The Support Ate it All

I decided to stay in touch with Bong Jaeyeong on a regular basis.

Once she caught up with everything I had taught her, I planned to visit the Magic Engineering Workshop again.

Considering her genius-level talent, I doubted it would take long.

Meanwhile, Dang Gyu-ri had been staring at me with narrowed eyes for some time now.

Even after we left the Magic Engineering Workshop, they kept it up.

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“……What even is this? What is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“How do you keep charming every girl you meet?”

“Wouldn’t you say it’s closer to respect than charm?”

If I had to guess, the 10x10x10 cube had been completed sometime during winter break.

Even with plenty of time left before the semester started, production had still stalled in the early stages.

From Bong Jaeyeong’s perspective, she had probably been feeling frustrated for quite a while.

With talent that exceptional, her pride would have taken a big hit too.

Then I showed up and basically punched a highway straight through the blockage, so she had probably felt an inexpressible mix of relief, gratitude, and admiration all at once.

It wouldn’t be strange if her impression of me improved in an instant.

And yet Dang Gyu-ri still kept those flatfish eyes on me.

“Respect is respect, sure, but from where I’m standing, there’s more to it.”

“More?”

“Yeah. Like she’s about to go, ‘Senior~ is there a seat for me on the bus~?’”

“How would I know? I just met her today.”

“You always say that while revving the engine. Vroooom, vroooom~”

Dang Gyu-ri crept closer.

This time, their eyes were clearly weighing where to bite me.

And the moment they grabbed my arm and parted their lips a little—

“It has been a while.”

A familiar voice rang out.

So both of us turned our heads at the same time, and there, standing before us, was Namgung Changcheon, the captain of the Swordsmanship Club.

It looked like he had spotted us while heading toward the club room.

I dipped my head in greeting as well.

“It’s good to see you. It’s been a while.”

“Did anything happen over break?”

“It did, but everything was resolved.”

“That is good to hear. With your skill, I imagine you were more than capable of overcoming it.”

Namgung Changcheon smiled faintly.

Starting in second year, he had taken the seat of Swordsmanship Club captain, and he possessed enough skill to contend even with Song Cheongi, who had been the student council president.

Among the students, there were only a handful who could match him.

Maybe that was why, after losing to me in the Fixed Zone Tournament, Namgung Changcheon had started taking an intense interest in me.

Even now, his eyes gleamed sharply as he spoke.

“You seem to have grown even stronger. When do you intend to give me another chance?”

“I’ll come find you before too long.”

“I shall await it gladly.”

Then Namgung Changcheon’s gaze shifted to Dang Gyu-ri.

Just like Shin Byeongcheol had, a strange light came into his eyes. He had probably noticed there were a lot of similarities with Dang Gyu-young.

“A freshman, I see.”

“Yes, Senior. My name is Dang Gyu-ri.”

“My name is Namgung Changcheon. May I ask what relation you have to Senior Dang Gyu-young?”

“My cousin.”

Dang Gyu-ri calmly put forward the disguised identity again.

Namgung Changcheon seemed to accept it without much suspicion.

“I see. My memory of facing Senior Dang Gyu-young is still vivid. I very much look forward to meeting them again someday.”

The two of them had met in the quarterfinals of the Fixed Zone Tournament and fought a fierce battle.

The result had been Dang Gyu-young losing by forfeiture after running out of available moves.

I placed a hand on Dang Gyu-ri’s shoulder.

“This one is no less skilled than Senior Dang. You might be surprised if you see it for yourself.”

“For you to say that, my interest is piqued.”

Namgung Changcheon looked at Dang Gyu-ri now with eyes quite different from a moment ago.

“If you ever desire a spar, you may come find me anytime. There is no obligation, so do not feel pressured.”

“Yes, I’ll come by sometime.”

“Two good ties and two good promises already. I suppose that means today is an auspicious day.”

Namgung Changcheon looked thoroughly satisfied.

He opened his mouth again, then checked the time and spoke with visible regret.

“I cannot delay any longer, so I must be on my way. I hope the two of you have a fine day.”

“Thank you, Senior. Take care.”

Just as politely as when we had met him, we saw him off.

As we watched his retreating back, Dang Gyu-ri suddenly arched an eyebrow, as if something had just occurred to them.

“……He’s about on the same level as Oh Sehun and Song Cheongi, right?”

“Going by the point before winter break, yes.”

There were a lot of factors to consider—potential, class compatibility, fighting style, and the like—but in the broad sense, the formula held true:

Oh Sehun = Song Cheongi = Namgung Changcheon.

Which meant—

“If I can beat him, that means I can beat the other two too?”

“That’s how I’d see it.”

“What do you think would happen if we fought again?”

“At worst, it would be even.”

At the time of the Fixed Zone Tournament, Dang Gyu-young had only just switched into the umbramancer class.

They had only two [Shadow Extraction] slots, and their control over the undead they had registered was still clumsy.

Now, on the other hand, they had four slots.

Their proficiency had also risen dramatically through countless sparring sessions with the Twin Heroes of the Dang Family.

Not only that, they had progressed through several stages of Challenge Austerity, learned [Umbral Corridor], and even strengthened their undead considerably.

No matter how much Namgung Changcheon had improved in that time, there was no way he had kept pace with Dang Gyu-young’s growth.

Even so, Dang Gyu-ri let out a low hum.

“……Even feels a little lacking.”

“Well, if possible, winning decisively would be better.”

“Yeah. I should prepare more, then challenge him.”

“It probably won’t take long.”

“Good. Namgung, just wait.”

Dang Gyu-ri bared their teeth in a competitive grin.

They had found a new goal.

A goal to beat down Namgung Changcheon in place of Oh Sehun and Song Cheongi, who had already graduated.

*****

After that, we wandered around Dragonslayer Academy a while longer, met quite a few familiar faces, and chatted with them.

Before long, it was time for Dang Gyu-ri to go to work.

Since they had re-enrolled, they were exempt from most guard duties, but there were still some minimum responsibilities left.

For example, patrolling and managing certain restricted areas.

The academy always kept at least a baseline level of fighting strength stationed around in case of emergency.

So after sending Dang Gyu-young off, I started walking toward the outer edge of the academic grounds.

A deserted open lot.

The earth there was uneven and unflattened, and here and there stood trees that had been cut down until only their stumps remained.

On one of them sat Go Hyeonwoo. Sensing my approach, he turned this way.

“Brother Kim.”

“How’d the placement test go?”

“I got a result I am reasonably satisfied with.”

Normally, he would have answered with a soft smile.

But right now, rare as it was, tension showed on Go Hyeonwoo’s face.

He went on with a small sigh.

“One year… If one wishes, it is a long time. If one wishes, it is a short time.”

“But now the time’s come.”

“……”

At my words, Go Hyeonwoo silently nodded.

Then he pulled a long, black object from his inventory.

The sacred relic of the Heavenly Wind Sect.

A treasured sword—or possibly a demonic sword—so important that the Blood Cult had even dispatched elders in an attempt to recover it.

I had thought it was the Blood Wind Sword, but it wasn’t.

Of course, the time had now come for that secret to be revealed too.

Go Hyeonwoo had reached the threshold of transcendence, in other words [Core] A-rank, and had earned the right to challenge the sacred relic.

He could have done it any time during winter break, but he had put it off until now because he wanted me there to witness it.

Since we were already here, I casually made him a suggestion.

“Wouldn’t it be better to call Han Somi too?”

“Miss Han?”

“She’s gotten pretty deeply involved by now.”

Last year, every time we broke school rules, she had stood on the side trying to stop us. But now she had not only quit the Discipline Committee, she had even promised to join us in doing bad things.

The trust level was already pretty high.

She could act dumb sometimes, but she kept her mouth shut, and she had proved herself more than once through her actions.

And just this winter break alone, she had fought alongside Go Hyeonwoo at the frontline and even brought back the [Earth Magatama] from a dungeon.

If the opportunity came, I was willing to propose [Bond] to her too.

Go Hyeonwoo seemed to be thinking along similar lines, but he could not answer right away and let out a thoughtful sound.

“Of course, Miss Han more than qualifies to witness it. Yet I find myself troubled.”

“Because it concerns your sect.”

“That is so. Even making an exception for Brother Kim should already be considered extraordinary, so bringing in another outsider leaves me feeling guilty.”

“That makes sense. I understand.”

“Do you wish for Miss Han to witness it as well, Brother Kim?”

I looked straight at him and answered.

“At the very least, it seems like she’s sincere about you. At times like this, wouldn’t it be good to give a little back?”

“……”

Then, finally, I added in a slightly teasing tone.

“And if she hears about something like this later, she’ll be upset one hundred percent. ‘You did something this important with only Brother Kim?’ Like that. She’ll probably milk it forever.”

“That does sound plausible. Hahaha.”

Go Hyeonwoo let the stiffness leave his face and laughed quietly.

A few messages were exchanged.

And not long after he sent her the location, Han Somi came running into the open lot so fast it looked like she was flying.

“This mighty one has arrived! Why’d you call me?”

“Somi, come over here and sit down.”

“……Huh?”

Han Somi tilted her head, but obediently did as told, and the three of us sat facing one another as we began explaining.

The secrets tied to Go Hyeonwoo’s ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ sect and the Blood Cult, and the fact that he was now trying to inherit the sacred relic in order to fulfill his sect’s long-cherished wish.

By this point, even Han Somi, who had been smiling brightly the whole time, turned a little cautious.

“Am I really allowed to watch? I’m an outsider.”

“In principle, it would be impossible,” Go Hyeonwoo said. “However, I have decided to make an exception for Brother Kim and Miss Han.”

“……Why?”

“The ties I have built with the two of you are not insignificant. I find it difficult now to dismiss you both as mere outsiders.”

“……I’m seriously touched!”

Han Somi’s face lit up, and at the same time, she looked like she might burst into tears.

I immediately made sure to claim full credit.

“For the record, I’m the one who persuaded him to call you too. Grateful?”

“I am! I’m twice as touched!”

“So you’ll pay me back for it all later, right?”

“I’ll remember that!”

Now it was time to get to the main point.

I looked at Go Hyeonwoo and asked,

“So how does the challenge work?”

“He told me I must first secure a sufficiently wide space.”

The standard for “sufficiently” had apparently been very, very wide, which was why he had chosen this place instead of a training room in the training center.

Soon, Go Hyeonwoo walked to the center of the open lot and began releasing the seal on the sacred relic.

The chains that had been wrapped around it came loose.

The rag-like cloth covering it was stripped away as well.

What emerged was a sword black as pitch, with a faint green sheen mixed into it.

Go Hyeonwoo carefully laid it down where it was, then returned to where we were.

And, keeping his eyes fixed on the sacred relic, he continued explaining.

“I was told to use the principle of grasping an object from empty space—to draw the sword while simultaneously infusing it with true energy.”

A technique for interfering with an object from far away.

The farther the distance, the more internal energy it required by exponential leaps, and the harder it became to control.

If you added the condition of infusing true energy into it at the same time, it became even more difficult.

So that was probably why A-rank [Core] was the minimum requirement.

I glanced at him and asked,

“You can do it, obviously?”

“Of course. I have trained at it steadily in my spare time.”

Soon, Go Hyeonwoo extended a hand toward the sacred relic and focused his mind.

The sword that had been lying there gave a slight tremor.

Then, as the blade slowly slid from its sheath and revealed just a little of itself—

—KIIIIIIIING—!

A sharp sword-hum began to fill the entire clearing.