The Support Ate it All

[Beginning calculations.]

If everything had gone according to the Witch of Corruption’s plan, it would have taken the subjugation team much longer to reach the boss’s room.

It would also have taken even longer for all the members to gather.

In effect, that long stretch of time had been completely skipped thanks to a single crow branch.

[You drastically reduced the raid time.]

[Your reward has been increased.]

During the boss battle, I anticipated the Witch of Corruption’s arrival, lured her in, and stabbed her with the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger twice.

Because of that, the witch could no longer use her magic properly, and she ended up helpless against the two teachers.

It was true that Lee Soo-dok dealt the final blow, but I had contributed a great deal as well.

[You inflicted a huge amount of damage upon the Witch of Corruption.]

[Your reward has been greatly increased.]

Thanks to those factors snowballing, the boss battle proceeded unusually smoothly for an A-rank dungeon, and it ended with far fewer injuries than expected.

[Number of injured: 16]

[Number of deaths: 0]

[Your reward has been greatly increased.]

The reward kept getting increased and increased, and as a result:

[You have acquired ‘Hardship’.]

I had recovered yet another powerful ability.

[Hardship] was a non-combat skill.

However, it was among the skills that earned me the nickname “S-rank Hero Factory”.

I planned to check it out later.

After the battle ended, the subjugation team was in a very happy mood.

“Everyone, you worked so hard.”

“Defeating that infamous witch with barely any losses was truly miraculous.”

Simply bringing down the Witch of Corruption was already a huge achievement, yet no one lost their life or even sustained serious injuries.

It was impossible for anyone to feel gloomy in such an atmosphere.

However, there were quite a few people who felt some curiosity.

“But what were those portals?”

“I was also startled when they suddenly opened.”

“It all worked out in the end, but I found it suspicious. I wondered if it was yet another trick by the witch.”

I feigned ignorance and pretended not to know anything.

After all, I couldn’t just blurt out, “I opened them! Caw—!” to everyone.

And so, while everyone’s suspicions were growing,

– Caw—!

The members of the subjugation team all turned in the direction of the crow’s call they heard from somewhere.

A tree branch extended into the empty air, and perched on it was the Great Crow Sage.

Someone exclaimed in surprise.

“A-A Dimensional Crow?”

“I can’t believe we’re seeing a crow here.”

Dimensional crows were like mythical creatures.

They hopped between dungeons so freely that you needed extraordinary luck to spot even one.

I, however, had accumulated a wealth of big data from other community users, so I could guess when and where they might appear. I also knew the secrets behind hideout rooms, but the rest of them didn’t.

“………”

The Great Crow Sage preened its feathers with its beak as it looked this way, or more precisely, at me.

Then, without any warning, it suddenly flapped its wings and flew away to another dungeon.

To those who didn’t know the full story, it only looked like it stopped by for a moment and then took off. However, I actually received something from it.

It’s an after-sales service.

So I casually checked my inventory,

[Crow Branch (S)]

▷You can feel a strong dimensional energy from it.

The one-time skill [Caw—!] had disappeared and was now replaced by an incomprehensible description.

So it changed it into a material item.

It was a powerful spatial-type material that, if used in item crafting, would completely imbue it with its power.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to find a craftsman who could handle it, but that was a problem for later.

It also seemed to inadvertently resolve the subjugation team’s questions.

“I think I know what those portals were earlier.”

“It seems the Dimensional Crow helped us.”

“Maybe it wanted to clear out the commotion in its home?”

Since their explanation made enough sense, most people accepted it and moved on.

On the other hand, there were some who weren’t quite convinced. Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so sidled up to me from both sides and whispered mischievously.

“Hey, young monarch~”

“Aww, young monarch~”

“Let’s talk about this outside. Outside”

It wasn’t something I wanted them broadcasting around town.

Regardless, it was time for us to leave anyway.

Rumble…

The boss monster had fallen, and the dungeon’s core was destroyed.

It wouldn’t be long before it completely collapsed and reformed.

Therefore, the subjugation team followed Seo Cheong-yong’s orders and headed for the exit.

There were several A-rank random boxes placed in front of us.

It would be shameless if I were greedy enough to take those as well.

The items that dropped from the random boxes were meant to help recoup the resources used during this raid.

Naturally, even if we sold them all, the Dragon Slayer Academy would still be running a deficit.

Not to mention all the A-rank magic scrolls and potions that were used in the boss battle.

I had already secured my share, so I didn’t feel even the slightest regret.

A powerful skill, an S-rank crafting material, and

I still have a blank check left.

In recognition of my contribution to subjugating the Witch of Corruption, the former Hero and current principal was going to grant me a “small favor.”

Of course, the notion of big or small was relative, so whether my favor was truly small remained to be seen.

***

The journey back was nothing special.

After stepping on the large-scale teleportation magic circle with the subjugation team, we arrived directly at the F Floor.

And that was the end of our time in the dungeon building.

After the subjugation team disbanded, I met separately with Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong to return the items I had borrowed.

The Totem of Disguise was such a powerful camouflage item that even the faculty hadn’t sensed anything.

Because it could be misused, it had to be reclaimed.

The battle suit was also strictly managed by the Academy.

I felt a bit regretful about returning it, but since it wasn’t originally mine, I brushed away any lingering attachment.

“..……”

Seo Cheong-yong, who accepted the items in silence, simply stared at me.

Lee Soo-dok was also giving me a look intense enough to shoot laser beams from his eyes.

Both of them seemed to have plenty they wanted to say.

After all, I had revealed quite a bit of my abilities, including my Poison Immunity Enchantment.

Even if Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger and Ghost Dance were relatively inconspicuous, there was no hiding Inferno Fist or Distortion.

Especially Distortion, which was probably their first time seeing it.

Yet, as though deciding not to ask just then, Seo Cheong-yong flashed a light smile and spoke.

“You must be tired, so go in and get some rest. Make sure you check your messages tomorrow.”

“Yes, understood.”

“You did well.”

After a short bow to both teachers, I walked away.

Before long, I saw Dang Gyu-young waiting for me while waving his hand in my direction.

When I waved back, she came over and fell into step beside me.

“Kim Ho, I have some astonishing news.”

“What is it?”

“It’s already Thursday evening.”

We had gone in on Tuesday, so that meant we’d been inside for over two days.

Of course, I had expected it to take that long to clear the dungeon, so I just nodded my head slightly.

“We were fighting so hard that it makes sense we lost track of time.”

“I feel like I skipped at least two meals.”

“I probably did, too.”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

When I heard that, I realized I did feel a little hungry. So I answered honestly.

“I’m a bit hungry.”

“Late-night snack? My treat.”

“Sounds good. Where at?”

Dang Gyu-young pointed to a building not too far off. It was the girls’ dormitory.

“My room.”

“There are plenty of other places. Why your room?”

“I’m too tired to go anywhere else.”

We had just finished a major raid, so it made sense she wouldn’t feel like traveling any further. But there was one problem.

“How am I supposed to get in there?”

To prevent “unseemly incidents”, the rules forbade male students from entering the girls’ dorm and vice versa.

But Dang Gyu-young asked indifferently,

“Who am I?”

“You’re the president of the thieves club.”

“I don’t sweat the small stuff like school rules.”

“One of these days, you’re going to be in big trouble. Mark my words.”

She shook her head as if brushing aside my words.

“Aaah, I don’t care. We’re using my room tonight. End of story.”

Then, all of a sudden, she narrowed her eyes and glared at me.

“…You don’t like to?”

“It’s not that I dislike it.”

“My room?”

“Sure, let’s do it.”

I decided to just go with the flow. Even if I got reprimanded, that would be a problem for tomorrow’s me.

And since Dang Gyu-young needed a bit of time to prepare, I dropped by my own dorm for a moment before heading to the girls’ dorm at the appointed time.

And right there, in front of it, I unexpectedly ran into Shin Byeong-cheol. He raised his eyebrows when he saw me.

“What are you doing here at this hour?”

“What about you?”

When I asked him back, Shin Byeong-cheol slyly showed me something he was holding.

It was a neatly wrapped package that seemed to be emitting hot steam.

There must have been food inside.

“I’m running an errand for Dang-noonim.”

“You’re really working hard. Have you always been this diligent?”

“I have to make up for my screw-up.”

During the last ban wave, Shin Byeong-cheol had been caught lugging around prohibited items and lost them all.

Although Dang Gyu-young and I managed to recover quite a bit from the temporary storage, the club as a whole still took a loss.

That explained why he was now running errands for the thieves club late at night.

He has no choice if he wants to stick around in that club.

I didn’t think Dang Gyu-young would go so far as to squeeze him for more compensation, but how one performed in the thieves club heavily influenced whether they could join the Thief Guild after graduation.

A reputation for causing huge losses would be a significant black mark.

So, naturally, Shin Byeong-cheol wanted to leave a record of himself at least trying to be useful.

This time, he asked,

“So what about you? Who are you here to see?”

I was about to answer when a voice came from somewhere else.

“You’re here.”

“Noonim, that…”

Shin Byeong-cheol offered up the packaged food and started looking from her to me.

Dang Gyu-young casually nodded her head.

“Mhmm, I was planning to eat with Kim Ho.”

“A-Aah! Please enjoy your time together.”

Shin Byeong-cheol quickly assessed the situation and made his exit.

Dang Gyu-young watched him out of the corner of her eye and then spoke.

“Let’s go inside quickly. It’ll get cold.”

She then took the lead and began to move forward.

Though it wasn’t as closely monitored as the dungeon building, the girls’ dormitory still had watchful eyes here and there.

Of course, for the president of the thieves club, evading those eyes was hardly a problem.

As a result of using various Shadow spells at maximum power, including Shadow Cloak and Shadow Leap…

We soon found ourselves on the third-year floor, standing in front of a door.

Dang Gyu-young opened it and stepped inside before saying,

“Come in.”

I followed her in and glanced around the room. It was spotless.

It didn’t look like it had been hastily cleaned; rather, it seemed she just didn’t keep much in the room to begin with.

Most of the prohibited items, I assumed, were probably stored either in the clubroom or her inventory.

Next, she took a wooden table and chairs out of her inventory. They looked strangely familiar.

“Are those Shin Byeong-cheol’s?”

“Mhmm, they are.”

“He wouldn’t even let me sit on them.”

Dang Gyu-young let out a mysterious smile.

“Shin Byeong-cheol’s assets are the assets of the thieves’ club.”

The misery of being in debt hit hard.

I resolved right then and there not to join the thieves club.

With that thought, I sat across from Dang Gyu-young at the wooden table.

Just as I was about to unwrap the food containers,

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock came at the door.

“…..…?”

“…..…?”

We exchanged glances quickly.

Questions raced through my mind.

Who could it be at this hour?

We hadn’t been spotted on the way here… had we?

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

The knocking continued. It was persistent and steady.

We couldn’t just sit there frozen, so Dang Gyu-young raised a finger to her lips, signaling for me to stay silent.

She tiptoed toward the door and asked in a deliberately calm tone,

“…Who is it?”

“It’s me! Qyu!!”

The voice of Jegal So-so rang out from behind the door.

***

TN: Oh shit!