The Support Ate it All

Underground Floor of Dungeon Building.

In some dungeon.

This place, with towering castle walls, was a [Defensive Battle] themed dungeon where the goal was to work with the soldiers stationed in the fortress to repel the attacking monsters.

However, everything was now submerged in black puddles and rotting away.

“…….”

A woman in a black robe stood on the castle walls while looking down at the scene.

Her demeanor was as natural as if she were looking out the window and thinking, “The weather is nice today.”

At that moment, the sound of someone’s heavy footsteps came up the castle wall stairs.

When the footsteps finally stopped behind her, the robed woman spoke.

“Commander.”

The identity of the footsteps was a man in a martial arts uniform, a Blood Cult elder.

The robed woman kept her gaze fixed beyond the castle walls as she spoke.

“As I recall, you mentioned that the results of the midterm exams had already been decided.”

“An unexpected variable has intervened. I didn’t expect those rookies to be so strong.”

If things had gone according to plan, there would have been a tremendous number of casualties caused by the berserk ogres.

The plan was to crush the promising young heroes and undermine public trust in the Dragon Slayer Academy.

There were quite a few injuries, but there were no deaths.

Even the Alpha Ogre, who had two Blood Fury Pills injected into it, was subdued by the first-year students.

It would be hard to understand how even second-year students would manage to subdue such a strong foe without taking any damage.

However, could a single phrase like “an unexpected variable intervened” cover up this mistake?

The robed woman’s side had also taken many risks to seize control of the dungeon, but they had gained nothing in return.

“It’s quite disappointing. We may need to reconsider our alliance with the Blood Cult.”

“I understand that the Commander is upset. The fault lies with my inadequate preparations, so I apologize. But wouldn’t it be a pity to dismantle the alliance already?”

“That’s true.”

Naturally, the two had prepared several things besides the Blood Fury Pill.

It was disappointing to discard all of them just because the initial plan had gone awry.

“So, let’s set aside the responsibility for now and discuss the next plan. This time—”

“It’s unfortunate, but we’ll have to talk about that later.”

The robed woman interrupted.

The man in the martial arts uniform also sensed something and turned his gaze beyond the castle walls.

Two figures were walking towards them through the black puddles as if taking a stroll.

One of them was a well-known figure that could be recognized even at a glance by the man.

“……the Human Butcher.”

Lee Soo-dok with a fierce glint in his eyes,

Beside him was Seo Cheong-yong who was smiling warmly.

***

They’re probably going to have a fight.

There had been an incident where control over the midterm dungeon was seized, but the academy wasn’t going to just sit back and let it happen.

Among the many skills available, there was one that could track the previous owner of an item.

If they used that skill on the Blood Fury Syringe, it would likely pinpoint their location.

Therefore, it was expected that a significant battle would break out somewhere in the underground levels.

They’ll manage to pull themselves out of it somehow.

They were too strong to fall in one place.

Still, after facing some intense heat, they would be considerably weakened, so things would be quiet at least for a while.

During that time, I had to keep getting stronger and prepare for their next move.

So it was time to solidify my foundation.

I first checked the [Enchantment] I had received as a reward for completing the main quest.

[Enchantment (F)]

▷Grants a skill/trait possessed by the caster to the target.

▷Rank of the granted skill/trait: -3

▷Duration: 3 minutes

▷Cooldown: 1 hour

It was a powerful skill but it came with several restrictions.

While it allowed the caster to transfer a skill, the power of the skill would be greatly reduced in the process.

For example, when a C-rank skill was granted, the recipient would receive an F-rank skill which was three ranks lower.

Of course, as the rank of [Enchantment] increased, the degree of rank reduction would be mitigated.

The short duration and long cooldown were similar to Amplification, and this too would improve as the skill rank increased.

There was also another restriction that wasn’t mentioned in the skill description:

You have to match it somewhat to the class.

For example, giving a magic-type skill to a warrior like Go Hyeon-woo would be pointless, and giving a marksman skill to Hong Yeon-hwa would just make it better for her to keep using magic instead.

Despite these restrictions, the fact that you could temporarily add an additional skill or trait to someone was an incredible advantage.

Next, I looked at the Fixed Pins.

Currently, the items registered in the Copy Slots were as follows:

▷Copy – Skills [2/2]

1. Thief’s Step (B+)

2. Overheat (D)

▷Copy – Traits [2/2]

1. Elemental Resistance (S)

2. The Sovereign’s Crown

Now, which one would I make my own?

The first choice didn’t even require any thought.

[Used ‘Fixed Pin’.]

[‘Elemental Resistance (S)’ has been fixed.]

[Traits]

▷Elemental Resistance (S)

▷Copy – Traits [1/2]

1. (Empty)

2. The Sovereign’s Crown

[Elemental Resistance] was removed from the copied traits tab, which left one of the copy slots empty.

This slot would soon be filled with another trait.

Now, [Elemental Resistance] was fully mine.

It could be ranked up and even fused with other traits or skills.

Perhaps it would be the first trait to break through the S-rank barrier and advance to EX-rank.

Of course, I still hadn’t figured out how to do that, but just knowing that the possibility was now open was significant.

And yet, I still had one more Fixed Pin left.

I’ll save this one.

The other options were somewhat lacking to use such a precious Fixed Pin.

Even though [Thief’s Step] had a high rank since I copied it from Dang Gyu-young, it was only mid-to-upper tier compared to other movement skills.

Even Seo Ye-in’s [Feather Step] was a tier above it.

[Overheat] had its uses when combined with Inferno Fist, but it lacked versatility, and there would come a day when I would abandon Inferno Fist anyway, so there was no need to fix it.

As for [The Sovereign’s Crown], while it was quite rare, it was a trait without a rank. This meant it couldn’t grow.

So, I decided to hold onto the last Fixed Pin for now.

Until I found a skill that was both “rare enough” and “capable of growth”.

***

Hong Yeon-hwa headed to the cafeteria with Baek Jun-seok to buy some snacks.

But even as she walked, only one thought occupied her mind.

That thought was none other than about Kim Ho.

When facing the ogres, Hong Yeon-hwa took on the role of delivering firepower from the rear.

This allowed her to have a broader view of the battle, and in that, Kim Ho’s role was definitely prominent.

He learned something incredible again.

Hong Yeon-hwa saw it clearly.

A seemingly unimpressive spell that compressed wind into an explosion and tore through the ogre’s thick hide in an instant.

This allowed the other team members’ attacks to inflict even greater damage.

Whether they realized this or not was questionable.

Despite using such a powerful spell, his close combat skills didn’t fall behind the other vanguard warriors.

Hong Yeon-hwa glanced briefly at Baek Jun-seok.

I think he’s better than him…

“?”

Baek Jun-seok was baffled when Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly gave him a sullen look.

But Hong Yeon-hwa quickly averted her gaze and drifted back into her thoughts.

When they were fighting the Alpha Ogre, she thought she saw Kim Ho briefly use a fire-type skill.

And later, when the Alpha’s legs visibly stiffened, she suspected it was because of something he did.

However, these were just speculations.

If only I had the replay…

She could have confirmed her suspicions.

The fact that nothing had been recorded left her feeling frustrated.

As her thoughts about Kim Ho continued to spiral, Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly felt her face flush.

She remembered the conversation between Seo Ye-in and Kim Ho on the night of the second day of the midterms.

– Sleep with me.

– Come to think of it, we slept together yesterday too.

– I sleep well with you.

– Just this once. And don’t climb on top of me.

Hong Yeon-hwa, who was born and raised in the Ruby Magic Tower, held a subtly conservative mindset.

For her, the conversation between the two had been extremely difficult to follow.

Sleeping together? Because she can’t fall asleep?

So close, practically clinging to each other?

Hong Yeon-hwa asked herself.

If she were suffering from insomnia, could she sleep while clinging to Baek Jun-seok like that?

“Ugh.”

The thought alone made her shudder.

Hong Yeon-hwa grimaced and moved twice as far away from Baek Jun-seok.

“?? What is it now?”

Baek Jun-seok asked in confusion, but she didn’t respond.

As Hong Yeon-hwa continued to wrestle with her thoughts, a question arose.

Could it be that her understanding was wrong?

Is it possible for close friends to sleep together like that?

However, she wasn’t comfortable asking just anyone about this.

There was only one person at the Dragon Slayer Academy she could pose such a deep question to.

So Hong Yeon-hwa bought a cup of coffee at the cafeteria.

As usual, it was the kind she always drank—an espresso with endless shots, a coffee that tasted like oil.

Then she arrived at the Ruby Tower club room and handed the coffee to her older sister, Hong Ye-hwa.

“Unnie, coffee.”

“What’s the occasion? Anyway, thanks.”

Since the two sisters had almost identical tastes, Hong Ye-hwa had no trouble drinking the oily coffee.

When Hong Ye-hwa sipped her coffee, Hong Yeon-hwa who had been hesitating finally spoke up.

“Unnie, I have something I’m curious about…”

“What is it?”

“There’s someone I know….”

“Someone you know, huh. And?”

Hong Ye-hwa nodded her head slowly.

Of course, she was already guessing that this “someone” Hong Yeon-hwa knew was probably Hong Yeon-hwa herself.

It was quite common for someone to say, “This is about my friend…” when they were embarrassed to talk about themselves.

“So, this person… they paired up with someone of the opposite sex.”

“For the midterms?”

“Yeah.”

“Keep going.”

Hong Ye-hwa continued sipping her coffee and started reminiscing.

She went to that deserted island too when she was a first-year.

It was pretty fun for her. It felt like camping.

Hong Yeon-hwa continued her explanation.

“So, on that deserted island… they slept at night…”

“Mhmm, and?”

“Well, at night… they slept close together.”

Whoosh—!

The coffee in the cup burst into flames and evaporated.

Hong Ye-hwa then stood up and slowly approached her sister with her palm engulfed in a blazing flame.

And she questioned her with a stern expression on her face.

“Hey, Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“Huh? Huh?”

“Tell me straight. Who’s the guy?”

Hong Yeon-hwa blinked in confusion. She was startled by her sister’s sudden change in demeanor.

“Is that… really important?”

“Of course, it’s important! Why wouldn’t it be? Who is it, Baek Jun-seok?”

This time, Hong Yeon-hwa jumped in surprise.

“Why would Baek Jun-seok even come up?”

“Then who is it? Tell me! Quickly!”

Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t understand.

Was this really something to get so upset about?

It was someone else’s story anyway, wasn’t it?

Still, seeing her sister’s fierce expression, she felt she had to answer.

“Kim Ho. But why is this so important?”

“Kim…!”

Hong Ye-hwa felt a wave of dizziness and clutched her forehead.

She told her to get along with Kim Ho, and now they’re dating?

And they slept together during midterms?

Soon, the dizziness turned into a burning fury and a fiery smack to the back erupted mercilessly.

Smack! Smack!

With each smack, Hong Ye-hwa spat out her words.

“You little! Already! Acting! So shamelessly!”

“Ouch! Why? What for? Why are you hitting me?”

Hong Yeon-hwa who didn’t understand a thing got her back scorched by the fiery smacks.

It was quite some time before she got a chance to explain herself.