The Support Ate it All

On the way to the dungeon building,

I was reenacting the brief fight with Oh Se-hoon at Han So-mi’s request.

I also added light gestures to emphasize.

“The hammer flew at me like this while spinning around.”

“Mhmm, mhmm! And then?”

“So I barely dodged it. But instead of just flying past, it started circling nearby and came back at me again.”

“Whoa—”

Han So-mi responded with constant admiration and encouraging sounds.

Oh Se-hoon tended to let his team members handle most of the fights rather than stepping in himself.

Because of that, even though Song Cheon-hye and Han So-mi had been active as lead disciplinary members, they had never actually seen him fight.

But for some reason, on that night, Oh Se-hoon decided to challenge Dang Gyu-young and me to a match, and naturally, the three of them couldn’t help but be immensely curious about the experience.

“So? Then what happened?”

Not only was Han So-mi eagerly pressing for more of the story, but Song Cheon-hye who was pretending not to listen had her ears perked up, and even Shin Byeong-cheol who was usually chattering nonstop had gone quiet to focus on what I was saying.

I continued with the story.

“—Dang Gyu-young and I barely managed to tie him up, but then he suddenly disappeared.”

“What? Where did he go?”

“He just poof disappeared, then reappeared above us. He used Blink.”

“Blink! What happened next?”

Han So-mi’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

I mimicked the motion of slamming down a hammer.

“After that, of course, boom happened.”

“Poof! and then boom!”

Han So-mi’s enthusiastic reactions always made storytelling enjoyable.

By the time I finished sharing my experience, we were already quite close to the dungeon building.

Just as I was about to speak again, Song Cheon-hye smoothly cut into the conversation.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

I didn’t see any reason to refuse, so I gave her a small nod. Song Cheon-hye turned to Han So-mi.

“Go wait for us over there.”

“What are you two talking about?”

“It’s a secret.”

“A secret? I want to hear it too!”

“It’s something important.”

“An important secret? I really want to hear it!”

Curiosity practically shot out of Han So-mi’s wide eyes like lasers.

Even so, Song Cheon-hye firmly shook her head.

“Not this time.”

“Then later!”

“…We’

But judging by Song Cheon-hye’s evasive tone, it was doubtful whether she would share it later either.

Once Han So-mi and Shin Byeong-cheol had walked far enough away, Song Cheon-hye spread her mana widely to create a soundproof barrier.

She was taking precautions against the possibility of anyone eavesdropping.

Since it seemed like she was finally ready to talk, I asked,

“So, what is it?”

“…Have you decided?”

“Decided what?”

“How you’re going to use your wish ticket.”

The “wish ticket” she was talking about wasn’t the small wish ticket I had earned from the mentoring bet but the big wish ticket I won from the magnifying glass bet. Ɍ�

Although there hadn’t been any clear boundaries set, it basically meant I could ask Song Cheon-hye for almost anything—

Even if it violated school rules.

For her, it was an enormous source of anxiety, so she was probably desperate to resolve it as quickly as possible.

Better to face the music sooner rather than later.

But I had no intention of using it anytime soon.

“Is there any reason I have to use it right now?”

“What if you don’t use it now?”

“I thought I’d hold onto it for a while.”

“…How long?”

“Maybe until third year?”

As bright as Song Cheon-hye’s future was, the value of the wish ticket would only grow over time.

Right now, as a first-year, she was just an ordinary member of the disciplinary committee, but who knew what she might become by her third year?

She could end up leading the Topaz Maguc Tower, or she might become the president of the disciplinary committee or even the student council president.

The more authority she gained, the broader the range of wishes I could demand, so there was no reason to waste it now.

Perhaps because my unexpected response had thrown her off guard, Song Cheon-hye’s voice began to tremble slightly.

“Th-That’s ridiculous.”

“It’s not ridiculous; it is what it is.”

“…I-I mean, there’s an expiration date. An expiration date!”

“The expiration date is three years.”

“I never said anything like that!”

“No, you didn’t. You should’ve brought it up before the bet.”

The finer details were supposed to be negotiated before making a bet.

If not, then the winner has to decide everything.

Song Cheon-hye’s complexion turned paler and paler.

Then, as if trying to resist, she shouted in a shaky voice.

“I-I’m not doing it! Do you think I’ll let you wait until third year for something like that—”

“Whether you do it or not is up to you. It’s not like we wrote a contract.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, if you don’t want to, don’t. But… wouldn’t Senior Kwak Seung-jae be disappointed if he heard about this?”

“T

The magnifying glass bet had taken place right in front of Kwak Seung-jae.

After the winner was decided, he had even emphasized it repeatedly.

– Whatever Kim Ho demands with his wish ticket, make sure it’s fulfilled.”

Ignoring such a wish ticket would be the same as ignoring Kwak Seung-jae.

With Song Cheon-hye’s personality, that was something she could never do.

Realizing there was no way out, Song Cheon-hye trembled slightly on the spot.

At that, I casually tossed out a suggestion.

“There is actually one way to get rid of it.”

“…What is it?”

“Another bet. With the wish ticket on the line.”

“And if I lose, it becomes two?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Song Cheon-hye spoke in the firmest tone imaginable.

“I’m not doing it.”

“Really? You’re sure?”

“Absolutely, never doing it.”

“Yeah, it’d be pretty foolish to take another one. You’ve finally learned something.”

“Ha, seriously.”

Song Cheon-hye sharply turned her head, as if there was no point in continuing the conversation.

But judging by her occasional side glances in my direction, her anxiety seemed to be growing even more.

On the other hand, nothing had changed from my perspective, so I spoke calmly.

“If we’re done talking, let’s go. The others are waiting.”

“…Fine.”

We hurried our steps to catch up with the group that had gone ahead.

“What were you talking about? What were you talking about?”

Song Cheon-hye lightly brushed off Han So-mi’s curious questions and stepped out onto the circular staircase.

As we descended, she began briefing us on what we had to do.

“The first-year groups will be clearing F-rank dungeons.”

A list of dungeons appeared in the air, streaming downwards.

Since we weren’t qualified for E-rank yet, they were all F-rank.

Recently cleared dungeons were also excluded because the Dark Oobleck disappeared when a dungeon reset.

So, although the list looked a little sparse, there were still an overwhelming number of F-rank dungeons, stretching far down the screen.

Shin Byeong-cheol already looked defeated.

“Hey, this is way too much. Even if we worked all weekend, it wouldn’t be enough.”

“It would be if we cleared them one by one. But our goal is just to check whether there’s Dark Oobleck in each dungeon.”

“And if we don’t find them?”

“We’ll use this.”

Song Cheon-hye pulled out a bundle of magic scrolls from her inventory.

[Emergency Escape Scroll (F)]

It was a magic scroll that opened an exit regardless of whether the dungeon had been cleared or not once it was torn.

We had used the same scroll when tackling the Black Death Dungeon when we grabbed only the ingot chest and escaped with it.

Normally, these scrolls had to be purchased from the student store, but considering the circumstances, it seemed the school had provided them as support.

“Oh, well, that makes it a bit better.”

Shin Byeong-cheol looked slightly relieved to hear they wouldn’t need to clear every single dungeon.

But then, as if another question had suddenly come to mind, he asked,

“…But what if there is a Dark Oobleck?”

“Then we fight it, of course.”

That was the whole reason the party was formed with four members and included two disciplinary committee members.

While the dungeons we were entering were F-rank, the moment Dark Oobleck appeared, they wouldn’t remain F-rank anymore.

To take it down with minimal damage, we needed an overwhelming power difference, even if it seemed excessive.

In the end, combat was unavoidable and Shin Byeong-cheol’s expression turned sour again.

But at this point, there wasn’t much he could do.

If he wanted to survive, he had no choice but to give it his best effort.

Before long, we exited the circular staircase and entered a hallway.

We passed countless dungeons waiting with their entrances wide open and finally reached our first destination.

[No. 886] [Mole Mine]

Shin Byeong-cheol stood in front of the teleportation portal and spoke with a determined tone.

“Phew… Looks like I’ll have to take charge of reconnaissance here. I’ll go in first.”

“Huh? But we’re going in right after you though?”

When Han So-mi tilted her head and asked, Shin Byeong-cheol snapped back at her.

“Hey! It’s just a figure of speech! Count to thirty and then come in.”

With that, he put on airs until the very end and entered the dungeon.

As soon as Shin Byeong-cheol disappeared, Song Cheon-hye stepped forward, not even a second later.

“There’s no time for jokes. Let’s enter right away.”

“Still, you could’ve let the kid save face for at least 20 seconds.”

“…10 seconds. Not a second more.”

Then she counted exactly 10 seconds and crossed the teleportation portal.

I looked at Han So-mi.

“She’s really heartless, isn’t she?”

“But Cheon-hye’s still nice!”

“That’s true. She just lacks flexibility. Shall we go in, too?”

“Mhmm! Let’s go!”

One by one, we crossed the teleportation portal.

The first thing that came into view was a long tunnel.

Lights were sparsely installed, and the path split into multiple branches, so it was impossible to see what lay far ahead.

Tracks were laid on the ground, and several mining tools, including minecarts, caught my eye.

This was a clearance dungeon, right?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

[Clearance] Rule.

The goal was to explore the mine and eliminate monsters like giant moles, bats, and insects.

Although it was somewhat tedious to search through the vast and complex mine, the overall difficulty was on the easier side.

However, what we saw next was—

“Hey, hey, hey! Help! Someone help!”

It was Shin Byeong-cheol running toward us as if his feet were on fire.

Chasing behind him was a black mass that wasn’t clear whether it was liquid or solid.

It was the Dark Oobleck.

In Winterhalt Fortress, it had taken the form of an ice witch mixed with a golem, but now it resembled a giant mole.

This was because its shape changed depending on the monsters it devoured.

Of course, in addition to the mole, it also had bat wings and insect forelegs attached to it.

Looks like it ate quite a variety of monsters.

I exchanged glances with Song Cheon-hye.

“It came out right from the start, huh.”

“This works in our favor. Let’s take care of it.”

Song Cheon-hye put on black gloves on both hands, and Han So-mi cheerfully drew the sword from her waist.

Meanwhile, Shin Byeong-cheol was still running desperately and shouting.

“Quick, quick! Help! Someone help me, please! It’s gonna catch me!”

The two members of the disciplinary committee took a step forward, but I raised a hand to stop them.

“Hold on for a moment.”

Then I placed the sapling against the ground and stretched my hand forward.

[Ice Wall]

A thick wall of ice suddenly rose up between Shin Byeong-cheol and the Dark Oobleck.

The creature couldn’t stop its momentum and rammed straight into the ice wall.

Thud!

A deafening boom echoed through the mine, and dust trickled down from above.

Even if the two had joined the fight, separating the creature from Shin Byeong-cheol wouldn’t have been easy.

If everyone had gotten tangled up together, cutting it off with the ice wall would have been even harder, so I held them back for a moment.

Works like a charm.

As expected of the B-rank core, the wall formed quickly and had impressive durability.

Even though the Dark Oobleck had crashed into it at full speed, there wasn’t even a crack, let alone a complete break.

At that moment, I felt a gaze on me, so I turned my head slightly. Song Cheon-hye was staring at me with a clearly dissatisfied expression on her face.

“What?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Song Cheon-hye brushed it off as if it was no big deal.

But she started gently rubbing her forehead with her hand.