The Support Ate it All

[Deep Root (A)]

▷ Very high mana conductivity

▷ Damage protection (A) applied

▷ Automatic durability recovery

▷ Earth Line

▷ Upgradeable

▷ Upgradeable

▷ Upgradeable

The C-rank Levitate Zone and Memorize which had occupied two upgrade slots.

The two fused with the mutation reagent to create a new attribute.

[Earth Line]

▷ When the weapon is connected to the ground, the power of your skills increases.

The conditions for Earth Line are two: “ground” and “connection.”

The ground doesn’t necessarily have to be made of soil or stone, but it must be a place where I am standing.

Additionally, connecting the weapon means embedding the tip of Root into the ground.

This also meant the user’s position was fixed in one spot.

Of course, it’s not necessary to remain in one place the entire time but to receive the bonus, Root must touch the ground just before the skill activates.

Since this condition forces you to pause at least once during battle, it can be quite a hindrance to mobility.

However, the reward was as big as the risk.

[Earth Line] provided a bonus regardless of whether the skill was magical or physical.

For example, if I were to use the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger, it would activate with a “+” at B-rank.

At this point, the benefit of risking a brief pause in battle was more than enough.

However, aside from the performance of the new attribute, there was another issue:

It’s too short.

Currently, the length of Root was barely longer than my forearm.

To connect it to the ground, I would have to either bend over or kneel, but it wasn’t feasible to constantly sit and stand during the heat of battle.

It’s about time to extend it.

This weapon was designed to be assembled.

The issue of length could be resolved by crafting the next part and attaching it.

While I was staring down at Root and lost in thought, the crow tailor asked me,

“Caw. Young Monarch, are you satisfied with the result?”

“Very much. I’m glad I entrusted it to you.”

“I’m always the best!”

Puffed up by my praise, the crow tailor hopped in place a few times.

Then he asked again,

“Is there anything else you need?”

“This is it for today.”

“Understood. Until next time, Young Monarch!”

With a farewell, the Crow Tailor straightened his outfit.

He adjusted his gentleman’s hat, picked up his bag with one hand, and fluttered into the air.

After circling around once, he vanished into thin air and into another dungeon.

After I watched that scene, I shifted my gaze to Dang Gyu-young who had a strange smile on her lips.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Young Monarch~”

“Huh?”

“You know, I like the way you talk to me casually, but I think I like it even more when you use informal speech.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“It’s not sudden~”

Dang Gyu-young lowered her voice and imitated what I had said to the crow tailor.

“When you said ‘Enough, step back!’ it gave me a bit of a thrill.”

“You’re caught up in something strange again.”

“Come on, order me to do something. Be as forceful as you can.”

“No.”

“Hurry up~ Young Monarch~”

“Let’s just head down now.”

I pretended not to hear her and quickened my pace. Dang Gyu-young happily followed behind.

“Young Monarch~ Why are you in such a hurry~”

She kept adding “Young Monarch” to everything she said.

***

Since the Elemental Fish were due to reappear soon, Dang Gyu-young and I descended the hill and headed toward the Rainbow Lake.

By then, the sun had set, and the full moon illuminated the darkening sky.

The lake reflected the moonlight perfectly while also casting a mysterious rainbow-colored glow.

We stared at the lake in silence for a while, reveling in the strange atmosphere.

“…….”

After some time had passed, a ripple spread across the lake that had been reflecting the moonlight.

The difference this time, instead of bubbling with foam,

Crackle,

was that the surface of the lake began to slowly freeze.

It gave me a rough idea of the Elemental Fish’s new attribute.

“It’s ice.”

“Seems so.”

If it had been fire, this fight would have been cleanly wrapped up, which made it a bit disappointing.

Of course, the ice attribute wasn’t bad either.

After all, it was one of the elements I could use.

I spoke to Dang Gyu-young,

“I’ll handle the main damage. Please support me.”

Since her attribute didn’t match, the damage she would inflict would be drastically reduced.

So, instead of attacking together, it would be more efficient for her to support me so I could deal more damage.

But Dang Gyu-young crossed her arms with a haughty expression and quickly turned her head away.

“No, Young Monarch.”

“What is it this time?”

With her head turned the other way, Dang Gyu-young shot me a sideways glance.

But despite her aloof expression, her lips were curled with mischief.

“If the Young Monarch commands me~ I don’t think I could refuse~”

She wanted me to stop asking and give her a direct order.

It seemed she was still hung up on the informal speech.

“Alright, you win.”

There wasn’t time to argue here since the Kim Gap-doo Fish was bound to show up any moment.

Figuring there was no harm in granting her request, I lowered my voice.

“Dang Gyu-young, help me.”

“Yes!”

Dang Gyu-young immediately dropped the haughty act, uncrossed her arms, and summoned shadow butterflies.

Every now and then, she glanced over at me and started giggling quietly.

Crackle, crackle,

Meanwhile, the lake continued to freeze over and the surface turned into solid ice.

In the next moment, the center of the lake shattered with a crash, and a large fish head burst out.

“—!”

It was Kim Gap-doo Fish who let out a sharp screech.

The scales, which had been a muddy brown the first time we encountered it, now gleamed a frosty blue as if frozen solid.

Just as I suspected, its element had shifted from earth to ice.

Seeing this, Dang Gyu-young playfully patted my shoulder.

“It’s Ice Gap-doo now, Ice Gap-doo.”

“You’re really bad, Dang Gyu-young.”

I decided to keep this from Senior Kim Gap-doo.

If he found out, he might take back the basic elixir I got.

“—!”

Ice Gap-doo glared at us with eyes full of hostility.

It could be that it didn’t like its new nickname, or maybe it remembered how we had beaten it earlier.

Or perhaps it was simply angry that we had invaded its territory.

Soon, waves of mana spread out from the creature, and sharp ice shards shot up like icicles from the frozen lake’s surface.

Then, all at once, they shattered and came flying toward us.

Shiiing!

A barrage of ice shards filled my vision as they came hurtling forward.

I looked at them and thought to myself.

Time for a test run.

After all, it was a newly upgraded weapon.

I got down on one knee, planted the Deep Root in the ground, and stretched my empty hand out in front of me.

The air gathered into a whirlwind of physical force in front of me.

[Earth Line]

[Wind Force]

[Twister]

Whoooosh—

The whirlwind surged ahead swiftly.

As soon as the flying ice shards touched it, they scattered in all directions.

Though my kneeling position was a bit awkward, the performance was undeniable.

“—!”

However, as if it was just getting started, Ice Gap-doo began casting another freezing spell.

Of course, I had no intention of staying on the defensive like this.

Before its spell could be completed, I kicked off the ground and closed the distance between us.

Shadow butterflies fluttered around me, and at just the right moment, they became stepping stones.

Using them like a staircase, I climbed on top of Ice Gap-doo’s head.

I drove Deep Root deep into the gap between its large scales, and then I thrust my frozen index finger into the opening.

[Earth Line]

[Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger]

Thunk,

“—!”

Feeling the foreign sensation between its eyes, Ice Gap-doo shook violently and tried to throw me off.

If I lost my balance here, I could easily fall into the cracks of the shattered ice below.

So I pushed off from its scales and leaped backward.

As I glanced down mid-air,

Icy ground.

I landed and immediately planted the Deep Root into the ice, regaining my balance.

Scrrrape,

The ice screeched as it dragged, and my sliding slowed significantly.

In the meantime, Ice Gap-doo completed its next freezing spell.

Palm-sized shards of ice rained down.

I stretched one hand forward in a half-sitting position.

Whooosh—

A strong wind blew through, scattering the shards of ice in all directions.

Again.

I charged in once more, not giving Ice Gap-doo a chance to link its spells together.

Stepping on the shadow butterflies, I climbed up and thrust the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger deep into its flesh.

Then, just like before, I retreated and mounted it again before driving the weapon in once more.

“—!”

Perhaps it was because I had struck it with the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger three times in a row.

Ice Gap-doo’s movements became far slower than when it first appeared, and the power of its freezing magic had diminished significantly.

“—!”

Before long, it let out a weak cry and slowly began to sink downward.

All that remained on the frozen ground was a large gaping hole.

Dang Gyu-young fixed her gaze on it as she approached me.

“Did you finish it off?”

“It’ll barely survive.”

The Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger, strengthened by Earth Line, had pierced it three times in succession.

It must have taken a huge amount of damage, and even now that it has sunk to the bottom of the lake, the cold air must be piercing through its entire body.

Dang Gyu-young tilted her head in confusion.

“Then isn’t it as good as dead anyway?”

“If its attribute doesn’t change.”

If it maintained its ice attribute, it would continue to take damage from the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger, but if it shifted to another attribute, that damage would drastically decrease.

In that case, it might survive and recover some of its strength.

“When will it change?”

“Normally, it takes a while after submerging, but if it’s at a disadvantage, it changes quickly.”

“That’s pretty cheap.”

“We’ve almost got it, though.”

Even so, the fact that it was in critical condition didn’t change.

Its remaining health was less than 20%.

As long as its attribute matched the one I had when it came back, that would be the end of it.

Even if not, it would be over the next time or the time after that.

Dang Gyu-young asked,

“So what do we do now?”

“We kill time.”

There were about two hours left until the Elemental Fish would recover and reappear.

Earlier, we had gone to see the Dimensional Crow but this time there was nothing like that.

Dang Gyu-young subtly lifted the corner of her lips.

“So we’re just resting for two hours?”

“Pretty much.”

This dungeon was relatively quiet, so I had given her a heads-up beforehand, and Dang Gyu-young said she would prepare something to pass the time.

“Are you excited?”

“I’m curious, to be honest. I wonder what you brought.”

“It’s nothing special, just something simple.”

Like I had mentioned earlier, she had prepared for it like a light picnic or camping trip.

Dang Gyu-young glanced around and said,

“Let’s move to a better spot first.”

The area was definitely a mess.

The local terrain had been churned up by the Earth attribute magic of the Kim Gap-doo Fish, and chunks of ice were scattered everywhere, leaving no room to step.

There was no way we could lay down a mat in a place like this.

“Follow me, young monarch~”

So we started walking around the perimeter of the Rainbow Lake.