The Support Ate it All

Chapter 118: 7th Week Mentoring and Duel Battle (3)

“It ended quickly? How come you were the first one out?”

The stands still held only Dang Gyu-young.

Hong Yeon-hwa and Song Cheon-hye who had matched before me had yet to emerge.

“Their matches must be long ones. For me, I charged up in one go and that was it.”

Fighting over the crystal with it being snatched away and then reset tends to prolong the battle.

In contrast, I immediately sprinted to recover the crystal, neutralized all interference from Cha Hyeon-joo, and kept charging it until I finished.

It was almost record time.

Dang Gyu-young tapped the seat next to her with her fingertips.

“Come here. Let’s watch the replay together.”

[Kim Ho513.Cha Hyeon-joo510_DuelBattle_Week7.replay]

When I handed over the crystal ball, Dang Gyu-young checked the names written on it and her expression hardened slightly.

“…You faced Cha Hyeon-joo?”

“Do you know her?”

“Yeah, she’s on our side for now.”

From her equipment and skill tendencies, I thought that she was likely associated with the Guild Union and it appeared I was right.

However, Dang Gyu-young’s demeanor was somewhat ambiguous as if she was hiding something.

I decided to ask about this later and focused on the replay for now.

Dang Gyu-young’s eyes were fixed on the crystal ball and she muttered,

“You two found the crystal almost at the same time.”

“Yes.”

It was from that time that I realized Cha Hyeon-joo was quite skilled.

Even if I found the crystal through an instinct honed by experience, the time it took Cha Hyeon-joo to arrive was not significantly different from mine.

She seemed to possess some sort of search-type skill.

The replay continued and soon Cha Hyeon-joo and I began close combat.

Cha Hyeon-joo swung her twin swords in rapid succession.

And there I was dodging and blocking as if I was going to be hit but never actually getting hit.

Dang Gyu-young spoke in a disinterested tone.

“Right, as if you would get hit.”

Considering that Dang Gyu-young, a third-year student and club president, poured her full force into her attacks and didn’t manage to touch me, it was even less likely for first-year Cha Hyeon-joo to do so.

Bang!

Inside the crystal ball, Cha Hyeon-joo was struck by a Wind Force and sent flying.

“Oh dear.”

Dang Gyu-young let out a low sigh.

Her suddenly sympathetic gaze suggested that she felt some kinship with Cha Hyeon-joo.

Bang!

Cha Hyeon-joo was hit by the Wind Force a second time and sent flying far away.

Dang Gyu-young looked away from the crystal ball and glared at me.

“Kim Ho, you really are a terrible person.”

“I have to survive too. There’s only so much I can dodge.”

“Was it really necessary to send her flying twice?”

“Actually, it wasn’t necessary.”

I admitted it freely.

Partly because the second time was intended to provoke her.

Sssssss!

Then Cha Hyeon-joo switched her weapon to a bow and launched an arrow.

Dang Gyu-young exclaimed in admiration again.

“Wow, you’re really something else. Isn’t this only the third time she’s taken out her bow since she enrolled?”

Cha Hyeon-joo usually uses only daggers whether she wins or loses.

She only brought out her bow in private when facing an opponent of promising student level.

But how fired up must she have been to make me, hardly a promising student, her honorable third opponent?

Amidst this, a phrase from Dang Gyu-young caught my attention.

The part about competing against “an opponent of promising student level”.

Suddenly, I remembered what Shin Byeong-cheol had said during the placement test.

• We have another kid who’s really good with a bow. In the duel battles, they hid their skills and only used daggers, but still managed 2 wins and 1 loss.

“Then she must be that promising archer.”

Dang Gyu-young seemed to ponder for a moment before shrugging and responding.

“No point in hiding it now. Yes, it’s her.”

“I thought so.”

Her skills were quite impressive even when she fought with twin daggers, and even more so with the bow.

Especially notable was her tactic of launching a barrage of homing arrows before slipping in a stealthy shot amidst them.

At that moment, Dang Gyu-young looked away from the crystal ball to check a message.

“Speaking of which, I just got a contact.”

“From Cha Hyeon-joo?”

“No, her mentor.”

“What does it say?”

“They want us to keep the replay private.”

I had a feeling it would be something like that.

Anger had overwhelmed reason and she drew her bow in a moment of fury. However, as the match concluded and her head cooled slightly, rational thoughts began to return.

Up until now, her skills that had been well concealed were now fully recorded in the replay.

It would be a little better if she at least won, but if she lost and her skills were all revealed to the world, the loss would be enormous.

That’s probably why she had asked her mentor for help.

From my perspective, the slower your skills are revealed, the better.

Still, I acted reluctant again.

Using the sale of the replay as an excuse.

“Well, I need to earn those points.”

“Don’t do that, help me save face, will you? They’ve offered something in return.”

“Hmm…”

When I pretended to be thinking it through, Dang Gyu-young poked my cheek gently with her index finger as if urging me on.

I hesitated a bit longer before saying what she wanted to hear.

“If that’s the case, I’ll keep it private, but you need to help me seriously with my training this week.”

“Training as in, wind magic?”

“Of course.”

Dang Gyu-young’s face crumpled.

Due to the trauma associated with wind magic that had taken root in her heart, last week the goblins had become the unwilling participants in my training.

However, since that wasn’t possible this week, I must somehow involve Dang Gyu-young to receive the mentoring event bonus.

“……”

The situation reversed; Dang Gyu-young was the one who fell into deep contemplation now. But since I was unable to poke her cheek, I just stared at her intently.

Dang Gyu-young glanced at my face while she pondered, and after several cycles of contemplation and glances, she finally gave in as if she couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Alright, alright. Just know that this is really the last time.”

Just then, Song Cheon-hye and Hong Yeon-hwa successively teleported out using the teleportation circle.

Judging by their somewhat cheerful expressions, it seemed both had won their matches.

Amidst this, I noticed the absence of Kwak Ji-cheol and asked Dang Gyu-young.

“Where’s Kwak Ji-cheol?”

“He went in after you. It might take a while.”

I nodded my head nonchalantly.

He’ll come out, whether he wins or loses.

***

Oh my god. Of all days, it had to be a Monday…

Kwak Ji-cheol lamented his bad luck.

[Kwak Ji-cheol 100%] vs [Seo Ye-in 100%]

[Crystal: 0%]

The opponent who took him down with a single sniping shot in the duel battle of the first week.

And now he was matched against Seo Ye-in once again.

He sighed in frustration.

I have to try, what choice do I have?

After all, conceding before even starting wasn’t an option.

On the other hand, he was somewhat pleased with the chance for revenge.

He had been consistently training, receiving mentoring, and honing his skills.

He was not the same as he had been back then; his chances of winning had surely increased.

Also, when he looked around, he saw a forest with lush vegetation.

Of all the random terrains, this one favored an earth mage the most.

It seemed like a good opportunity to give it a shot.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

As soon as the match began, Kwak Ji-cheol summoned several lower earth spirits and gnomes and spread them out.

It was to search for the crystal more quickly.

As he ran blindly in one direction, one of the gnomes sensed something.

He immediately changed direction and headed there, and indeed, the crystal came into view.

A good start.

At that moment, there was a rustling noise and Seo Ye-in emerged from the bushes.

Their eyes locked over the crystal in the middle.

“…”

“…”

The first thought that flashed through Kwak Ji-cheol’s mind was unrelated to the match and it was how incredibly beautiful she really was.

Next he wondered why on earth she hung around that annoying Kim Ho every single day.

It was only after he mentally cursed Kim Ho thoroughly that he snapped back to his senses.

They were in the middle of a duel.

Kwak Ji-cheol dashed toward the crystal.

“…”

On the other hand, Seo Ye-in didn’t even think of running; she simply lifted the gun she had been carrying and aimed it at Kwak Ji-cheol.

But this was no ordinary pistol or rifle she had used before.

An assault rifle?

Dadadadadadadada!

Seo Ye-in’s assault rifle emitted blue flames.

Kwak Ji-cheol hastily erected an earthen wall, but the magic bullets pierced through it as if it were mere paper.

“Argh!”

[Kwak Ji-cheol 81%] vs [Seo Ye-in 100%]

[Crystal: 0%]

Kwak Ji-cheol had always prided himself on being a real man, but this time the pain was so severe that tears welled up in his eyes.

He somehow managed to come to his senses and he ran towards the sanctuary.

Dadadadadadada!

“Ugh, ack!”

Magic bullets occasionally struck his back, but he gritted his teeth and kept running.

He intermittently erected earthen walls and bent trees to prevent Seo Ye-in from easily pursuing him.

As he ran breathlessly,

Whiiing—!

The crystal began to charge as it connected with the sanctuary.

[Crystal: 1%]

This is it.

Kwak Ji-cheol stopped and spun around.

Continuously fleeing would only gradually deplete his health until he collapsed.

Rather, he would have a higher chance of winning if he took advantage of his special skills built a fortress here, and held out.

Kwak Ji-cheol cast several spells.

And just before Seo Ye-in almost caught up to him, he barely completed the spells.

[Double Layer Wall]

[Strong Wall]

Creak-creaaak!

He gathered the surrounding dirt and gravel to form a double-layered wall before reinforcing it to be thicker and sturdier.

Seo Ye-in who arrived later fired her assault rifle repeatedly against the stone wall.

Dadadadadadadadadada!

The destructive power of the magic bullets was so strong that they penetrated the first wall effortlessly.

However, the second wall usually slowed them down halfway through, and even if they did penetrate, their power was greatly reduced and they would cause minimal damage.

Kwak Ji-cheol was relieved and at the same time his eyes shone sharply.

The counterattack starts now.

[Earth Cluster]

[Earth Cluster]

Two spheres of earth rose. Then they began to spin rapidly as they hurled clods of dirt like bullets.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. A bullet for a bullet.

I’ll deal with you in the same manner.

Dudududududududu!

Dadadadadadadada!

At a certain distance, the dirt bullets and magic bullets crisscrossed together.

However, while the magic bullets were blocked by the wall, the dirt bullets occasionally caused damage to Seo Ye-in.

[Kwak Ji-cheol 68%] vs [Seo Ye-in 96%]

[Crystal: 11%]

Moreover, the crystal was gradually charging.

From Kwak Ji-cheol’s perspective, he could simply hold out without any problem.

“…”

Whatever she was thinking, Seo Ye-in suddenly let go of her assault rifle.

Then the rifle disassembled itself and began to reassemble automatically.

After she was effectively disarmed, Seo Ye-in took a few steps forward and then started running before picking up her speed.

What is she up to?

Although Kwak Ji-cheol found the opponent’s strange actions perplexing he reflexively fired his dirt bullets.

Dududududududu!

He hadn’t noticed but Seo Ye-in’s feet blurred as if leaving afterimages.

This meant that [Feather Step] was being activated.

She lightly stepped around while dodging most of the incoming dirt bullets.

Ppop!

A cute clump of clouds appeared next to Seo Ye-in, circled around her, and then swallowed a dirt bullet that she couldn’t dodge.

Seeing this, Kwak Ji-cheol was dumbfounded.

What on earth is that?

He had no idea that this fluffy cloud was a skill from a precious A-rank bracelet.

“Kuek…!”

Kwak Ji-cheol furiously spun his Earth Clusters.

Avoiding the bullets, Seo Ye-in and the fluffy cloud closed the distance between them.

She recalled playing in the downtown area over the weekend.

It seemed as if she could hear Kim Ho’s voice in her ears.

– Dodge lightly.

“Lightly.”

Seo Ye-in irregularly stepped left and right and continued dodging the dirt bullets.

As Kwak Ji-cheol grew desperate, he thrust his staff into the ground, and the earth surged towards Seo Ye-in.

Kurrrrrrr…

Again, Kim Ho’s voice rang in her ears.

– Jump on the count of three. 1, 2, 3. Jump.

“Jump.”

Seo Ye-in lightly leaped over the undulating ground.

Then, dozens of hands made of dirt rose from the ground and tried to grasp her.

– Hop up. Hop, hop.

“Hop.”

Seo Ye-in lightly trampled over the hands as she jumped and jumped again.

Finally, with a great leap, she landed softly right in front of the wall Kwak Ji-cheol had erected.

It was only then that a question flashed through Kwak Ji-cheol’s mind.

…But why has she come so close?

Why would a marksman need to get this close?

The question was quickly answered.

Because the reassembly of the weapon held by Seo Ye-in was completed and its complete form was revealed.

…A shotgun?

Kwak Ji-cheol’s face hardened.

“W-Wait.”

Whaaaaaam—!

A barrage of magic bullets scattered, instantly demolishing the earthen wall and blowing Kwak Ji-cheol beyond it.

“Kaaaaah!!”