Team A’s main base.
In Mo Yong-jun’s hand was a bundle of shimmering cards.
After a fierce battle against the volcanic eruption and monster wave that had broken out since morning, they had gathered the dropped crystals and item cards.
As he checked the effects one by one, something unusual flashed through his eyes.
“……!”
[Reconnaissance]
▷ Reveals the appearance of a designated location.
[Observe]
▷ Reveals the appearance of a designated target.
▷ The target can perceive the activation of [Observe].
As expected, there was a way to secure vision.
He had already been feeling increasingly frustrated.
For a dungeon meant to last only a few days, it was vast, and the terrain’s elevation was irregular, making it impossible to take in much at a glance.
Moreover, the most important bases were positioned atop hills, making it nearly impossible to look inside.
He had been wondering whether they would have to continue playing defensively or simply clash head-on.
But separate item cards did exist.
If we’re going to use [Reconnaissance], now is the right time.
The other teams must have gone through the monster wave as well, and every one of them would be gathered at their base.
That meant they could extract the maximum amount of information.
Thus, Mo Yong-jun summoned the key forces to one place.
The disciplinary committee members Lee Seul-bi and Geum Jo-han, promising talents Cha Hyeon-joo and Hong Yeon-hwa, Jang Chun-dong (Jang Mu-geuk), and others.
After briefly explaining [Reconnaissance], he said,
“We’ll check Team B first.”
Since several cards had dropped, he intended to look at all of them anyway, but he was especially curious about Team B.
On the first day, they had been heavily plundered by Kim Ho’s Team.
Flaaash—!
Soon, one card shone brightly and vanished, and before everyone’s eyes, a large screen appeared.
It showed Team B’s main base from an aerial perspective.
“…….”
“…….”
Everyone focused intently, scanning here and there.
When the duration ended and the screen disappeared, they each spoke up.
“It seems there’s no damage at all.”
“They must’ve blocked it incredibly cleanly.”
They too were confident that they had handled the monster wave relatively easily.
That was thanks to Lee Seul-bi’s water and ice magic and Hong Yeon-hwa’s astonishing wide-area firepower.
Even so, it had been unavoidable that some team members were injured and several facilities were damaged. Yet Team B seemed to have suffered not even such minor losses.
It appeared the monster wave hadn’t even properly climbed the hill, let alone reached the main base.
Someone else spoke up.
“The overall facility level looks high, too.”
“At that rate, are they one or two ranks ahead of us?”
“They looted that many crystals, after all. Tsk.”
Whatever the case, one thing was certain….Team B was ahead of them.
Before long, Mo Yong-jun pulled out another [Reconnaissance] card.
“This time, let’s take a look at Team C.”
That would allow them to determine who currently ranked first, second, and third.
Flaaash—!
Once again, a screen unfolded before them.
Low murmurs escaped from various places.
“Ah……”
“Huh.”
“That’s……”
Team C’s situation was far worse than theirs.
Their main base was nearly reduced to ruins, and there were noticeably fewer people moving about.
Which meant the damage must have been severe.
Mo Yong-jun’s gaze deepened.
“This is somewhat puzzling. Each team’s strength should be roughly similar, yet the results differ this much.”
“Didn’t they get hit on the first day too?”
“They must have. But that alone doesn’t explain everything.”
If they had been beaten up by Kim Ho in the same way, shouldn’t their situation be similar?
……It seems he made another move.
Mo Yong-jun recalled something Kim Ho had said during the preparation period.
– If third place were to be decided among you.
– The non-aggression pact could become a shackle.
– Then would they really bother lending their strength? I think they’d look for a more realistic method.
– By breaking the non-aggression pact first.
And from what they had just seen through reconnaissance, Jung Jin-myeong’s Team C had fallen far behind in the race.
It meant Kim Ho’s plan was steadily becoming reality.
At this rate, we might really get stabbed in the back.
If so, as he had told him before, the best course would be to strike first before it was too late.
But Mo Yong-jun shook his head.
It’s still too early.
They had obtained item cards and crystals as well.
If handled well, they could not only recover but even aim for a comeback.
There’s still hope.
In that case, Jung Jin-myeong would likely try to maintain the non-aggression pact for the time being.
Which meant there was no reason for them to launch a preemptive attack either.
We should observe a little longer.
Rather, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to apply pressure on Team B?
While Mo Yong-jun pondered his next move, Hong Yeon-hwa spoke in a disinterested tone.
“If there’s nothing more to show, I’ll get going.”
“Are you sure? It might be better to rest for a while. You’ve worked hard. No one would complain.”
“It was barely anything. I’m fine.”
Hong Yeon-hwa replied casually.
It wasn’t bravado. She truly didn’t feel that tired.
Thanks to the bond-sharing trait, [Great Sage’s Ring], even after unleashing large-scale magic repeatedly, her mana had quickly replenished.
Under the admiring gazes of her teammates, Hong Yeon-hwa took Baek Jun-seok and a few others and began descending the hill.
Watching her retreating figure, Mo Yong-jun muttered to himself,
“Her skill is worthy of recognition… but she’s still inexperienced at hiding her true feelings.”
It had been the same just moments ago.
When they viewed Team B through [Reconnaissance], Hong Yeon-hwa who had been filled with dissatisfaction the entire time had suddenly brightened up.
It almost felt like a puppy wagging its tail wildly.
As if she had been reunited with her owner after being left at a friend’s house for a week.
The moment the screen disappeared, her expression returned to normal, but those who saw it, saw it.
Geum Jo-han and Lee Seul-bi must have sensed something suspicious as well, as they each made a remark.
“It’s strange that she’s leaving in such a hurry.”
“What is it that she dislikes? Among us, she’s the most hardworking.”
“It would be more accurate to assume she has some other agenda.”
Mo Yong-jun had been thinking the same, so he gave the two of them a quiet instruction.
“Keep a close eye on her. Especially in places beyond my sight.”
***
When we gathered the item cards obtained from the monster wave, the results were as follows:
[Return] ×7
[Observe] ×3
[Reconnaissance] ×5
[Discharge] ×4
▷ Sends three random targets in front back to their base.
[Protection] ×2
▷ Nullifies the effect if targeted by [Discharge] or [Freeze].
▷ Destroyed after one activation.
More than twenty item cards had been distributed per group, and quite a few had direct impact on combat.
The nature of upcoming battles was likely to change significantly.
Meanwhile, Song Cheon-hye seemed bothered by something else, her brows slightly furrowed.
“……There’s no [Duplicate] or [Bombardment]. Not even one.”
“I told you they don’t come out easily.”
The performance and acquisition difficulty of item cards varied widely.
Just like how there were seven [Return] cards but only two [Protection] cards.
In the same vein, the truly powerful ones might appear only once in dozens of draws….if at all.
Some could only be obtained through special methods.
Having drawn one of those “truly powerful” cards, Seo Ye-in looked even more smug.
She slightly spread her arms.
“Worship me.”
“Oh, Lucky Charm-nim…!”
I promptly dropped to my knees and pretended to bow deeply.
Then I gestured toward the card shop.
“Since we’re on the topic, let’s draw.”
▷ Available draws: 3/5
▷ Until next card: 00:00:51
Since we had left it alone after drawing last night, it had recharged back to three.
Seo Ye-in trudged over to the card shop and firmly pressed the button.
▷ Available draws: 0/5
▷ Until next card: 00:00:31
Clunk.
[Bombardment]
[Duplicate] ×2
At the sight of the results, Song Cheon-hye’s mouth fell slightly open.
“No way, is this even possible?”
“It’s impossible. That’s why she’s our lucky charm.”
“Isn’t the card shop just good? I’ll try drawing once.”
“Go ahead.”
What we had just obtained was already a massive hit, so wasting one chance wouldn’t hurt.
Song Cheon-hye stared intently at the card shop screen, and the moment the count increased to one, she pressed the button.
Clunk.
[Return]
Her expression immediately turned awkward.
“……Guess not.”
Watching her, Seo Ye-in, I, and even Bum each added a comment.
“Noob.”
“A total noob.”
“Grrr.”
That low growl definitely sounded like mockery. Surely it wasn’t just my imagination.
Song Cheon-hye’s face flushed slightly.
“……Fine, I admit it. I’m… I’m…! A noob! And you’re just lucky!”
“If you admit it, then show proper respect to our Lucky Charm. Start by kneeling.”
“Hey, does it really have to go that far?”
“That far?”
I put on a stern expression and pressed her.
“Listen, Song Cheon-hye. Do you even realize what you’ve just done?”
“What… did I do?”
To the bewildered Song Cheon-hye, I held out the [Return] card she had just drawn.
“Do you see this? This could’ve been a [Bombardment] card, but because of your reckless gamble, it turned into a measly [Return]!”
“That’s not something you can know—”
“If it had been [Bombardment], we could’ve dealt additional damage to Team C’s facilities and cost them crystals, right?”
“You can’t calculate it like that—”
“But since we can’t, that means we’ve effectively lost that many crystals. Am I wrong?”
Just as Song Cheon-hye was about to retort with an incredulous look—
Park Na-ri who had been quietly listening timidly chimed in.
“I think… Kim Ho is right…”
“……!”
Song Cheon-hye kept opening and closing her mouth, at a loss for words.
She probably wanted to snap back at that, but seemed hesitant to do so toward Park Na-ri.
In the end, she missed the golden timing and let out a sigh.
“……Fine. It’s all my fault. You want me to kneel?”
“Yeah. And repeat after me. ‘I worship you, Lucky Charm’.”
Seo Ye-in added a word.
“Expert.”
“I worship you, Expert Lucky Charm.”
Song Cheon-hye trembled as she half-knelt down.
Then, looking like she was about to die of embarrassment, she spoke in broken intervals.
“I… worship you. Expert… Lucky Charm…”
“Good. From now on, don’t you dare doubt her.”
After taking several deep breaths to steady herself, Song Cheon-hye changed the subject.
“What are you planning to do today?”
“We’re going deeper.”
I answered, pointing toward the volcano, and another question came.
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous with just the three of you?”
“Of course we won’t overdo it.”
“Understood.”
I picked up a few from the newly dropped pile of empty crystals.
“I’ll borrow some.”
“You could leave the charging to the others.”
“We’ll charge them on the way.”
“……You must have something in mind again. Anyway, be careful.”
Leaving behind Song Cheon-hye’s send-off, we departed from the base.
Chammy who had been flying ahead in the sky indicated the location of a nearby sanctuary.
Piieeek—
We immediately headed that way and began charging.
Light streaming from the shabby stone tower gradually filled the crystals.
While that was happening, I explained to my party members,
“Now everyone has item cards, right? They’ve probably already used [Reconnaissance].”
“Then… they’ll use [Observe] on us too…”
At Park Na-ri’s guess, I nodded.
“After what we pulled yesterday.”
Since there was a chance we might strike again, they’d definitely try to confirm our location before doing anything.
Park Na-ri looked worried.
“Then they’ll come to catch us…”
“If our route is too obvious. But they don’t have that many chances either.”
Our group currently had three [Observe] cards.
The other groups likely didn’t have much more.
Which meant they couldn’t use them often enough to predict our movements in detail.
“Still… at least once…”
“At least once for sure. Probably soon.”
Sure enough, just as we finished charging the second crystal, mana gathered in the air and formed a large eye.
So this was what it meant that “the target can perceive the activation of [Observe]”.
I gestured for Seo Ye-in and Park Na-ri to come closer.
Then we put our arms around each other’s shoulders and pointed at the mana eye.
“Look over there and smile. V~”
“V, V…”
We raised our hands and made V signs.
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