With the swordsman couple confirmed to join, we’d also settled on the Black Death as the dungeon we’d be tackling.
Before the showdown with the White Snake though, we needed to raise Go Hyeon-woo’s specs as much as possible.
So we decided to finish the Challenge Hardship first, then flesh out the rest of the plan afterward.
In the meantime, I brought up the dungeon to Hong Yeon-hwa as well.
We were eating together like usual, sitting across from each other, when I casually said,
“This time, we’re thinking of taking on a B-rank dungeon.”
“Really…?”
Hong Yeon-hwa perked up immediately.
She looked like she was hoping I’d say, “Come with us.”
Seeing that, my mischievous side kicked in again, and I put on a deliberately regretful tone.
“I was going to ask you too, but we’ve already filled all the spots.”
“Ah…”
“Looks like it’ll just be us.”
“I see. Have… a safe trip. Don’t get hurt…”
Despite what she said, she looked completely dejected.
She had the exact expression of a puppy that had just heard, “We’re going on vacation, so be good and watch the house!”
At that point, I broke into a grin.
“Just kidding. Of course you’re coming with us.”
“But you just said… all the spots were taken…?”
“We’ve still got plenty.”
The Black Death dungeon was a raid dungeon to begin with, with a recommended party size of at least two full parties.
We, on the other hand, only had a little over one party’s worth of people, and about half of them wouldn’t even be participating in the raid since they’d be hunting for the hidden piece instead.
So we were actually a bit short on numbers.
That said, every individual member was exceptionally strong.
“……!”
Relief and delight spread across Hong Yeon-hwa’s face at the same time.
Though she also looked a little pouty, probably because I kept playing hard to get with her.
Pretending not to notice, I continued.
“There’s a place there that serves duck stew. It’s nice and spicy….really good.”
“…….!”
“They also sell spicy jerky. Sweet, spicy, like a volcano erupting.”
“…….!”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s ears kept perking up.
She loved spicy food so much that just hearing about the local spicy specialties was apparently enough to get her mouth watering.
I gave her one last confirmation.
“So, you’re coming?”
“Mhmm!”
“Perfect. Let’s get everything ready together.”
***
The next few days were spent making preparations.
Studying the strategy guide, holding planning meetings, gathering supplies, and keeping ourselves in peak condition.
Incidentally, the bidding issue that had been our biggest obstacle last year turned out to be surprisingly easy to deal with. Since it was the first week of dungeon raids, most of the third-years had flocked to the easier dungeons instead.
We’d probably be able to slip into an empty house and loot it at our leisure.
Not long afterward, Go Hyeon-woo informed us that he’d completed the Challenge Hardship quest.
With that, all our preparations were finally in place.
Late that night, we gathered near the dungeon building.
The party taking on the raid consisted of me, Seo Ye-in, Dang Gyu-ri, Go Hyeon-woo, Han So-mi, and Hong Yeon-hwa.
For Dang Gyu-ri, the situation was a bit awkward. There were simply too many of us to sneak everyone down at once.
Especially since our destination wasn’t just the underground level but the deep levels.
Of course, we’d already discussed that problem beforehand.
Our solution was to split into two parties and move one group at a time.
The downside was that Dang Gyu-ri would have to make the trip twice.
She merely shrugged without a care.
“Can’t be helped. I’ll just have to put in a little extra work.”
Then she took the lead into the underground level, and the rest of us followed her down the spiral staircase.
***
Song Cheon-hye’s eyes gleamed sharply.
Just as she’d decided a few days earlier, she’d shifted most of her patrol duties to the underground levels.
Several days had passed, yet Kim Ho’s group had remained quiet.
But that wasn’t because they’d given up on sneaking down.
They’d simply needed time to prepare.
It’s about time they made their move.
For some reason, she had a feeling it would be today.
At the moment, Song Cheon-hye was stationed at the lowest section of D Floor.
She had positioned herself where she could monitor the movement of every elevator at a glance.
They’re definitely going to take the elevator down.
People naturally gravitated toward the easier option.
Besides, conserving even a little stamina before entering a dungeon was the more efficient choice.
So Kim Ho’s group would probably take the elevator down as far as the lowest section of D Floor, where they still had authorization, and then continue on foot from there.
Which meant—
If I just watch the elevators, I can catch them.
Her plan was to quietly tail them once they appeared, then arrest them the moment they tried to enter the dungeon.
Song Cheon-hye couldn’t help admiring the brilliance and airtight perfection of her plan.
She steeled herself once more.
This time, I’m definitely catching them!
***
…Or at least, that’s probably what she’s thinking.
For a while now, Song Cheon-hye had been giving me some very suspicious looks.
Almost as if she knew exactly what I was planning.
Hong Yeon-hwa had mentioned getting the same feeling, too.
Naturally, she’ll be watching the underground levels.
There weren’t many other opportunities for me to break school rules.
I had no idea what the Thunder Lord had taught Song Cheon-hye over winter break, but her goal was almost certainly to get one over on me.
Skills like detection, tracking, or stealth would all be useful in the underground, so it was probably something along those lines.
She was also likely expecting us to take the elevator to travel faster.
Which meant she’d concluded that waiting at the bottom of D Floor would let her intercept us.
But I anticipated her prediction.
Our decision was simple: don’t take the elevator.
More precisely, we’d be walking only through D Floor.
Could she have been waiting on E or F Floor instead?
You might think that even if she couldn’t catch us herself, she could at least alert the student officers stationed below.
But—
She’s secretly pretty prideful.
If she was going to catch us, she’d want to do it with her own hands.
Not to mention showing off what she’d accomplished over winter break.
Unfortunately for her, she was still a long way from being good enough.
The outcome of our little battle of wits became clear soon enough.
As we neared the end of D Floor under Dang Gyu-ri’s guidance, Han So-mi pointed off to one side and whispered urgently,
– Over there! That’s Cheon-hye!
– Just as expected. She’s waiting.
Sure enough, Song Cheon-hye was standing exactly where we’d predicted.
Her arms were crossed as she watched the elevators one after another. She was so focused that her awareness of her surroundings had actually become rather sloppy.
She’s seriously a noob.
We strolled right past Song Cheon-hye without a care and continued down into C Floor.
As we walked, Han So-mi kept glancing upward, whispering apology after apology.
– Cheon-hye… I’m sorry!
She’d once been a member of the Disciplinary Committee, but now she was a troublemaker student.
And on top of that, she was deceiving her own friend.
No wonder the guilt was hitting her twice as hard.
I spoke in a tone that said I completely understood.
– It’s okay. You’ll get used to it.
– That’s not okay, though!
– It’s too late now. You’re a full-fledged accomplice.
– An accomplice?!
Han So-mi practically had an exclamation mark pop up over her head.
I leaned in and asked in an even more suggestive tone.
– If Song Cheon-hye saw you right now, she’d be pretty disappointed, wouldn’t she?
– No!
– You quit the Discipline Committee and joined Kim Ho’s side? You traitor!
– No!
– There’s only one solution left.
– What is it?
– The perfect crime.
If we got through this without being caught, everyone would be happy.
Well, Song Cheon-hye might be a little less happy, but that was still better than finding out her friend had stabbed her in the back.
As I continued brainwashing Han So-mi, we eventually reached the very bottom of C Floor.
“…….”
Dang Gyu-ri swept her gaze around the area.
After confirming the positions of the patrolling Disciplinary Committee members and faculty, she found a blind spot and led us over.
Then she gathered mana and began chanting a spell.
Ssshhh…
Shadows billowed up, and before long, a small black tent-like structure appeared within the blind spot.
After pushing me, Han So-mi, and Go Hyeon-woo inside, Dang Gyu-ri said,
‘I’ll go bring the others.’
Since we’d split into two groups, Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa were still waiting on E Floor.
She had to go pick them up.
Watching Dang Gyu-ri disappear in the blink of an eye, Go Hyeon-woo let out a quiet sigh of admiration.
– It may sound like I’m repeating, but Senior Dang has truly become astonishingly strong.
– She’s a completely different person from last year.
Back then, the general consensus had been that while her stealth-related abilities were exceptional, everything else lagged behind the other department heads.
But since then, she’d cleared countless Hardship quests and collected Hidden Pieces wherever we could together with me.
As a result, there weren’t many people left on the entire Dungeon Island who could match her.
Her stealth abilities, which had already been exceptional to begin with, had improved even further, making it difficult for not only the third-year Disciplinary Committee members but even the faculty to track her movements.
As Go Hyeon-woo, Han So-mi, and I quietly exchanged a few words, Dang Gyu-ri returned with the other two party members.
It seemed she hadn’t been spotted by that useless Song Cheon-hye this time either.
Of course, compared to the challenges that lay ahead, that was nothing.
Dang Gyu-ri spoke in an unusually serious tone.
“From here on out, stay completely focused.”
Our current position was the very bottom of C Floor.
Starting from the deeper sections of B Floor, security became several times tighter.
Going back and forth multiple times like we had until now would dramatically increase the risk of being discovered, so Dang Gyu-ri had decided it would be better to move everyone in a single trip.
Now was that moment.
“…….”
“…….”
While everyone suppressed their presence and moved forward, Dang Gyu-ri drew up an enormous amount of mana, preparing a fairly large-scale spell.
As she did, the shadows beneath our feet grew darker and darker, and the moment we stepped into the entrance of the deeper section, the signal came.
“Gather!”
The instant the party gathered around Dang Gyu-ri, a massive huge shadow pouch suddenly sprang up.
[Shadow Pouch]
Then it swallowed us whole.
Everything went black, and I could feel a slight swaying, as though we were being carried somewhere.
She’s improved a lot.
Last year, when we infiltrated the deeper section, Senior Chae Da-bin had accompanied us.
Her role had been to disable the crystal orbs and the various detection devices.
But now, it seemed Dang Gyu-ri could evade detection on her own.
Even while transporting two or three times as many people as before.
At this rate, getting in and out of B-Rank dungeons shouldn’t pose much of a problem for her anymore.
Just then, the Shadow Pouch gave a heavy lurch.
It was Dang Gyu-ri’s signal that we were approaching the dungeon entrance.
We quickly exchanged glances.
– We’re going in immediately.
– Understood.
– Okay.
Not long after we finished making our preparations, I felt as though I had been spat out, and a portal came into view.
One I was seeing again for the first time in a year.
[No.104] [Black Death]
As we hurried through the portal one after another, everything before our eyes went dark again before suddenly brightening.
When our vision cleared, we found ourselves standing in the middle of an old, abandoned house.
It was the starting point and the safe zone.
Dang Gyu-ri entered last, then slowly looked around to make sure no one had been left behind.
“Everyone made it in?”
“We did it.”
“The plan worked out perfectly. This is the first time I’ve ever tried something like this.”
Having pushed herself beyond her limits in more ways than one, she looked thoroughly pleased.
We smiled at one another.
Then, just as we were about to set off to clear the dungeon—
Flash!
Light projected outward in every direction around Seo Ye-in, gradually taking the shape of a person.
The figure that emerged was, unsurprisingly, Hologram Seo Ye-in.
Since this Challenge Quest only became active in B-Rank or higher dungeons, it had only now been activated upon our entry.
She spread her arms wide and declared,
– I have arrived.
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