Why are you pretending not to know?”
“Because we need labor.”
Of the five of us, I’m the only one who needs poison.
In such a situation, if you just pull out the weeds, there is no reason to bother with the weeding any longer.
Even if I just look at Jang Mu-geuk, I’ll put down my hoe right away.
On the other hand, if you leave it to find it on its own, the search time will be a little longer, but more poison will accumulate.
Dang Gyu-yeong narrowed his eyes.
“You use your party members to satisfy your own selfish desires. Don’t you feel guilty?”
“Just a little. Can you keep it a secret?”
“It’s a secret again?”
“The more the better.”
“That’s true, but… … why is it so annoying?”
As Dang Gyu-yeong slowly approached, I widened the distance between us.
“Why are you coming so close?”
“Just pull the ball hard once.”
“I don’t like it.”
Dang Gyu-yeong kept coming closer and I kept backing away.
While we were playing tag while sitting like that, we heard Cha Da-bin’s voice.
“I found it.”
At the same time, I turned my head and saw that Cha Da-bin was holding a thick root of water parsley in her hand.
[Three hundred years of sewerage (C+)]
“… … It really is coming out.”
Jang Moo-geuk said.
If it’s a C+ grade elixir, the effect will be quite good even if you divide it into five parts.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
I threw out a word as if it were a passing remark.
“There’s one more. It’s five hundred years old.”
“… … !”
“… … !”
Go Hyun-woo and Jang Moo-geuk’s eyes sparkled.
And with burning enthusiasm, he began to turn over the weed field.
