The lower floors of the dungeon building were teeming with students.
Everyone had jumped straight into raids from day one, eager to make the most of the 1.5× drop rate boost.
A long line stretched out in front of the elevators, while the impatient ones chose to take the spiral staircase instead.
Naturally, we were among the latter.
Even if it meant walking a bit more, it saved time in the long run. Plus, we needed to stay in sync with the Go Hyeon-woo, Hong Yeon-hwa team.
So, we briskly descended the spiral staircase and soon arrived at floor E.
Before us stood a glowing teleportation portal.
[No.676] [Crocodile Swamp]
“Let’s clear this one quick.”
“Clear it.”
As soon as we entered the dungeon, the damp air clung to our faces.
All around, dense trees blocked out most of the sunlight, and large and small swampy pools dotted the terrain.
The scene felt strangely familiar, and I couldn’t help but grin as I turned to Seo Ye-in.
“Doesn’t this remind you of our first strategy battle together?”
“Time Attack.”
“You remember.”
The second week’s strategy battle had been a Goblin Swamp Time Attack.
Breaking through swamp goblins and decapitators to destroy the totem as fast as possible.
“Let’s go with something similar here. We don’t have to do a full-on time attack, but the faster we wrap this up, the better.”
“Got it.”
Seo Ye-in raised her chin slightly as she loaded her magic gun.
With that, I took the lead and gradually picked up speed.
Then, as we passed a particularly large swamp pool—
The once-still surface rippled.
Shaaaaaaa!!
A crocodile larger than a person burst out with its jaws wide open.
But there was no way we’d fall for such a cheap ambush.
Instead of human flesh, it got a mouthful of compressed air and magic bullets.
Tutututututu!
Then, more crocodiles suddenly sprang up from all around the swamp.
In an instant, the entire area was crawling with them.
Even so, we didn’t slow down for a second and kept advancing.
Kwoooooooosh!
The Destructive Gale swept through and blasted away the two crocodiles blocking our path.
I kicked their dying bodies aside and kept running, while Seo Ye-in followed behind, finishing them off one by one.
Tudududu!
As we ran, I called over my shoulder,
“By the way, when I was explaining the Glutton Box quest earlier, I forgot to mention….we still have that unused random box, remember?”
“Later box.”
[Research Lab Random Box (A)]
Back during Dang Gyu-young’s Umbramancer (Shadow Master) class advancement quest, we’d gotten two of these from defeating the lab director.
One had given us a Skillbook Fairy Summon Scroll, and the other… had been left untouched, thanks to our lucky charm’s whims.
“How about we just feed it to the box right now?”
“No.”
“It’s worth 2,500 Glutton Points in one go, though?”
– shake head.
“What if I ignore you and use it anyway?”
“Then you’ll have a lot of regrets.”
“Right. And we should avoid a lot of regrets.”
Honestly, I had no intention of wasting an A-rank random box either.
We hadn’t even properly started the event quest yet.
It just came to mind, so I brought it up.
“You’ll open it someday, right?”
“Someday.”
“When exactly? This year, maybe?”
“Don’t know.”
“You’ve left it sealed for so long, it’s probably collecting dust by now. Care to comment?”
“It’s maturing.”
“Like wine?”
Tududududu!
Even as we exchanged light banter, our pace never slowed.
Behind us lay nothing but ruins and heaps of dead crocodiles.
Then, ahead, a particularly massive swamp pool came into view.
The moment we approached, something enormous burst out.
Sshhhhaaaa!
A gigantic crocodile, big enough to swallow a house whole.
The boss monster of this dungeon.
But Seo Ye-in didn’t seem the least bit tense.
The instant the beast opened its jaws wide—
Thunk!
A thick grenade shot from her magic gun, arcing gracefully through the air and landing straight inside its mouth.
A split second later, an explosion erupted from within its belly.
Boooooom!
The boss crocodile met its end the very moment it appeared.
As the dungeon cleared, a teleportation portal shimmered open before us.
Lying at its base were three random boxes.
[Crocodile Swamp Random Box (E)] ×3
Since it was a short dungeon, the basic reward was usually just two random boxes, but seeing a third one drop probably meant the 1.5x drop rate was working properly.
I quickly grabbed the boxes and headed toward the exit.
“Let’s go.”
“Got it.”
As soon as we stepped outside, I sent a message to Go Hyeon-woo and Hong Yeon-hwa.
But maybe they were still in the middle of their run. No reply came.
Instead, I had a message from Dang Gyu-young.
[Dang Gyu-young: (Keng! fox emoji)]
[Dang Gyu-young: Hi, Kim Ho!]
[Dang Gyu-young: The weather’s really nice today!]
[Dang Gyu-young: Perfect day to hit a dungeon!]
[Kim Ho: Sorry]
[Kim Ho: Party’s full]
[Dang Gyu-young: (Serious fox emoji)]
[Dang Gyu-young: Who’s in it?]
[Kim Ho: Go Seo Hong]
At that moment, Seo Ye-in tugged lightly on my arm.
Then she looked up at me and asked,
“Who?”
“Dang-Gyu noona.”
“I’ve got something to say.”
“That’s rare for you. What do you want me to tell her?”
“Reservation successful.”
At the same time, she flashed a peace sign with her fingers.
“Is the V-sign part of the message too?”
“Very important.”
“Got it.”
[Kim Ho: Noona]
[Kim Ho: Seo Ye-in wanted me to pass this on]
[Dang Gyu-young: ?? Her?]
[Dang Gyu-young: What’d she say?]
[Kim Ho: Reservation successful]
[Kim Ho: (victorious cat emoji)]
[Dang Gyu-young: Aack!!]
[Dang Gyu-young: (fire-breathing fox emoji)]
[Dang Gyu-young: (fox emoji destroying things)]
[Dang Gyu-young: That’s it]
[Dang Gyu-young: Where are you]
[Kim Ho: Whoa there, calm down]
[Kim Ho: Even if you come, it’s no use]
[Kim Ho: Party’s full, remember?]
[Dang Gyu-young: Let’s kick out Go Hyeon-woo]
[Kim Ho: No can do]
[Kim Ho: Besides, I didn’t tell you on purpose]
[Dang Gyu-young: (shocked fox emoji)]
[Dang Gyu-young: Whyyy?]
[Dang Gyu-young: WHYYY??]
[Dang Gyu-young: I feel so betrayed]
[Kim Ho: It’s 1.5x, you know]
[Kim Ho: When you party with us, you lose 1.5x as much]
By now, Dang Gyu-young had the skills to handle high-level dungeons without issue.
If she chose to tackle a low-level dungeon with that kind of power, she’d just be losing out on time-to-reward efficiency.
And with this week’s 1.5x drop rate, the loss would be even greater.
[Dang Gyu-young: I’m fine with it though?]
[Kim Ho: I’m not fine with it]
[Kim Ho: (strict fox emoji)]
[Kim Ho: This week, go hang out with Sho-sho noona instead]
[Dang Gyu-young: I’ve decided to be upset]
[Dang Gyu-young: Don’t contact me for a while]
[Dang Gyu-young: (fox turning its back emoji)]
[Kim Ho: How long is “a while”?]
[Dang Gyu-young: Until you finish everything and come out]
I paused to think for a moment, then replied again.
[Kim Ho: Isn’t that basically telling me to hurry up and go do it?]
[Dang Gyu-young: That’s right, you rascal!]
[Dang Gyu-young: You better go do it]
[Dang Gyu-young: (fox with a bat emoji)]
“Kim-hyung.”
When I turned my head, Go Hyeon-woo and Hong Yeon-hwa were standing there. When had they shown up?
“All done, huh? Not too bad, right?”
“Haha, perfect for a warm-up. Oh, and I thought this might come in handy, so I brought it along.”
[Ice Desert Random Box (E)] ×3
Sure enough, despite being a short dungeon, one extra box had dropped here too.
I took them and gave a nod.
“Thanks, I’ll put them to good use. E-rank boxes are 100 points each, so that’s 600 points right there. Actually, let’s test it out now.”
Might as well show how it worked.
I opened the Glutton Box, placed an E-rank random box inside, and closed the lid.
A moment later, something inside gave a squishy rumble, and the number on the score display ticked upward.
▷Glutton Points: 100
The others watched curiously.
“Ah~”
“So that’s how it works. Got it.”
I then added four more random boxes, bringing the Glutton Points to 500.
Afterward, I looked around at the group and asked,
“Shall we head straight down? If you need more time, let me know.”
“I’m ready.”
“M-Me too…”
Go Hyeon-woo and Hong Yeon-hwa each gave a quick response, and Seo Ye-in gave a small nod.
So I nodded as well and stepped forward onto the spiral staircase.
“Alright. Let’s move.”
Currently, we were only authorized up to Floor E. To go lower, we’d have to sneak in.
Of course, I’d already arranged things in advance.
When we reached the bottom of Floor E, Shin Byeong-cheol, who had been waiting, gave us an exaggerated bow.
“Well, well, you’ve arrived.”
“Are the ‘items’ ready?”
“Hehe, I’ve prepared something top-notch today, just for you.”
Shin Byeong-cheol gave a sly grin.
Then, he slowly extended his tightly clenched fist toward me.
As I held my hand underneath, he loosened his grip, and the “items” dropped into my palm.
They were four anonymous badges.
A type of recognition-disrupting item that makes the wearer’s appearance seem completely ordinary.
Shin Byeong-cheol asked casually,
“You sure you don’t need a guide?”
“We’re going on our own today.”
Even now, students were going up and down the spiral staircase in large numbers.
If we put on the anonymous badges and blended into the crowd, it wouldn’t be hard to reach Floor C.
In fact, it was even less risky than going down late at night.
Shin Byeong-cheol clearly understood that but still looked disappointed at the loss of work.
“Well, can’t be helped.”
“Next time. Here, take this.”
As payment for borrowing the anonymous badges, I handed him the last E-rank random box I’d held onto.
At that, Shin Byeong-cheol rubbed his hands together in a pathetic display.
“Hey, hyungnim, how about just one more? Couldn’t you spare it?”
“Mr. Shin Byeong-cheol, think about everything you’ve taken from us so far.”
“…Ahem.”
Unable to argue, Shin Byeong-cheol let out a forced cough.
Then his expression turned desperate.
“Come on, cut me a break. I’m totally broke right now.”
“Weren’t you rich?”
“I blew it all in the tournament. No—! I went all in on Namgoong-senior, and then—!”
Come to think of it, the top candidate to win the tournament had been Namgoong Chang-cheon.
He lost to Song Cheon-gi by the slimmest margin. It was barely a sheet of paper between them.
I understood the situation now, but that didn’t mean I suddenly felt sympathy.
“So basically, you blew all your money on gambling.”
“Ahem! No need to put it quite so bluntly…”
“And now you’re asking us for a bonus? I’d call that inappropriate behavior.”
“Mm, honestly, you’re right. I admit it.”
Go Hyeon-woo joined in with a gentle smile.
“I still remember the business plan you once mentioned. With your skill, I believe you’ll bounce back in no time.”
“You get it! You’re truly my friend.”
“But still, it’s best to keep betting to a moderate level.”
“Ahem… Noted.”
Shin Byeong-cheol reaffirmed his resolve.
Whether he would end up opening a small teahouse in some corner of town or become the owner of a massive coffee franchise with dozens of shops remained to be seen.
Soon after, we each put on an anonymous badge and stepped onto Floor D.
From this point on, all the students we passed were upperclassmen, but none of them paid us any attention.
There were simply too many people, and everyone was too focused on their own progress.
Thanks to that, we made our way down to Floor C without any trouble and arrived at our destination.
Then, as if on cue, all of us turned to look at the teleportation portal.
[No.242] [Land of the Warrior]
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