The Support Ate it All

Lee Soo-dok was an exceptionally talented duel battle instructor.

Even I who was a veteran among veterans in the game would admit that.

After graduating from Dragon Slayer Academy, he captured and killed numerous villains.

His systematic organization and presentation of these experiences made his classes incredibly beneficial.

Still, one minor yet not-so-minor drawback was that all his stories were extremely violent.

“…When I saw the boss, I knew he wouldn’t surrender. So, I grabbed his spine and ripped it out. Then I caught his right hand man and told him: ‘You’re the boss now, so make everyone kneel. Otherwise, I’ll have to find a new boss…’”

The students in Class 3 shivered.

Lee Soo-dok’s tone was as casual as someone recounting their morning routine of waking up, showering, and having breakfast.

But if you listened closely, his stories were filled with gruesome details like crushing someone’s head, smashing jaws, or slicing necks.

It seemed that for him, such events were just part of his daily life.

After telling the story of how one band of thieves was annihilated, Lee Soo-dok checked the time.

He then realized that the bell would soon ring and moved on to conclude the lesson.

“Today’s class ends here. Before we finish, I have an announcement. Starting today, duel battles will be conducted in the arena.”

With a light gesture, Lee Soo-dok made words appear on the blackboard.

MAP: [Random]

RULE: [Deathmatch] [10-minute limit]

“From now on, all duel battle environments will be randomly determined. The time limit has also been extended from 5 minutes to 10, so be mindful of your approach. First-year students must participate in a minimum of three duel matches this week. Be aware that failure to participate will result in an automatic deduction of points. That’s all.”

During his explanation, I noticed Lee Soo-dok’s gaze frequently landing on me.

How could that man possibly be interested in me?

Since nothing immediate came to mind, I dismissed it as just a feeling.

After Lee Soo-dok left Class 3, I took a closer look at a quest that had just arrived.

[Side Quest: 1st Week Duel Battles]

▷ Objective: Complete 3 duel matches. (0/3)

▷ Deadline: ~ midnight on Sunday.

▷ Reward: Varies based on the number of wins. (0/3 wins)

I need to win all of them.

Though it seemed like a simple passing quest, the rewards for a triple victory were exceptionally generous.

There was a high chance of obtaining an item that could reduce the production time of the [Life Cube], so I was determined to win them all.

I called over Go Hyeon-woo.

“Let’s go to the arena.”

“Now?”

“It’s better to get these things done early. Plus, replays sell more on the first day.”

Since this was the start of the official duel matches after the placement test, everyone would be cautious at first.

They thought it was more advantageous to watch replays of those in similar score ranges before entering themselves.

People would start flocking to the arena around Friday after spending the early part of the week just observing.

For this reason, replays of the duel matches conducted now were in higher demand.

Go Hyeon-woo happily nodded his head when I mentioned it was a good opportunity to earn points.

“Then there’s no reason to delay. Let’s go.”

I was about to go straight to the arena, but Seo Ye-in weakly grabbed my sleeve.

Her eyes met mine and she said.

“I’m free today.”

“…?”

Upon hearing Seo Ye-in’s words, the keen aspirants of “heroism” around us promptly reacted.

The female students covered their mouths and whispered rapidly among themselves, while the male students’ expressions were divided—half displaying sly grins, the other half looking envious.

Go Hyeon-woo glanced at me to see if he should excuse himself from the situation.

Of course, misunderstandings were bound to arise with such abrupt and incomplete statements.

It was necessary to fill in the missing words in situations like these.

“You’re suggesting we practice magic bullets together?”

“Mhm.”

“I don’t know if I’ll have time today. I’ll have a clearer idea by the evening, so let’s talk again then.”

“Okay.”

My top priority now is to complete the cube by Friday.

If the rewards for a three-win streak were as I anticipated, the cube would be created faster, and then I would have some time to devote to Seo Ye-in.

I’d make a decision after seeing the rewards of the quest.

***

Since we headed straight to the arena after class, I believed we would be the first ones there, but surprisingly, there were already other students.

It seemed another class had finished a bit earlier than ours.

There were two male students, one wielding a long spear and the other a heavy two-handed sword.

Judging by the form of their weapons and the energy flowing around them, I guessed they were both warriors.

The student with the spear seemed to recognize me.

“That one is…”

“Do you know him?”

“He’s the one who forfeited against Miss Song.”

“Ah, so he’s that coward.”

“A disgrace to manhood indeed. Truly shameful.”

Although they openly mocked me, I wasn’t particularly bothered by it.

Back when I was ranked number one, I was constantly the subject of people’s conversations and was often facing criticism laced with envy and jealousy.

After experiencing such things so many times, I had become indifferent to words like “coward”.

As I tried to ignore them and move on, Go Hyeon-woo, who wasn’t as immune to such remarks, took offense as if it was him who was mocked.

“How despicable you are. How can you be so disrespectful, especially in the presence of the person you’re talking about?”

The two warriors bristled at being called despicable, but they stopped in their tracks.

They recognized Go Hyeon-woo’s face.

He was a celebrity in his own right as he was the top scorer in the strategy battle placement test.

As if they sensed that he was not someone to be trifled with, they countered with a slightly subdued tone.

“Ahem, ahem, have we said anything incorrect?”

“Even now, he’s hiding behind others and not saying a word; think about who really is the despicable one here.”

“……..”

I stepped in before Go Hyeon-woo could speak again.

Not so much out of anger, but more from intuition.

I had a hunch that their scores might be similar to mine.

I pointed at the male student with the spear.

“What’s your score?”

“…300 points.” (TN: They’re talking about the score in the duel battles, I presume.)

“The same as mine. So, the coward is at the same level as you, huh?”

My taunt elicited a cold sneer from the spear guy.

“Do you think you’re on my level just because our scores are the same? If I hadn’t faced Song Cheon-hye in my second match, I would’ve started with 600, no, 900 points.”

“Song Cheon-hye?”

Now that I think about it, it seems like I had seen this spear guy somewhere before.

Song Cheon-hye, the second match, the duel battle, the placement test…

As I was going back through my memories, something came to mind.

“I remember now. You’re the one who was struck by lightning and was carried off, right?”

“……!”

After I forfeited to Song Cheon-hye and she grew visibly upset by my surrender, her next opponent was this spear guy.

As soon as the match began, he was paralyzed by the hummingbird and then swiftly struck down by a lightning bolt, ending the match in an instant.

And because he was carried away, he was unable to participate in his third match and lost by default.

“Can I say one thing?”

“……Speak.”

“If you’re going to be knocked out in one hit, I think it’s better to just forfeit.”

Not only Go Hyeon-woo but also the male student who was wielding a two-handed sword silently agreed with my statement.

The spear guy’s face hardened.

“……It wasn’t one hit, it was two!”

“That’s something to brag about, huh? Anyway, you’re at 300 points, right?”

“…….”

Seemingly thinking it better not to speak further, the spear guy just nodded his head without saying a word.

I pointed towards the stage with a gesture of my chin.

“Since it’s just us here, if we start matching, we’ll probably be paired up right away. How about a match with the coward?”

“Fine. I’ll show you what it’s like to hit a wall.”

The male student with the two-handed sword also challenged Go Hyeon-woo to a match.

Perhaps because the two of them held no ill will toward each other, the conversation was relatively mild.

“Are you at 600 points?”

“Yes, I am.”

“That’s fortunate. If it’s fine with you, I’d like to ask you for some pointers.”

“Fine. Let’s begin.”

We scanned our student IDs at a terminal set up near the stage.

The matches were arranged according to our points: I, with 300 points, was paired with the spear guy, and Go Hyeon-woo, with 600 points, got matched with the swordsman.

As I moved through the teleportation magic circle, my vision suddenly changed.

Instead of the round arena like yesterday, we were now in a field dense with bushes.

The blowing wind rustled the weeds, and the swaying grass tickled my legs.

[Kim Ho 100% vs. Yang Ji-hong 100%]

[Remaining Time: 10:00]

So this guy’s name is Yang Ji-hong.

I held the [Earth Staff] in one hand.

Emerging from the magic circle on the opposite side, the spear-wielder, Yang Ji-hong, clutched his spear tightly in both hands and glared at me.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

“I’ll end this quickly!”

As soon as the match began, Yang Ji-hong charged straight at me with his spear leading the way.

It seemed like he had undergone a lot of training as his stance was good and his movements were quite fast.

The problem was that he was underestimating me.

“Alright, let’s end this quickly.”

Fzzzzt!

“……!”

Just before reaching me, Yang Ji-hong’s speed drastically decreased.

He looked down at his side and noticed small sparks flickering around.

He had been hit by the [Hummingbird].

“This… this is…!”

“Caught by this again.”

It was only yesterday that he took the placement test, so he probably hadn’t prepared a proper counter yet for such a spell.

Still, since lightning mages are rare, he might have thought carelessly, Who else but Song Chon-hye could have mastered Hummingbird?

But that “someone” is me.

He never would have imagined that I had copied Hummingbird from Song Chon-hye.

I approached the staggering Yang Ji-hong and raised the Earth Staff high.

“Just… wait a moment….”

“Sorry, I can’t finish this as cleanly as Song Chon-hye with just two hits.”

Thump! Thump! Crack!

I repeatedly struck Yang Ji-hong’s head with the Earth Staff.

After enduring a few blows, he eventually lost consciousness and collapsed onto the ground.

[Kim Ho Win vs. Yang Ji-hong Lose]

[Duel Battle Score: 300+30 Points]

Since Yang Ji-hong was unable to fight anymore, the match ended and 30 points were awarded.

After stepping through the teleportation portal, I waited and soon Yang Ji-hong appeared on the ground, still unconscious.

When he was defeated by Song Chon-hye, his condition was very serious and he had to be carried away, but this time it wasn’t that severe, so no staff appeared.

I had controlled my strength to some extent.

“Huh!”

Yang Ji-hong suddenly regained consciousness and sprang up to his feet.

He looked around, found me, checked the score on the back of his student ID, and quickly grasped the situation.

Perhaps because he was frustrated by this unexpected defeat, he gritted his teeth in vexation.

“Ugh…”

“I won, didn’t I?”

“…I just let my guard down. If we fight again, I’ll win.”

“Is that so? Then let’s have another match.”

And so a revenge match was set.

This time, the battlefield was a wasteland.

[Kim Ho 100% vs. Yang Ji-hong 100%]

[Remaining Time: 10:00]

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

As soon as the match began, I created a hummingbird out of lightning and sent it flying towards him.

Yang Ji-hong, who was charging toward me, kicked the ground powerfully and jumped to the side just before the hummingbird could reach him.

Seeing that the hummingbird had missed, he lunged at me with his spear.

“It’s over!”

“Yes, it is.”

Fzzzzt!

Yang Ji-hong’s body became paralyzed.

Struggling to turn his stiff neck, he managed to look back and saw sparks flying off his back.

“This… damn it…”

“Thought you dodged it, huh?”

The hummingbird spell wasn’t just a simple projectile.

It flies continuously, following the caster’s control until it hits the target or is destroyed.

The hummingbird that had passed Yang Ji-hong turned around, followed him, and struck him in the back.

He twisted his face in agony and asked,

“How did you… do that…?”

“Check the replay later.”

Thump! Thump! Crack!

I mercilessly struck his head and temples with the heavy wooden staff.

[Kim Ho Win vs Yang Ji-hong Lose]

[Duel Battle Score: 330+29 Points]

I went through the magic circle and went outside once again.

It seemed that Go Hyeon-woo and the swordsman were still fighting.

My own duel had ended rather quickly.

I had racked up points almost as easily as one would from a vending machine.

“Huh!”

Yang Ji-hong regained his composure.

He gripped his spear from where he sat, his body trembled, and then he opened his mouth to speak.

“Let’s fight one more time. This time, I will surely win.”

“I’d rather not. Winning twice is enough for me.”

“If we end it like this, I will lose face!”

“That’s your problem. I’m tired, so I’m going to call it a day.”

“Ugh…”

“Actually, if you really want to—”

I paused deliberately.

Right before Yang Ji-hong could ask what I meant by “If you really want to”, I extended an open hand.

“—a match fee.”

“…!”

To complete the quest, I would eventually need to fight three duels anyway.

It was also part of this week’s quota.

But I deliberately showed disinterest in order to raise the match price.

Based on the brief assessment I had of Yang Ji-hong’s personality, it seemed likely he would agree to any condition I set just to have a rematch.

In reality, the outcome of a duel isn’t something to be so desperately obsessed over.

It’s no big deal to just shrug off a loss and say, “I lost two matches because I was not prepared”.

But it was his stubborn pride that wouldn’t allow him to accept ending things this way.

Yang Ji-hong took a small wooden box out of his pocket and opened it to show me.

Inside was a single pill.

“This is a spiritual pill made by my family. I’ll give you this.”

“That sounds good. Let’s add one more condition.”

“What is it?”

“This match stays private. No saving replays or disclosing details.”

“That’s fine with me. It wouldn’t do me any good if it leaked out anyway.”

The match was set.

As I swiped my student ID on the terminal, I said,

“I’ll accompany you until you’re completely satisfied.”