By this point, even I wasn’t sure what the final reward would be.
You’d have to be insanely lucky to get this far.
Still, one thing was certain. There had to be at least one or two B-rank random boxes in the mix.
And this still isn’t the end.
There was still one more elent left that could add to the rewards.
Just as Seo Ye-in was about to grab the lever,
Chrrr—
The [Boss (Large)] section began to expand its territory, and soon the roulette was filled completely.
It ant a 100% chance of a boss battle, regardless of luck.
After pulling the lever, I explained it to the group.
“The next floor is the last.”
“Indeed. If we left the final floor to luck as well, it might’ve felt a bit anticlimactic.”
“That’s the intention, but it’ll still feel anticlimactic.”
“……?”
Go Hyeon-woo looked confused, while Chompy’s gaze drifted toward my fist.
He seed to recall how I’d sent the [Rabbit Room] boss flying with the Inferno Fist.
But Chompy curled up one corner of his mouth.
“Kyuit, you think that’ll work here too?”
“Why wouldn’t it?”
“This ti’s different from back then. But hey, it’s your choice. Suffering’s your freedom too.”
“Then Chompy, how about a bet?”
Will one Inferno Fist do the trick, or not?
Chompy seed fairly confident and readily accepted the bet.
“Kkyut, fine! What’s the stake?”
“You have to do a favor next ti.”
“…There’s going to be a next ti?”
“There’s always a next ti, isn’t there?”
Of course, the next linked dungeon would be B-rank, so even if Seo Ye-in’s luck exploded again, it would still be a tough challenge.
We’d probably take it on after leveling up our skills a bit more.
“This ti, why don’t you na your own terms?”
“Kkyuit, if I win… never! Ever! Show your face in front of again!”
Chompy said while trembling with rage.
I turned to the group.
“Guys, I think my heart just got a little hurt.”
“Hmm, it did seem a bit much, even from my perspective. He could’ve expressed that in a calr manner.”
Go Hyeon-woo agreed, and Seo Ye-in reached out and gently patted my head.
“It’s okay.”
“That’s better. You guys really are the best.”
Still, the unresolved anger would be taken out on the boss monster.
Eventually, the elevator stopped on the next floor, and a large mass dropped from the ceiling.
Thud!
Its overall shape resembled the rabbit robot Chompy had once piloted.
The difference was that it was much bigger, equipped with even more varied weaponry, and most notably, instead of a cockpit in its head, there was an actual rabbit head.
Even better.
If Chompy wasn’t riding it, I could punch it without holding back.
I left the group standing near the elevator and stepped forward.
Chompy wasn’t entirely wrong.
No matter how powerful Inferno Fist was, it wasn’t enough to take down a C-rank boss in one shot.
So, in a way, his prediction was half right.
Then what about the other half?
That a B-rank Inferno Fist wouldn’t be enough.
But what if it were S-rank?
[Activated ‘Amplification’.]
[The rank of ‘Inferno Fist’ has increased. (B→S)]
My fist ignited with dark crimson flas.
I thrust it forward with all my strength.
Whoooooooooooooooooooooooosh—!
Flas engulfed everything in front of .
The rabbit robot was nowhere to be seen, but judging by the opening of the exit, it seed to have been completely erased.
Of course, due to the elental penalty, my hand had been charred black.
Right after, my traits automatically activated, and a notification ssage popped up.
[‘Pain Delay’ has activated.]
[Cooldown ti: 2 days 23:59:55]
Pain Delay stored up to three instances of damage and combined them into one delayed burst.
But since I wasn’t going to use Inferno Fist again anyti soon, I imdiately reset the cooldown.
[‘Retrocovery’ has been activated.]
[Cooldown ti: 2 days 23:59:58]
My charred black hand returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
The cooldown took three full days, but I didn’t plan on using it again for a while anyway.
After checking everything, I turned to Chompy, who looked half in shock and half completely dazed and gave him a grin.
“One shot, right?”
“Kyu… Wha….this… this can’t be happening…!”
“Looking forward to next ti too, Chompy.”
I an, we even made a bet. There’s no way he’d stay bitter after that, right?
We waved to Chompy and headed toward the teleportation portal.
Beside it were several chests, each glowing with a different hue and radiance.
Thanks to the triple bonus, the ranks were all over the place.
[Rabbit Tower Random Box (C )] *2
[Robot Rabbit’s Random Box (B )]
[Robot Rabbit’s Random Box (A)]
From B all the way up to A-rank.
It was a mont that really made appreciate just how powerful Lucky Charm was.
I decided I’d open them later, once we were out.
Go Hyeon-woo stared at the exit and spoke.
“It’s ti. Do you have sothing in mind?”
“No. We’ll just do what they tell us.”
Better to quietly accept the consequences than cause a bigger ss by resisting.
We exchanged one last look, then stepped into the teleportation portal one by one.
The first thing I saw was Kwak Seung-jae sitting on a wooden chair, waiting.
Shin Byeong-cheol was nowhere in sight. He’d probably already been taken away and a few disciplinary committee officers and staff mbers surrounded the area.
When our eyes t, Kwak Seung-jae said curtly,
“Kim Ho.”
“Hello, senior.”
Even though ti flowed differently inside the dungeon compared to outside, we’d spent a decent amount of ti in there, so the wait must’ve been long.
He had every right to be irritated, but instead, Kwak Seung-jae simply turned his back and began casting a spell like it was nothing.
Rumble…
Then, as he opened a wooden door, he said one more thing.
“Follow .”
Beyond the door, of course, was the Disciplinary Committee Office.
When we stepped inside, Kwak Seung-jae closed the wooden door behind us and walked off, as if to say his job was done.
He probably had sothing else to take care of in the underground floor.
Since it was late at night, the Disciplinary Committee was relatively quiet.
There was Shin Byeong-cheol who’d been caught earlier, a couple of committee mbers coming and going, Oh Se-hoon working at his desk, and Song Cheon-hye and Han So-mi assisting him.
The mont we entered, Han So-mi waved enthusiastically in the air.
“Hey there! Got caught, huh?”
Then she walked straight up to Go Hyeon-woo and asked,
“What did you do?”
“I upheld loyalty.”
Go Hyeon-woo answered with a gentle smile.
It ant he had helped . And also that he wasn’t going to say anything more because loyalty was at stake.
“……”
Han So-mi puffed up her cheeks in annoyance.
It was like the words “That hopeless Kim Ho fangirl” were written all over her face.
She was about to say sothing else when Song Cheon-hye cut her off.
“That’s enough personal talk.”
“Okay!”
Han So-mi imdiately backed off.
She may look like a goof sotis, but when it cos to business, she knows how to draw the line.
Soon, Song Cheon-hye looked straight at .
“The charges are so clear, there’s barely a need for questioning. Still, let ask to confirm.”
“Sure, ask away.”
“You followed Shin Byeong-cheol to the C-floor, and together you cleared Dungeon 207. Do you admit this?”
“I do.”
“This is the second ti you’ve entered an unauthorized floor.”
She added, almost pointedly, “That we know of.”
Which ant, who knows how many tis I’ve gone undetected.
“Considering you already have a record, we’ll assign you five days of sewer cleaning as penalty points and disciplinary action. As for the other two…”
Her gaze shifted to Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in.
They had also taken part in the unauthorized dungeon raid, but since it was their first offense, their responsibility was comparatively lighter.
Therefore—
“You’re each assigned three days of sewer cleaning and corresponding penalty points.”
Sewer cleaning.
It was a task that involved thoroughly searching the maze-like underground passages.
Not only did one have to endure the stench unique to the sewers, but there were also tis when battles with monsters would lead to getting splattered with filth or blood.
Because of this, it was a punishnt most students avoided, and even Dang Gyu-yeong had gone so far as to take up ntoring which was sothing she usually never did instead of sewer cleaning.
Despite receiving such a punishnt, Go Hyeon-woo looked nothing but intrigued.
Seo Ye-in, as always, seed focused only on going back and thinking things through.
Song Cheon-hye frowned slightly, apparently displeased with that attitude.
“Punishnt begins tomorrow after school. Make sure you’re not late.”
At that mont, I subtly gestured to Song Cheon-hye.
A signal to co closer.
But Song Cheon-hye asked from where she stood.
“What is it?”
“Do I have to say it out loud?”
“…No.”
That was when Song Cheon-hye realized I was talking about the wish ticket.
She imdiately stepped closer and leaned in to listen.
I spoke in a casual tone.
“We’ve been putting it off too long, haven’t we? Let’s use it now.”
“What are you going to use it for?”
“What do you think?”
We had just been talking about it monts ago.
Song Cheon-hye rejected it flatly.
“Canceling the punishnt? Absolutely not.”
She had no intention of doing it, and even if she did, it was beyond her authority.
She was just a first-year mber of the student discipline committee, after all.
I slowly shook my head.
“No, not that.”
“…Then what?”
“Join us. For the sewer cleaning.”
“That’s…!”
Song Cheon-hye’s pupils wavered.
It was unexpected, but still a fairly reasonable request within the scope of a wish ticket.
There was no valid reason to refuse.
I repeated what Song Cheon-hye had said earlier.
“Make sure you’re not late.”
“….…”
At that mont, a gentle voice ca from behind.
“Cheon-hye, is sothing wrong?”
It was none other than Oh Se-hoon, the president of the disciplinary committee.
Sensing the strange atmosphere, he had stepped in.
Song Cheon-hye hastily mumbled a response.
“Ah, it’s nothing. Really.”
“It looks like sothing’s going on. Would you mind telling honestly?”
Oh Se-hoon’s eyes curved into a soft arc.
As always, his expression was gentle, yet there was sothing subtly intimidating about him.
After a brief hesitation, Song Cheon-hye seed to decide to be honest and stepped closer to Oh Se-hoon.
Then, she whispered about what had happened between us.
He’ll probably just tell her to go along with it anyway.
After all, she had been the one to make the bet and offer the wish ticket as the stake. She had brought it on herself.
And cleaning the sewers wasn’t even that hard of a job; it was just a bit ssy.
“…Hmm, I see.”
But contrary to my expectations, a rare look of awkwardness crossed Oh Se-hoon’s face.
He seed to exchange ssages with soone for a mont, then began to dismiss the remaining mbers of the disciplinary committee one by one.
“That’s it for today. You’ve worked hard, everyone.”
“You’ve worked hard!”
“So-mi, get so good rest too.”
Next, Oh Se-hoon turned to my group and spoke.
“Do you guys want to head out too? I need to talk to Kim Ho.”
“……?”
Go Hyeon-woo, Seo Ye-in, and Shin Byeong-cheol looked slightly confused.
After all, the atmosphere had suddenly shifted from one of disciplinary action to being sent away.
Still, they couldn’t just stand there forever.
And when I gave them a subtle look to show I was fine, they gave a small bow and left the discipline office.
Only Oh Se-hoon, Song Cheon-hye, and I remained in the room.
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