Sensing that a Hummingbird might come flying at him at any moment, Shin Byeong-cheol hurriedly backed away and waved his hands.
“Hey, hey, let’s talk this out. That habit of yours, shooting electricity at people without warning? Not good at all, I’m telling you.”
“Then cooperate without putting up a fight.”
“All right, all right. Fine. What do you want to know?”
Even as he asked, Shin Byeong-cheol let out a long sigh inwardly.
Damn it, I knew something felt off.
He should have followed his instincts like he usually did, but he’d ignored them and pushed ahead, and sure enough, this was what happened.
Of course, regrets always came too late.
Right now, he needed to figure out how to handle the situation.
I have to take care of this myself, no matter what.
Even if he’d been caught, he had to avoid dragging Kim Ho and the others into it.
That would be a serious problem, both professionally and morally.
If he couldn’t even handle something as relatively simple as guiding people through the basement floors, how could anyone trust him with more work?
And so Shin Byeong-cheol made up his mind.
Time for Operation Play Dumb.
And he’d even use his secret trump card.
He really hadn’t wanted to resort to it, but it seemed like the only way out of this situation.
Just then, Song Cheon-hye fired off her next question.
“Who were you on your way to pick up?”
“Pick someone up? What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you say you’d cooperate?”
“I am cooperating, aren’t I?”
Shin Byeong-cheol asked back, playing completely innocent.
Song Cheon-hye narrowed her eyes and continued pressing him.
“Are you saying you were planning to go in alone? Into a C-rank dungeon?”
“Whoa, where’d C come from? This is Floor D.”
“I know you were about to cross over to Floor C. Do you think I’m stupid?”
Fzzzt!
Sparks crackled around Song Cheon-hye’s body, and Shin Byeong-cheol took another step back, waving his hands again.
“Hey, I told you to stop threatening me with electricity.”
“Then answer my questions properly. You don’t even have clearance for Floor D in the first place.”
“Come on, it’s not like you have to enter a dungeon just to come down here and look around, right?”
“Do you seriously expect me to believe that excuse?”
“It’s not an excuse—”
Splish!
Just then, an unfamiliar sound came from somewhere, causing Shin Byeong-cheol to stop mid-sentence.
He looked around and asked,
“……Hey, did you hear that just now?”
“I told you to stop changing the subject.”
“I’m not changing the subject. Seriously, did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Well…… You know that sound when you spill something like water? Except a little stickier?”
“What are you even talking about?”
Song Cheon-hye furrowed her brow.
He had suddenly started spouting nonsense as if he’d taken D.E.B, so naturally, she had no idea what he was talking about.
It seemed she’d have to put an end to the conversation and resort to force.
But at that very moment,
Splish.
Song Cheon-hye caught a faint trace of the sound herself.
It sounded like liquid dripping or something sticky attaching itself to a surface, and she felt as though she’d heard it not too long ago.
Shin Byeong-cheol asked again.
“……You heard it, right? That time?”
“……Yes.”
“What the hell is that?”
“I’m not sure, but something doesn’t seem right.”
“I don’t think we should be standing around here.”
“No, actually. This is exactly where we should be.”
Song Cheon-hye replied firmly.
Did he really think he could use this to slip away?
The strange noise was one thing, and the fact that she’d caught him was another.
She summoned a threatening surge of electricity and pressed him again.
“This is your last chance. Choose. Either tell me everything willingly, or come with me to the Room of Truth.”
“I’m telling you, I really did just come down here to look around.”
“Very well. Then let’s go to the Room of Truth.”
“Come on, why are you trying to drag me off somewhere?”
And just as the two were arguing back and forth,
Rrrrrrumble……
A wooden door rose from the ground with an all-too-familiar sound effect.
Kwak Seung-jae stepped out from beyond it.
Finally, he’s here.
This was Shin Byeong-cheol’s secret trump card.
Originally, he’d only been allowed to summon Kwak Seung-jae when other clubs threatened him over matters related to D.E.B.
But given the circumstances, he’d decided to break that agreement.
At least he’ll be easier to reason with than Miss Song.
And since Kwak Seung-jae also seemed to have some sort of cooperative relationship with Kim Ho, Shin Byeong-cheol figured he’d help if he explained the situation properly.
Of course, he’d probably have to pay a suitable price in return, but that was a problem for future CEO Shin to worry about.
“……”
A flicker of surprise crossed Kwak Seung-jae’s eyes.
He’d come expecting Shin Byeong-cheol to be surrounded by club members or caught in a confrontation with them, but instead, he found Song Cheon-hye standing there.
Still, Kwak Seung-jae was fairly quick on the uptake and sharp-minded.
He grasped the situation almost instantly and exchanged a meaningful glance with Shin Byeong-cheol.
– Is it what I think it is?
– Yes, exactly. Please save me.
Of course, Song Cheon-hye was completely unaware of this silent exchange.
Looking somewhat surprised, she asked,
“How did you know to come here?”
“I detected a disturbance, so I came down to investigate.”
“Ah……!”
“What happened?”
Kwak Seung-jae asked, pretending to know nothing.
Song Cheon-hye proceeded to recount everything that had happened, including their conversation just moments earlier.
Naturally, it was all within his expectations.
Except for the mysterious sound of liquid, that is.
He nodded thoughtfully before giving his instructions.
“I’ll take custody of this man.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Inform the faculty about the sound. Then return to your duties.”
Song Cheon-hye gave a respectful bow, then flashed Shin Byeong-cheol a triumphant smile before leaving.
Though it remained to be seen who would have the last laugh.
Kwak Seung-jae then closed the wooden door and quietly chanted a spell.
When the door opened again, it revealed a location somewhere outside the Dungeon Building.
Understanding that Kwak Seung-jae wanted to hear his explanation somewhere quiet, Shin Byeong-cheol obediently followed him.
And the first thing he did was bow his head.
“Thank you.”
“Now, let’s fill in the missing details.”
“Yes, sir.”
He’d managed to keep Song Cheon-hye in the dark and stall for time, but he couldn’t do the same with Kwak Seung-jae.
So he revealed the missing piece of the story: he’d been serving as a guide for Kim Ho and Hong Yeon-hwa.
Kwak Seung-jae merely tilted his chin as though it were no big deal.
“If it hadn’t involved that man, you wouldn’t have dared summon me.”
“That’s correct.”
If he’d been caught guiding some other student, Shin Byeong-cheol would have chosen to accept the penalty points instead.
Kwak Seung-jae had no reason to go out of his way to help another student, either. If Kim Ho hadn’t been involved, Shin Byeong-cheol might well have ended up in even more trouble.
“I’ll keep this matter confidential. I won’t ask anything more of Kim Ho, but I’ll make sure he’s informed.”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
“And what you owe me is a separate matter.”
“Absolutely. I’ll repay you down the road, one way or another.”
Perhaps accepting the penalty points and disciplinary action would have been the cheaper option.
But Shin Byeong-cheol believed the whole incident was entirely his fault, and he’d resolved to take responsibility for it himself, even if it meant paying a higher price.
As though sensing what was going through his mind, Kwak Seung-jae regarded him with newfound interest.
“At least you understand the importance of keeping your word. Perhaps that’s why he places so much trust in you.”
“Hehe, thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
“Let’s go.”
Rrrrrrumble……
Kwak Seung-jae summoned the wooden door once more and delivered Shin Byeong-cheol right to the entrance of the C-rank dungeon.
Shin Byeong-cheol bowed a full ninety degrees to see him off, thinking to himself,
……Now that’s what I call top-notch service.
***
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fireballs rained down like a raging storm.
The frozen bears, deer, squirrels, and every other creature caught in the barrage were wiped out indiscriminately.
The Woodcutter Golem had resumed chopping down trees, and the Witch had already sent several waves of her frozen forest friends to interfere with us.
She’d even increased their numbers and mixed in some powerful elite monsters.
Of course, none of that had changed the outcome.
Whoooooosh!
With the entire area engulfed in flames, the Witch’s clone glared at us with a grim expression.
I casually tossed a remark her way.
“Are you going to keep wasting your resources like this? I doubt your freezer has an endless supply.”
“……I have no choice but to admit it. You’re more skilled than I anticipated.”
“You’re a little late to realize that, but hey, better late than never. Glad to see you’re finally coming around.”
“I shall grant your wishes.”
She meant she would return in person, bringing all her remaining forces with her.
I nodded in satisfaction.
“I’d really appreciate that. All these little hit-and-run attacks were getting annoying.”
“……”
Since the Witch’s clone was made of swirling snow, I couldn’t make out her expression.
But somehow, I had a feeling a thick vein was bulging on her real body’s forehead.
In a voice that sounded as though she was struggling to suppress her anger, the Witch left us with one final remark.
“……We shall meet again soon.”
“Oh, absolutely. I’ll be waiting! Watch your step on those snowy paths!”
“……”
And with that, she melted away and disappeared.
Hong Yeon-hwa glanced at where the Witch had vanished and asked,
“Is the boss fight next?”
“That’s right.”
And once we defeated the Witch, virtually every threat in the dungeon would be gone.
Some might wonder,
Wouldn’t that mean we’d cleared the dungeon?
Wouldn’t it be better to drag things out if we want to collect as many materials as possible?
However, this dungeon had different clear conditions from most.
After all, its main objective was [Escort].
I looked over at the Woodcutter Golem which was still diligently swinging its axe.
Crack! Crack!
That guy has to finish his job first.
And that job was to collect and store a certain amount of timber.
Until then, the dungeon wouldn’t be cleared, whether we defeated the boss or tore the entire place apart.
So was there really any need to run my mouth at the Witch and provoke her into showing up in person?
Because getting rid of her early will make things easier.
Rather than constantly switching between fighting and gathering materials, wouldn’t it be better to eliminate her right away and collect everything in one go?
Crack! Crack!
After several swings of the axe, a thick tree came crashing down with a loud crack.
The golem loaded it onto a huge cart and set off again.
We used fire magic to melt the snow and clear a path ahead, guiding it toward the highest-grade trees we could find.
And as we made our way to the next location,
“……”
Hong Yeon-hwa kept stealing glances at me.
She probably thought she was being discreet, but could she possibly make it any more obvious?
She was still terrible at hiding things.
“……”
Hong Yeon-hwa hesitated for a while, going back and forth over whether to make a move.
Eventually, she seemed to make up her mind and a determined look appeared in her eyes.
She quickly scurried over, took her place beside me, and matched my pace.
Her face practically screamed, “There’s something I want to do.”
“……”
“What is it?”
“It’s a little……? Cold, I think……?”
“What is?”
“Well…… My hands……?”
In other words, she was using the cold weather as an excuse to try holding my hand.
Feeling both playful and a little mischievous, I deliberately pretended not to understand and asked,
“Why not just make a fire?”
“……Ah.”
“That’d be a lot warmer than my hand.”
“That’s…… Th-That’s true……?”
Hong Yeon-hwa added, as though she’d just realized she’d said something stupid.
Her spirits visibly sank, and she cast a spell.
Fwoosh.
A tiny flame, no bigger than a match, appeared in the air, and she stared at it gloomily.
Figuring I’d teased her enough, I casually spoke up.
“Come on, give me your hand.”
“……!”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s face lit up instantly, as though she’d never been dejected in the first place.
And so we walked through the snow while holding hands.
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