Dungeon Preparation

"Augh, I'm dying." My body, which could probably handle being doused in poison, was in chaos from the alcohol. My stomach burned and I felt nauseous. I'd found one more thing the three of us had in common.

"Completely insane drinking habits." And they ate so well that the bill from the samgyeopsal place was higher than what we'd have spent at an expensive restaurant. They all made their living using their bodies, so I could understand the hearty appetites, but the drinking was beyond me.

"You up?"

"Eung." While I was rubbing my aching stomach, the cotton ball beside me stirred and sat up. She'd probably woken because I'd lifted my upper body after sharing warmth with her. Baek Seol was still half-asleep and wobbly, likely from staying up late playing along with yesterday's noisy atmosphere.

"Come here." Still drowsy, Baek Seol toddled over and nestled into my arms. Beep!

9:31 AM. We'd overslept. If we dawdled any longer, we'd definitely be late. With all the demerit points I'd already racked up, a tardy would bring Professor Hwang's scolding bombardment for sure.

"Baek Seol, we've gotta go to school." While I roughly tied my hair with a hair tie, Baek Seol, still half-buried against me, peeked up with one eye open.

"Eung?" The sleepy creature suddenly perked up and reached her front paws toward my head. When I lowered it, she started tapping at the hair tie.

"Are you the same bunny as Baek Seol?"

"Eung!"

"Hehe, I'm the king bunny. Ong-nyong-nyong!"

"That tickles!"

"Unexpected things happen inside dungeons. Therefore, it's nearly impossible to handle every situation perfectly."

Professor Hwang's voice drifted over like a lullaby.

"Haaah──."

"Han Ga-eul."

"Yes, Professor."

"Your jaw's about to fall off."

"Sorryyy." Professor Hwang waggled the pen in her hand. That gesture meant she was debating whether to deduct points. After a brief pause, she sighed and continued the lecture.

"In a party, organic cooperation takes priority above all else·····."

Most of them were swordsmen. At best, the rest were archers. How on earth was I supposed to build organic cooperation with these kids to safely clear a dungeon?

Starting at thirty million won meant I couldn't press it many times. [Remaining Funds: 5,826,530,000 won] I still had plenty of money, but it disappeared in an instant as always. Even starting from hundreds of thousands of won, it didn't take long to reach the billions. At thirty million per purchase, there was no answer.

From experience, Level 1 skills were so inefficient they weren't worth using anywhere. Still, the more you bought, the more explosively the effects grew—and the more explosively the money vanished.

"Hmm." The first thing to consider was whether it would help me. After that, I could think about supporter-cosplay skills for enjoying campus life. Par had said it, after all—live happily. Thanks to her, I was having plenty of fun. Playing around noisily with the viewers was fun, and having a glass of soju with samgyeopsal alongside my classmates was fun too. Because of Par, I'd also met Baek Seol. Spending my days with this little one was so joyful and happy. To protect this precious daily life, what skill should I buy?

I could buy the rest slowly while watching how things went. Since I was just starting, I could complete them one by one. My eyes also drifted toward buff skills related to physical enhancement, but in a way, they were closer to poison. If you made a right-handed person use chopsticks with their left hand, most would fumble. Humans couldn't even control parts of their own bodies properly. So if their speed suddenly increased or their strength suddenly surged, their physical balance would collapse all at once. It wouldn't matter if I used it on myself, but for hunters who'd trained their bodies in harmony, it was more like a curse.

"Hmm, a curse?"

"Han Ga-eul."

"Neng." Professor Hwang, who had been continuing the lecture, shot me a dumbfounded look.

"Who exactly are you planning to curse?"

"I was just wondering what would happen if I put a curse on an enemy!"

"Ha····." The cadets chuckled. Since I was confident in my supporting, going the curse route didn't seem like a bad idea either.

"I'll continue. Because of what I just mentioned, people from the guilds will be coming tomorrow."

"Why?" Professor Hwang rubbed the back of her neck. I'd been staring at the skill window and hadn't heard a word of her explanation.

"Tomorrow you'll form parties and enter the dungeon. The party members will stay as originally assigned, and hunters from the major guilds will be dispatched for your protection."

"The instructors aren't coming?" It was only natural that instructors with superior combat ability would come to protect the cadets. Mentioning guilds for this kind of thing meant the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠higher-ups were in an uproar over vested interests.

"Most of the academy's enormous operating funds come from guild sponsorships. It's because of requests from the guilds' side."

"So they're just coming to drool over kids who might become guild pillars in the near future, right?"

"····You're sharp. That's correct, but how about using that good head of yours during class?"

"Ugh. I couldn't sober up today····." Professor Hwang pressed her temples hard.

"That's it for today."

"Eh? Why are we done already?" The answer came from Noah, who was sitting beside me and had apparently heard my muttering.

"Ga-eul, it's Saturday today."

"What? We had class on Saturday? This school's insane." While I was talking with Noah, the other party members I'd teamed up with yesterday naturally gathered around me.

"Guys, did you sober up?"

"I still haven't····."

"Han Ga-eul!"

"Yes!" Just as I was about to continue the conversation, Professor Hwang, who hadn't left yet, gestured for me. When I approached, she leaned in slightly.

"Don't cause any accidents tomorrow, please."

"Yes?" I tilted my head in confusion, and Baek Seol, still nestled in my arms, tilted her head too. She probably just wanted to copy whatever I did.

"What kind of accident? How could an F-rank supporter cause an accident?"

"Have you already forgotten about the time you spun your classmate's jaw yesterday?"

"Aha!" Professor Hwang grabbed the back of her neck again.

"And why are you calling yourself F-rank? The one whose jaw you spun yesterday ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is ranked 22nd in the year."

"Wasn't it just luck?"

"Status is absolute. That's an immutable law. It'd be more realistic to say the status projector was broken."

Professor Hwang spoke quite firmly.

"Support magic, Sleep····."

"Enough, go." Unfortunately, Professor Hwang seemed to have already developed immunity to my nonsense.

"Professor, enjoy your lunch."

"Right." As Professor Hwang left, the three who'd been waiting behind approached.

"What were you talking about with the professor?"

"She told me not to cause accidents." The three nodded.

"What! Why!"

"Why do you think? The professor's keen insight, duh!" When I poked Kim Chan-yong in the side, he overacted.

"You guys said you hadn't sobered up yet, right?"

"Not yet."

"There's a grassy field next to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that big empty lot. Let's go there." I took the lead, and the three followed behind me.

**

"Here, spread this out."

"You carry all sorts of things." Shin Yong received the mat and laid it out on a flat spot. Meanwhile, I took out various cooking tools from my inventory. There were three guys with healthy appetites. Adding me and the rabbit who ate well made five, so I needed a big pot. I'd already soaked the dried pollock in water at the store, so I just had to prepare the green onions.

Tok-tok-tok-tok. On a sunny spring afternoon, the sound of chopping on the grass drew glances from passersby.

"Your knife skills are no joke."

"Oh?"

"Ga-eul, you can cook too?"

"It's not really cooking. It's just instant ramen." I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠boiled water in the pot and added the pre-soaked dried pollock. That alone would make a refreshing broth. Once the broth had steeped enough, I added the noodles and seasoning packet, then set aside a little of the soup Baek Seol liked. When it was almost done, I added chili powder, green onions, and bean sprouts for texture.

"Ta-da, dried pollock hangover ramen."

"Waaah!" The guys, who'd been drooling at the smell, cheered. I portioned the ramen into disposable containers and handed them over; the recipient passed one to the side. If we could show this level of cooperation in the dungeon, there shouldn't be any problems.

"It's hot, so blow on it before eating."

"I'll eat well, thank you."

"Thanks for the food, Ga-eul."

"Bright red noodles?"

"While you eat, think about how we'll handle tomorrow's dungeon exploration." I needed to listen to their thoughts and decide which skills to buy.

"Can't we just go? We prepare normally anyway." Dae-chul had mastered the art of annoying people the moment he opened his mouth.

"I didn't think much since I'm going with Ga-eul?"

"Noah, what about you?" Noah was just staring at the ramen without offering any particular opinion.

"Me? Since I'm going with Ga-eul, it'll probably be fine, right?" I didn't know when I'd earned this kind of trust.

"Really? Then should I learn some curse magic?"

"Pfft!"

"Eat quietly. Why'd you spit that out?" The three stared at me in disbelief, but in the meantime Baek Seol was happily dipping flower petals in the ramen broth and eating.

"I'll handle it myself. Finish eating before the noodles get soggy."

—Slurp. Shin Yong belatedly sucked in the noodles that had been hanging from his mouth.