Settling Up

The instant we stepped out of the dungeon, Dang Gyu-young drew her mana up to the brim and readied a skill. The next moment the view flipped entirely, the Deep Layer of the Dungeon Hall opening up before us, and the other members who had joined the raid came trooping out after us.

Amid the clamor and confusion, the five of us and Paeng Mi-ryeong traded rapid glances — and the moment we converged on a single spot, she unleashed the skill she had been holding.

Shadow welled up from beneath our feet, engulfed the five of us, then pressed itself against Paeng Mi-ryeong's shadow and fused into one.

Shadowlatcher — a skill that conceals the caster's party within a target's shadow. With enough caster capability, it could hide several people at once, exactly as it was doing now. Its one fatal flaw was that a single attack would break it instantly, which meant it either had to be cast stealthily enough that the host never noticed, or with prior consent. Ours was naturally the latter.

One more drawback: the shadow's silhouette didn't read as Paeng Mi-ryeong's, but as the five of us huddled together. Look at Paeng ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mi-ryeong standing alone, and the difference jumped out at a glance. Of course, we had talked through even these weaknesses well in advance, so the other expedition members arranged themselves in a ring around her. Now, no matter what angle the light fell from, the shadows would blur into a single clumped mass — short of something unusual, we wouldn't be made.

When the dungeon entrance suddenly grew busy, a Disciplinary Committee member patrolling nearby came over. He gave the expedition members' faces a light once-over, then asked Paeng Mi-ryeong,

"Any injuries?"

"None."

"Good to hear. You must be worn out — get inside and rest."

"Yeah. Good work yourself."

They had bid formally before attempting the raid, so as far as the Committee was concerned there was no reason to hold them. He said just that much and went back on his rounds, showing no sign whatsoever that he had the faintest idea we were hiding in the shadow.

Paeng Mi-ryeong cast a brief glance after his departing back, then tossed out a single word.

"Let's head up."

Everyone started toward the spiral staircase. Partway there, one of the third-years drew close and offered Paeng Mi-ryeong an apology. Judging by his grim complexion, this was the Team 2 leader — the one who had let his arrogance off the leash and been savagely schooled by the Flying Mountain Twin Demons.

"...I'm sorry. I should have stuck to the plan."

"Of course you should be sorry. Your little stunt nearly got the entire expedition killed. Pull that again and I can't work with you."

"From now on I'll follow your orders to the letter. You have my word."

The Team 2 leader pledged it over and over. His groveling stemmed partly from genuine remorse, but the intent to manage his reputation was every bit as plain. Get branded a troll, and not only would the rest of his school years suffer — no expedition would take him after graduation, either.

Then he lowered his gaze to the shadow and offered his thanks to it.

"Much obliged, Dang Gyu-young. Thanks to you, we came through without serious losses."

"Nothing to thank me for. I did the job and took everything I was owed."

Dang Gyu-young replied as if it were nothing, and the Team 2 leader turned his head back to Paeng Mi-ryeong.

"I'll cover whatever we lost."

"Mm. Suit yourself."

Of Team 2's quota, the Horseheads they had missed came to three. But because they had lodged an emergency request with us, the expedition's effective losses had swollen to six random boxes. Covering that out of his own pocket would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mean gutting his inventory. Even so, he had apparently judged that absorbing the loss now beat letting his reputation bleed — so long as he kept the party leader's seat and built on it, opportunities would come knocking plenty down the line.

He knows how to handle himself, at least.

He had thrown his weight around mid-raid, but as far as leadership qualities went, he seemed passable enough. A man with that much pride, apologizing before everyone's eyes and promising compensation on the spot — that counted for something. Perhaps that was why the rest of the expedition's gazes toward him had softened a good deal as well.

Paeng Mi-ryeong's expedition kept climbing until they left the Deep Layer behind. On the C floor, just as on the way down, Disciplinary Committee members held a dense web of vigilance on patrol. They too, of course, exchanged nothing more than light greetings and did not detain the expedition.

Among them, Gwak Seung-jae did study the group carefully, as if he had caught some faint scent—

"..."

"Something wrong?"

"Not at all, Senior."

At Paeng Mi-ryeong's question he promptly stepped aside.

Concealed in the shadow, Dang Gyu-young whispered at speed.

— Saw that? We won, right? That's two wins. Two wins.

— You're on quite a streak today.

— Told you — it's 8-to-2 against Gwak Seung-jae. The man just can't beat me.

Dang Gyu-young's confidence had swollen to bursting. A few of the sharper-eyed Committee members sent odd looks their way afterward, but nobody actually pierced the concealment. Then again — unless you knew Dang Gyu-young was the one behind it, who would think to scrutinize a shadow?

In the meantime the expedition changed elevators several times, climbing in short order through D, E, and F, until at last they could leave the underground floors entirely behind. Perhaps because the raid had eaten up considerable time, the sky was slowly paling toward blue, and foot traffic was sparse. Even so, Paeng Mi-ryeong made one final check for watching eyes before she spoke.

"You can come out now."

The moment Dang Gyu-young released Shadowlatcher, Paeng Mi-ryeong's shadow bulged upward in relief, and the five of us stepped back into view.

"Whoa — that was one easy trip up. Thanks."

"No, the thanks is ours. Here."

Three random boxes had found their way into Paeng Mi-ryeong's hands at some point. After that we traded light farewells with the expedition and split off, agreeing to disband for the time being. We had crossed long distances inside the dungeon and fought any number of pitched battles; the fatigue had piled up as far as it would go.

Dang Gyu-young spoke.

"Rest up properly. We regroup once you're awake. Great work, everyone."

"Thank you for your hard work."

I put in my mana training at the Training Center, then caught a short nap.

Saturday morning. I made for the Thief Club room right on time, and Dang Gyu-young greeted me as if she had been waiting.

"There you are. Get some rest?"

"I did."

"Sit here."

She steered me to the round table at the center of the club room, where snacks bought off the Gathering of Evildoers' black market lay spread out — dried fruit, jerky, wheat pancakes, the works. An afterparty, by the look of it, meant to be shared with the party members.

I settled into a seat at one end of the table; Dang Gyu-young dropped into the one right beside me and popped a piece of dried fruit straight into my mouth.

"Try this. Insanely sweet, right?"

"Oh. Tastes kind of like pineapple."

"See?"

Then she raised a candied fruit and held it at the ready by my lips, plainly intending to feed me another.

"..."

Chae Da-bin regarded us for a moment with an unreadable look, then seemed to decide on total non-engagement and fixed her eyes on her tablet. Her hand, naturally, kept commuting between the snack table and her mouth.

Before long, Go Hyeon-woo and then Jang Mu-geuk arrived at the club room, minutes apart.

"My greetings."

"Mm, come sit. Eat, eat."

All of us gathered around the round table and traded accounts of what had happened in the dungeon. Then, once the snacks had thinned and the conversation all but run dry, Chae Da-bin busied herself clearing one end of the table — and Dang Gyu-young rose to her feet and cut to the chase.

"Shall we start the split, then?"

Before dividing anything, we needed a clean, at-a-glance picture of exactly what we had gained. So Dang Gyu-young began drawing items out of her inventory one at a time and laying them on the table.

Two elixirs unearthed from the weed patch:

And, gathered along the way, a whole heap of poisonous herbs:

The clear rewards, along with the random boxes received from Paeng Mi-ryeong:

Then one booklet swiped from the manor, and the hidden piece Go Hyeon-woo had bustled about collecting right up to the very end:

And on top of it all was the most important prize of all, Ghost Without Shadow — but since everyone would get an equal shot at it anyway, there was no need to set it on the table.

Dang Gyu-young looked around at the company and continued.

"Better to split them than do a group unboxing. Everyone all right with that?"

Heads nodded in agreement all around.

Where real familiarity existed — Go Hyeon-woo and me, or Dang Gyu-young and me — we would sometimes open every box first and divide the contents by need. Even if we happened to want the same thing, no great friction would follow.

Our five, by contrast, were a temporary party formed because our interests happened to align. Chae Da-bin and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jang Mu-geuk were on friendly terms with me, granted, but hardly close; Go Hyeon-woo and Dang Gyu-young were simply senior and junior to each other. If a random box coughed up an unexpected jackpot — or, just as easily, flopped spectacularly — feelings might sour.

Hence Dang Gyu-young's ruling: distribute the boxes unopened, and let each person do their own unboxing. That was the fairest way — and it saved headaches, too.

"Take one each to start."

Matching the party's headcount, one box apiece went to the five of us. Next, Dang Gyu-young singled me out.

"Kim Ho, you pick first."

First pick, in deference to my having contributed the most to this raid. My strategy guide had won us Ghost Without Shadow and a fistful of hidden pieces, and against the Flying Mountain Twin Demons, my S-rank [Poison Resistance] had carried the advantage from the opening exchange.

I swept my gaze across the items lined up on the table. Mostly B-rank, their values near enough identical — but the right answer had been settled long ago.

"I'll take one more box."

With the Random Box Enhancement Scroll in hand, plus a trump-card windfall besides, betting on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠probability was the correct play. Dang Gyu-young nodded without a moment's hesitation.

"Sure. Take the poison herbs too, all of them."

Next came Dang Gyu-young and Chae Da-bin. Their contributions inside the dungeon had been weighty, and outwardly they had served as Deep Layer guides without a single slip. Without those two, dodging the Committee's eyes and reaching the dungeon at all would have been a fantasy.

Dang Gyu-young, for her part, had plainly decided what she wanted ages ago; the moment her turn arrived, her hand shot for the Heavenly Secrets Formation Commentary.

"Taking this one. I'm the one who has to move it, after all — better price that way. Dabin, you don't happen to need it?"

"No, I'll take the elixir."

Chae Da-bin shook her head. As expected of the magic engineering type, she seemed to have little use for formation-related items.

And so it settled: Chae Da-bin took the B-rank He Shou Wu, while Go Hyeon-woo and Jang Mu-geuk divided the remaining C+ He Shou Wu and the Great Clear Pill between them.

Seeing the table wiped clean, Dang Gyu-young put on a bright, satisfied expression.

"This split went beautifully. Which leaves the main dish..."

"...!"

Even as she said it, she slid a glance my way. Eyes brimming with expectation converged on me — and Jang Mu-geuk's above all had burned past expectation into open fire.

I flashed a grin and pushed myself up from my seat.

"You've waited long enough. Right this way."

Off to claim Ghost Without Shadow.

[246] The Support Ate It All