Episode 67: In-depth (1)
Fencing club.
It is a club that serves as a pillar of the Murim Federation among the four major powers.
There is only one condition for joining: you must use a sword as your main weapon.
As the saying goes, “the sword is the king of all diseases,” the number of students who use swords is overwhelmingly greater than that of students who use other weapons.
Additionally, as long as you use a sword, you will be accepted without discrimination even if you belong to a force other than the Martial Arts Federation.
The inspectors gathered in one place and formed a huge force that competed for first and second place within Yongsal Academy.
The White Magic Club is comparable to it, and the difference in weight class with the clubs below it is huge.
If an all-out war were to break out, mid-level clubs like the Thieves’ Club would be crushed in an instant, so even Dang Gyu-yeong couldn’t ignore it.
Of course, if a club president or higher level person has a problem, they have a few means of covering it up.
Perhaps most of Dang Gyu-yeong’s worries were directed at me.
“As you probably know, being targeted by the fencing club is on a whole different level than being targeted by Emerald. Are you still going to do it?”
“Yes, I do.”
However, when I answered without a second of hesitation, Dang Gyu-yeong was taken aback.
No matter what, I guess he thought he would back off at this point.
“… … You’re saying that? Really?”
“Really.”
I thought it was a bit of a coincidence.
At this point, I didn’t know that the fencing club and my goals would overlap so exactly.
But that’s it.
Anyway, there was going to be some kind of contact with the Murim Alliance, either through trade or conflict.
There’s nothing significant about it other than the timing being brought forward a little.
“I will take care of the aftermath. Please proceed.”
“… … .”
Dang Gyu-yeong looked at me with complicated eyes, then shook his head as if he couldn’t stop me.
“Oh, right. I wonder if our junior, who graduated over 200 times, has any other options. Then let’s proceed. When are you going to come down?”
“It’s a dungeon that takes up quite a bit of time, so I think Friday would be a good day.”
“Yeah, I think Friday would be good too. Who’s going? The handsome guy I saw last time and the pretty gray-haired one?”
I think it’s probably a story about Ko Hyun-woo and Seo Ye-in.
They only briefly got to know each other by attending the duel with the Emerald Tower.
“Only good-looking friends go together.”
“You went to Class D with him on Monday too, right? Let’s have Byeong-cheol as our guide. There will be two more people in the deep division. Me and him.”
Dang Gyu-yeong pointed to himself and the tablet student in turn.
Shin Byeong-cheol was startled and asked back.
“Sister, are you going in person?”
“If you’re going to do it, you might as well do it right. But get paid more in labor costs. What do you think?”
Then Dang Gyu-yeong asked my opinion.
If someone as capable as the club president could cover for me, I would be grateful even if it meant more labor costs.
“I like something certain, too.”
“good.”
Dang Gyu-yeong will use shadows to obscure the presence of those accompanying him, and Shin Byeong-cheol will take care of the physical devices.
And of course, it’s the Tablet Girl’s job to neutralize magical engineering devices like crystal balls.
Meanwhile, the tablet girl was quietly listening to the conversation on one side with a tired expression.
While my hands were tapping away at the tablet without resting.
Dang Gyu-yeong looked back and forth between me and the tablet girl and tilted his head.
“… … ?”
This is the look on their face that makes you wonder, why are they so awkward?
Then, as if remembering something, his eyebrows shot up.
‘It’s not that I’m awkward, it’s just that we’re meeting for the first time.’
I saw it when the temporary storage was broken into, but it was wearing a mask then.
I still carry my tablet around with me and have been trying to figure it out, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to figure it out.
Dang Gyu-yeong noticed that point belatedly and introduced it.
“Oh, this is Chae Da-bin.”
Looking at the tie pin, I saw that he was in his second year.
Chae Da-bin pointed at me with her eyes and asked.
“It’s a request, so it’s okay if we go down together, but she’s a first-year student. Are you saying she’s clearing Class B?”
“That’s… … . It’s complicated to explain. Hey, can I say ‘that’?”
Dang Gyu-yeong asked my permission before answering the question.
I nodded, catching on to what ‘that’ meant.
It seemed like Cha Da-bin wasn’t the type of person to go around talking nonsense, and even if she did, she was confident she could handle it.
Dang Gyu-young introduced me.
“This is Inferno Fist.”
“!!”
Cha Da-bin opened her eyes wide and looked at me.
I guess you never would have imagined that the person who defeated Kwak Seung-jae was a first-year student.
“That was you?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
“Then… … B-class might be possible… … Me? Is it possible?”
He asks Dang Gyu-young if he is not sure about his level.
However, it seems that Dang Gyu-yeong is also unsure.
He looks at me with an ambiguous expression.
“Well, I don’t know about that. Kim Hoya, be honest. Are you stronger than me?”
“Of course not. How could I beat a third grader?”
“Then what are you going to do? Even if I get into Class B, it’ll be extremely difficult.”
“Without further explanation, look at this.”
I handed a document to Dang Gyu-yeong.
[Black Death] Strategy Guide.
For quick understanding, I have summarized much of the content from what I gave to Go Hyun-woo.
From the first page, Dang Gyu-yeong’s eyes were filled with a strange feeling.
Every time I flip through the pages, a hollow laugh escapes my lips.
“Hey… … Where did you get something like this?”
Shin Byeong-cheol and Chae Da-bin, who were curious, stood behind him and glanced over his shoulder at the strategy book.
The three people’s gazes gradually became more ominous, and they began to glance at me and whisper.
– So in short, you go in and just take the gist of it and come out? This is completely… … .
– You have the mindset of a total thief.
– There is no such thing as a thief.
– I told you. He’s the perfect candidate for our club.
– Looking at it now, it seems a bit vulgar… … .
– I knew it from the beginning. Did I feel the spirit of my kind?
Somehow, it felt like the timing was right for another recruitment offer to come in, so I hit the player right before Dang Gyu-young opened his mouth.
“What do you think, do you think it’ll work?”
“… …! Anyway, you’re really good at keeping up with the times. Yeah, if we follow your strategy, there won’t be many fights.”
Next, Dang Gyu-yeong pointed out a part of the strategy book.
“But looking at this part, I think we need someone to dismantle the organ system.”
“I was going to ask you to do that anyway.”
“Why go far? He’s right here.”
Everyone’s eyes were focused on Shin Byeong-cheol.
Shin Byeong-cheol pointed at himself with his finger.
“Me? You want me to go in? A B-class dungeon?”
“You said that last time. If you get caught by this body, things like organ transplants are just child’s play!”
“No, I did, but it’s not quite B-class. People’s lives are at stake.”
“What danger could there be for you? You saw the strategy. And you can use the emergency escape in case of emergency.”
“What if something goes wrong? Then it’ll just go away!”
“You have to do it well so that you don’t make any mistakes!”
The bickering between Dang Gyu-yeong and Shin Byeong-cheol continued for a while.
Shin Byeong-cheol, who had always been oppressed by the authority of the club president and couldn’t even say anything, but this time, perhaps because he felt his personal safety was threatened, he didn’t back down easily and stood up to him.
Considering that there were dangerous elements within the dungeon, Dang Gyu-yeong also tried to persuade people rather than forcibly take them out.
The balance was so exquisite that I felt like it would last all day if I left it like that.
I had no choice but to cut off the conversation midway.
“Let’s talk about conservatives. You might change your mind after listening.”
“Oh, I won’t do it. No matter what they pay me, I won’t do it. I really won’t do it. Even if they beat me to death, I won’t do it. I just won’t do it.”
Shin Byeong-cheol expressed with his whole body that he did not want to enter a B-class dungeon.
“Really? You’ll regret it.”
“I’d rather regret it. I’m a person who wants to live a long and thin life. I’m sorry, but I really need to get to know other seniors—”
“Ghost Muyeong (幽靈無影).”
“… … !”
“… … !”
The faces of the three members of the thieves’ club hardened at the same time.
[Ghostless] is a hidden piece that cannot be overlooked by anyone in a profession that values secrecy.
Even the killer Jang Sam and Wang Pil bit him hard, and the thieves in front of them did the same.
Dang Gyu-yeong asked.
“Was that real? I thought it was some kind of urban legend.”
“It exists.”
I also know how to find it.
It may take some time, but I’ll find it within this semester.
And sharing that hidden piece with the three people in front of you.
That was the price I paid.
“Of course, if I get a ghost shadow in the depths in one go, it would be a loss for me, so I will ask you a few more times.”
“That’s obvious. What about Dabin?”
“… … .”
Cha Da-bin didn’t answer, her brows furrowed as if she was thinking.
It must be hard to believe that a huge hidden piece has suddenly become a bonus.
I ask Dang Gyu-young to confirm again.
“Can I trust this guy?”
“At least I’m not the type to make up stories.”
“… … Then I can’t miss it. I’ll take this request.”
“Me too. Since Byeong-cheol is gone, I just need to find a new spot for him. Who is that guy who is good at piercing organs?”
Dang Gyu-yeong and Chae Da-bin were already talking about excluding Shin Byeong-cheol from the personnel selection.
Shin Byeong-cheol instantly changed his stance 180 degrees and joined the conversation.
“Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute. Who said they’d miss out? The story wouldn’t make sense if we left out Shin Byeong-cheol.”
“You said you weren’t going because your life was on the line?”
“After thinking about it carefully, I think it’ll be okay if I read the strategy carefully and follow it. Right?”
Shin Byeong-cheol asked for my consent.
I repeated what I had just heard from Shin Byeong-cheol.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to live a long and thin life?”
“Me? When? Of course, a man should keep it short and sweet. Right?”
Shin Byeong-cheol, who is completely ignorant.
His face was so thick that even if a barbarian threw a spear at him, it wouldn’t penetrate.
There was nothing wrong with it for me.
It was confirmed that Shin Byeong-cheol’s ability to dismantle traps was comparable to that of a second or third year student.
If you’d like to join us on the same boat, you’re welcome.
Instead, I guess I should just do the basics.
I smiled and took out another bundle of documents.
“Memorize this all by Friday.”
[Black Death] Strategy Guide.
This is not the summary that Dang Gyu-yeong is holding, but the original that Go Hyeon-woo was made to memorize.
Shin Byeong-cheol checked the thickness of the document and made a breathless expression.
“Well, there’s a lot of it. Wouldn’t it be a bit difficult to memorize it all in two days?”
From the perspective of someone entering the dungeon directly, there is a lot to be familiar with, so it is bound to be thick.
But there was no room for compromise on this point.
It is impossible to roughly memorize the strategy for the deep dungeon or give it more time.
“So I guess I’ll have to give up something else? Maybe take on less errands or sleep less.”
“… … .”
“If you don’t like it, there’s a way to not do it.”
Then, Shin Byeong-cheol accepted the strategy book with the utmost respect.
“How could I dislike it? Give it to me. I’m just going to input everything into my head.”
“You’ll take the test later. If you get it wrong, I won’t take you.”
“Don’t worry. I told you to memorize it all.”
Shin Byeong-cheol headed to the corner of the office with the documents, as if he was about to start right away.
I heard a small soliloquy.
“There comes a time in my life when I study… … .”
