The Support Ate it All

[Bullet Time], the ability to seize a fleeting moment.

And [Ghost Dance] which granted incredible speed, evasion, and stealth in the blink of an eye.

The synergy between the two was nothing short of extraordinary.

Because of this, I had already decided that if I had any remaining attempts, I would first give Seo Ye-in the opportunity.

Even though she hadn’t contributed much to acquiring Ghost Dance,

The trade is more than worth it.

If it had been anyone else, I would have started by negotiating terms, but I already had an ideal partnership with the Hye-seong Group.

Even if I acted first and reported later, they would willingly provide compensation.

Especially for a skill as powerful as Ghost Dance.

Besides, considering how much I had benefited from the luck of my “Lucky Charm”, I tended to be lenient with my calculations as well.

However, the human sloth had a tendency to lose more than half her motivation on weekends.

If I simply asked, “Want to come learn a skill?” she’d likely just fall back asleep.

That’s why I opted for a different approach:

The curiosity bait strategy.

After calling her out, I demonstrated Ghost Dance right in front of her and the strategy worked remarkably well.

Seeing Seo Ye-in’s eyes light up with excitement was proof enough.

I casually threw her a question.

“Want to learn it?”

“Mhmm.”

“This way, please.”

I led Seo Ye-in to the square stage and briefly explained the Illusion Demon Trial to her.

I told her there was an illusion formation set up, and once she got inside, the statues would attack her.

“—So basically, you just have to step on the right footprints as hard as you can. Understand?”

“Understand.”

Seo Ye-in nodded her head slowly, then stepped onto the center of the stage and stood still as fog thickened around her like a cloud in an instant.

Go Hyeon-woo watched with a face full of curiosity.

“I wonder how many attempts Miss Seo will need.”

“Probably just two.”

“I expect that too”

But once again, our predictions were spectacularly off the mark.

When the fog cleared, Seo Ye-in glanced back and forth between us, then slowly raised one hand and formed a V-sign.

It meant she had succeeded.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

“She cleared it in a single try.”

It was a level of talent that went beyond overwhelming. It was almost violent talent.

Seo Ye-in stepped off the stage and walked toward us.

I waited until she was close enough, then,

Swish.

I used Ghost Dance to glide backward.

Then I gestured for her to come closer from a distance and saw Seo Ye-in staring at me in silence before—

Swish.

She mirrored my move and used Ghost Dance to glide after me.

Go Hyeon-woo watched the exchange with a warm fatherly smile.

Since the skill had a five-minute cooldown anyway, I decided to cut the playful teasing short.

I reached into my inventory and pulled out two random boxes.

“While we’re all here, let’s take care of these.”

“A good idea.”

Go Hyeon-woo eagerly took out a random box of his own. He was clearly pleased with the suggestion.

Seo Ye-in wouldn’t open his own box, of course, but he seemed intent on soaking up some of that lucky energy from nearby.

I pulled out another item.

It was a Random Box Enhancement Scroll.

This was one of the rewards from clearing Main Quest 2-1. There had been two scrolls in total, and Hong Yeon-hwa and I each took one.

I wonder if she made good use of hers.

Surely she didn’t waste it on a D-rank box?

That would be a bit of a shame.

I put those thoughts aside and used the scroll.

[Activated the ‘Random Box Enhancement Scroll’.]

A bright light seeped into the Gathering of Villains Random Box.

Flash!

[Gathering of Villains Random Box (B+)]

[Gathering of Villains Random Box (B)]

The scroll had upgraded one to B+ and left the other at B.

With this, everything was ready.

I presented the random boxes to the Lucky Charm-nim with the utmost respect.

“Please, open them.”

Seo Ye-in silently accepted the boxes and gazed down at them for a moment.

She picked up the B-rank box first and opened it without hesitation.

Flaaa—aash—!

“Hmm.”

“Hmm.”

A flash of light that was as bright as a stun grenade exploded outward, but Go Hyeon-woo and I had already covered our eyes. We were well-prepared from past experience.

As the light faded, what appeared was a neatly rolled-up magical scroll.

[Skill Tuning Scroll]

“This is the first time I’ve seen one of these. How does it work?”

“It’s exactly as it sounds. It lets you adjust the fine details of a skill.”

Every skill had various detailed stats, such as power, range, and duration.

Using this item would allow the user to tweak those specifics to better suit their preferences.

This is perfect. I’ve been needing something like this.

However, in terms of value, it was about B-rank. It was useful, but not exactly a jackpot.

Seo Ye-in had apparently opened the B-rank random box first, and it seemed that luck hadn’t yet come into play this time.

I still haven’t figured out what her special trait was, but it seemed to be fickle in many ways.

So I asked,

“Are you ready to show us now?”

“…Not yet.”

Seo Ye-in looked at me for a few seconds before shaking her head.

Then she shifted her gaze toward Go Hyeon-woo.

“Okay, I shall go first.”

“Good luck.”

“Thank you. For some reason, I have a good feeling about this today.”

Go Hyeon-woo picked up his random box and gave a small smile.

Even so, the fact that it was a B-rank box seemed to make him a bit nervous, as his hands moved carefully while opening the lid.

Flaa—aaash—!

“Oh.”

“Oh…”

We both let out murmurs of admiration at the same time, as the burst of light was almost identical to the one before.

The similarity of the effect meant that the quality of the item would likely be similar as well.

Once the light faded, Go Hyeon-woo was holding a thick ginseng root in his hand.

[Ginseng of the Guardian (C+)]

“A good elixir appeared.”

“Indeed. It seems your luck isn’t bad at all.”

A satisfied smile spread across Go Hyeon-woo’s face.

For a martial artist, an elixir that immediately aided internal energy was far more useful than a mediocre B-rank item. Even if its rank was slightly lower, its practicality made up for it.

Including the Tuber fleeceflower he had acquired, this made two C+ rank elixirs secured from this dungeon raid alone.

However, because the item was lower in rank than the random box, it was classified as a failure, and one stamp was added to the tally.

[Stamp Coupon (C)]

▷ Stamps: 6/10

Not bad.

Now, the only thing left was the much-anticipated B+ random box.

“Are you ready?”

“Ready.”

At my question, Seo Ye-in gave a small nod and placed her hand on the box lid.

The moment she opened it,

Booom—!

A blinding burst of light accompanied by intense energy surged forth.

The force was so powerful it felt as if it was pushing us backward.

Finally, Seo Ye-in was holding a dark blue hoodie instead of a random box.

At first glance, it looked like a mundane item for daily use, but in reality, it was far from ordinary.

[Hidden Master hoodie (A+)]

▷ Automatic Durability Recovery

▷ 150% Efficiency for Energy Circulation Training

▷ Removes Harmful Effects During Small Circulation Training

▷ Restores Stamina During Large Circulation Training

▷ Greatly Enhances Sleep Efficiency

It was an item with every single feature focused entirely on Energy Circulation Training, which was essentially mana cultivation.

It provided the efficiency of fifteen hours of training with ten hours of training.

On top of that, its additional effects were nothing to scoff at.

This is practically top-tier.

Considering it was an A+ rank item and that dedicated equipment for Energy Circulation Training was rare, its value was undeniable.

Even Go Hyeon-woo who rarely showed any material desire couldn’t help but cast an envious glance at me.

“Wow, even I find myself wanting that.”

“Nope. You’ll have to be satisfied with the special training room.”

Since I practically lived in the training center myself, there was no way I could let this go.

Besides, I wasn’t far from reaching a B-rank [Core], so it wasn’t the time to make sacrifices.

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in gently stroked the hoodie. She seemed more interested in its texture than its capabilities.

At a glance, it did look incredibly soft and fluffy.

But no matter how much she admired it, I couldn’t give this to her, so I extended my hand.

“Hand it over.”

Seo Ye-in hugged the hoodie tightly. She was clearly unwilling to part with it.

As if that wasn’t enough,

Swish.

She activated her Ghost Dance technique and retreated several paces away.

Had her cooldown already reset?

Even so, rules were rules. I slowly shook my head and wagged my finger.

“Nope. Come back.”

Reluctantly, Seo Ye-in returned and placed the hoodie in my hands.

The moment I received it, I put the hoodie on, pulled the hood over my head, and tugged the strings tight before tying them into a butterfly knot.

“Everyone, let go of your greed. This is mine.”

Seo Ye-in stared intently at the hoodie as if she still couldn’t let go of her lingering attachment to it.

Then she began to tug lightly at my sleeve before pulling out a thick black card.

“…..?”

“Not for sale. Not for sale.”

Even after my repeated refusals, Seo Ye-in still couldn’t bring herself to release the hoodie.

She really seemed to want it.

In situations like this, there was no choice but to take special measures.

“Alright, I’ll give you a choice. Option one: spend summer vacation with Kim Ho. Option two: spend summer vacation with the hoodie.”

Seo Ye-in looked back and forth between the hoodie and me; she was clearly unable to give up on either.

After agonizing over it for a while, her eyes suddenly widened as if she’d come to some realization.

“…Butler?”

“No, pick one of the two.”

***

After sending off Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in, I sat alone in the center of the mana cultivation room.

Though I wanted to test the great performance of the Hidden Master hoodie right away, I needed to take some time for an initial inspection first.

I started with the first item pulled by my Lucky Charm. The Skill Tuning Scroll.

I had been feeling the need for it for some time, and of course, I already knew where to use it.

[Activated the ‘Skill Tuning Scroll’.]

[Tuning the skill ‘Amplification (C)’.]

When broken down, Amplification functioned as follows:

It allowed you to designate one skill or trait, either your own or an ally’s, and enhance it by two stages.

The “duration” and “cooldown time” scaled proportionally to the rank.

Among these factors, the two aspects I couldn’t change were “designate one target” and “increase rank by two ranks”.

If the number of targets were doubled, the trade-off would be a decrease in rank increase to only one rank.

And so, my focus was on one particular element:

Duration.

Looking back, the battle with the Twin Demons had been precariously close.

The poison resistance I granted my party members had only maintained an S-rank level for five minutes.

If those creatures had decided to change tactics, retreat mid-fight, or prolong the battle into a war of attrition, things could have gone very badly.

Of course, Amplification increased duration and reduced cooldown time as its rank rose.

But that alone wasn’t enough, which was why I decided to tune it.

[Duration]

▷ 5 minutes → 10 minutes

[Cooldown Time]

▷ 30 minutes → 1 hour 20 minutes

Doubling the duration caused the cooldown to more than double in return.

It was significantly heavier than before.

Still, heavier is better.

I’d likely continue using multitasking skills like Octopus Limbs often, which meant the cooldowns might eventually stretch into days rather than hours.

If I had to wait a long time anyway, it was better to maximize the duration when I did use it.

Besides, in the mid-to-late stages, I’d likely acquire time-based skills or items that would make cooldown management much easier.

With the tuning complete,

Now, the real work begins.

I took out the items I had obtained during this dungeon raid.

There were various poisonous plants I had harvested from the weed field, as well as the wooden boxes I had received from Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam in exchange for Ghost Dance.

All of these were gathered for a single purpose.

The Main Quest.

The Witch of Corruption’s main skills revolved around poison.

Even though I already possessed the S-rank skill [Poison Resistance], it wasn’t enough to completely avoid poisoning. This was proved in the battle against the Twin Paracorrosive Demons.

I needed to prepare for a stronger countermeasure.

For example,

Poison Immunity.