The Support Ate it All

Kang Hee-chan’s health was rapidly depleting.

[Kang Hee-chan: 89%]

[Kang Hee-chan: 83%]

[Kang Hee-chan: 78%]

“Kraaaah!”

Kang Hee-chan desperately swam to escape the river of lava.

You can guess how hot the lava river was when you see his swimming speed that surpassed human limits.

However, just as he was about to reach the shore,

Thwack!

Kang Hee-chan paused in place, his head twisted diagonally, then he began to bubble and sank beneath the surface.

[Kim Ho: 100%]

vs

[Kang Hee-chan – %]

vs

I turned my gaze away from Kang Hee-chan who had disappeared into the lava, and looked at Son Hyeong-taek who had delivered the last blow.

[Son Hyeong-taek: 100%]

“Hyeong-taek, you’re really a bad guy. If you make an alliance, you should stick to it until the end. But you just had to take this chance to stab him in the back, huh?”

“An alliance can break at any time. I’d rather go solo than team up with a weakling like that.”

“From where I’m standing, you’re all the same.”

“Why don’t you check and see for yourself if we’re really all the same.”

Boom!

The volcano erupted once again, shaking the ground.

Fireballs larger than a person’s body fell down like corn.

We kept our eyes locked on each other while stepping around to avoid the falling fireballs.

Perhaps because he was a martial artist, Son Hyeong-taek moved his body skillfully.

Soon, he drew both fists to his chest, then extended them forward in quick succession like a boxer throwing a one-two punch.

Pah-pah-pah-pah!

I dodged the barrage of wind blasts, then threw out a question.

“Planning to finish this from a distance?”

“What’s the point of getting close?”

For Son Hyeong-taek, approaching me would only result in him being pushed back by Wind Force, and he could end up like Kang Hee-chan.

Looking back, it seemed he had formed the temporary alliance just to send Kang Hee-chan in first and observe my techniques.

It was a cowardly move, but I had to give him credit for using his head.

So, even while dodging the wind blasts and fireballs, I nodded my head in acknowledgment.

“You analyzed it well. I was planning to push you away if you got close.”

“At least during this match, our distance isn’t going to close.”

“But there’s something you’ve overlooked.”

“……?”

Wind Force isn’t my only skill.

I pointed directly at Son Hyeong-taek with my finger.

Whiiing—

Wind gathered from all directions to form a whirlwind that bound him in place.

He struggled desperately, but it wasn’t enough to break free from the C+ rank Twister.

Then one of the large fireballs launched by the volcanic eruption struck him directly on the crown of his head.

Boom!

“!!”

[Son Hyeong-taek: 93%]

Son Hyeong-taek grew flustered and flailed his arms wildly as he wandered around.

His entire body was engulfed in flames and he staggered in confusion.

But soon enough, he regained his composure, took a deep breath, and with a loud shout,

“Hup!”

the flames scattered in all directions.

It seemed to be a form of protective aura.

However, of course I wasn’t just going to stand by and watch after giving him so much time.

By the time Son Hyeong-taek was flailing around, I had already closed the distance.

His pupils dilated as he noticed me.

“W-Wait a second.”

“Just now, Kang Hee-chan said something like that.”

He said that there’s no such thing as a wait in a fight.

The compressed wind exploded.

Boom!

Son Hyeong-taek’s body was sent flying in an arc before plunging into the river of lava.

“Aaaargh!”

“See? You’re all the same.”

[Son Hyeong-taek: 86%]

[Son Hyeong-taek: 80%]

[Son Hyeong-taek: 73%]

His reaction to falling into the lava was identical to Kang Hee-chan’s.

He displayed swimming skills that could rival a gold medalist and swam through the lava river.

I silently watched him, and just as Son Hyeong-taek reached the shore, I spoke.

“There’s one more thing you miscalculated.”

“Aaaargh—”

“This is a long-range spell.”

In other words, whether the target is close or far, it doesn’t affect its ability to push and pull.

Whiiing—

The wind that was infused with physical force continued to push Son Hyeong-taek backward.

[Son Hyeong-taek: 55%]

[Son Hyeong-taek: 48%]

“Aaaargh—!”

Son Hyeong-taek desperately tried to swim in place, but his speed gradually slowed down, and he was eventually pushed back until he sank beneath the bubbling surface.

Soon, the results were displayed on the scoreboard.

[Kim Ho 1st]

[Son Hyeong-taek 2nd]

[Kang Hee-chan 3rd]

One match down.

I calmly left the arena and immediately queued up for the next match.

[Kim Ho 642 points]

As I waited and idly watched the arena, I overheard the conversations of other students nearby.

It seemed they had just finished their matches as well.

About half of their discussions revolved around the three-way battle rules.

– This free-for-all was absolute chaos.

– The mind games were intense.

– They totally ganged up on me.

– Maybe they just don’t like you. Probably because you’re ugly.

The three-way battle was filled with deceit and trickery.

Those who were inexperienced couldn’t survive, just like Kang Hee-chan, who took Son Hyeong-taek’s alliance proposal at face value and ended up being the first to fall.

Meanwhile, the other half of the conversation was filled with complaints about the hostile environment they were encountering for the first time.

– This map is brutal.

– One hit from those fireballs and I lost 10% of my health.

– I lost 7%.

– And the lava is insanely hot.

– This is going to keep coming up for the rest of the semester?

The active volcano rained down fireballs throughout the match, and as time passed, the lava overflowed which left no safe ground to stand on.

In this free-for-all battle, players had to constantly decide whether to play aggressively and take down opponents or to play defensively and simply survive. It required sharp judgment and constant awareness of others’ strategies.

As I continued to wait and looked around,

I came across a very familiar face.

“He-Hello …”

“We’ve been running into each other a lot lately.”

“Ah, Mhmm…”

Hong Yeon-hwa shyly greeted me as she approached.

Compared to before, the fear in her expression seemed to be gradually fading away.

However, there was also a complex mix of emotions in her eyes when she looked at me, though I couldn’t quite figure out why.

Come to think of it, her score is pretty close to mine.

That meant there was a good chance we could be matched up together.

“Ah.”

At that moment, it seemed Hong Yeon-hwa had the same thought cross her mind.

Unlike me, who didn’t care who my opponent was, she definitely wanted to avoid facing me at all costs.

She quickly rushed over to the terminal and tried to cancel her match.

“Ah.”

But she suddenly stopped in her tracks and wore an expression like a child who had just dropped their ice cream.

The match had already been made, leaving no room for escape.

[Kim Ho 649 points]

vs

[Hong Yeon-hwa 708 points]

vs

[Wang Min-soo 660 points]

What kind of day is this?

I kept running into familiar faces.

Maybe this meant that the number of people I knew had grown.

As I approached the arena, I spoke over my shoulder.

“Let’s go in.”

“M-Mhmm…”

Meanwhile, Hong Yeon-hwa’s complexion had suddenly darkened.

Her steps seemed unusually heavy today.

When we entered the volcanic zone through the teleportation magic circle, a wave of intense heat hit our faces.

Hong Yeon-hwa also appeared in a corner of the arena, and on the opposite side, Wang Min-soo showed up.

I waved to Wang Min-soo.

“Hey, Cheon-sam. How’s it going?”

“…It’s Wang Min-soo now.”

“Still using that alias?”

“For the time being, yes.”

Wang Cheon-sam didn’t seem too keen on the topic and quickly changed the subject.

“I heard you took down Sa Gong-wook.”

“More or less.”

The Black faction of the swordsmanship club still wasn’t fond of me, so Sa Gong-wook and five other swordsmen had been hired to take me out during the midterms.

However, thanks to my enthusiastic use of the Spiral Explosion, their attempt failed miserably.

I asked about the current state of Sa Gong-wook’s gang.

“How are they doing?”

“Of course, they got thoroughly beaten by Senior Mak Dae-woong. I heard they lost 6 to 3. Is that true?”

“That’s right.”

Go Hyeon-woo and I, along with three from Seo Ye-in’s group, had faced the six swordsmen, but since Seo Ye-in couldn’t offer much support, it was more like 6 against 2.

Despite having the numerical advantage, they were overwhelmingly defeated so Mak Dae-woong must have been furious.

Maybe if they had at least brought back some useful information about my Spiral Explosion, it could have been different, but with the Blood Fury Pill incident, the replay probably didn’t even get saved.

That seemed to be enough about Sa Gong-wook and his gang’s current situation, so I decided to focus on the duel battle ahead.

“I need to ask you a favor.”

“What now?”

When Wang Cheon-sam asked, I gestured toward Hong Yeon-hwa with my eyes.

“Have a match with her using your full strength. Make sure the replay is set to private.”

“Wi-With me… ?”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected suggestion.

It would be shocking for her to suddenly be told to duel without much discussion.

I spoke to her as well.

“Give it a try. It’ll be a good experience.”

Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam were in the assassin class, which was practically the natural enemy of a battery-type mage like Hong Yeon-hwa.

If Hong Yeon-hwa who was a promising student were to face Jang Moo-geuk, she’d likely be taken down in an instant, but Wang Cheon-sam’s skill level was closer to 0.8 of a promising student.

With that in mind, it should at least be a decent fight even if her class put her at a disadvantage.

However, Wang Cheon-sam frowned. He was clearly not thrilled by the idea.

“I don’t see why I should do that. Wouldn’t it just be helping you out?”

“If that’s how you feel, then fight me instead.”

“……..”

Wang Cheon-sam’s complaints immediately died down.

In the previous 2-on-2 duel, he had charged at me but was taken out in a single blow after being hit by a Wind Force combo.

Even when he teamed up with Jang Moo-geuk under Mak Dae-woong’s orders, he was struck by Wind Force and flung far away.

The result this time wouldn’t be much different.

In fact, there was a high chance the outcome would be even worse.

After all, rivers of lava were flowing everywhere.

I gently persuaded him,

“Just think of it as doing me a favor.”

“…Hmm, alright.”

Wang Cheon-sam reluctantly nodded his head.

The three of us then reviewed our agreement.

First, Hong Yeon-hwa and Wang Cheon-sam would face off to determine who would take second place.

Wang Cheon-sam would reveal his hidden skills and fight as an assassin, and the replay would remain private.

Meanwhile, I would take a step back and merely observe.

Once everyone was ready, the countdown began.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

Boooom!

As soon as the battle commenced, the volcano unleashed a barrage of fireballs.

A huge fireball that was as large as a house flew directly toward me, but I didn’t even think about moving. I just stood still in place.

Boooooom!

The area where I stood became engulfed in flames.

[Kim Ho: 100%]

[Kim Ho: 100%]

However, there was no way a mere fireball could penetrate an S-rank elemental resistance.

I could probably take a full-body bath in lava and still maintain 100% health.

“…….?”

“…….?”

Hong Yeon-hwa and Wang Cheon-sam’s faces were filled with disbelief.

They checked the scoreboard, looked at me burning brightly, then checked the scoreboard again.

I politely extended my hand to the speechless pair.

“Please finish what you were doing.”