The Book of Chaos
The Magic Tower Council recognized only tower-affiliated members—Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and their ilk—as its own. The White Magic Club, by contrast, was more like the Swordsmanship Club: anyone who had mastered white magic could join, regardless of faction. And since dual membership was permitted, most mages under the Council's banner kept a foot planted in the White Magic Club as well.
Hong Ye-hwa standing before me was proof enough—president of the Ruby Magic Tower, yet surely tied closely to the White Magic Club. And when heavyweights like these lent their strength to the Thief Club, there was always a reason worth their while. Nine times out of ten, I suspected, that reason was banned items.
Jeong Chong-myeong adjusted his glasses, shot me a brief glance, and turned to Dang Gyu-young.
"Have you filled him in?"
"Not yet. I was just about to."
"I'll do it."
Jeong Chong-myeong turned the question on me.
"Kim Ho, do you know what the Book of Chaos is?"
"Yes, I do."
The Book of Chaos. A tome binding together dozens of magic scrolls known as Chaos Scrolls, used by tearing out a single page at a time. Its effect: increased dungeon uncertainty. The story of any dungeon you entered would break free of its original framework, the terrain would rearrange itself, mutant monsters would spawn—variables multiplied dramatically.
Of course, rewards swelled alongside the risk, which made it well worth braving. With dozens of bonus payouts to be harvested over the course of a single dungeon run, its use was managed at the club level.
That said, uncertainty wasn't something a user could tune to taste, and every so often a dungeon's difficulty would rocket clean through the ceiling. Tear a page in a C-rank dungeon only for the challenge to suddenly climb to A-rank levels, and—
Everyone dies.
The odds of that were infinitesimally slim, of course, but with human lives on the line, the academy couldn't afford to shrug off even a remote chance. And so the Book of Chaos had been entered into the registry of banned items.
Jeong Chong-myeong picked the thread back up.
"Well, that saves me the explanation. Long story short—the Book of Chaos has fallen into the Disciplinary Committee's hands."
Originally, the book had been slated to pass from the White Magic Club to the Ruby Magic Tower. But the member tasked with transporting it had carelessly kept it stowed in his inventory, and the suddenly triggered Ban Wave had caught him red-handed.
This time it was my turn to ask a question.
"Couldn't you get it back through other channels, senior?"
"Of course we could. But that can wait."
The White Magic Club wielded influence to match its size; negotiated skillfully with the Disciplinary Committee, they might well see a banned item or two returned. Even so, they'd shelved negotiations as Plan B—time was relatively ample on their side, and there was always the chance talks could collapse altogether.
And Plan A, naturally, was joining forces with the Thief Club.
A convincing enough rationale. I nodded.
"I see. Understood."
"That covers the big picture, so shall we get into the details?"
At that, Dang Gyu-young spread the table with photographs of the C Exchange, a map of the surrounding area, the building's blueprints, and more. Jeong Chong-myeong studied them at length before speaking.
"You said you've secured eyes on the site?"
"Yep. Da-bin worked hard for that one."
Chae Da-bin's formidable magic engineering was tapping into the feeds of the security crystal balls installed across the commercial district. It was a task left unfinished back during the Black Market, but since Jeong Chong-myeong and Hong Ye-hwa had no way of knowing that, Dang Gyu-young quietly basked in the borrowed credit.
"If your visual coverage is in place..."
Jeong Chong-myeong narrowed his eyes at the map around the C Exchange, then before long tapped a building standing a short distance off.
"We'll provide support from here."
"That distance should work fine."
Hong Ye-hwa nodded along as well.
Their intent was to back us up from afar with artillery-type mages. Too close, and the Disciplinary Committee would spot them easily; too far, and the spells would lose their bite—so they had chosen a position at just the right remove.
Dang Gyu-young waved it through.
"Suit yourselves. Long-range support at this level is plenty—and while you're at it, I'd love a few all-rounders attached as well."
It paid to be ready in case we crossed paths with the Disciplinary Committee inside the C Exchange. Even a pair of 2nd- or 3rd-year Committee members would be more than the Thief Club rank-and-file could handle alone.
Apparently convinced the logic held, Jeong Chong-myeong mulled it over, then named two people.
"How about Gyeo-wool and Han-gil?"
"Perfect."
A satisfied smile spread across Dang Gyu-young's lips at once. The two of them must be reasonably capable, then. I'd be meeting them soon enough regardless, so I didn't bother asking about them.
From there, the discussion moved on to how we would breach the C Exchange building, how we would operate once inside, and how we would slip out afterward. Somewhere along the way, my own role came up too.
"This kid is going to crack the formation?"
"That's what I'm telling you. His instincts are razor-sharp."
Even in the face of Dang Gyu-young's bold pronouncement, Jeong Chong-myeong and Hong Ye-hwa looked less than convinced. A barrier formation laid down by a graduate and shored up by 3rd-year Committee members—could a first-year really punch through it?
But Jeong Chong-myeong seemed to decide his doubts could wait, and his expression eased.
"You wouldn't vouch for him for nothing. I'll trust you on it. That said—Kim Ho."
"Yes, senior?"
"You're unaffiliated, correct? Not with the Thief Club?"
"Correct. Unaffiliated."
Dang Gyu-young pouted in evident displeasure, but I had no intention of inventing sentiments I didn't have. Do that, and I'd wake up one day as "Kim Ho, Honorary Thief Club Member"—better to leave the door firmly shut.
Jeong Chong-myeong went on.
"Recovering the Book of Chaos is, formally speaking, a commission. The Thief Club has its promised success fee coming."
"..."
"But since you're not on their roster, it's only right you be paid separately. If there's anything you want, name it."
There was, of course, something I wanted.
To be precise, it had come into existence mere moments ago.
"If you're willing, I'd like to use the Book of Chaos a few times."
"...That's something we share with our own members only."
"Which is exactly why I'm requesting it as my fee."
In other words: cutting an exception for me counted as part of the payment. Jeong Chong-myeong turned his head toward Hong Ye-hwa. The book had been bound for the Ruby Magic Tower in the first place—so he was evidently leaving the call to its president. Hong Ye-hwa showed no great objection either, but she seemed to want the particulars settled first.
"Exactly how many times do you plan to use it?"
"Twice should be plenty."
"Twice is acceptable, but—"
Hong Ye-hwa appended a condition.
"You may use it so long as it doesn't overlap with our runs."
"I can arrange that."
"Then it's settled."
The two mages accepted my proposal without hesitation. For an item with dozens of uses to its name, a mere two was nothing at all.
From where I stood, though, even two was a considerable windfall—because the number was never what mattered.
What mattered was where I used them.
I had already put the Book of Chaos through every experiment imaginable.
The following evening. The commercial district.
Just as I had during the infiltration of the temporary storage, I wore a mask over black stealth gear. Dang Gyu-young and the rest of the Thief Club were dressed to match.
We walked on until we reached the building across from the C Exchange—the very spot Jeong Chong-myeong had marked on the map, where the White Magic Club would stage its support. Sure enough, the rooftop held several mages waiting under deep-hooded robes.
At the sound of our arrival they all snapped their heads around, but on realizing we were friendly, Jeong Chong-myeong came over and asked Dang Gyu-young:
"Nothing unusual so far?"
"Quiet as can be."
I stole a glance out past the edge of the roof. Disciplinary Committee members were posted around the C Exchange at fixed intervals—mostly 1st- and 2nd-years, with Jo Byeok and Han So-mi among the recognizable faces. But per Chae Da-bin's constant watch through the crystal balls, there had been no movement beyond that.
Meaning they knew we would hit the temporary storage tonight, but not the specifics of how.
Jeong Chong-myeong gave a small nod and called out a few names.
"Right. Han Gyeo-wool, Choi Han-gil."
A girl and a boy, both looking every bit the 3rd-years, stepped forward—the all-rounders mentioned at the strategy meeting, by the look of them. Judging by their bearing, Han Gyeo-wool hailed from the Sapphire Magic Tower and Choi Han-gil from the Guild Alliance.
Choi Han-gil gave us a quick once-over, then asked Dang Gyu-young.
"When are you moving out?"
"Whenever you're ready."
"We've been ready for a while now."
"Then let's go right away."
With that, Dang Gyu-young cast a look at the thieves, and they split into two groups without needing to be told—the majority joining the mages, a handful falling in with us. The division of roles had been settled in advance as well: the former would stay behind to keep the mages as concealed as possible and cover an emergency evacuation, while the latter, naturally, would infiltrate the C Exchange alongside us.
With Choi Han-gil and Han Gyeo-wool added, and Chae Da-bin pulled out to run the control tower, the roster was nearly identical to last time—the twins, the boy with the short wand, and Shin Byung-cheol.
Heading down the stairs, Dang Gyu-young raised Chae Da-bin on the transceiver.
"Da-bin."
— Yes, President.
"We're heading in shortly."
— The eight o'clock side is the weak spot.
Seen through the crystal balls, Chae Da-bin's field of view was broader than ours on the ground, so we moved covertly along the routes she flagged.
The C Exchange was a derelict four-story building, something like an old shopping arcade, and abandoned structures of similar height ringed it all around. With the Disciplinary Committee wrapped around it like a steel drum, entry at ground level was effectively impossible; the plan was to cross over through the second or third floor of an adjacent building.
Of course, the Committee had surely thought this far ahead too, and the odds were good that some countermeasure awaited us. So before setting foot inside, Dang Gyu-young brought the group to a halt and flicked a subtle glance at Choi Han-gil.
A rapid incantation, and a faint ripple of mana spread out around him—a detection spell.
"One on the rooftop, one on the second floor... and they're heading up."
"Traps? Alarm spells?"
Shin Byung-cheol and the short-wand boy fielded that one.
"None, sis."
"None."
"Good, let's move."
At Dang Gyu-young's gesture, the whole party poured into the building and crept up the stairs to the second floor. There was no sign of the Disciplinary Committee—apparently they had climbed higher, just as Choi Han-gil had said. But with no telling when they might come back down, we had to act fast.
We shifted toward the windows, and the C Exchange opened up before us in full view. From there, Dang Gyu-young raised Jeong Chong-myeong this time.
"We're in position. Give us one scan."
— One moment.
The curt reply came through, and while we waited, the Thief Club members began readying themselves for the crossing. Shin Byung-cheol fired a black-lacquered rope across to the C Exchange and anchored it to the window ledge, while the short-wand boy neutralized the alarm spells planted around that stretch. Dang Gyu-young, for her part, drew the shadows up around her and readied her skill.
Before long, a magic circle materialized unobtrusively in one corner of the C Exchange—
Flash!
For an instant, it felt as though the entire building had washed over in blue. Jeong Chong-myeong had swept the structure with a large-scale scanning spell. There was a risk the Disciplinary Committee would notice, but it beat barging in blind.
Dang Gyu-young relayed the interior readout piece by piece—then suddenly knit her brow, as if something had struck her as off.
"What? There's way too few in there."
Where did the rest of them go?
[257] The Support Ate it All