The Support Ate it All

As soon as we exited the dungeon, Dang Gyu-young drew out a massive surge of mana and prepared a skill.

The next moment, our surroundings abruptly shifted and the depths of the dungeon building were revealed. The other participants who had joined the raid also poured out in droves.

“…….”

“…….”

Amidst the noise and chaos, the five members of our party and Pang Mi-ryeong’s party exchanged quick glances.

As soon as we regrouped, Dang Gyu-young unleashed the skill she had been preparing.

[Shadowlatcher]

Shadows surged from beneath our feet. They enveloped the five of us before merging with Pang Mi-ryeong’s shadow.

Shadowlatcher.

It was a skill that allowed one to conceal themselves within another’s shadow.

Depending on the user’s abilities, it could even hide multiple people at once, just like now.

However, it had a critical flaw. If attacked, the concealment was immediately broken. For this reason, it was essential to cast it discreetly enough that the host wouldn’t notice or you could just secure their consent beforehand.

Naturally, we fell into the latter category.

Another downside was that the shape of the shadow would not reflect Pang Mi-ryeong alone but would instead display the clustered forms of the five of us.

If someone were to single out Pang Mi-ryeong and examine her shadow closely, the difference would be obvious at a glance.

Of course, we had thoroughly planned for these drawbacks in advance and made sure that the other members of the raid formed a circle around Pang Mi-ryeong.

Now, no matter which direction the light hit from, the shadows would appear to blend seamlessly. It would be difficult for anyone to notice.

Now that the front of a dungeon grew crowded all of a sudden, a patrol member of the disciplinary committee started to approach.

The patrol member gave a cursory glance over the raid team members and then asked Pang Mi-ryeong,

“Are there any injuries?”

“None.”

“That’s a relief. You must all be tired, so go in and rest.”

“Sure, you too. Good work.”

Since the raid had been carried out following proper registration, the disciplinary committee had no reason to detain them for long.

With that, he left to continue his patrol. He showed no sign of realizing that we were hidden within Pang Mi-ryeong’s shadow.

After briefly glancing in the direction he had disappeared, Pang Mi-ryeong spoke,

“Let’s go up.”

Everyone began heading toward the spiral staircase.

On the way, a third-year student approached Pang Mi-ryeong and handed her an apology.

Judging by the pale expression on his face, it was probably the leader of Team 2 who had gotten carried away and was severely defeated by the Twin Demons.

“…I’m sorry. I should have stuck to the plan.”

“You should be sorry. Because of you, the entire raid was almost put in danger. If you pull something like that again, we won’t work with you.”

“I promise, next time I’ll follow orders to the letter.”

The leader of Team 2 repeatedly swore to do better.

While his apologetic demeanor stemmed partly from genuine regret, it was also clear he wanted to salvage his reputation.

If word got out that he was a troublemaker, it wouldn’t just affect the rest of his school year; no raid team would accept him after graduation either.

Then he lowered his gaze to the shadow and offered a word of gratitude.

“Thank you, Dang Gyu-young. We avoided major problems thanks to you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. I just did the job I was paid for.”

When Dang Gyu-young responded as if it was no big deal, the leader of Team 2 turned back to Pang Mi-ryeong and spoke again.

“I’ll cover the losses myself.”

“Do as you like.”

Team 2 had missed three demons from their quota.

However, because they had made an urgent request to us, the practical loss to the raid team had risen to six random boxes.

To make up for that out of his own pocket, he’d have to sell off a significant portion of his inventory.

Even so, he seemed to have decided that taking an immediate loss was better than damaging his reputation.

As long as he could maintain his position as a party leader and keep moving upward, opportunities would surely come his way in the future.

He knows how to handle himself.

Despite acting recklessly during the raid, his qualities as a leader seemed passable.

Considering the pride he must have in himself, the fact that he apologized in front of everyone and promised compensation spoke volumes.

Perhaps because of that, the gazes of the other raid members had noticeably softened.

The Pang Mi-ryeong raid team continued their upward march, leaving the depths behind.

On the C-floor, just like when we had descended, the disciplinary committee maintained a tight defensive perimeter as they carried out their patrols.

Of course, they exchanged only brief greetings and didn’t hold the Pang Mi-ryeong raid team for long.

Among them, Kwak Seung-jae seemed to have caught on to something and started observing the group carefully.

“……”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, senior-nim.”

When Pang Mi-ryeong asked, he immediately stepped aside.

Dang Gyu-young who was hidden in the shadows whispered quickly to me.

– Did you see that? I won, didn’t I? Two to zero, right? Two to zero?

– You’re on a roll today.

– I told you, it’s an 8-to-2 match against Kwak Seung-jae. He’s no match for me.

Dang Gyu-young’s confidence was soaring.

Even after that, a few sharp-eyed members of the disciplinary committee sent curious glances our way, but no one managed to detect the concealment.

Well, unless they knew the person hiding was Dang Gyu-young, who would think to examine the shadows so closely?

Meanwhile, the raid team changed elevators several times and quickly reached the D, E, and F floors, and we were finally able to completely leave the underground level.

Perhaps because the raid had taken quite some time, the sky was gradually turning a soft blue, and there were barely any people around.

Even so, Pang Mi-ryeong made one last check to make sure no one was watching before she spoke.

“You can come out now.”

When Dang Gyu-young immediately deactivated [Shadowlatcher], Pang Mi-ryeong’s shadow suddenly rose up in a three-dimensional form to reveal the five of us.

“Wow. We got out so easily. Thanks a lot.”

“No, we should be thanking you. Here.”

Pang Mi-ryeong was already holding three random boxes in her hand.

After exchanging brief farewells with the raid team, we went our separate ways, and likewise, decided to disband for the time being.

The long distances covered and numerous battles fought inside the dungeon had left us all utterly drained.

Dang Gyu-young spoke up.

“Get some rest, and let’s regroup after you’ve had a chance to recover. Great work, everyone.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I spent some time at the training center practicing mana cultivation before taking a short nap.

***

Saturday morning.

At the appointed time, I headed to the thieves’ club room where Dang Gyu-young greeted me as though she’d been waiting.

“You’re here. Did you get some rest?”

“Yes.”

“Take a seat.”

She led me to the central round table in the clubroom, where an assortment of snacks like dried fruits, jerky, and rice crackers that were bought from the market frequented by thieves were spread out.

It seemed she intended to share them with the party members as a post-mission gathering.

Once I took a seat at one side of the table, Dang Gyu-young sat right next to me and popped a piece of dried fruit into my mouth.

“Try this. Isn’t it super sweet?”

“Oh, it tastes like pineapple.”

“Right?”

Then as if she planned to feed me another piece, she held a sweet treat close to my mouth and was ready to offer it.

“……”

Chae Da-bin glanced at us briefly with an unreadable expression on her face, then seemed to decide to ignore us entirely and started focusing on her tablet instead. Of course, her hand kept busy, moving back and forth between the snack table and her mouth.

Not long after, Go Hyeon-woo and Jang Moo-geuk arrived at the clubroom only a short time apart.

“Hello.”

“Yeah, come in and sit down. Help yourselves.”

We all gathered around the round table and started chatting about what had happened in the dungeon.

As the snacks dwindled and the conversation began to dry up, Chae Da-bin started tidying up one side of the table.

At that moment, Dang Gyu-young stood up and got straight to the point.

“Shall we start dividing things up?”

Before we could proceed, we needed a clear understanding of what we had gained.

Dang Gyu-young began taking items out of her inventory one by one and placing them on the table.

Two elixirs harvested from the weed field:

[300-Year Tuber fleeceflower (C+)]

[500-Year Tuber fleeceflower (B)]

A bunch of poisonous plants gathered along the way:

[Blood-Spotted Herb (D)] x3

[Short Leaf Herb (C)] x2

[Sharp Leaf Herb (C)] x2

…….

The random boxes received as clear rewards and from Pang Mi-ryeong were laid out.

[Gathering of Villain Random Box (B)] x6

There was also the book we stole from the manor and a hidden piece that Go Hyeon-woo had diligently secured at the very end.

[True Interpretations of Heavenly Formations(B)]

[Grand Azure Elixir (C+)]

Additionally, there was the most crucial item, the Ghost Dance, but since everyone would eventually have a fair chance at it, there was no need to place it on the table.

Dang Gyu-young glanced around the group before continuing.

“It’s better not to open the boxes and just divide them as is. Everyone okay with that?”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

In cases where two party members, like Go Hyeon-woo and I or Dang Gyu-young and I, had a close relationship, it was common to open the random boxes first and then distribute the contents based on individual needs.

Even if there was some overlap in what we needed, it rarely led to serious conflicts.

However, the five of us here were a temporary party formed out of aligned interests.

For example, while Chae Da-bin and Jang Moo-geuk were friendly with me, it would be a stretch to call us close. Similarly, Go Hyeon-woo and Dang Gyu-young’s relationship was nothing more than that of senior and junior.

If someone struck gold with an unexpected jackpot from a random box or conversely got nothing but scraps, it could easily lead to hurt feelings.

That’s why Dang Gyu-young decided it was fairest to distribute the random boxes in their unopened state and let each person handle their own box opening.

It was also the less headache-inducing option.

“Take one each.”

Following the number of party members, each person received one box.

Next, Dang Gyu-young turned to me.

“Kim Ho, you choose first.”

Considering that my contribution to this raid had been the highest, I was given priority.

Thanks to my strategy guide, we were able to obtain numerous hidden pieces, including the Ghost Dance, and in the battle against the Twin Paracorrosive Demons, I had turned the tide early on with S-rank [Poison Resistance].

I scanned the items laid out on the table.

Most of them were B-rank and roughly equal in value, but I had already made up my mind.

“I’ll take another box.”

With the random box enhancement scroll and my “Lucky Charm”, it made sense to take a gamble on the odds.

Dang Gyu-young nodded her head readily.

“Sure, take the poison herbs too.”

The next turn went to Dang Gyu-young and Chae Da-bin.

Both had made significant contributions in the dungeon and had diligently fulfilled their roles as guides to the depths.

If not for their help, reaching the dungeon without drawing the attention of the disciplinary committee would have been impossible.

Dang Gyu-young seemed to have decided long ago what she wanted. The moment her turn came, she reached for the True Interpretations of Heavenly Formations.

“I’ll take this. It’ll fetch a high price if I sell it. Da-bin, do you need this by any chance?”

“No, I’ll take the elixir instead.”

Chae Da-bin shook her head.

As expected, being from the magic engineering field, she didn’t seem particularly interested in items related to formations.

In the end, Chae Da-bin took the B-rank Tuber fleeceflower, while Go Hyeon-woo and Jang Moo-geuk each chose one of the remaining C+-rank Tuber fleeceflower and Grand Azure Elixir.

With the table now cleared of items, Dang Gyu-young smiled in satisfaction.

“This distribution went really smoothly. Now all that’s left is the main dish…”

“……!”

When she said that, she cast a subtle glance in my direction.

All eyes were brimming with anticipation as they turned to me.

Jang Moo-geuk in particular looked beyond eager. His gaze was practically blazing with excitement.

I gave a small smile, then stood up from my seat.

“Thank you for waiting. Let’s get going right away.”

To obtain the Ghost Dance.