Chapter 68: The Depths (2)
The iron doll stretched out its fist.
Go Hyeon-woo charged forward while swinging the magic sword in his hand.
For a moment, a golden trail was drawn in the air.
Clang!
The sword collided with the fist before the iron doll was forced to take a half step back.
Following that momentum, Go Hyeon-woo quickly advanced and struck the iron dolls head with a fierce blow.
Clang!
The iron dolls form staggered and fell to the side.
Then, another doll came at him while swinging a long iron rod.
Go Hyeon-woo concentrated his inner energy on the sword and thrust it forcefully at the dolls neck area.
Thud!
The iron doll was sent flying backward before it tumbled to the ground.
Go Hyeon-woo lightly slashed through the air with his magic sword a few times.
Ive grown quite familiar with it.
It was a little awkward for him at first because its length and weight were very different from the iron sword. However, after several days of sparring with the iron dolls, he had gotten the hang of it.
He was now confident that he could use it effectively in real combat situations.
He checked the time and realized it was already morning.
He spent another night at the training center which became his usual routine.
With some time still to spare before his classes, he planned to practice his mana in the special cultivation room before heading to school.
But first, he thought it might be wise to grab a quick bite to eat.
His breakfast options were likely to be the usual: either a calorie bar or a Byukgokdan.
(TN: Byukgokdan is like a nutritional pill that lets you practice without worrying about food.)
However
As Go Hyeon-woo rummaged through his inventory, he narrowed his eyes.
.
A careless mistake.
Both the Byukgokdan pills and the calorie bars had run out.
He was occupied with various matters lately so he had forgotten to replenish his supplies.
Even though training was important, he shouldnt just skip his meals.
After all, neglecting the bodys balance could also lead to a decline in skills.
Its been a while since Ive had breakfast.
A proper breakfast, not a calorie bar or anything like that.
Ever since he descended the mountain and enrolled at Dragon Slayer Academy, the pleasures of food have always occupied a corner of Go Hyeon-woos mind.
However, his main focus had been on honing his skills and fulfilling the aspirations of his sect which often meant making sacrifices and giving up such pleasures.
But now, with his inventory completely empty, it seemed reasonable to enjoy a proper meal at the student cafeteria while stocking up on calorie bars.
Go Hyeon-woo left the training center with a slightly excited heart.
When he stepped outside, he spotted the figure of Kim Ho walking ahead who appeared to have also spent the night training.
Go Hyeon-woo approached him with a greeting.
Good morning, Kim-hyung.
Youre out early. Dont you usually leave later?
Im planning to have breakfast.
Thats unusual for you, but lets go together anyway.
As they walked together, Go Hyeon-woo suddenly posed a question that had come to mind.
Miss Seo wont be joining us?
Given that Kim Ho and Seo Ye-in were almost inseparable on a daily basis, it seemed natural to assume they would share breakfast this morning as well.
To this,
Shes already eaten?
Kim Ho tilted his head and answered as if he himself was surprised.
He seemed as surprised as Go Hyeon-woo by this news and showed him the messages they had exchanged earlier.
[Kim Ho: Meal?]
[Seo Ye-in: (Shaking head rabbit emoji)]
[Kim Ho: You ate?]
[Seo Ye-in: (Nodding rabbit emoji)]
Miss Seo up and about this early? Thats unusual.
Go Hyeon-woo also tilted his head.
For Seo Ye-in to rise early was as rare an occurrence as Go Hyeon-woo going to the student cafeteria for breakfast.
However, Kim Ho soon shrugged it off as if it were no big deal.
Shell probably be in class. Lets just focus on our meal for now.
The breakfast menu featured a giant triangle gimbap that was several times larger than the usual ones.
It was stuffed with a generous amount of meat.
For Go Hyeon-woo, this was truly a blessing in disguise.
How lucky
Since both of them valued efficiency, they ate their giant triangle gimbap while walking to the classroom.
By the time they arrived, their hands were cleanly empty.
When they arrived at Class 3, Seo Ye-in was already there waiting for them.
She was holding a familiar paper bag in her hands.
At the same time, the savory scent brushed past Go Hyeon-woos nose.
Its snacks.
Was this the reason she had her breakfast alone?
It seemed she had woken up at dawn to bake cookies.
The reason for baking cookies was not hard to guess.
Kim Ho had given Seo Ye-in a pillow or cushion from a random box as a gift the day before, and it seemed she wanted to express her gratitude in her own way.
How commendable, truly commendable.
A pleased smile appeared on Go Hyeon-woos lips as he watched the two.
However, his happiness was short-lived
Just as Kim Ho was about to bring a cookie to his mouth, Seo Yein stealthily grasped his hand.
Then, looking up at him, she asked,
What does this look like?
!
That question!
Go Hyeon-woo was internally shocked.
Recalling the time when that question was directed at him,
What does this look like?
its almost as if the lizard is alive and breathing.
At the time, he had responded without much thought, but in hindsight, it was a seriously wrong answer.
Considering he had witnessed Seo Yeins usually expressionless brow wrinkle.
As a result, he ended up not getting even a crumb of the snacks, let alone the snacks themselves.
Whats done is done and cannot be undone.
The issue was that a second round had ensued.
And depending on the outcome of this second round, Kim Ho might meet the same fate as himself.
We must prevent that at all costs.
Go Hyeon-woo focused even his internal energy on his eyes as he examined the cookie.
A chocolate chip cookie.
Since the chocolate chips are evenly spaced, it would be nice to say that the taste has improved compared to before.
However, aesthetically speaking, it seemed to have regressed compared to before.
A truly mysterious shape
If he had to compare it to something, it resembled either a fish or a rabbit curled up? It was one of the two.
But which one was it?
It was hard to be certain.
Kim Ho seemed to be grappling with the same dilemma and was hesitating to speak.
However, they couldnt stall forever.
Remaining silent in this situation was akin to admitting they couldnt recognize what it was supposed to be, which was as good as a wrong answer.
They were on a ticking clock.
As the response was delayed, Seo Yeins expression gradually darkened.
Her eyes seemed to narrow to the point where they were almost thin lines.
Its time to step in.
Just as Kim Ho was about to reluctantly speak up.
Go Hyeon-woo interjected without warning between the two.
Ahem The fish seems quite lifelike as if it was just plucked from the lake.
Then he cast a sidelong glance at Seo Yeins reaction and noticed a slight twitch in her brow.
The wrong answer.
That left only one correct option.
Its a rabbit, right?
!
Seo Ye-ins face brightened up again.
Kim Ho acted as if he hadnt been agonizing over it at all and casually popped a cookie into his mouth and savored it.
This is good. Your skills have improved.
Have some more.
As soon as Kim Ho finished one cookie, Seo Yein pressed another one to his lips.
And despite the fact that not a single crumb had fallen to Go Hyeon-woo, nor was it likely to in the future, he harbored no regrets.
A worthy sacrifice.
***
The cookie shape matching challenge was successfully passed thanks to Go Hyeon-woos timely intervention.
I often felt this but Go Hyeon-woos intuition was far from ordinary.
However, we were lucky this time, and as long as Seo Ye-ins distorted aesthetic sense continued, there was always the possibility of a third or fourth round.
I would have to be mentally prepared for that.
Aside from that, the week progressed without much incident until Friday.
I wrote the two-on-two battle report in one stroke and submitted it, and also quickly drew and submitted the dungeon map assignment for the strategy battle.
Moving forward, I planned to get almost a perfect score on the written exam.
And as a result of spending the remainder of the time in the training center,
[The rank of Core increased. (D->C)]
I managed to increase the rank of my core by one level by Friday.
This ensured that I had amassed a sufficient amount of mana for the deeper dungeons.
All possible preparations have been completed.
All that remained was to obtain the reward I desired from the [Black Room].
Ill finally get a weapon worthy of the name.
I retrieved the [Levitating Iron Rod] I had crafted earlier in Workshop No. 1.
Due to the inferior quality of the metal compared to the parts, it had only achieved an E rank.
As a result, it has seen little to no significant action until now.
When I gently infused mana into it, a weak rising air current lifted my bangs and disappeared.
It was as if it was protesting for me to get the weapon a proper body quickly.
Just wait a little longer.
I promise to use the finest metal available.
***
Friday night.
I met with the members of the thieves club and Go Hyeon-woo near the Dungeon building.
Dang Gyu-young glanced over at us and said
Is everyone here? Lets go.
And she calmly took the lead.
Go Hyeon-woos expression subtly changed as he tilted his head in confusion.
His eyes seemed to question me.
Arent we forgetting something?
On Monday, I changed my tie pin and put on an anonymous badge, but since I didnt have anything on me today, perhaps I gave off the air of being underprepared.
Especially since we were heading towards the far more dangerous depths of the Dungeon building.
Instead of offering a lengthy explanation, I merely pointed at the thieves leading the way.
ust watch.
If theres one thing certain about them, its how thoroughly they fulfill their requests.
Building trust is essential for securing future requests.
Moreover, with the head of the thieves club personally overseeing this task, there was no chance of a careless execution.
As the clients, our best course of action was to follow without unnecessary worry.
But if I were to give a short answer to Go Hyeon-woos question, it would be:
Half-hearted tricks wont work in the depths.
Would something as trivial as a badge fool the experts residing in the depths?
Additionally, most of these tricks are meant to prepare for situations where you run into someone on the way down.
So what if you were confident that you would never run into anyone on the way down?
Then there would be no need for any of those things.
As if to affirm this confidence, Dang Gyu-young demonstrated her skills as soon as we entered the underground.
The shadows at our feet quivered, and soon, several small black butterflies took flight.
[Shadow Butterfly Flight]
The butterflies flapped their tiny wings vigorously before disappearing down the circular staircase or beyond the corridors.
Dang Gyu-young led us, following the path taken by the shadow butterflies while occasionally stopping or changing direction.
As we progressed, she continued to conjure more to scout ahead.
Scout.
First, she sent out shadow butterflies and, if one of them caught something, she would lead the group to safely distance themselves.
Since they were scouts created with extreme concentration in magic, they could discern situations from much farther away than typical exploratory magic.
Moreover, the butterflies moved so stealthily that the chances of being detected by patrolling guards were extremely low.
It was unlikely that anyone less skilled than Dang Gyu-young could capture them.
Chae Da-bin also fully used her skills.
From the moment she stepped into the circular staircase, her hands never once stopped tapping on the tablet and perhaps because of that, none of the crystal balls or security devices installed in the places we passed through were working.
Thanks to the guidance of the two seniors, there was no need for a lengthy journey.
When Dang Gyu-young stopped the group in front of an elevator,
Shin Byeong-chul quickly stepped forward to fiddle with a few devices and Chae Da-bin operated her tablet.
Then, without even swiping a student ID, the elevator began to operate on its own.
After riding the elevator down for a while, we followed Dang Gyu-youngs lead to the next elevator.
After repeating the process a few times, we had covered an immense distance in a short period of time which was something unimaginable when we were merely following Shin Byeong-chul on foot.
Were almost there.
The final elevator brought us near the entrance to the depths where the C-rank dungeons were clustered together.
Due to the high risk of detection, it was decided to walk into the depths from the C-rank area, rather than taking a direct elevator.
As we got closer to the border between the underground and deeper levels of the dungeon building, everyone started to get a little nervous.
Even Dang Gyu-young who had been relaxed throughout the journey now wore a serious expression on her face.
She started recalling all the shadow butterflies she had dispersed.
No matter how stealthy the shadow butterflies were, there still remained a slight chance of detection.
And because even that small chance could trigger an alert throughout the depths it was best not to deploy them from this point forward.
We walked down the stairs with more cautious steps than before.
Finally, we entered the entrance of the depths.
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