The Support Ate it All

After finishing up at the tailoring club, Seo Ye-in and I returned to the training center.

It was time to resume training with the Wind Barrier.

But before that, I figured it would be better to hand things over first, so I sent a message to Go Hyeon-woo.

“Hello, Kim-hyung.”

“Oh, you’re here.”

Go Hyeon-woo quickly came to our training room.

As soon as he arrived, his gaze dropped and he shifted between looking at the upgraded Cloudsteppers that Seo Ye-in and I were wearing.

A satisfied fatherly smile then spread across his face.

“They look really good.”

Without much reaction, I returned the armor that Go Hyeon-woo had entrusted to me.

[Multicolor Carapace (C+)]

▷ Multicolor Defense (C+)

▷ Upgradeable

Originally, it had been large and heavy due to the bronze upgrade, but that was replaced with a multicolored scale upgrade.

The weight and bulk have been significantly reduced, giving it the mobility that a warrior like Go Hyeon-woo needs to wear it comfortably.

It was light enough to wear under his uniform, like a t-shirt.

Go Hyeon-woo looked extremely pleased with his new armor.

“I always end up getting more than I deserve from Kim-hyung. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. It’ll all come out of your share.”

“Haha, you mean this? I’m quite satisfied with your way of doing things, Kim-hyung.”

We shared a light laugh as we looked at each other.

But just then, Seo Ye-in who had been standing there with a sleepy expression suddenly started tugging at my sleeve.

When I met her gaze, she said a single short word.

“Now.”

“Now?”

“Jackpot.”

“Box?”

Nod.

Go Hyeon-woo was clearly puzzled and seemed unable to follow our brief exchange, but Seo Ye-in and I understood each other perfectly.

Now, jackpot, box.

If you put that together into one sentence, it meant:

“If you open the ingot box now, you’ll hit the jackpot.”

The “later” that was mentioned back in the magic engineering workshop had just become “now”.

So I pulled out the [Ghost Captain’s Ingot Box], and as soon as Seo Ye-in took it, she opened the lid.

Flaaash—!

A thick fog poured out of the box and filled the training room.

Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in, who were standing nearby, were barely visible through the thick fog.

It felt as though we had been transported to the sea, with the air humid and carrying the faint scent of salt.

With this level of effect…

It was practically guaranteed to be a jackpot.

As expected, the item revealed when the fog lifted didn’t disappoint me.

It was a metal with an overall dark blue color and a strange texture.

[Kraketite Ingot (A)]

This was a rare metal that crystallized inside the body of the deep-sea boss monster, Kraken, though it was incredibly rare.

Even the smallest amount held immense value, and this was a fully processed ingot.

If I used this to craft the next part and combined it with Deep Root,

I’ll definitely get at least an A+.

“Wow. Miss Seo’s luck never ceases to amaze me.”

Go Hyeon-woo didn’t know exactly what Krakatite was, but it seemed he understood it was a powerful item, likely on the level of an A-rank.

Well, just by looking at it, anyone could tell it wasn’t ordinary.

As he marveled at the ingot, Seo Ye-in looked up at me closely and asked,

“Helpful?”

“You helped a lot.”

“…pillow?”

“Yeah, tonight you can use it as much as you want.”

Although the current usage of the Kim Ho pillow was in the negatives, she had just pulled out an A-rank material so there was no need to be too strict this time.

Her gray eyes sparkled with excitement at my approval.

Then, as if a new thought crossed her mind, she asked again.

“…Butler?”

“That’s not happening.”

“A shame.”

Still, some things just weren’t possible.

***

Monday.

Duel battle class.

Teacher Lee Soo-dok scanned the room before speaking.

“The purpose of conducting practical evaluations in hostile environments can be summed up in two main points.”

The first was survival in hostile environments.

The second was making use of the hostile environment.

“But judging by the results of the last duel battle and strategy battle … hardly anyone used the environment to their advantage.”

Take the volcanic zone, for example, which was the environment for the last duel battle week.

It was a dangerous area with rivers of lava overflowing and fireballs randomly raining down from above.

A couple of examples of using this terrain would be when I used Wind Force to throw Kang Hee-chan and Son Hyeong-taek into the lava river, or when Hong Yeon-hwa made the falling fireballs explode.

But cases like those were rare, and most students just rushed to defeat their opponent before getting swept away by the lava.

The battles ended so quickly that it was hard to say anyone really experienced survival, let alone made use of the environment.

Lee Soo-dok’s lips curled into a smirk.

“So this week, we’ve prepared something that will allow you to make use of the environment a bit more.”

“….…!”

The students grew increasingly anxious and their eyes darted nervously.

That was because, up until now, whenever he said he had something prepared, not once had it been anything easy.

Soon the rules and environment for the week appeared on the board.

MAP: [Cloud Stairs]

RULE: [Deathmatch] [Double] [Random Matching]

They were all rules the students had experienced at least once before.

It was a 2-vs-2 battle to take down the enemy.

With random matching, teammates were assigned by chance.

What mattered was the new environment, the Cloud Stairs.

This is my favorite map.

Before explaining further, Lee Soo-dok pulled out a bundle of clouds from somewhere and held it in his hand.

It was somewhere between smoke and cotton, soft and fluffy but still tangible.

“All of the terrain in Cloud Stairs is made of these clouds. They’ll serve as solid platforms.”

Next, a doodle-like drawing appeared on the board.

Cloud platforms floated in layers at regular intervals.

In the drawing, a figure stood on the lowest cloud, then leaped up, and kept climbing higher and higher.

As the figure continued jumping to higher levels, the clouds at the very bottom began to scatter and disappear, one by one.

“The cloud platforms will gradually vanish, starting from the lowest level as time passes. Also—”

Lee Soo-dok clenched his hand, and with a loud pop, the cloud in his grasp scattered into nothing.

“—you can destroy them by dealing a certain amount of damage.”

In summary, the participants must continuously climb upwards by stepping on the cloud platforms.

If you fell behind and stayed on the lowest level, the platforms would disappear and you would drop below.

You can also attack the opponent or the cloud that the opponent stepped on as you ascend to hinder them.

This meant that long-range fighters had a considerable advantage this time.

Whether by defeating or knocking your opponent off, the last one standing would win.

“Um… Teacher.”

At that moment, one student cautiously raised their hand.

When Lee Soo-dok gestured for them to speak, the question everyone was wondering about finally came out.

“So… what happens if we fall down….?”

The smile on Lee Soo-dok’s lips deepened as if he had been waiting for that very question.

“You’ll find out. What happens if you jump out of a plane without a parachute?”

“……!”

“Enjoy the thrill.”

With that, Lee Soo-dok wrapped up the lesson.

But even after he left, a cold silence lingered in the classroom for quite some time.

***

[Side Quest: 12th Week Duel Battles] (In Progress)

▷ Objective: Complete 3 duel matches. (-/3)

▷ Deadline: ~ midnight on Sunday.

▷ Reward: Varies based on the number of wins. (-/3 wins)

I had always completed side quests with the highest achievements, but this time, I absolutely had to secure three consecutive wins.

If things went as I expected, a huge reward was going to be given after such a long time.

The Copy Slot.

So the moment class ended, I headed straight to the arena.

Since it was random matching anyway, there was no need to form a team or strategize in advance.

It seemed the other students thought the same way, as the arena was already packed with a large crowd, even though it was only the first day of the duel battle week.

After scanning my student ID at the terminal and waiting for a moment, the match was set.

I glanced at the names that appeared on the scoreboard and thought to myself.

It really matched like this, huh?

I figured there was a chance since the scores were similar, but I never expected it to actually happen.

When I stepped onto the teleportation magic circle and entered the arena, I suddenly found myself standing in the middle of an incredibly high sky.

We were so high up that I couldn’t clearly see what was below.

What I was standing on was a cluster of clouds, just like the one Lee Soo-dok had shown us.

Of course, this one wasn’t just a small cloud; it was wide and thick enough to stand on and even take a few steps.

These cloud platforms were scattered upwards at intervals, yet stretched endlessly.

It was literally a staircase of clouds.

And then the teammate who appeared nearby was—

“Kim Ho…!”

It was Cha Hyeon-joo who was building up a bad relationship with me.

In the crystal duel battle, I had sent her flying twice in a row,

When she launched a preemptive strike during the midterms, I shattered her attack immediately and tossed her into the lake.

And the next time we crossed paths, I had Seo Ye-in snipe her for me.

With this kind of history between us, it was no surprise that Cha Hyeon-joo was glaring at me like she wanted to kill me.

Still, since we were on the same team now, we couldn’t just spend the whole match growling at each other.

I casually initiated the conversation.

“Since our scores are similar, we’ve ended up on the same team. Let’s try working together for at least this match.”

“Work together? Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for both of us to set aside personal feelings? It’s still a duel battle, after all, and our scores are on the line.”

“I don’t care.”

While I was trying to keep things friendly between us, Cha Hyeon-joo continued to growl.

She was someone who stubbornly insisted on using daggers even if she lost, so I had somewhat expected this. It was clear that she didn’t care about losing points.

I asked again.

“So, what do you want to do?”

“Want to win? Go ahead and try. Make it 3 against 1.”

Cha Hyeon-joo scoffed as she replied.

In other words, she was saying she planned to team kill.

Three against one, huh?

It looked like this wasn’t going to go smoothly.

I figured I should first assess the enemy’s capabilities, so I shifted my gaze forward. Both of them looked somewhat familiar.

One of them was Jeong Soo-ji, from the Emerald Magic Tower.

Her skill level was similar to Kwak Ji-cheol, but she leaned more toward a defensive playstyle.

Of course, we’d have to see if her skills held up while fighting above the clouds.

The other one was Choi Jeong-pil from my class.

Not that it meant much; we only knew each other’s faces and names.

Based on what I saw during the placement exam, he was in the close-combat class.

Judging by the axes he gripped in both hands, that much was clear.

“……”

“……”

As the three of them focused their attention solely on me, the countdown began.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

[Kim Ho 100% Cha Hyeon-joo 100%]

Vs

[Jeong Soo-ji 100% Choi Jeong-pil 100%]

Just like she said, Cha Hyeon-joo immediately aimed her bow at me the moment the match began.

The sudden internal strife startled the opposing team even more.

An arrow could have lodged in my chest at any moment, but I stayed calm and asked,

“You really have no intention of cooperating with me?”

“None!”

“I see…”

I nodded my head with a bitter expression—

Boom!

—before compressed air exploded and Cha Hyeon-joo’s body went flying through the air.

“Then get lost.”

***

TN: Probably the first time I felt that Kim Ho was a bit angry/annoyed. This girl should be proud.