The Support Ate it All

Humans were crafty creatures; their mindset when borrowing money differed from when it was time to pay it back.

And right now, Pang Mi-ryeong was in the position of needing a loan.

Sure, she’d appreciate knowing that we had dealt with the Paracorrosive Twin Demons, but any reward for that would be on her terms.

On the other hand, if we started with negotiations, we could tailor it to our liking.

Dang Gyu-young knew this too, which was why she kept it under wraps for now.

After taking the communicator from her, I spoke in a deliberately regretful tone.

“Senior-nim, didn’t I advise you to avoid the Twin Demons if possible?”

I’d even mentioned it two or three times in the strategy guide.

If I didn’t have an S-rank [Poison Resistance], I would’ve done whatever it took to steer clear of them myself.

– …….

A faint sigh came through the communicator.

I could almost picture Pang Mi-ryeong’s troubled expression.

– …I know. I did warn them, but they must have thought it was worth a shot.

The Team 2 leader had probably been feeling overconfident, given how smoothly things had been going with the strategy.

Not realizing, of course, that it was entirely thanks to the guide.

Amidst their false bravado, they had taken on the Twin Demons and suffered huge losses as a result.

Another team acting on its own was beyond Pang Mi-ryeong’s control, and it was pointless to dwell on things that were already done, so I kept the conversation moving forward.

“I’m assuming you reached out because you need our help.”

– That’s right.

“I’d like to get a sense of the big picture first. How many did you manage to take down?”

Pang Mi-ryeong paused in silence before responding.

– Altogether, we’ve got six. Team 1 is investigating the legacy, Team 2 is recovering like I mentioned, and Team 3 is continuing with the raid.

“And the plan going forward?”

– Team 3 should be able to take down two more, and if Team 2 recovers quickly, they might manage at least one.

“Still, that leaves us pretty short.”

Even adding it all together, that only made nine demons down.

Far from the dungeon-clear target of twelve.

They were missing the contribution Team 2 would have provided.

It seemed Pang Mi-ryeong was thinking the same thing, as a sigh came through the communicator once again.

– What else can we do? We’ll just have to work harder. So, can you give us a hand?

“……”

Instead of replying, I glanced sideways and Dang Gyu-young took the communicator from me.

“First, I’d like to hear what you’re offering.”

– I’ll split a bit more of the clear rewards with you.

“How much?”

– Just take down one more. No, make it two, and I’ll give you one random box.

Items from a B-rank random box were of fairly high value, after all.

Since we had already taken down two demons, this would mean getting one more box at no extra cost.

But we weren’t about to settle for that.

Dang Gyu-young responded. She sounded anything but impressed.

“Sorry, but that doesn’t exactly motivate us. It’s not like we’re a team of third-year seniors; there are three first-years here. There’s no reason for us to take on that kind of risk.”

– …Fine. Whatever you want. Name it.

“What about the legacy thing—”

– Except for that.

Pang Mi-ryeong cut her off firmly.

No matter how bad the situation was, she wouldn’t budge when it came to the Blood Ghost Blade Demon’s hidden treasure.

After all, that was the very reason this raid had been put together in the first place.

It seemed Dang Gyu-young had only been testing the waters, judging by how easily she tossed out her next proposal.

“Then, give us three.”

– …Three random boxes?

“Yes.”

– That’s too many. Let’s make it two boxes for two kills.

Apparently, she found this acceptable, as Dang Gyu-young glanced at me to gauge my opinion.

I took the communicator again and replied,

“Please make it three.”

– I’m telling you, that’s too many. There are limits to what I can authorize on my own. Even two will raise complaints.

“In exchange, we’ll take care of one more target.”

Like I heard earlier, Pang Mi-ryeong’s side could handle nine of the demons without problems.

If we added three more to that tally, the clear conditions would be met.

Of course, two of those targets were already down.

Pang Mi-ryeong asked with a hint of curiosity and a touch of concern in her voice,

– …Are you sure about this?

“Let’s give it a try. I’ll let you know if it’s too much.”

– That would be best. Even two kills will be more than enough, so don’t overdo it.

“Just one more thing. On our way back up, could we get a little assistance?”

As the raid was moving into its later stages, we would need to think about how we would exit the dungeon afterward.

Though honestly, if we had no other option, getting captured wouldn’t be a big deal.

Getting caught on the way down would have been a huge risk that could have possibly stopped the whole raid, but on the way up it would only happen after we already collected everything we came for.

At worst, we’d just get a few penalty points and be done with it.

Still, it’s better if we don’t get caught at all.

When we broke through the C-floor, we had used the amplified version of Dang Gyu-young’s [Shadow Leap], and luck had been on our side as well.

But for now, “amplification” was sealed, and there was no guarantee we would be that lucky again.

So I asked if there was any other way,and Pang Mi-ryeong who seemed to think that we were now on the same side readily agreed.

– That’s no problem at all.

“Thank you.”

– Let’s keep in touch then. If anything comes up, let me know immediately.

“Yes, senior-nim.”

After the communication with Pang Mi-ryeong ended, I turned to the party members and started speaking.

“As you all heard, we just need to take down one more.”

“Good thing we kept quiet about it.”

Dang Gyu-young added with a satisfied smile.

“We managed to get a lot out of it.”

Then she double-checked,

“So if we take down one more, we get six boxes, right?”

“Right, six.”

Each time we defeated a mid-boss, we earned one B-rank random box which added up to three. And with the three more that Pang Mi-ryeong would provide, that brought us to a total of six.

It was the equivalent of a medium-sized B-rank dungeon reward.

Dang Gyu-young asked again,

“Are we giving up on the other hidden pieces?”

“Not much choice. We’ll handle this first and only grab it if we have time.”

“Still, six random boxes are plenty. Da-bin.”

“Yes, president.”

Chae Da-bin quickly tapped on her tablet as if she understood Dang Gyu-young’s intention.

In response, drones rose high into the sky from a travel case and scattered in all directions.

The tablet screen then split, each view showing a different drone’s feed.

We wanted to pinpoint the exact location of each demon before moving in.

Having a support like this really makes things easier.

An information-based role like Chae Da-bin’s might not stand out in direct battle, but it greatly reduced the strain in other areas.

Strategy guides only gave a rough idea of the demons’ general range, but they couldn’t track their constantly shifting positions.

As everyone watched the split screens in fascination, several figures moving swiftly across some of the views appeared.

They had located the demons.

Chae Da-bin pointed to a screen and asked,

“Found them. Which one are we targeting?”

“It seems the Bloodlust Demon is still around. Let’s go with that one.”

It didn’t matter to us how strong or weak the demon was, as long as we hit our quota.

In that regard, the Bloodlust Demon was an ideal target.

It was practically the weakest thing in the area.

Compared to the other demons, this one’s skills were about half a level to a full level lower. If the Twin Demons each ranked around mid-B level as bosses, this one was closer to a C or C+ rank.

It was likely even weaker than the Alpha Ogre.

No need for all five of us to swarm it…

I pointed my chin at the Bloodlust Demon on the screen and asked Go Hyeon-woo.

“Think we can take it down if we go with the same setup as before?”

“Myself, Jang-hyung, and Senior Chae, you mean?”

“Yeah, just the three of you.”

Go Hyeon-woo rested his chin on his hand, thought for a moment, then answered.

“I can’t guarantee with absolute certainty, but we should have a solid chance of winning.”

I glanced over to see that Jang Moo-geuk and Chae Da-bin seemed to share his opinion.

They had pushed through against one of the Twin Demons with just the three of them, so this weaker Bloodlust Demon should be much easier.

I made a suggestion.

“Then let’s split up just this once.”

While Go Hyeon-woo and the other two took down the Bloodlust Demon, Dang Gyu-young and I would recover a different hidden piece.

They had memorized the entire strategy guide, so there was nothing they didn’t know. Moreover, they had flawlessly executed every order I gave them so far.

Even though the odds of success were high, it wasn’t 100%, so it was ultimately just a suggestion.

“If you want to play it safe, we can go together; if you think it’s doable, take it on yourselves. Either way works, so no pressure.”

Go Hyeon-woo hesitated for a moment, then resolved himself and replied.

“If we’re afraid of even this little danger, we’ll never grow. I’ll give it a go. Leave it to us.”

“Good.”

After a few additional reminders, we split into two groups.

“Well then, Kim-hyung, good luck.”

“You too.”

The three of them quickly sped off into the distance and used their movement techniques to disappear from sight.

After watching them go, I began walking alongside Dang Gyu-young.

When I glanced over, I noticed that she was also sneaking a sidelong look at me. A faint, mysterious smile lingered at the corners of her mouth.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Can’t I smile?”

“You can, but there must be a reason.”

“Just feeling good that things are working out well.”

Dang Gyu-young answered in a calm tone and quickly changed the subject.

“So, we’re heading to that place from before, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

We had been interrupted earlier by the sudden appearance of the Twin Demons, but now that the obstacles were out of the way, there was no reason not to go.

So we turned and began heading toward the city.

Even as we entered the marketplace, there were few people around.

The atmosphere was tense, and the expressions of the few passersby we did see were filled with fear.

With demons roaming everywhere and skilled warriors, including Paeng Mi-ryeong’s raid team, frequently clashing with them, it was a classic case of shrimp caught in the whale’s battle for the common people.

As a result, most inns and taverns had shut their doors and there were few vendors on the streets.

Dang Gyu-young clicked her tongue in mild disappointment as she took this in.

“I was hoping to pick up a few things, but it looks like everything’s closed.”

“If we look around carefully, I’m sure we’ll find something. Let’s finish our task and then browse.”

“Huhum, sounds good.”

Soon, we arrived at a fairly large manor.

Its walls were correspondingly high, but we already had experience leaping up to rooftops.

We jumped over the wall at the same time and started scanning the grounds.

There were traces of people here and there but,

“Not that many.”

“We’ve got to make the most of times like this.”

That’s what we came here for, after all.

Dang Gyu-young narrowed her eyes at me.

“The more I look at you, the more you seem like a thief.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. I’ll admit it.”

“How about joining the club when we get back?”

“No thanks.”

Dang Gyu-young was constantly on the lookout for a chance to rope me in.

Of course, I was determined to stay unaffiliated, so I refused again.

But she seemed unusually persistent today.

“Then how about becoming an honorary member?”

“Is that even a thing?”

First time I heard of it.

Dang Gyu-young answered with confidence.

“I just created it. It’s within the club president’s authority.”

“Why waste your authority on something like that?”

No doubt she’d find a way to sneak me in as a full member after making me an honorary one.

This was a good time to change the subject.

“Let’s just get going.”

Dang Gyu-young pouted in frustration, but she seemed to agree that we needed to move.

We couldn’t stay perched on someone else’s wall forever.

A black butterfly fluttered gracefully into the manor below.