The Support Ate it All

Chapter 116: 7th Week Mentoring and Duel Battle (1)

[Skills]

▷ Wind Force (C+)

▷ Inferno Fist ©

▷ Amplification (D)

▷ Twister (E+)

▷ Copy-Skill [2/2]

1. Thief’s Step (B+)
2. Overheat (D)

[Traits]

▷ Core (C+)

▷ Monarch (E)

▷ Distortion

▷ Copy-Trait [2/2]

1. Elemental Resistance (S)
2. The Sovereign’s Crown

After checking my skills and traits, I shifted my gaze to the three magic scrolls in my hand.

It was the same as [Rank Up] in that it had “UP” written in large letters, but this one had a “?” in the background.

[Random Rank Up]*3

▷Raises the rank of a skill/trait with a certain probability.

▷ Random rank up is not influenced by probability-related bonuses.

▷ Randomly selects one of the skills/traits you learned.

Although it was not a common item on the prize list and I quickly grabbed it, upon closer inspection, it came with rather tricky conditions.

Firstly, the skill/trait would be randomly selected.

Copied skills/traits were not applicable and only those I had fully learned myself would be selected.

Among these, it was better to get difficult-to-grow traits like [Amplification] or [Monarch] rather than those like [Wind Force] or [Twister], which could be enhanced over time through steady effort.

“Anything that goes up is a blessing though.”

However, even that was not easy due to the second condition.

The rank of a randomly assigned skill/trait would increase by a “certain probability”.

And this “certain probability” dramatically decreased inversely with the rank’s increase. For example, while the chance of upgrading an F-rank skill to E-rank might be 100%, the chance of upgrading a B-rank to A-rank approached nearly zero.

In exchange for skipping the time, effort, and know-how normally required to increase your rank, you had to win against the odds.

Lastly, there was a third condition. No luck bonuses applied.

This meant that whether it was the lucky Seo Ye-in or me trying, the outcome would be the same.

To summarize,

The chances of losing all three without gaining anything are quite high.

My personal record was failing 30 consecutive random rank ups in the past.

So I predicted that these three scrolls would be gone in the blink of an eye.

And adjusted my mindset comfortably.

I got nothing from the game center…

Possessing nothing.

If you don’t have expectations in the first place, you won’t feel cheated.

Like an old master ready to ascend to heaven, I used the [Random Rank Up] with everything laid aside.

Flash!

The scroll began to emit an increasingly intense radiance, and then,

Fwoosh…

The light quickly faded and turned to ash that scattered in the air.

[Rank Up Failed.]

Yep, just as I thought.

I immediately proceeded with another random rank up.

Second attempt.

Fwoosh…

[Rank Up Failed.]

Yep, I didn’t expect much.

I moved on casually to the next one.

Third attempt.

Flash!

Yep, I obviously didn’t expect—

Whooosh!

Light flowed from the scroll and was absorbed into my body as the notification appeared.

[Rank Up Successful!]

[The rank of ‘Inferno Fist’ has increased. C->B]

Do you know ? It’s really a great game.

This is why I can’t quit random rank ups.

The [Inferno Fist] was a forbidden skill, not only because of its excessive power but also due to the many restrictions imposed on its use.

To increase its rank, one had to suffer greatly by frequently visiting a special dungeon.

Therefore, rather than endure that hardship, I had planned to keep it at C-rank and perhaps explore other skills, until—

A rise to B-rank changes everything.

Fortunately, with the major extension of its “expiration date”, now it would be useful from the latter half of my second year well into the early third year.

It was a highly satisfying outcome.

***

Monday morning.

[Kim Ho: (Fluffy cloud emoji)]

[Seo Ye-in: ??]

[Kim Ho: (Fluffy cloud emoji)]

[Seo Ye-in: !!]

[Seo Ye-in: (Puffy cloud emoji)]

[Kim Ho: (Fluffy cloud emoji)]

[Kim Ho: (Fluffy cloud emoji)]

[Seo Ye-in: (Puffy cloud emoji)]

[Seo Ye-in: (Puffy cloud emoji)]

[Kim Ho: Food?]

[Seo Ye-in: Ok]

On the way to school after having breakfast with Seo Ye-in.

There was no sign of Ahn Jeong-mi.

On the way to school, she usually hid somewhere and watched over Seo Ye-in, but today there was no sign of her at all.

So I asked Seo Ye-in.

“Where’s the butler?”

“Not feeling well.”

“Not feeling well? What happened?”

Seo Ye-in shook her head from side to side.

It meant she didn’t really know either.

Seeing her like that, something occurred to me so I asked a slightly different question.

“What happened to the spicy pizza bread? The one you bought as a gift.”

“Ate it all.”

“The butler did?”

“Mhmm.”

She ate all of it?

Hearing that made me feel like I might start feeling unwell, but maybe Ahn Jeong-mi has a surprising tolerance for spicy food?

“So, when did she start feeling unwell?”

“After eating the bread.”

I figured as much.

It seems Seo Ye-in had bought it as a gift and the butler must have forced herself to eat it even though she couldn’t stomach it.

It was almost certain that the cause of her poor condition was the Hellfire Pizza Bread.

“Next time, let’s go for something less spicy as a gift.”

“………”

“Something less spicy.”

“Okay.”

After I emphasized it twice, Seo Ye-in finally nodded her head slowly.

In my heart, I hoped for Ahn Jeong-mi’s quick recovery.

I hoped there would be no issues with this week’s mentoring.

As we were almost at school, I saw Go Hyeon-woo walking toward us from the direction of the training center.

It looked like he had spent another night in the special training room as usual.

Seeing us, he quickened his pace and approached.

“Kim-hyung, good morning. And Miss Seo too.”

“Hey. Good morning.”

I greeted him back, and Seo Ye-in gently waved her hand.

But suddenly, Go Hyeon-woo flinched and narrowed his eyes.

“Hmm?”

His gaze lingered momentarily on Seo Ye-in’s wrist and precisely on the fluffy cloud bracelet on her wrist.

Then he noticed the storm cloud bracelet on my wrist and murmured,

“Hmm.”

He lowered his gaze to the Cloudstepper sneakers Seo Ye-in was wearing and then to the Cloudstepper pair I had on.

Gradually, a pleased fatherly smile spread across his face.

“Good luck to both of you…”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing much. It’s just that I really enjoy seeing the two of you. However, I see you’re wearing bracelets I’ve never seen before.”

Rarely did Seo Ye-in respond but she did now.

“We went to the downtown area.”

“Oh, the downtown area you say? I’ve heard it’s full of interesting things. How was it, experiencing it firsthand?”

“It was fun.”

Perhaps it was the speed of Seo Ye-in’s response that made Go Hyeon-woo’s eyebrows rise slightly.

He looked at us again and his smile grew even more pleased.

“Indeed, if Miss Seo says so, it interests me even more. I’d like to visit this downtown area myself some time. Training always comes first, so it’s hard to say when that might be.”

Go Hyeon-woo, this living training machine, was always engrossed in practice.

He wanted to go out but it seemed a waste to him to miss a whole day of training just for that.

I opened my mouth,

“Taking a day off once in a while isn’t a bad idea. Besides, it’s not like we just played around. We came across some fortuitous encounters and even got these bracelets.”

In truth, Seo Ye-in was the one who had found the lucky trump card but we used it both anyway.

Go Hyeon-woo’s expression shifted slightly when he heard this.

“Fortuitous encounters, I see. Perhaps I thought too simplistically just hearing the word ‘downtown area’. Then, it’s indeed worth taking some time.”

“Let’s pick a day and go together later.”

“Sounds good; let’s do that.”

Go Hyeon-woo changed his demeanor as if flipping his hand over.

He was a living training machine but also a typical warrior who would get overly excited just at the mention of “Fortuitous encounters”.

***

In today’s group duel battle class,

Teacher Lee Soo-dok seemed tenser than usual, many times more so.

His demeanor was so fierce that it seemed he would twist someone’s neck if they only irritated him.

The killing intent was so intense that the students didn’t dare slack off and focused their attention solely on him.

In this tense atmosphere, Lee Soo-dok casually dropped a word.

“Midterms.”

“……!?”

Question and exclamation marks might as well have appeared above the students’ heads.

Given the mood, they didn’t dare to whisper among themselves and only darted their eyes around to communicate.

– Did he just say midterms?

– Did I hear that right?

– Could we have misheard?

– It must be something else, right?

Everyone seemed to want to deny what they had just heard, but Lee Soo-dok firmly put an end to any doubts.

“In two weeks, starting in week nine, it’s the midterm period. The exam will cover everything you’ve learned since entering this Dragon Slayer Academy, including duel and strategy battle.”

His tone grew lower and slower and he surveyed the third class with an even more murderous gaze.

“I hear some of you have been slacking off in class because you’ve done well in the practical evaluations…”

It seemed he had heard some rumors from the other teachers.

That must be the reason for his grim mood today.

Upon receiving Lee Soo-dok’s gaze, several students winced and looked away.

Among them was Song Cheon-hye, and although she was a top student and usually focused in class, she sometimes dozed off because she was tired from her duties in the disciplinary committee club.

This was especially true during Mrs. Jo Ok-soon’s lectures on monster ecology where staying awake was more the exception than the rule.

Lee Soo-dok continued with an ominous smile.

“…. Those of you who have been skipping lessons can look forward to the midterm exam. It’s going to be interesting.”

“………!’

The students’ faces tensed.

Though they didn’t know exactly what he meant, it was clear they would be frantically reviewing what they might have missed in past lessons.

After dropping that significant hint, Lee Soo-dok swiftly moved on to the next topic.

“Let’s now go over the rules for this week’s duel battles. Of course, this too will be part of your midterm.”

MAP: [Random]

RULE: [Crystal]

Lee Soo-dok then pulled out a device resembling a camera tripod and a fist-sized crystal from his inventory.

He casually threw the device, which landed a short distance away and automatically set itself up.

The makeshift structure soon began to emit a clear and bright light.

“One key element of this duel battle session is the ‘Sanctuary’. Once you enter the arena, it will take a different form, but it will be easy to recognize.”

If it was anything similar to that makeshift structure, it would be shining brightly wherever it was.

Next, Lee Soo-dok held up the crystal.

Apart from being quite large, it seemed unremarkable.

However, as Lee Soo-dok approached the Sanctuary with it,

Whirr—

The Sanctuary and the crystal connected with a beam of white light and the crystal began to slowly fill with light.

When Lee Soo-dok stepped back to create some distance, the connection broke and the light inside the crystal quickly faded away.

Lee Soo-dok approached again and reconnected the Sanctuary and the crystal with a beam of light before he continued to explain.

“As you can see, this crystal gradually charges up when it is kept at a certain distance from the Sanctuary. Conversely, it discharges quickly if that distance is exceeded. And,”

Flash—!

After accumulating enough light, the crystal emitted an intensely white radiance.

The crystal could just as well have been called a lump of light instead.

“Once fully charged, it looks like this. So, the objective of this duel battle is as follows.”

The one holding the crystal must maintain a certain distance from the Sanctuary while avoiding or blocking the opponent’s interference in order to charge the crystal.

Conversely, the opponent’s goal is to naturally prevent this.

They could knock down their enemy, snatch the crystal, or forcefully increase the distance from the Sanctuary which would break the charging process.

I nodded thoughtfully after I heard this.

This is my favorite.