I found myself tilting my head in confusion for a while even after Dang Gyu-Young was out of sight.
What was happening on Monday again?
The first thing that came to mind was…
Mentoring?
…which made no sense.
A mentoring session led by the president of the thieves’ club?
She would actually take on such an annoying task like this?
It was as implausible as Kwak Seung-Jae and Song Cheon-Hye joining hands to rob a bank.
However, I couldn’t think of anything else besides mentoring.
After much deliberation, I made up my mind.
Let it be.
I’ll just deal with the surprise on Monday.
Since Dang Gyu-Young wasn’t harboring any ill will or setting a trap for me, there was unlikely to be any big issue.
***
Over the weekend afternoon,
I called out Go Hyeon-Woo and Seo Ye-In.
[Go Hyeon-Woo: I’ll be there soon.]
Go Hyeon-Woo had just finished his treatment at the infirmary and agreed to come over immediately.
But it took several messages before Seo Ye-In finally replied.
[Kim Ho: Knock, knock, knock]
[Kim Ho: (Cat knocking on door emoji)]
[Kim Ho: (Cat knocking on door emoji)]
[Kim Ho: Awake?]
[Seo Ye-In: ….]
[Seo Ye-In: (Dog rolling around emoji)]
[Seo Ye-In: (Sleepy dog emoji)]
[Seo Ye-In: (Dog rolling around emoji)]
Judging by the emojis, she must have just woken up.
At this time when the sun was high in the sky.
I decided to help Seo Ye-In snap out of her grogginess more quickly.
[Kim Ho: (Photo)(Photo)(Photo)(Photo)]
The photos I attached were of the spicy and sweet jerky I had bought at the Black Death dungeon marketplace, along with candies, dried fruits, and other various snacks we had purchased together.
[Kim Ho: Coming?]
[Seo Ye-In: I’ll come.]
Luring with tasty treats. Successfully executed.
Still, it would be a while before she actually arrived.
“Kim-hyung.”
In contrast, Go Hyeon-Woo arrived really quickly.
I decided to save the main topic for when all three of us were gathered.
In the meantime, there was something I needed to discuss with Go Hyeon-Woo alone.
Naturally, our conversation centered around the Black Death dungeon.
In particular, we discussed the three-exchange showdown between him and White Snake.
Go Hyeon-Woo let out a sigh.
“He was truly a terrifying master. Even after exchanging just three moves, barely surviving was all I could manage.”
The first move was purely overwhelmed by the gap in martial arts.
Despite striking first and even using Rapid Current, which could be considered one of Go Hyeon-Woo’s special techniques, it was instantly neutralized by White Snake, so there was no room for excuses.
The exchange of the second move involved Go Hyeon-Woo’s ultimate technique, Clear Stream, and, by a stroke of luck, a fleeting moment of enlightenment resulted in him inflicting some minor damage on the opponent.
From the listener’s perspective, it was an incredulous story.
“You were enlightened there?”
Though Dharma statue had been lent to him with the hope of gaining something from the experience, that was meant to be after conquering the dungeon.
To think he’d recall and use something he glimpsed just before entering the Black Death dungeon.
Go Hyeon-Woo himself seemed to find it absurd, as he let out a chuckle.
“I never expected it myself. When I found myself up against Senior White Snake, I thought it was bad luck, but it turned out to be a fortunate encounter after all.”
“If things worked out, that’s good. Keep spending time studying the Dharma statue.”
“I plan to do just that.”
“And the last one?”
The most crucial was the last, the third exchange of moves.
It was what I was most curious about.
“White Snake must have used something stronger than the first two moves.”
“Indeed. I recognized the Viper Guarding the Hole and Viper Emerges from its Hole at a glance, but the last move was very unfamiliar.”
Hearing Go Hyeon-Woo’s description, I immediately had an inkling of what the move might be.
“It must have been ‘White Dragon Ascending to Heaven’.”
“White Dragon Ascending to Heaven… Indeed, it was like seeing a giant white serpent.”
It was among the top techniques used by White Snake.
It’s not something White Snake would use lightly, but it seems it was employed in the three-move duel.
Probably, it was a response to the move Go Hyeon-Woo revealed during their second clash.
“So, how did you manage to block it? It doesn’t seem like you would have used Blue Stream again.”
“Hmm…”
Go Hyeon-Woo paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating whether to share this detail.
However, he soon let out a sigh and began to speak.
“It’s somewhat embarrassing to admit, but if anyone deserves to know the full story, it’s you, Kim-hyung.”
When White Snake’s White Dragon Ascending to Heaven approached him, Go Hyeon-Woo had an intuition.
No matter what he tried, he knew he couldn’t block it with his power alone.
He faced a choice.
Either use Clear Stream and die, or borrow other power.
He chose the latter.
“I resorted to a technique called Pure Flow.”
Pure Flow.
Apparently, Go Hyeon-Woo had mastered a technique known for its defensive capabilities, one that mainly focused on deflecting the enemy’s attacks.
Yet, the proficiency of this Pure Flow technique lagged several steps behind Clear Stream, to the point where employing Clear Stream might have actually offered better defense.
Despite this, he insisted on using Clear because it gave him a sliver of leeway.
Contrary to its seemingly gentle movements, Clear Stream demanded almost total mental focus on the execution of the technique.
On the other hand, Pure Flow was relatively easier to initiate, affording a small margin of breathing space during its deployment.
It was enough so he could borrow strength from elsewhere.
At this point, something clicked in my mind.
“You must have used the sect’s sacred weapon.”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
He defended himself with Pure Flow, strengthened his defense using the sect’s sacred longsword, and blocked the White Dragon Ascending to Heaven attack.
I’ve never seen the longsword in person because it’s always been sealed in layers, but I could surmise its level of power.
The martial arts that Go Hyeon-woo had mastered were already incredibly powerful, but when it came to the sacred artifact passed down through his sect.
It must be at least S-rank, if not higher.
An S-rank or higher weapon could probably neutralize the attacks of a B-rank hidden boss simply by being wielded as a shield.
Of course, there would have been a price to pay for using such an artifact.
I could understand why Go Hyeon-woo had hesitated to speak about the final exchange.
Although he had inherited the sect’s sacred artifact, he was not yet deemed worthy to wield it.
Having resorted to using such an item merely to escape a crisis must have dealt a significant blow to his pride as a martial artist.
“You’ve been through a lot. It must not have been easy to make that decision.”
“I have no regrets. It wasn’t just about me; the lives of Shin-hyung, who was by my side, and Kim-hyung, who had faith and waited, were at stake. I couldn’t just stand by my pride. But still…”
“But still?”
Go Hyeon-woo smiled bitterly.
“Just that, despite being unworthy, I survived with the help of the sacred artifact. I don’t know how I could face my master without shame.”
However, Go Hyeon-woo’s despondency lasted only for a moment.
He quickly regained his expression and steeled himself with a firm resolve.
“I must dedicate myself even more to my training. Achieving the necessary qualifications is the only way to restore the honor of our sect.”
“I’m sure you can do it.”
Our conversation then shifted to the game of tag I played with Black Snake.
Of course, the tales of merely dodging and weaving held little value, so we focused on the advanced techniques Black Snake had unleashed in his attempts to capture me.
While Go Hyeon-woo was listening with a very interested expression,
“I’m here.”
Seo Ye-in arrived.
She was carrying three iced teas.
She took a seat next to me and asked,
“Did you go to the dungeon yesterday?”
“Yes, all of these were purchased there.”
Seo Ye-in began to sample the array of sweets, pancakes, and dried fruits spread out on the table, one by one.
I kept the spicy and sweet jerky at a careful distance from her.
Thinking back to the last time Seo Ye-in ate that spicy red rice ball, I knew it was best to keep the spicy food away from her. (TN: Chapter 41.)
As we all munched on various snacks, the conversation flowed easily and the mood was light.
With the atmosphere now warm and friendly, I steered the conversation to the main event.
“Let’s proceed with the box opening today.”
I took out a rectangular box painted black from my inventory.
[Leader’s Black Chest]
“I’ve been secretly looking forward to this moment.”
As the person who personally infiltrated the Black Death Squad’s treasure room and retrieved the chest, Go Hyeon-woo must have been very curious about its contents.
I held onto the lid and cautioned,
“I’m about to open it, but don’t get too anxious.”
The items emerging from the “chest” were guaranteed, after all.
Without hesitation, I opened it to find two small boxes perfectly fitting the chest’s size.
[Leader’s Ingots Box (B)]
[Black Death Random Box (B)]
One of each kind of random box.
And this was it.
Naturally, compared to the main rewards obtained after defeating the Black Death and clearing the dungeon, these seemed somewhat shabby.
Yet, for a first-year first-semester student, acquiring two B-rank random boxes was no small feat.
In particular, the [Leader’s Ingots Box] was unique in that the type of item it contained was guaranteed to be “ingots”.
Most likely, it would yield either [Iron Ingots] or [Steel Ingots].
Whichever type was used for crafting, one could expect high-quality results.
This alone made the trip into the Black Death worthwhile.
And this very moment was the reason Seo Ye-in had been summoned.
I slid the [Leader’s Ingots Box] over to her and asked,
“Want to open it?”
“Mhmm.”
Although it had only happened once before, Seo Ye-in had miraculously drawn a B-rank cushion from a D-rank random box.
At that moment, I had formed a small hypothesis: what if, by some chance, Seo Ye-in possessed a trait related to luck?
It was a possibility worth considering.
Could she possibly draw an item exceeding expectations from this ingot box as well?
“……”
Even when Seo Ye-in was faced with a B-rank random box in front of her, she had an indifferent expression on her face as if she were dealing with an ordinary box.
In contrast, Go Hyeon-woo and I were the ones filled with tension and observed intently.
After a moment of impassively gazing at the ingot box, she leisurely proceeded to open it.
I had already covered my eyes to protect them at this point.
If my prediction was correct, another flashbang would go off, and preserving my eyesight is important.
And sure enough,
Fla—sh—!
A dazzling array of multicolored light burst forth from the ingot box and swiftly engulfed the entire room.
“Oooh.”
I couldn’t see anything because it was white all around me, but I could hear Go Hyeon-woo’s exclamation.
Though I didn’t express it in words, I was inwardly astonished as well.
This is actually happening.
Despite being mentally prepared, the reality was still surprising.
The hypothesis that Seo Ye-in possessed a luck-related trait seemed to gain more credibility.
As I covered my eyes for what felt like a long time, the brilliance gradually faded.
Then a sizable metallic mass proudly made its presence known within the ingot box.
[Millennium Iron Ingot (A)]
This is incredible.
Even the initial goal of securing ordinary iron, which was already a superior metal, was surpassed by something even better.
“Miss Seo’s luck is astounding. Encountering such a rare event once is hard enough, let alone twice.”
“Yeah, how can someone be this lucky?”
Go Hyeon-woo and I were full of praise, but Seo Ye-in seemed neither surprised nor particularly pleased.
Instead, she asked me,
“Was it helpful?”
“Yes, it was incredibly helpful.”
“That’s all that matters then.”
Her attitude suggested that what mattered most to her was whether it had been helpful to me or not.
If so, let’s use this momentum to quickly handle the rest.
I casually handed her the [Black Death Random Box (B)] and asked,
“Would you like to open this one too?”
“Mhmm.”
Seo Ye-in, as if she was receiving something as mundane as a pencil or an eraser, took the B-rank random box and suddenly opened it without warning.
Flash—!!
A golden brilliance burst forth, though it seemed somewhat less impressive compared to the earlier flashbang.
Correspondingly, the rank of the items dropped was somewhat lower.
[Century-old Knotweed (C)] *4
Century-old Knotweed is quite a decent medicinal herb.
And there were four roots of it.
Considering it came from a B-rank random box, it was a fairly good find.
“Since there are four roots, let’s split them. Take one each.”
After all, since I already obtained the Millennium Iron Ingot, I had far exceeded my initial goal.
Moreover, the effect of consuming the same type of medicinal herb diminishes with repeated use.
And growing together would be more beneficial for everyone in the long run.
For these and various other reasons, I decided it was better to share than to keep it all to myself.
“I won’t refuse then. I’ll accept it with thanks.”
Go Hyeon-woo who was always in need of medicinal herbs eagerly took one root and tucked it away, while Seo Ye-in also took a root and carefully placed it in her inventory.
And even after setting aside my share, there would still be one left to give to someone else. Even if a suitable recipient could not be found, I could still consume it myself, despite the reduced effect.
Seo Ye-in gazed at me intently, as if asking if there were any more random boxes to open, and I shook my head slightly from side to side to indicate there were none.
Seo Ye-in nodded slightly before she went back to snacking with Go Hyeon-woo.
I let Seo Ye-in wander as she pleased and found myself lost in thought.
It seems like she has some sort of trait…
When opening the ingot box, she hit the jackpot, and with the random box, she had moderate success.
In such cases, it’s more reasonable to assume there might be some activation condition or limitation to her ability rather than conclude she has none.
For example, there could be a cooldown period for her trait’s activation, or there might be a cap on the amount of luck she could tap into.
There’s no need to rush.
We could always test it again when another opportunity arises.
“…! …!”
“Even after I specifically set it aside, you still found it and ate it. You can’t even handle spicy food.”
“……!”
In the brief moment I looked away, Seo Ye-in had reached for the spicy and sweet jerky.
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