The atmosphere in the disciplinary committee room was heavy.
A large screen on one side was split into numerous smaller screens and each was replaying different footage.
The common element across all of them was that every screen displayed various grotesque forms of black monsters.
Next to it, a whiteboard had some key information listed by Kwak Seung-jae, while the committee members, including the club president Oh Se-hoon and the second and third-year members, focused their attention on him.
At last, Kwak Seung-jae looked around the room and began to speak.
“After cross-verifying, we have confirmed that these monsters are Dark Ooblecks.”
“...So it’s as we suspected.”
“We had a hunch, but it really is the Witch of Corruption.”
Each committee member murmured in turn.
During the first-year midterm exam, there had been an incident involving the Blood Demon Cult, led by an elder of the cult and the Witch of Corruption.
They had been defeated in a battle with faculty members, including Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong, and had retreated to even deeper underground levels.
Things had been quiet for the past few weeks, but the fact that activity was resuming suggested they had regained a fair amount of strength.
Kwak Seung-jae continued the briefing.
“As of Thursday, there have been fourteen reported cases, and it’s expected that this number will double by the weekend.”
“Most major attacks usually peak on weekends. How many bids are left for this week?”
“Seventy-one.”
“That’s quite a lot.”
The disciplinary committee member who had asked the question clicked his tongue.
For large dungeons or those that required a long time to clear, they typically began exploration on Friday afternoons to avoid overlapping with the academic schedule.
Additionally, these types of dungeons generally had a high average difficulty.
Most of the current bids were for B and C-rank dungeons.
If these Dark Ooblecks appeared in these dungeons, the danger level would increase, and the likelihood of students dying would rise as well.
One of the committee members posed a question to Oh Se-hoon.
“What about closing the dungeon building temporarily?”
“A decision was already made at the faculty meeting. Right now, they feel there isn’t enough justification.”
“Yeah, I figured as much.”
The member nodded in agreement as if he anticipated the answer.
Though it was an unexpected situation, so far, no students have been seriously injured or killed.
As a result, despite the widespread rumors about Dark Ooblecks, most parties with active bids would likely push forward and just accept the risks to clear the dungeons.
If they postponed, resources invested in their preparations could end up tied up or lost entirely.
Moreover, those students who had already completed their dungeon runs would gain an advantage through practical scores and rewards from clears, which would lead to a widening gap in growth and performance.
If the faculty locked down the dungeons in such a scenario, the backlash would be significant.
In other words, unless someone’s life was lost, they didn’t have sufficient grounds to close them down.
Of course, beyond these somewhat political factors, there were other reasons as well.
So, Oh Se-hoon added an explanation.
“During the faculty meeting, they also raised this idea. It might actually be the Witch of Corruption’s intention to provoke a shutdown of the dungeon building.”
“She intended to close off the dungeon building...? What does that mean?”
As the committee member furrowed his brows, Oh Se-hoon smiled slightly and turned his gaze toward Kwak Seung-jae.
It was as if he was inviting him to answer.
With a slight nod, Kwak Seung-jae began to speak.
“The Dark Oobleck is known to grow stronger over time.”
It has the habit of eating everything it sees and absorbing its power, so if left alone it would naturally absorb more.
“For now, since it’s still in its early stage, its power isn’t much different from the dungeon’s difficulty level, but if it’s given more time, who knows.”
“We need to deal with it before it becomes uncontrollably strong.”
“That’s right.”
Either way, the Dark Oobleck has to be dealt with, and if left alone, the parties clearing the dungeon would handle it in their stead.
So from the academy’s perspective, there’s even less reason to close the dungeon.
Another committee member asked a question.
“Then, are we planning to keep the dungeon building open this week? Have you set up any countermeasures for emergencies?”
“We confirmed that the rescue request system is functioning properly.”
The rescue request.
In effect, it was the only means to contact the outside world from inside the dungeon.
However, using it would nullify the practical evaluation, and a portion of the clear rewards would have to go to the committee.
Still, it was better than having no option at all.
“At least this way, we can be fairly sure no one will lose their life.”
“Yes, assuming we respond immediately, of course. Accordingly, here’s the plan.”
They would significantly increase the number of disciplinary committee members stationed on the underground floors.
On the whiteboard appeared a layout showing the new patrol distribution on the lower levels.
That made unauthorized raids practically impossible.
Even if she sent scouts, they’d be caught right away.
Yet, there were still things that were hard to give up on.
“I really need to go. I have to get down there.”
“We have to find a way through somehow.”
The [Gathering of Villains] dungeon.
The hidden piece at stake wasn’t just any prize; it was the Ghost Dance. The very thing the thieves’ club had been searching for.
Even better, the trouble of handling the main part of the raid was being taken on by Pang Mi-ryeong’s raid team, so this was a rare opportunity for them.
Naturally, this held true for me as well, so I asked Dang Gyu-young.
“Do you think it’ll be difficult?”
“To be honest, I’m not so sure. There isn’t just the disciplinary committee, you know. There might even be teachers patrolling.”
“Mind if I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“About a few skills and ranks of yours.”
“...I’m only telling you this. What are you curious about?”
Asking about someone else’s skills or traits, and especially their rank, is something that’s practically taboo.
Still, I needed to check to make a solid plan.
Perhaps understanding this, Dang Gyu-young hesitated slightly but answered my question honestly.
The fact that we had built up some trust between us was probably a big reason why.
When I mentioned my plan, Dang Gyu-young looked at me with a strange expression.
“Kim Ho-ah, why do I sometimes feel like you know me better than I know myself?”
“Can I use the cheat code again?”
“You know everything because you’ve graduated over 200 times?”
“You know me well.”
“Haah.”
Dang Gyu-young shook her head as if she had half given up.
It’s not like I could just admit that I’ve spent some time playing as a Shadow Mage too.
I moved the conversation along.
“So, what do you think? Our odds of success now.”
“Honestly? Still fifty-fifty?”
“Let’s give it a shot.”
Dang Gyu-young narrowed her eyes.
“And if we get caught?”
“What’s the worst that could happen? Penalty points?”
“You’re a real thief at heart now. You’ve got the mindset down.”
Are you still not joining the club?
Dang Gyu-young threw in yet another casual recruitment attempt.
Then suddenly, as if a thought crossed her mind, she asked,
“But that... what was it, Oobleck or whatever it’s called. Wouldn’t it show up in the dungeon we’re going into?”
“I can’t say there’s a 0% chance, but realistically speaking, it won’t appear.”
The Witch of Corruption was A-rank.
Naturally, the Oobleck she controlled would be ranked below that.
For it to appear in a B-rank dungeon, it would need to be at least B+ rank, but even then, there’s no guarantee it would have any meaningful impact.
B-rank bosses were all strong, after all.
Take the Black Snake and White Snake as examples. The Dark Oobleck wouldn’t stand a chance against them.
So, from the Witch of Corruption’s perspective, it’s more efficient to send her forces into sure-thing C- or D-rank dungeons rather than wasting resources on an uncertain B-rank dungeon.
Even after explaining all this, Dang Gyu-young still seemed uneasy.
“You never know, though.”
“Well, does it matter? It’s not like we’ll be the ones facing it.”
“...Now that you mention it, true.”
Our role was simply to provide the treasure map and strategy guide while keeping a low profile inside the dungeon.
Even if the Dark Oobleck does show up, it will be Pang Mi-ryeong’s raid team dealing with it.
“It’s like a ‘pleasure without responsibility’.”
“I like that.”
Dang Gyu-young smiled bashfully.
***
TN: Last one was probably a dirty joke. It’s like a saying in Korean, though it’s not always used in such way.