The Support Ate it All

Seo Ye-In kept holding onto my sleeve and looking up at me intently.

Then, after glancing briefly at Go Hyeon-Woo, she looked back up at me and spoke.

“No.”

“Why?”

“No.”

Go Hyeon-Woo who had just been rejected twice without even making a suggestion let out a bitter laugh and asked,

“I imagine Kim-hyung has a reason for saying that. May I hear it?”

“Of course.”

However, since there were still too many ears in the classroom, I took the two of them to a quieter spot where fewer people were around.

I told them that I’d be participating in the Witch of Corruption’s subjugation team and that I was taking a break from this week’s strategy battle to manage my condition.

Go Hyeon-Woo nodded his head in understanding.

“I see. That makes sense. If you’re facing such a strong opponent, it’s wise to conserve your energy.

Then he added with another faint bitter smile,

“Still, it’s a bit disappointing. The thought of not being able to help Kim-hyung nags at me. I suppose it’s because my skills are still lacking.”

“You don’t need to feel too bad about it. This time, I’m just tagging along myself.”

Compared to the third-years and the staff, my skills weren’t up to par either.

In the subjugation team, I was basically just a transport for antidotes.

I continued speaking.

“Let’s not rush. We’ll go at our own pace, and in a year or two, we’ll be able to handle things on our own.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-In had been listening quietly from the side.

When our eyes met, she stepped closer and gently tugged on my sleeve.

“Give me your hand.”

“My hand?”

Although I wasn’t sure why she suddenly asked, I offered my hand without hesitation. Seo Ye-In removed the fluffy cloud bracelet from her wrist and fastened it onto mine.

“Use this.”

“Alright, thanks.”

Since the Witch of Corruption dealt with magic, the fluffy cloud bracelet would indeed be far more effective than the dark cloud one.

Whether she gave it to me because she knew this or because of her instinct as the Lucky Charm, I couldn’t tell.

“Then you take this one.”

This time, I removed the dark cloud bracelet and fastened it onto Seo Ye-In’s wrist.

Since most of the bosses in the upcoming strategy battle would likely rely on physical attacks, the dark cloud bracelet would probably be more useful for her.

“……”

Seo Ye-In turned the dark cloud bracelet around on her wrist and seemed to be satisfied.

In the meantime, Go Hyeon-Woo watched us like this with a pleased fatherly smile.

Ignoring him, I asked Seo Ye-In another question.

“Should I lend you the hoodie too? I won’t be able to use it anyway.”

Since I wouldn’t have much time to focus on my mana circulation training while inside the dungeon, I didn’t mind lending out the Hoodie of the Hidden Master as well.

Contrary to my expectation that she would eagerly accept, Seo Ye-In shook her head.

“Later.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

“I’m going to train.”

With those words, I glanced toward Go Hyeon-Woo. Though his expression didn’t reveal it, it seemed he was stimulated by the remark. It was as if he heard Seo Ye-in say, “I can’t help you because my skills are still lacking, so I’m going to train.”

If the sloth was willing to train on her own, it wasn’t a bad deal for me.

Since things had come to this, I decided to offer a little carrot as well.

“Alright, do your best. When you’re done, how about we go to the downtown area next weekend or the one after that?”

“Bakery.”

“We’ll go to the bakery too.”

“Arcade.”

“We’ll visit the arcade as well.”

“……!”

A spark of enthusiasm lit up in her gray eyes.

***

Before the strategy meeting for the subjugation battle.

Seo Cheong-Yong called me aside and handed me two items.

“Here, take these.”

“Thank you.”

The first item was a small totem about the size of a finger.

Intricate patterns were engraved on it, and small gems dotted its surface here and there.

It even had a hole, so it could be strung on a cord and worn as a necklace.

[Totem of Disguise (A)]

It was a perception-blocking item, similar to the anonymous badge made by the thieves’ club or the mask Cha Hyeon-joo often used.

However, its power was incomparable to the other two.

Seo Cheong-Yong instructed,

“Try putting it on.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I put the totem around my neck, my hair color, physique, and even my voice transformed into those of someone entirely different.

The anonymous badge was so rudimentary that a close look would immediately reveal its secret, but this totem was both powerful and natural, leaving no trace of the disguise.

At least at the A-rank level, no one would be able to see through it.

The next item was something quite familiar to me.

I’m getting to wear this already?

It was a set of clothing resembling a school uniform, including a shirt, jacket, and pants.

The only difference was that this set was entirely black, except for a tie that was a deep shade of red.

[Battle Suit (A)]

This was special protective gear provided to faculty members defending the Dungeon Island or students challenging very high-difficulty dungeons ranked A or higher.

Seo Cheong-Yong observed my reaction and spoke.

“Looks like you know what this is.”

“I’ve heard about it here and there. I didn’t think you’d lend me a battle suit too.”

“Well, we don’t want you getting hurt. We’re doing what we can. Go ahead and change.”

***

After equipping the totem and the battle suit, I moved to the meeting room with Seo Cheong-Yong.

The room was steeped in a heavy and serious atmosphere.

It was only natural, considering that the very next day, we would be entering an A-rank dungeon.

The layout was closer to that of a classroom than a meeting room, as the tables had been removed and the chairs arranged to face a single direction.

When I sat down next to Seo Cheong-Yong, Lee Soo-dok who had joined us at some point quietly took the seat beside me.

He silently gave me a sharp gaze, so I pretended to glance away while carefully surveying the room.

There were several others dressed in battle suits like me. They were members of the battle team tasked with defending both the Dragon Slayer Academy and Dungeon Island.

In simpler terms, they’re the security guard ahjussis.

Of course, the term “security guard ahjussis” didn’t quite fit here, since the group was mixed-gender and included people of various ages.

Still, since most of them were academy graduates, their skills were unquestionable.

Among them were several third-year club presidents and vice presidents. I even recognized a few familiar faces scattered around the room.

Jegal So-so, Kim Gap-doo, Jeong Chong-myeong, and even Dang Gyu-young.

Their disciplinary actions were probably wrapped up by the weekend.

Even so, there was ample reason for the clubs to assist in the raid.

Providing aid to the academy would likely have a positive impact on future budgets or the allocation of benefits.

“?”

Suddenly, Dang Gyu-young tilted her head and fixed her gaze directly on me.

Thanks to the Totem of Disguise, my appearance had completely changed, so she didn’t recognize me. However, she occasionally shot suspicious glances in my direction.

Sharp instincts.

To be fair, Dang Gyu-young already knew enough that it wouldn’t matter if I revealed myself to her.

Even so, I needed to keep my identity hidden for now, so I remained silent while staring straight ahead.

After a little while, once everyone had gathered, the meeting room door closed firmly.

Seo Cheong-Yong and Lee Soo-dok walked to the front and began to speak.

“Since time is short, we’ll skip the introductions and get straight to it. Please review the strategy document distributed to you.”

I quickly flipped through the stack of documents placed before me.

And I assessed it coolly.

It’s lacking.

The Teleportation Labyrinth was an A-rank dungeon, so there likely weren’t many successful raids on record.

There probably weren’t many replays saved, either.

As a result, the strategy document which had been created by analyzing those few available records was inevitably incomplete.

Still, it’s better than nothing.

There was a world of difference between charging in blindly and having even a half-finished strategy guide.

It shouldn’t be too hard to improve on this.

Of course, given that I had gone to the trouble of using a totem to conceal my identity, there was no need to draw attention here.

Handling this quietly was the best approach.

While I was lost in thought, Seo Cheong-yong continued his explanation about the Teleportation Labyrinth.

On the screen beside him, hundreds of large and small rectangles were scattered in a chaotic pattern. This was the dungeon map.

“—As you can see, the interior is divided into countless rooms.”

Each room was completely isolated, with not a single connecting passage.

The only way to navigate between the many rooms was to use the teleportation magic circles installed in each one.

The problem, however, was this.

“There isn’t just one magic circle in each room. And since their activation conditions vary, you’ll need to proceed with caution.”

Some magic circles were triggered just by stepping on them, like a trap. Others required breaking objects to reveal them, or they activated automatically after a certain amount of time.

And each magic circle teleported you to a completely different location.

That’s why they call it a teleportation labyrinth.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely hopeless from the perspective of the raid party.

Seo Cheong-yong displayed various types of magic circles on the screen and pointed at them as he spoke.

“By analyzing the runes and patterns inscribed on the magic circles, we can predict their destinations. These examples are all documented in the strategy guide, so make sure to study them thoroughly.”

The method was to use the correct teleportation magic circle to move to the next room, and then the next, and so on.

In a way, it was similar to a puzzle game where you had to figure out the password to progress.

Soon, the screen returned to the dungeon map, and one particularly large rectangle among the many was enlarged.

“The Witch of Corruption is most likely stationed here, in the boss room. The moment you enter, a full-scale battle will start, so make sure to prepare thoroughly beforehand.”

The objectives of the raid could be summarized as follows:

Find the appropriate teleportation magic circles in each room, use them to navigate through the labyrinth, and get as many members as possible into the boss room to defeat the Witch of Corruption.

Of course, the process would be far from simple.

There would undoubtedly be people who got lost along the way and others who would be injured or even killed.

“Still, I believe we can do it.”

Seo Cheong-yong’s tone was filled with strong confidence.

***

After the briefing ended, I left the meeting room and began walking alone.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Soon, I heard footsteps rapidly approaching from behind.

“Excuse me.”

I slowed my pace and turned around to see Dang Gyu-young standing there.

She walked closer and immediately said,

“Let me check something real quick.”

“……”

Then, without another word, she began scrutinizing me from head to toe.

Even during the meeting, she had been watching me with a strange look in her eyes, and now it seemed she had caught onto something.

As expected, Dang Gyu-young’s eyes narrowed further and further until she finally said,

“What are you doing here?”

Her tone had become casual as if she was now completely certain of who I was.

There was no point in pretending otherwise, and I had planned to reveal myself eventually anyway, so I took off the necklace.

Immediately, Dang Gyu-young smirked.

“Knew it, didn’t I?”

“How did you figure it out?”

I thought back carefully but couldn’t recall doing anything particularly suspicious.

The smile on Dang Gyu-young’s face deepened.

“I just had a feeling~ Like, ‘Oh, this guy has graduated over 200 times!’ or something~”

“Dang Gyu-young, how is your intuition so good?”

***

TN: Best girl!