Chapter 67

Chapter 67: The Raid (2)

Jo Seongung had subdued Andrew and his subordinates with ease.

It was worth keeping him on standby for this.

Andrew's face was crimson with rage at the situation.

"How did you know we were coming?!"

"Sounds like you haven't grasped the situation yet."

PRESS!

When Jo Seongung put pressure on his foot, Andrew's face turned blue.

Andrew choked and gasped for air.

Before long, Andrew lowered his tail.

"...How did you know we'd attack?"

There was still more room to work him over, but compared to his earlier arrogance, this was at least tolerable.

When I raised my hand to signal, Jo Seongung eased up.

Color returned to Andrew's face.

"You must have an idea, don't you?"

"Ngh!"

Andrew's mind was surely in turmoil.

He was most likely thinking about a traitor.

Of course, there was no traitor.

But Andrew didn't know that, and the seed of distrust was surely sprouting in his heart.

I wanted nothing more than to make him pay for his crimes right here and now, but I had to hold back.

Crushing a minnow here served no purpose.

I was after the big fish.

I needed to use this one as bait to draw out everyone behind him.

"There's a Korean proverb: 'Good for the sister, good for the brother-in-law.' I'm happy because the meddlesome Chairman Daniel was removed. And that guy is happy because the pest that is you was removed. Isn't that wonderful?"

"'That guy'?"

"Why would a dead man need to know?"

Andrew had been a fairly prominent Hero in America during his active days.

That meant he likely held a respectable position within SH as well.

If I rattled Andrew here, it could throw SH into massive disarray.

"I see... so that's how it is......"

Andrew flashed an unpleasant smile.

When I feigned confusion, the bastard smirked.

"Professor Cha, a word of advice -- next time, don't bother capturing alive. Subdue completely. Well, there won't be a next time."

"What do you mean-- huh?"

WHOOSH--

Andrew's body turned transparent and then vanished entirely.

Jo Seongung and I acted surprised.

"Professor Cha, wh-what just happened? He's gone!"

"It seems he had an ace up his sleeve."

"Damn it, it's my fault for letting my guard down......"

"No. I should've been more careful."

"Damn it, damn it......"

Jo Seongung flew into a frenzy, about to bash his head against the wall.

This man was way too into it.

I appreciated the commitment to the performance, but that was enough.

"You can stop now. He should be gone by now."

"Ohh-kaaay?"

Jo Seongung dropped the act and chuckled.

"Well I'll be, everything's going exactly as you said, Professor Cha! I swear the gods must be at work here."

What Andrew had used was a skill called Ghosting.

One of the skills developed by SH, it suppressed the user's presence and turned the body transparent.

Ghosting couldn't be deactivated until its duration expired, making it nearly useless in combat -- it was purely an escape skill.

Of course, there was a reason I'd let him go.

"You properly attached the tracking magic, right?"

"Obviously. There's no way he noticed."

I'd asked Jo Seongung to discreetly affix a magic circle on Andrew's back without him noticing.

It was a tracking magic developed yesterday with Lee Yeeun, and its performance was exceptional -- virtually undetectable by any ordinary means.

This, too, was one of the spells future Lee Yeeun would develop.

"Heh, by the way, how did you know there was a spy, Professor Cha?"

"Half of it was a lucky guess. I figured Chairman Daniel's disappearance wasn't a coincidence."

It was a vague answer thrown together, but Jo Seongung nodded without a shred of doubt.

"As they say, the destined succeed no matter what."

The unconditional trust made me feel guilty for lying.

But this was a necessary lie.

My original plan had been to clear the dungeon as fast as possible and send the expedition back to America, but now the plan needed revision.

The dungeon raid was progressing far more smoothly than in the game, giving the expedition a time buffer.

With the tracking magic revealing their base, there was no need to wait for SH to launch their terror attack and then counter it.

Once you knew the base, that was the end of it.

Time to move my strongest piece -- my queen.

***

Inside a cabin with all three commanders assembled.

I explained everything that had happened to them.

"How... How could this be."

Edelin was at a loss for words after hearing the full account.

Chairman Daniel had been murdered, and the culprit Andrew's true identity was an SH spy.

It was hard to believe, but the evidence of Andrew's attack on me was clearly preserved.

"So it really is true."

"That goddamn old bastard! Playing us like this......"

Expedition commanders Christian and John Dickell were furious.

The fact that the American Hero Association had been dancing to SH's tune was decidedly unwelcome news for them.

"Let me be clear upfront, Professor -- this is the first we're hearing of it."

"Exactly! We have absolutely nothing to do with those SH bastards."

"Convincing me isn't what's important here."

When I smirked, they looked at each other, unable to grasp what I was saying.

"What matters is how the public will take it."

Only then did both their faces turn ashen.

Everyone knew that Executive Director Andrew was Chairman Daniel's closest confidant.

That meant every policy Daniel had enacted was likely steered by SH in a specific direction.

A direction that served SH's interests, naturally.

Christian and John Dickell had always been the most vocal supporters of the Hero Association at the forefront.

If all the facts came to light, what would happen to their reputations was painfully obvious.

In the worst case, the label of "no different from SH spies" would be slapped onto them.

"E-Edelin, Commander -- you know we're innocent, right?"

"Yeah! We've always fought side by side on the front lines of humanity!"

The public's framing was a terrifying shackle.

If a plausible image existed and was publicized, it would harden into reality regardless of the truth.

Disputing it was impossible.

No matter how many facts you presented, rebuttals never spread as fast as controversy.

Moreover, Christian and John Dickell had genuinely been the Association's lapdogs, acting in their own interest.

In truth, even if that frame reached the public, they had no right to complain.

That made it all the easier to hold the upper hand.

"I have a proposal for you both."

"A p-proposal?"

"I'll minimize the fallout from this issue for you."

The two men rolled their eyes back and forth.

No matter how they thought about it, there was only one conclusion.

That I was the only person who could throw them a lifeline.

"...What are your terms?"

The question I'd been waiting for came from John Dickell's mouth.

My answer was simple.

"Give me full command authority over the Pacific Dungeon."

"Wh-What?!"

"Huh?"

Both men shot to their feet in shock.

John Dickell shouted,

"Th-That's absurd! A professor who can't even enter the dungeon wants to take command?"

"Times have changed. You've seen with your own eyes that you can command without entering the dungeon."

"W-Well, that's true, but......"

"But Professor Cha! Will the other Heroes go along with it? You think they'll just accept a professor as commander?"

"I've demonstrated my capabilities more than enough."

"Mmm......"

Despite the protests, their answer was already decided.

They knew full well that the losses from being linked to SH would far outweigh whatever gains they might earn from commanding this dungeon raid.

In the end, both accepted my proposal.

"Fine. As commanders, we'll transfer all authority to Professor Cha."

"But you'd better keep your promise."

"Thank you."

With command authority in my hands, the dungeon raid was as good as solved.

All that remained was mopping up SH and protecting the American mainland.

"I have a favor to ask of the Unicorn Guild Master."

"A favor?"

"I let Andrew go with a tracking spell attached. As a result, I've located SH's base."

"Is that true?"

Edelin's eyes went wide.

Despite SH having committed every manner of atrocity, they'd been impossible to catch because of their elusive movements.

Pinning down their trail was a major achievement.

"SH needs to be struck before they can terrorize America. Please take your Unicorn Guild members and deal with them."

SH had amassed a non-trivial fighting force if they were planning to assault the American mainland.

The only card that could decisively eliminate SH was Unicorn.

Christian objected.

"W-Wait! Without Unicorn, the dungeon raid will get much harder."

"You needn't worry. It's merely an SS-rank dungeon. This number of personnel is more than sufficient."

"M-Merely?"

The target was an SS-rank dungeon raid.

Available forces: hundreds of S-rank Heroes.

Given the difficulty of the task at hand, the conditions were overly generous.

In the game, conditions this luxurious were unimaginable.

If you couldn't clear the raid with conditions this favorable, beating every Playable Character's ending would be forever impossible.

"Yes. I'll finish it within a week."

***

The dungeon raid proceeded smoothly.

When all three commanders stepped down and I became Supreme Commander, more voices expressed concern at first.

But as raids succeeded one after another under my direction, and the former commanders Christian and John Dickell publicly backed me, no one voiced complaints anymore.

"Well done."

"It's all thanks to you, Professor!"

Today, too, I hugged the returning Heroes one by one after another successful raid.

The first hug with Lie Xiao had been an impulsive gesture born of joy.

But when the second strike team returned and the team's captain -- a female hunter from France -- requested a hug, I casually obliged.

From that point on, me embracing the Heroes who returned victorious had become something of an unspoken tradition.

So far, a total of seven strike teams had gone in, and every one had completed their missions successfully.

Today marked the completion of Stage 10.

According to the new vanguard's intel, the Pacific Dungeon had a total of 15 stages.

As of today, five stages remained.

With the dungeon's latter half in full swing, the difficulty would spike dramatically.

The expedition took a day of rest in preparation for tomorrow's assault.

"That's why you need to target the right flank here. Understood?"

"Understood."

During the break, I taught Zhuge Soyon in the conference room.

I'd initially planned to teach her only what was necessary for this dungeon, but she'd absorbed everything at an astonishing pace.

I found the teaching enjoyable too, so I tutored her on various topics during every break. Zhuge Soyon digested even the most difficult material with ease.

"But Professor, the upper left is exposed here, so you could get attacked."

"That's fine. I'm leaving it empty on purpose. There's no risk of being attacked there."

"No risk of attack... Ah. The current can't reach from that direction."

"Correct."

Zhuge Soyon had shed her awkward formal speech and was now consistently using proper honorifics.

Compared to when we'd first met, her manners had improved by leaps and bounds.

She also showed no skepticism toward my capabilities as a tactician, following my lead without question.

That said, her fierce pride and competitive fire were unbroken.

"Hmm~. If you keep teaching me all this, you're going to regret it later."

"Regret?"

"Yes. Today, too, I've learned something new. I'll surpass you soon enough and become the world's greatest strategist."

"I look forward to that."

What had once felt like obnoxious arrogance now came across as mildly spicy -- cute, even, having mellowed to a tolerable level.

Not everyone shared my view, of course.

My first disciple scolded Zhuge Soyon.

"Is that any way to talk to the Professor? Show more respect."

"Shut up. Don't tell me what to do."

Lee Yeeun and Zhuge Soyon's relationship was deteriorating by the day.

Already rocky from their first meeting, it had now decayed to near-enemy status, making it impossible to intervene.

At times like these, the smart move was to remove yourself from the situation.

I stepped out onto the deck and spotted Jo Seongung in the corner, smoking a Macho.

When I approached, he called out first.

"Professor Cha, what brings you out?"

"It's noisy in there."

"Fighting again? Tsk, your students sure have personality. Cute in a childish way, but our Seohu has that mature, composed quality that......"

"Enough about that."

When I cut him off, Jo Seongung looked disappointed.

I'd heard his Park Seohu bragging so many times it was nauseating. I didn't want to hear any more.

Jo Seongung exhaled the smoke he'd been holding and said,

"It'll all be over soon. Professor Cha, are you confident about the remaining stages?"

"Yes. Everything will be fine."

"SS-rank dungeon. For our generation, that name carried a terrifying weight of meaning."

Many emotions could be heard in Jo Seongung's voice.

Anger, regret, sorrow...... He still hadn't shaken the past nightmare called Dragon's Roost.

He might be projecting it onto this expedition.

I spoke with assurance.

"Professor Jo, humanity won in the past, and the same goes for now. Just as Dragon's Roost was cleared, the Pacific Dungeon will be cleared too."

"Yeah... That'd be something."

Jo Seongung nodded slowly.

It was a nod mixed with many emotions.