CHAPTER 464: 10TH WEEK ×1.5 (1)

Monday morning.

I woke up to a message.

[Seo Ye-in: (tap tap cat emoji)]

[Seo Ye-in: Morning]

[Kim Ho: (shocked! cat emoji)]

[Kim Ho: Who are you?]

[Kim Ho: What did you do to the young miss?]

[Seo Ye-in: ?]

[Seo Ye-in: (tilting head cat emoji)]

[Kim Ho: A sloth waking up earlier than me?]

[Kim Ho: You must be possessed by a demon.]

[Kim Ho: Begone, foul spirit! Leave Seo Ye-in’s body this instant!]

[Kim Ho: (✝Exorcism✝ cat emoji)]

[Seo Ye-in: I’m getting angry.]

[Seo Ye-in: (sharp claws emoji)]

[Kim Ho: sry]

[Kim Ho: Breakfast?]

[Seo Ye-in: yeah]

[Seo Ye-in: let’s go]

***

Even though it was early, the student cafeteria was already quite crowded.

Probably because everyone was curious about the upcoming strategy battle or, more precisely, about the buffs that would be applied in it. So they wanted to get to class early.

Well, I am curious too.

But eating in the middle of a noisy crowd was another matter entirely.

So, we each grabbed a cream waffle and headed outside.

Then we sat down on a nearby bench and began eating at a relaxed pace.

“……”

“Hey, you’ve got some on your cheek.”

“Wipe it off for me.”

Seo Ye-in leaned her face closer.

I wiped the cream off her cheek, then smeared it onto her nose instead.

“……”

“……”

“……Wipe it off.”

“Alright.”

Knowing when to stop a joke is an art, so I took a napkin and wiped her nose clean.

Then I asked the question that had been bugging me since earlier.

“What made you get up early today? Did you bake cookies again?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

Seo Ye-in stared at me quietly for a moment, then spoke.

“A reservation.”

“You want to go down the dungeon together?”

“Mhmm.”

“So that’s what this is about?”

“First place.”

Maybe she was secretly frustrated that Dang Gyu-young had taken first place from her.

Either way, I was already planning to stick with Seo Ye-in throughout the week.

I’d need all the lucky charm energy I could get.

So I nodded easily.

“Alright, let’s go together.”

“Number one?”

“Today, you’re number one.”

“I’m happy.”

Seo Ye-in chewed her waffle with a noticeably brighter expression.

Watching her, I casually added,

“You know, you could’ve just sent a message for a reservation like this.”

“……!”

Her gray eyes widened slightly.

Then, as she tried to stand up, I stopped her.

“Where are you going?”

“To make up for lost sleep.”

“You’re already awake. Stay that way.”

“So sad……”

***

Seo Ye-in decided to catch up on her missing sleep during class instead.

Not even dozing off. She just flat-out laid her head on the desk.

“……”

At that, a faint look of irritation crossed Seo Cheong-yong’s face, but like Lee Soo-dok, he’d clearly given up on fixing it long ago.

He glanced my way, as if silently saying, “You handle this one.”

I responded with a small nod, meaning “Got it,” and then Seo Cheong-yong resumed class with his usual kind smile.

“Today, I’ve got a lot of good news! First off, the one everyone’s curious about….the buff. What kind of spell did your parents cast before they left? What’s the effect?”

– ……!

The entire class leaned forward, focused intently on his next words.

Even Seo Ye-in lifted her eyelids halfway, listening closely.

Then, with a casual wave of his hand, words appeared on the blackboard.

[Drop Rate ×1.5]

The classroom instantly erupted in excitement.

– 1.5 times? Seriously?

– So that means more random boxes, right?

– Sounds like it!

– Is that even possible?

– No way, that’s insane!

Seo Cheong-yong let them chatter for a while.

And once things had calmed down a bit, he continued his explanation.

“That’s right. The random box drop rate is increased too. If a dungeon normally gives two base rewards, it’ll now give three. If it gives six, it’ll give nine. For dungeons with an odd number of rewards, there’s a set chance to get an additional one.”

Not only that. The side items and hidden pieces would also drop at 1.5 times the usual rate.

“Next, there will be no specific rule applied this week.”

Normally, each week has its own special rules or environmental conditions, and students have to clear dungeons suited to those in order to earn practical exam grades.

But since the drop-rate buff is in effect, everyone will be highly motivated to tackle dungeons this week.

They’ll probably go in two or three times instead of once.

If only certain dungeons were designated under those conditions, the queue would be insane and conflicts between students would be almost guaranteed.

So, just for this week, all restrictions would be lifted.

Seo Cheong-yong added a quick reminder:

“However, rank restrictions still apply. Don’t try to go deeper than your clearance level and end up getting penalized, got it?”

Everyone nodded in understanding.

Even just that much was incredible, but there was still more good news to come.

“Lastly, this one’s a benefit for the entire first year!”

During the dueling event, the administration had tracked how well the first years performed against the upperclassmen.

If their win rate had been lower than last year’s, they’d have been slapped with a “hell curriculum”.

If it was higher, the whole grade would get a bonus.

Fortunately, it turned out to be the latter.

Thus, the reward for the first-years was—

“We’re increasing the point multiplier to 1.5× as well.”

– ……!

The classroom exploded in excitement once again.

Unlimited dungeon access, 1.5× drop rate, and now 1.5× point rewards too.

Everyone was probably thinking the same thing:

– I’m running straight to the dungeon building after class.

– They’re all gonna die for those boxes.

– Bring the loot! All of it!

After letting the students buzz for a while, Seo Cheong-yong finally grew serious.

“Alright, now for the warnings. I understand everyone’s excited, but don’t forget…you’re still entering real dungeons.”

Everything that happens underground is real.

One careless mistake can lead to serious injury or death.

Even under normal circumstances, accidents aren’t rare.

With the 1.5× drop and point bonuses active, the risks were even greater.

For instance, someone might enter a dungeon that’s above their skill level.

or reduce their team size too much to increase personal rewards,

or rush through a run carelessly just to jump into the next one.

“Absolutely, under no circumstances should you overdo it! Be even more careful than usual when choosing dungeons. Only challenge the ones you’re 100% sure you can clear. And obviously, you’ll need to prepare thoroughly in advance, right?”

– …….

The students nodded with serious expressions.

“One more thing, midterms start next week. Don’t burn yourselves out. You’d be better off saving some stamina.”

What’s the point of getting a few extra random boxes if it just tanks your midterms?

Soon after, Seo Cheong-yong returned to his usual friendly self and gave a cheerful smile.

“That’s it for today’s class! Best of luck to everyone!”

***

While the classroom quickly grew loud and lively again—

I checked the quest that had just arrived.

[Event Quest: 1.5× Drop Rate] (In Progress…)

▷Rented ‘Glutton Box’

▷Feed the Glutton random boxes and convert them into points.

▷Rental Period: ~Sunday midnight

▷Rewards: Varies based on total points

Right after, an empty box was placed on my desk.

It was slightly larger than a standard random box, and a big scoreboard was attached to the front.

[Glutton Box]

▷Glutton Points: 0

In general, quests present goals suited to the player’s situation and provide the rewards they need most.

Since the 1.5× drop rate would bring in tons of random boxes, it made sense that a quest requiring you to break them down appeared.

And what I needed right now was a defensive skill.

The final piece to combine with [Wise Armor] and [Wind Barrier].

Given how hard it was to obtain, I’d need to rack up quite a few points.

I’ll probably need at least over 10,000.

The next question was: how many random boxes does it take to reach 10,000 Glutton points?

I checked the details.

[Glutton Box]

▷Points earned are proportional to the random box’s rank.

▷F: 50 / E: 100

▷D: 200 / C: 500

▷B: 1,000 / A: 2,500

▷S: 10,000

If I fed it F-rank boxes, I’d need a whopping 200 of them.

For D-rank, 50.

Just 10 B-rank boxes would be enough.

The higher the dungeon rank, the faster I could clear the quest.

But the risk goes up with it.

I could probably manage my share somehow, but Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in weren’t quite strong enough to clear a B-rank dungeon.

They’d likely have to risk their lives, and it felt a bit much to take things that far just for an event quest.

At the end of the day, it’s all about collecting points….however you do it.

Even if it meant some repetition, lowering the difficulty seemed like the safer bet.

A C-rank dungeon sounds about right.

I wouldn’t need more than 20 random boxes, so the number wasn’t too overwhelming either.

As I mentally sorted through the suitable C-rank dungeons, I suddenly felt a light tap on my shoulder.

Turning slightly, I saw….it was Seo Ye-in, just as I expected.

“Reservation.”

“First in line, are we?”

“First place reporting in.”

Her gray eyes sparkled brightly.

Go Hyeon-woo was also waiting nearby, and outside the classroom door, Hong Yeon-hwa was peeking in our direction.

When I gestured for her to come in, she scurried over.

Now that everyone had gathered, I explained the [Glutton Box] and this week’s objective.

“—So, I’m aiming to collect 20 C-rank boxes.”

“Add my share, and we’ll get them even faster.”

Go Hyeon-woo looked more than willing.

It seemed like he saw this as a chance to pay back at least some of the debt he owed.

Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa also chimed in.

“I’ll help.”

“M-Me too…”

I’d somewhat expected this, but still…it felt nice to have them jump in without even a second’s hesitation.

Guess living kindly really does come back to you.

“Thanks, guys.”

“Haha, come now. How could we not help you, Kim-hyung? So, which dungeon are we heading into?”

“I gave it some thought, and instead of hopping around to different places, I think it’s better to take down one big target and finish it properly.”

“A large-scale dungeon, then.”

“That’s right. We’ll have to spend a few days inside, so make sure you’re all prepared. But first, let’s take care of this week’s quota.”

C-rank dungeons are still outside our authorization, so even if we clear one, it won’t count toward our practical evaluation.

If we manage not to get dragged into the disciplinary room, we’ll be lucky.

We were already seasoned troublemakers, so violating school rules didn’t bother us in the slightest.

Still, to get at least the minimum score, we’d have to clear a separate E-rank dungeon.

Since we need to conserve our stamina, the easier and quicker, the better.

Of course, I’d considered this from the start and had already picked out a suitable dungeon and put together a brief strategy guide.

I handed a slip of paper to Go Hyeon-woo and Hong Yeon-hwa.

“Head over to this one.”

“Hmm, this is… a two-person dungeon.”

“Splitting up will get things done faster.”

Most four-person dungeons are medium to large-scale, so they naturally take longer to clear.

It’d be quicker to divide into two teams and tackle two two-person dungeons instead.

Go Hyeon-woo and Hong Yeon-hwa nodded without hesitation.

“Indeed, that makes sense.”

“We’ll be back soon.”

The two of them left the classroom, and as I watched them go, I turned to Seo Ye-in.

“Shall we get going too?”

“Let’s move.”