The Support Ate it All

Chapter 145: No.640 Great Eagle Escort Agency (1)

[The rank of ‘One Point Explosion’ has increased. F -> E]

This event is really great.

It ranked up less than a day after I learned it.

My proficiency was already quite high, and with the mentoring event bonus and the final week’s additional bonus, the growth speed of my skill was incredible.

And if I were to use the ogre as a punching bag all week, I could expect to reach D-rank, or maybe even C rank.

One important goal was now set in motion,

I turned my attention to the next goal. That was dealing with the swordsmanship club.

The method I chose to calm their anger was to offer rewards.

To obtain those rewards, I need to go down to the underground dungeon.

So I placed a guide request for Shin Byeong-cheol and handed over a strategy guide to Go Hyeon-woo.

Late at night,

I met the two of them in front of the dungeon building.

Shin Byeong-cheol rubbed his hands together and a businesslike smile was plastered across his face.

“Ah, our valued customers have arrived~”

“Shin-hyung.”

Go Hyeon-woo replied with his usual smile.

Since we had done this several times before, we moved smoothly without needing Shin Byeong-cheol’s explanation.

We put on the Anonymous badges, swapped our tie pins for the second-year ones, and descended the underground stairs.

Shin Byeong-cheol led the way while checking for any dangers ahead.

He glanced over his shoulder and asked me,

“We’re going into a linked dungeon, right?”

“Yeah.”

Most dungeons had independent stories and goals.

However, some dungeons featured a connected story, like how the connection with the priest at the [Feathered Serpent Altar] continued into the [Feathered Serpent Temple].

The dungeon we were about to enter went a step further; not only was the story connected, but the strategy used in the previous dungeon directly affected the next one.

That’s why it was called a “linked dungeon”.

Shin Byeong-cheol asked again,

“You’re entering one today, and the next one?”

“Wednesday or Thursday night. I’d prefer to tackle it Wednesday night if possible.”

Since the swordsmanship club could contact us at any time, it was best to secure useful cards quickly.

I gave Go Hyeon-woo a look and he responded,

“I’ll make time whenever Kim-hyung wants.”

“Then, should we schedule it for Wednesday?”

At Shin Byeong-cheol’s question, we both nodded at the same time.

Shin Byeong-cheol’s tone then subtly changed.

“But, dear customers, I mean, dear hyung-nims, may I say something?”

When Shin Byeong-cheol acted in this humble like manner, it meant he wanted something.

I decided to hear him out and replied in a haughty tone.

“Speak. Let us hear it.”

“Well, you see, I received a random box as my guide fee last time, right?”

After the [Feathered Serpent Temple] dungeon, I gave Shin Byeong-cheol a D-rank random box as a reward.

However, since it was quite valuable for a single guide job, we had agreed he would take on several more unpaid requests in return.

These unpaid requests included the current and the next dungeon.

“Didn’t a wooden cup come out of it?”

“That’s exactly it.”

However, the unfortunate thing was that the random box contained a [Feathered Serpent Tribe Wooden Cup (F)].

As a result, Shin Byeong-cheol would end up doing three dungeons for just one wooden cup. This was a very bad deal for him.

And mentioning this meant,

“You’re saying you don’t feel motivated to guide for just one wooden cup and you want to quit?”

“Oh, no, hyung-nim. Quit? I’m not that much of an amateur.”

“Then?”

“I was just thinking, maybe a little incentive wouldn’t hurt…”

Shin Byeong-cheol’s voice trailed off.

In fact, choosing the random box over other rewards was Shin Byeong-cheol’s own decision, so even if I cut him off sharply, he had no grounds to complain.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to owe him a bit.

Since I went to the underground dungeon once or twice every week during the strategy battle period, I would continue to need Shin Byeong-cheol’s help.

Moreover, for minor information gathering, it was convenient to use an errand center.

So I answered in a much softer tone.

“Well, we aren’t that cold to each other. No need to be too harsh.”

“That’s what I’m saying, hyung-nim.”

“I’ll consider the incentive depending on how you do.”

“Just leave it to me, hyung-nim.”

Shin Byeong-cheol walked ahead with a confident stride.

However, while Shin Byeong-cheol had become more skilled as a guide, there was no significant improvement in his abilities.

A skilled thief is still just a thief.

Still, tonight he didn’t have to walk as much as before since the rank of the dungeon we were going to tackle was relatively lower than before.

The [Feathered Serpent Descent] series dungeons were between the 300s and 400s as a D-rank.

In contrast, our target tonight was a 600-level dungeon, which had an acceptable level of difficulty even among E-rank dungeons.

So, we reached our destination after descending only a short distance.

[No.640] [Great Eagle Escort Agency]

Shin Byeong-cheol busily set up a few devices nearby to avoid detection.

Then he waved his hand and gestured for us to go.

“Take care, hyung-nims. I’ll keep a good watch out here.”

“Okay. We’ll be back.”

“We’ll be back soon.”

As Go Hyeon-woo and I crossed the teleportation portal one after the other, the next moment, we found ourselves standing in a deserted alley.

We heard the sounds of lively chatter and activity from a not-too-distant place, so we exchanged glances and looked that way.

“See you outside.”

“Good luck.”

Go Hyeon-woo walked out of the alley first at a leisurely pace.

Here, “outside” referred not to the alley but to outside the dungeon.

We would try to avoid encountering each other as much as possible inside the dungeon, and if we did, we would pretend not to know each other.

Acting separately like this was the most efficient strategy for this dungeon and the subsequent linked dungeon.

The method we used would have been impossible without high trust between the two people involved in the strategy but,

I’m sure he would do well.

I had no worries when it came to Go Hyeon-woo.

He had thoroughly familiarized himself with the key elements through the strategy guidebook and had followed instructions well in previous dungeons.

Moreover, what needed to be done in this dungeon was not as complicated as the Feathered Serpent Altar or the Black Death dungeon, so I did not expect any problems.

After Go Hyeon-woo disappeared, I waited a moment before leaving the alley myself.

As I followed the noisy sounds, I soon found myself in the marketplace.

People flowed in one direction like a river.

Children weaved through the crowd like salmon as they played tag.

Merchants were calling out to customers from their stalls.

And then,

Martial artists.

There were an unusually large number of people carrying weapons.

In truth, martial artists were not rare even outside the dungeon and if you observed closely, you could usually spot one or two among the crowd.

But now, without even focusing, I could see at least two every time I turned my head.

Additionally, their appearances were varied and far from neat.

The uniforms of martial artists usually indicated their affiliations, so it was likely that these people were not bound to any particular group.

And indeed, they were.

Ronin.

These were people who wandered aimlessly from place to place without a clear purpose and offered their martial skills as needed.

And if one observed the ronin more closely, it would become clear that they were all converging toward one place.

The central location of this dungeon.

The Great Eagle Escort Agency.

The goal of the dungeon was to participate in and achieve success in the events unfolding there.

I too needed to arrive at the escort agency without delay but,

“I still have some time.”

Instead of arriving early and waiting around, it was better to use this time productively.

So, I quickly changed directions and moved swiftly to another location.

The place I arrived at was a very ordinary-looking manor.

I leaped over the wall and looked inside, only to find it unusually quiet.

There were only a few workers cleaning with bored expressions on their faces.

The owner of the manor and those associated with him had coincidentally vacated the premises.

In fact, knowing they would be away was the reason I came here.

In other words, this is like robbing an empty house.

I watched a man sweeping the ground, and the moment he turned his back to me, I quietly dropped into the manor and moved swiftly.

My B+ rank Thief’s Step greatly minimized any noise I made, and by staying within blind spots, no one noticed my presence even in broad daylight.

So I wandered around the manor as if it were my own home. I eventually discovered a room and stepped inside.

It was the lord’s room.

At first glance, the room made one suspect the lord might be a scholar.

Books were piled up everywhere, and on the walls, famous poems and ink paintings were displayed.

Even on the table, the ink hadn’t dried, as if something had been written just moments ago.

Of course, it’s all a lie.

I looked at the stack of books in one corner.

Moving those aside would reveal a secret passage.

However, I had no intention of poking around in the secret passage.

That way, I would suffer less in the linked dungeon.

Instead, I shifted my gaze to the ink painting hanging on the wall.

Really, what a terrible drawing.

Even if you handed a brush and ink to a novice calligrapher, they would do better than this.

However, the main reason I came here was precisely for this ink painting, so I rolled it up and put it in my inventory.

Next, I opened the drawer, which revealed a small pouch.

Inside, there were quite a few silver coins.

I’ll take this too.

I was just about to run out of pocket money, so this was perfect timing.

If Dang Gyu-young saw this, she would be very pleased and say how I was such a model thief.

And she would hurry up with the club application form.

Anyway, now that gathered everything I needed, I casually retraced my steps and slowly left the manor.

I bought some jerky and a few snacks from the marketplace, put them in my inventory, and returned to the starting point in the alley.

Then I chewed the beef jerky and started a fire.

Whoosh,

When the flames grew large enough, I threw in the ink painting I had taken from the manor.

After watching the ink painting quickly turn black and burn away, I extinguished the fire and sifted through the ashes.

A piece of paper caught my eye, and after brushing off the ash, I saw it was only slightly scorched at the edge.

[Piece of the Treasure Map (A)]

A piece of a treasure map was hidden within the ink painting.

Another piece of evidence that the Lord was not a scholar.

It also indicated that possessing such a valuable item meant he was no ordinary person.

And the manor was no ordinary place either.

A safe house.

And a hideout for some very bad people.

And the bad deeds they were planning were undoubtedly deeply connected to the heart of this dungeon, the Great Eagle Escort Agency.

The manor being empty a while ago was all part of their preparation.

Time to go.

As it was about time, I headed towards the Great Eagle Escort Agency.

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