The Support Ate it All

This raid battle would last two weeks, but we had already long since cleared not just the practical evaluation, but Black Serpent Fang too.

We had enough room to clear at least one more.

That said, there was no need to rush.

For at least a few days, the smartest move was to rest, manage our condition, and shore up our fundamentals.

Seo Ye-in had only just learned [Mirror Image], in particular, so she needed time to get used to it.

And while we’re at it, running some experiments would be even better.

The broad outline of the effect was fixed, but the finer details varied a little from user to user.

And even without a rank, it was still the sort of skill that got affected by proficiency.

If I had to pick one especially important factor among those details—

How far can you send it?

The marksman class had extremely high weapon flexibility.

Running the original body and the mirror with the same equipment as a two-person unit was good, but dividing roles was also worth considering.

For example, one could handle close-to-mid-range combat with dual pistols, an assault rifle, a pot, and the like, while the other took the sniper role.

But if the two stayed too close together, the odds of exposing the sniper’s position would rise too.

At the very least, they needed to be far enough apart that it would be hard to confirm by sight.

So we stepped out of the training center for a bit and stood in the middle of the academic grounds.

The human sloth and Fast-Luckless faced each other.

“......”

— ......

Then Seo Ye-in pointed into the distance and gave an order.

“......Go.”

— Original first.

“Let the clone have it.”

Since walking was equally bothersome to both of them, each kept trying to pass the job onto the other.

Then Seo Ye-in unexpectedly came out with something sensible.

“I round-trip. You get summoned.”

A fairly logical argument.

She had to walk there and walk back, but the mirror could just be resummoned right next to her.

Fast-Luckless seemed to acknowledge that point too, because she reluctantly started moving.

— The sorrows of being a clone....

After trudging along for quite a while, she turned back this way and waved.

So I waved back, and she jerked her chin, walked for another long stretch, then waved this way again.

“......”

After that repeated a few times, the mirror image gradually got smaller and smaller until obstacles nearly hid her from view.

Still, Seo Ye-in should have remained mentally connected to her, so I threw out a question.

“How is it?”

“It’s fine.”

“Want to send her farther?”

“Send.”

Seo Ye-in stared blankly into the distance.

A little time passed, then she turned toward me.

“It’s fine.”

“Want to send her farther?”

Fast-Luckless nodded.

A little later—

“......It’s fine.”

“Can she go farther?”

“Challenge.”

A little later—

“......?”

“Is it still fine?”

“......Kind of iffy.”

Seo Ye-in tilted her head as she answered.

It looked like even she wasn’t entirely sure what would happen if we sent the mirror any farther.

Which meant we were almost at the limit.

“Tell her to fire one shot.”

“Okay.”

Seo Ye-in readily agreed, and at the same time pulled out the Immortal Kim Ho Kim Ho Pot from her inventory and took a defensive stance.

A moment later, a mana round flew in from where Fast-Luckless had gone and slammed dead center into the pot.

CLANG—!

A clear ringing sound spread out, but Seo Ye-in herself took no damage whatsoever.

That was thanks to the adamantite pot’s fraudulent options, [Force Aura Block(S)] and [Impact Nullification(A+)].

I nodded in satisfaction.

“Excellent.”

At this level, it would be entirely possible to send Fast-Luckless out as an extreme-long-range operator—a sniper, a mortar platform, and so on—or use her in reverse from the other end.

Since we were at it already, I made another suggestion.

“Let’s keep sending her out little by little. We need to know where the real limit is.”

“......Challenge.”

Seo Ye-in seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she exchanged silent communication with Fast-Luckless in the distance.

Needless to say, the mirror had probably accepted it reluctantly again.

A little later, Seo Ye-in looked back at me.

“......Iffy.”

“Just a little more.”

Fast-Luckless nodded.

“......Iffy.”

“Just a little more.”

Fast-Luckless nodded.

Then, at one point, Seo Ye-in’s gray eyes widened a little.

“......Gone.”

“So that’s the limit.”

Looks like the mirror had been reverse-summoned once it crossed the boundary.

Even so, that was still better performance than I’d expected.

Especially considering she had only learned it recently.

FWAAASH—!

Soon after, light projected outward in every direction as a hologram began to form.

But unlike usual, it formed above my head.

The mirror Fast-Luckless appeared there, draped both legs over my shoulders, and settled into place.

A shoulder ride.

“Kim Ho Rider.”

“There’s some room for debate in that term.”

— But it’s true.

“It is true.”

Seo Ye-in looked up at the mirror with envious eyes.

As always, she tugged lightly at my sleeve and wheedled at me.

“Kim Ho Rider.”

“Sorry, but Kim Ho Rider is only built for one passenger.”

“......Get down.”

She switched targets and tried to bully Fast-Luckless instead, but of course the mirror didn’t comply so easily.

— Clone first.

“Yield to the original.”

Seo Ye-in made a threatening gesture.

It looked like she was saying, Keep resisting and I’ll switch you Off.

Even so, Fast-Luckless did not yield.

— I worked hard, so I get a consolation prize.

While you stood in one place watching the experiment the whole time, I was the one who had to walk all the way out there and even do the sniping.

That was the basis of her claim that she was qualified to ride on Kim Ho’s shoulders.

Seo Ye-in paused to think for a moment, then nodded.

“......Mutual respect.”

— Respect the original.

Maybe because they had already made an agreement between themselves, she didn’t insist recklessly.

At this point, the civil war could be considered provisionally over, so with Fast-Luckless still riding on my shoulders, I brought up the next topic.

“I was thinking of contacting your butler.”

Partly to pass on the news that she had gained [Mirror Image], and partly to make a request.

From Seo Ye-in’s standpoint, there was no reason to refuse, so she readily took out the communications crystal orb.

After the ring tone sounded a few times, the image of a familiar office appeared inside the crystal orb.

Ahn Jeongmi was there too, all but buried in paperwork.

Even so, as if it were just another ordinary day for her, she greeted us without the slightest disruption.

“My lady, Mr. Kim Ho, have you both been well?”

“Yes. It’s been a while.”

At the next moment, a glint flashed through Ahn Jeongmi’s eyes.

She had spotted Fast-Luckless riding on my shoulders.

“......My lady.”

— Behold. I have returned.

While the little thing answered in an arrogant tone, I added the explanation.

“We gathered all the skillbook fragments not long ago. This is what came out.”

“I see. My lady, Mr. Kim Ho, you have both worked very hard indeed. And congratulations.”

Ahn Jeongmi looked deeply moved.

She understood very well just how difficult the Challenge Austerity quest was.

One of its objectives had been to defeat yourself in close combat, after all.

So of course she would want to congratulate us. We had repeated something that difficult over and over, and in the end had actually forced the skill out of it.

After that, I explained the experiment we had just been running.

Ahn Jeongmi immediately grasped the key point and her eyes lit up.

“We’ll need to provide more equipment support.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“Is there a particular type you need?”

“I’m thinking of hunting a large monster.”

This request had the next dungeon we planned to clear in mind.

I added several more conditions on top of that, and Ahn Jeongmi looked back and forth between the two Seo Ye-ins as she sank into thought for a moment.

“......”

Countless mana guns must have been flashing through her mind.

Then, apparently having settled on one that fit the conditions, she spoke.

“I’ll have it delivered as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you.”

After that, we exchanged a few small updates before the communication ended.

It shouldn’t take long.

Considering the power of Hyeseong Group, it wouldn’t have been strange if they brought over the new weapon tonight—no, even tomorrow morning.

A few days at the absolute latest.

Which meant that, at least on Seo Ye-in’s side, preparations for entering the dungeon would be complete.

Next is Gyu-Gyu.

Right then, I sensed someone approaching and turned my head.

Far off in the distance, I could see Dang Gyu-ri’s silhouette coming this way.

I had sent a message in advance before contacting Ahn Jeongmi.

Once they got close enough, they cast [Shadow Leap], sank down in a blur, then rose up from the shadow beneath my feet.

“You called~?”

Dang Gyu-ri was smiling brightly as they greeted me, then stopped short.

They had spotted Fast-Luckless riding on my shoulders.

After blinking a few times, they tossed a question upward.

“What’s this?”

— Kim Ho Rider.

“Come down for a second. I want a turn riding Kim Ho too.”

Unexpectedly, Fast-Luckless gave up the spot without much resistance.

Maybe she felt she had ridden enough for one day.

Dang Gyu-ri lightly rested a hand on my shoulder, then sprang up and perched there.

Then they slowly looked around the area and let out an impressed sound.

“Nice view up here.”

“Comfortable?”

“Yeah. I should’ve been doing this way earlier. Heh-heh.”

Dang Gyu-ri giggled to themself as if wondering why they hadn’t thought of it before.

While lazily stroking my hair, they asked,

“So why’d you call me today?”

“I wanted to talk about the next clear.”

At that, the corners of Dang Gyu-ri’s mouth immediately turned down, and they looked sullen.

“I knew it. Your head’s got nothing in it except dungeon clears.”

“More precisely, it’s got nothing in it except world peace. Dungeon clears are only the means.”

“That’s the same thing. You could at least say, ‘I called because I wanted to see Gyu-Gyu.’”

Maybe they tightened their thighs, because I could feel pressure around my neck.

They were also pressing both knees into my cheeks.

Even in that state, I handled things calmly.

“There’s no need to say what’s already obvious.”

“Oh...... go on.”

“I want to see you every single day.”

“Pffhahaha!”

Dang Gyu-ri patted my head like a drum.

Looks like they had been about to sulk, then got happy again instead.

“Why am I seriously this easy? So what dungeon are we going into?”

“Another B-rank.”

“Again? Which number?”

“No. 93.”

Dang Gyu-ri quickly checked the dungeon list, then raised their brows.

“[Descent of the Feathered Serpent]?”

“That’s the one.”

“That place is a total avoid-at-all-costs dungeon.”

Because every dungeon had completely ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) different rules, environments, and monsters, there were naturally some that people preferred and some that people avoided.

Black Serpent Fang is a popular dungeon.

The boss used poison as his main weapon and had an absurd amount of health, sure, but once you came in properly prepared and secured enough stability, it was basically repetitive labor.

The clear was decided at the preparation stage, so of course it was popular.

On the other hand, [Descent of the Feathered Serpent] used the same [Boss Raid] rule, yet nobody even dared touch it.

Over the course of an entire year, you could count on one hand the number of parties that bid on it.

It was notorious enough that Dang Gyu-young recognized it the moment they heard the name.

One reason for that was—

The boss is a flying type.

A normal B-rank boss was troublesome enough already, and this one flew around too?

That made the fight several times more complicated and drastically increased the odds of unexpected situations.

That’s exactly why we have to kill it.

There were always things you could only obtain from flying-type bosses.

So I made a casual remark.

“It’s about time you got yourself a flying Gyu shadow undead too.”

“......A flying Gyu shadow?”

Dang Gyu-ri had looked less than enthusiastic just a second ago, but immediately turned interested.