Second-Year Classroom.
Even though class had just ended, no one stood up from their seats.
Because everyone knew they’d have to sit back down soon enough.
And that they wouldn’t be allowed out for a while.
A Ban Wave had just been activated, so all exits were sealed with force fields, and the disciplinary committee members were expected to arrive any moment.
Bzzzzt—
Soon, a thin magnetic field appeared on one side of the classroom and quickly swept across the room.
The students had grown so used to this that most wore indifferent expressions.
Some, however, clicked their tongues quietly and began placing glowing red items on their desks.
“Ugh, why today of all days?”
“Should’ve left it at home.”
They’d known that a possession inspection was coming soon but had carelessly assumed it wouldn’t be today and got caught for it.
Humans are foolish creatures. Always repeating the same mistakes.
“……”
Hwang Dam-bi, the vice-president of the Archery Club, glanced sideways at them for a moment before slowly lowering her gaze to her lap.
There, a box that looked like it was woven from various plants was glowing green.
[Cube of Life (B)]
It was the reason the Thieves’ Club had managed to secure prohibited items multiple times from the temporary storage room this year, regardless of whether the attempts succeeded or failed.
“They said they smuggled things out using this…”
Apparently, the energy the cube constantly emitted interfered with the Ban Wave.
The same went for other devices operating on a similar principle.
It was such an unexpected item that she couldn’t believe it at first.
She’d even wondered, “Isn’t this just a cheat item?”
As if she’d anticipated that reaction, Dang Gyu-young had handed her the cube without hesitation and said,
– Take it and try it. See if it works or not.
That’s why, still half in doubt, she was giving it a try now.
As the disciplinary committee members moved around the classroom collecting prohibited items and assigning demerits, Hwang Dam-bi quietly lifted the lid of the cube.
Inside was a shriveled furry finger.
An item known as [Monkey’s Finger], proudly listed on the prohibited list.
Though since its danger level was low, the penalty for being caught with it wasn’t too harsh.
Just confiscation and a small number of penalty points.
It was the perfect item to test the cube with.
Yet, even after the Ban Wave had passed, there wasn’t the slightest trace of a red glow from the finger.
The disciplinary members didn’t seem the least bit interested in her, either.
Hwang Dam-bi, feeling a little dazed, thought to herself:
It really works…?
She’d been suspicious for nothing.
A mix of gratitude and guilt welled up toward the head of the Thieves’ Club.
…No, scratch the gratitude.
In exchange for borrowing it for just a few days, she’d already handed over multiple privileges.
They might as well rename themselves the Bandits Club, not the Thieves Club.
In any case, now that the cube’s performance had been confirmed, this operation looked like it would be easier than expected.
All I need to do is get into the temporary storage room.
That would be enough to secure a good number of prohibited items.
Some might ask, “Don’t you have to break through the disciplinary committee to get there? That’s no easy task.”
In response, a confident smile tugged at Hwang Dam-bi’s lips.
That much is worth trying.
Especially if she used her main weapon.
***
Not long after the Ban Wave had been activated, a call came in from the disciplinary committee.
So I headed toward the meeting spot with Dang Gyu-young and Chae Da-bin.
A small conference room, much like the one we’d used for our last secret discussion.
There, Kwak Seung-jae and Oh Se-hoon were already seated, waiting for us.
“You’re here.”
“Have a seat.”
After a quick exchange of greetings, we got straight to the point.
First, Oh Se-hoon pulled out a booklet.
On a black cover, the title “How to Harvest a Graveyard” was written in gray letters. It was as if the book was loudly declaring it was for necromancers.
“I’m not sure if you’d call it lucky, but it was among the confiscated items. You said you needed it, right?”
“That’s the one.”
Dang Gyu-young gave a slight nod of her chin.
Instead of confessing how she’d smuggled out prohibited items, receiving the necromancer grimoire was the deal they had made.
With that, there was no longer any risk of the plan falling through, and a faint smile appeared on Oh Se-hoon’s lips.
Then, slipping the booklet back where it came from, he spoke.
“Then let’s talk again once everything’s over.”
“Sure, whatever.”
Dang Gyu-young had already made deals with the Black Faction and the Archery Club, just as I’d told her to.
As a result, if something went wrong with this infiltration of the temporary storage room and the prohibited items were leaked, she had agreed to not only take responsibility but also reveal her methods.
From the disciplinary committee’s perspective, that meant there would be no reason to hand over the grimoire, hence their desire to delay the trade until the end.
We’re not in a rush either.
The necromancer grimoire was going to be used to expand the [Shadow Extraction] slots, but there was nothing to register in them just yet.
To extract something, you either had to kill or completely subdue your target, but with Durl Battle week underway, dungeon access was blocked and it’s not like an elder from the Blood Cult was going to suddenly show up.
Most likely, she’d have to wait until winter break or maybe even next year before doing anything with it.
So, for now, the grimoire trade could wait.
Kwak Seung-jae glanced around the room and began to speak.
“We’re now ready to go over the operation in detail. First, the location of the temporary storage rooms.”
He spread out a map of Dungeon Island and pointed to two locations.
One was in an isolated area of a busy district, and the other was in the woods between the academy grounds and the downtown area.
The latter had once served as the control tower for the Thieves’ Club during the Black Market incident and had also been used as the third temporary storage site.
Maybe she was feeling petty because Dang Gyu-young grumbled under her breath.
“You’re really squeezing every bit of use out of it, huh? After taking it from us.”
“The location is ideal, so we decided to repurpose it. It’s not like the Thieves’ Club ever owned the building.”
They had secretly renovated an abandoned building and used it.
At a loss for words, Dang Gyu-young changed the subject with a feigned distraction.
“You split them into two again?”
“We determined that was the more advantageous approach.”
Since Kwak Seung-jae’s signature magic “Wooden Door” allowed for immediate support from any location, the more temporary storage sites there were, the easier it was for the Disciplinary Committee to gain the upper hand.
They could’ve assigned three or four per site like during the third operation, but still limited it to two in order to minimize risk.
Even if there was no chance of getting blocked by a [Caw?], there was still a possibility the Wooden Door could be destroyed.
That’s why, unlike before, they didn’t want to rely solely on Kwak Seung-jae again.
“We’ll have more personnel stationed at each storage site and will send reinforcements as soon as the enemy’s main force is identified.”
“Got it.”
This much matched what she’d heard last time, so Dang Gyu-young just shrugged, unconcerned.
Then she asked,
“So what are we doing?”
“Before I explain that, here’s what we’ve gathered about the enemy’s forces.”
Kwak Seung-jae handed over a document.
It was a list of students affiliated with the Black Faction of the Swordsmanship Club.
Names like Mak Dae-wong, Sa Gong-wook, and Jang Moo-geuk stood out.
Flipping through the pages, Dang Gyu-young let out an impressed sound.
“Seeing it like this… they’ve got quite a few.”
“They are the Swordsmanship Club, after all.”
Being the largest club at Dragon Slayer Academy, even a single faction within it had more members than most mid-sized groups.
“They probably fight better than our kids, too.”
Most of them were sword-wielders, with a few assassin-class students mixed in.
There were several strong contenders who consistently ranked high in duel battles.
They wouldn’t be as helpless as the Thieves’ Club was when things got serious.
At that, Oh Se-hoon gave a small smile and replied,
“That’s one thing you don’t have to worry about. At the very least, we won’t lose to them in terms of skill.”
“True.”
It was the kind of confidence you’d expect from the Disciplinary Committee, and Dang Gyu-young accepted it without question.
Next was the Archery Club.
Dang Gyu-young took the list of members and flipped through a few pages.
“…They looked pretty prepared too. Think they’ll bring it? The ballista?”
The ballista.
A large-scale ranged weapon. It was essentially a supersized crossbow.
Depending on the type, it could be operated solo like a sniper rifle, but more often, multiple people worked together to handle a single unit.
This time, it was almost certainly the latter.
With overlapping skills and traits, each shot packed an unbelievable punch. If it landed, even someone from the Disciplinary Committee could be done for.
Kwak Seung-jae slowly nodded.
“We’re expecting up to three at most.”
“The president and vice-president are a given. Dam-bi’s good with it too.”
“She’s had quite a few standout performances in team duel matches.”
Since they were both in the same year, he would know better than anyone.
Judging by the slight hardening of his expression, it seemed he might have taken a serious hit from her in the past.
Sensing that, Dang Gyu-young continued on casually.
“Honestly, they’re probably the biggest variable in this whole operation.”
“Yes, it’ll likely come down to how quickly we can locate and neutralize them.”
“And you want us to handle that?”
“There aren’t many who can move without drawing attention.”
The archers weren’t stupid. If they sensed anyone approaching, they’d either intercept or relocate.
Being a ranged class, they were pretty agile too.
If things went poorly, they could end up getting countered or just chasing shadows until time ran out.
But if it was Chae Da-bin and Dang Gyu-young, they’d likely be able to locate and approach without getting spotted.
At that, Dang Gyu-young asked another question.
“I think I said this before, but I can’t handle it alone. How many of your people are you assigning to us?”
The enemy would also understand how important the ballista was to their strategy.
They’d be prepared for the possibility of the Disciplinary Committee discovering it.
They’ll have guards.
The best of the best from their swordsmen.
There were probably at least three third-years. Even Dang Gyu-young couldn’t guarantee victory against odds like that.
And on top of that, I’ve got to keep my identity hidden this time.
Even if it was her own decision, lending the [Cube of Life] and joining forces with the Disciplinary Committee was, ethically speaking, a bit questionable.
If word got out, she’d be burning bridges completely with both the Black Faction and the Archery Club, and her reputation would take a hit as well.
It was something they had already discussed in the past, and they had agreed to borrow one [Totem of Mimicry] each—one for her, and one for Dang Gyu-young.
Chae Da-bin would support remotely, so she wouldn’t be exposed anyway.
Still, she wanted to be sure who she’d be moving with, which is why she asked.
Kwak Seung-jae answered in a calm tone.
“People skilled in stealth will be joining you.”
“People, huh? So, third-years.”
“That’s right. I’m included too.”
Oh Se-hoon’s eyes narrowed into a gentle smiling arc.
In contrast, Dang Gyu-young frowned slightly.
“Figured as much. Always sneaking off somewhere on your own.”
“Seung-jae handles field command just fine. If I’m there, I’d just get in the way. So, it makes more sense to use the leftover firepower to deal with unexpected variables, don’t you think?”
It was a sound strategy.
Back during the second and third storage site infiltrations, Oh Se-hoon had suddenly shown up near the end and thrown everything into chaos.
Apparently, Dang Gyu-young hadn’t intended to argue about it anyway. She just shrugged.
“Since we’re on the same side, even better. Might as well take this chance to try out that hammer of yours.”
“Now that you mention it, why don’t you give it a swing?”
Oh Se-hoon summoned his glowing hammer and handed it over. Dang Gyu-young took it and gave it a few test swings through the air.
She seemed to like it well enough, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
“…Nice and heavy.”
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