The Support Ate it All

The pitch-black floor, walls, and ceiling spewed out Oobleck Knights in droves.

They surrounded the subjugation team while simultaneously positioning themselves as if to protect a single entity, and that entity wore a crown on its head instead of a helmet.

It’s the Oobleck King, just like it looks.

It was the boss-level monster of the entire dungeon.

One of the faculty members gazed at it and spoke to Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong.

“Both of you, please handle the witch. We will protect the main force.”

If not enough people had gathered in the boss room, then one of them would have had to remain with the main force. However, thanks to the Crow Branch, that was no longer necessary.

And so, Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong gave a slight nod.

“Of course.”

Then, as if they had been waiting for just this moment, they shot toward the Witch of Corruption at the same time.

The Oobleck King also raised its sword and pointed it at the subjugation team, and with that the boss fight finally began.

All around, Oobleck Knights closed the encirclement with alarming speed, while the subjugation team formed up at their assigned positions.

When the two forces collided together, a deafening roar rang out.

Booom!

First, I carefully scanned the Dark Oobleck ranks.

She definitely prepared a lot for this.

Each Oobleck Knight was on par with the ones we had faced in the previous room.

There was also an enormous number of them. Just counting the ones in plain sight pushed the total close to the hundreds.

On top of that, even at this very moment, the walls continued to spit out knights without pause.

Still, we won’t lose.

We had done just as much preparation on our side.

The mages took out parchment scrolls that had been rolled up tightly in their inventories.

They were magic scrolls we had saved for this final showdown.

High-rank scrolls that were about A-rank were ripped neatly in half, releasing large-scale spells that had been sealed within.

Flaash–!

The burst of light soared upward, forming a huge orb over the subjugation team’s heads.

Then, like a sun, it began to brightly illuminate the entire boss room.

Next, pillars of light rose up beneath it, and a temple was constructed.

We’re practically beating them with money.

If the environment was unfavorable—

—you just changed it to your advantage.

Of course, it wasn’t as simple as it sounded, but the Dragon Slayer Academy had the means to make it possible.

The effect took hold immediately.

The Oobleck Knights visibly weakened.

Their movements were sluggish, and even the long swords they swung lacked real force.

Meanwhile, the subjugation team that was further strengthened began cutting them down like bundles of straw.

Several Ooblecks tried self-destructing here and there in an attempt to deal more damage, but it was a pointless gesture.

We have Poison immunity after all.

Boom!

Another Oobleck Knight exploded, splattering black liquid all over Kim Gap-doo, who was in the front line throwing punches.

If he had been the same as before, his entire body would have turned black and rotted away from the poison.

“…Hmm.”

The Ink-covered Gap-doo paused briefly, then resumed fighting as if nothing had happened.

The rest of the subjugation team, upon confirming their total immunity to poison, pressed the attack even harder.

In the midst of it all, I felt a hand grab me firmly.

When I turned slightly to look, sure enough, it was Dang Gyu-young.

Just like when I went through the boss room portal alone, she looked at me with equal parts of annoyance and worry.

“Now, seriously, just stay put.”

“I intend to.”

My role ended with the Crow Branch and granting Poison Immunity.

I planned to remain in spectator mode unless something truly extraordinary happened.

However, there was one exception.

“If something comes our way, we have to respond.”

“Who, the witch? Why?”

“I did something a bit irritating to her.”

From the Witch of Corruption’s perspective, the plan she had painstakingly devised had collapsed entirely because of me.

She probably didn’t just find it annoying; she likely wanted to tear me to shreds.

Moreover, the fact that I was only a first-year student who had managed to topple her plan meant she would realize I could become a fearsome opponent in the future.

It was best for her to strike me down or at least injure me in some way now.

Hence, there was a high chance she would make a reckless move at least once.

Dang Gyu-young tensed up as she drew on her shadows.

“Alright, I’ll try to block her.”

“No, don’t block her. Let her come.”

“Why again?”

I opened two fingers to show Dang Gyu-young, who was frowning in confusion.

“I’ll only exchange exactly two moves with her. After that, pull me back out.”

“…Really just two moves?”

“Yes, any more than that is too much for me.”

“Promise.”

We hooked our pinkies together, and then Dang Gyu-young quietly slipped back into the shadows.

After confirming that, I turned my gaze toward the Witch of Corruption—

She’s getting thrashed, alright.

There lay a pitch-black, foul pool even darker than the already dark boss room.

It must have been the domain the witch had unleashed, but Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong moved through it as though it were their own living room and kept relentlessly attacking her.

Lee Soo-dok’s sword flashed at an incredible speed.

The Witch of Corruption tried to parry or launch a counterattack in her own way, but she still ended up taking more damage.

Cuts started to appear on her body, one after another.

Slash-slash-slash!

“Geuk…!”

The witch distorted her face severely and sank straight into the pool.

Then she reappeared on the far side of the pool, but Seo Cheong-yong was already waiting there.

A torrent of force burst from his frozen palm.

Crackle-crackle!

“You must have mastered Ice Arts.”

It was in the same category as Bukgong Han-seol, who had a score of around 900 points.

Of course, Seo Cheong-yong’s martial arts were far more refined.

Bang!

With a sharp smack, the witch’s head snapped backward.

A solid, frozen palm print remained on her face.

When the witch could no longer hold out and fled elsewhere, Lee Soo-dok charged in and brandished his sword with enthusiasm.

It was almost like…

…Whack-a-mole?

In reality, the outcome of this battle had already been decided.

Until right after the midterm exam, there had likely been a Blood Cult elder on her side, but it seemed they went their separate ways after the Blood Fury plan failed.

They reportedly ran away back then, unable to withstand a 2-on-2. Now it was 2-on-1.

On top of that, thanks to the complete Poison Immunity, neither of the teachers was affected by poison at all.

That was why they could navigate through the pool so casually.

From the Witch of Corruption’s perspective, there was no way out of this.

“Grrk…!”

Even while she was being beaten, the Witch of Corruption occasionally threw a hostile glare in my direction.

It was as though she were saying this was all my fault.

Apparently annoyed by that look, Dang Gyu-young grumbled from within the shadows.

“Look at those eyes, look at them. Why’s she glaring at us like that? Makes me want to… ugh.”

“Wouldn’t it be a problem if she looked at you nicely, too?”

“That’s true. Fine, just don’t look at her at all. Only look at me.”

Of course, it wasn’t purely out of hostility that the Witch of Corruption was glancing this way.

She was biding her time.

Looking for the timing to land a decisive blow on me.

She’ll be coming soon.

Sure enough, the Witch of Corruption hid herself in the pool again, trying to evade Lee Soo-dok.

Seo Cheong-yong attempted to continue his whack-a-mole approach, but the next moment, the place where she emerged was not somewhere in the pool; it was right in front of me.

She had used a short-distance teleportation spell, Blink.

I’m the only one without Blink.

Dang Gyu-young had it, Jeong Chong-myeong had it, Oh Se-hoon had it, and the Witch of Corruption had it; but not me.

How miserable was it to be a pedestrian mage.

Since an A-rank core had to come first, there was nothing I could do about it right now.

The Witch of Corruption reached toward me and clenched her hand like an eagle’s talons.

An intense blue mana gathered on her five fingers.

Knowing her poison wouldn’t work on me, she attacked with a non-elemental assault.

It might have been weaker than her main attribute, but it was still probably B-rank.

If it hits, I’ll be ripped apart.

Of course, I had predicted this as well.

Just as her claws were about to rake my chest—

Swish—

My body slid sideways as if on ice, and before she knew it, I was behind her.

I had activated Ghost Dance to slip around her.

At the same time,

[Activated ‘Amplification’.]

[The rank of the “Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger” has increased. (B → S)]

I thrust my now icicle-cold index finger forward.

But the sensation at my fingertip felt oddly dull.

It seemed some sort of defensive mechanism had been triggered.

Chaaeng–!

Indeed, one of the ornaments the Witch of Corruption wore shattered into dust.

That’s one move.

Even then, she refused to give up and persistently followed me and slashed with her claws.

Her speed was so remarkable and unbelievable for a mage that it seemed difficult for me to dodge at my current level.

In moments like this, the solution was,

Don’t dodge.

I simply thrust the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger straight forward.

Fwoop,

This time, I felt at least some resistance at my fingertip.

Although it was reduced by some kind of defensive trait, the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger was S-rank, so it managed to pierce through.

Meanwhile, her claws which had been aiming for me,

[‘Distortion’ has been activated.]

[Cooldown: 23:59:58]

They got distorted on their own before they could touch my body.

The Witch of Corruption’s eyes flew wide in shock.

“You…!”

That makes it two moves.

Dang Gyu-young darted out of the shadows and pulled me back in.

In the next instant, we had moved quite far away.

As agreed beforehand, the moment I exchanged exactly two offensive and defensive moves, she used Shadow Leap.

“I did well, right?”

“You did very well.”

But at that moment, first aid mattered more than compliments.

Crackle-crackle-crackle,

Because of the penalty from the S-rank Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger, the cold and demonic energy had already spread up to my forearm.

I immediately took out a basic elixir and chugged it, causing the fierce frost to slowly subside.

Of course, the power was just as extraordinary as the penalty.

The Witch of Corruption tried to use Blink to follow us,

Crackle-crackle-crackle—

But the spot where the Demon Finger had pierced her froze at a terrifying speed and interrupted her spell.

She hesitated for a moment, and in that instant, a flash of light sliced past her.

Split,

One of her arms dropped to the floor with a thud.

The Witch of Corruption let out a wail of agony.

“Kyaaaah!”

“You sure you can afford to look away?”

It was Lee Soo-dok who had unleashed that flash.

And it still wasn’t over.

Seo Cheong-yong charged forward at an incredible speed and struck the Witch of Corruption with full force.

Boom!

The Witch who got flung backward rolled across the floor. Seo Cheong-yong spoke to her with a friendly smile.

“You’ve underestimated us far too much.”

The Witch of Corruption planted her remaining hand on the ground to push herself up.

She hurriedly attempted to cast a counterspell, but even that wasn’t easy.

Crackle-crackle-crackle,

The ice energy rampaging through her body severed her mana flow, leaving her vulnerable to Lee Soo-dok’s next attack.

A sharp sword energy slashed diagonally through her body.

Slash,

Her upper body was severed and slid to the floor.

Her flesh which seemed to be made of something like Oobleck revealed a black, slimy substance at the cut.

“Guh…!”

“It’s over.”

Lee Soo-dok pressed his boot firmly on the writhing Witch of Corruption.

Amidst her struggles, she twisted her body in frustration and glared in my direction and started speaking rapidly in a spiteful tone.

“This is just my doppelgänger! I’ll return someday! With my master! When that day comes, you and your friends—!”

Crunch!

“Be gone.”

Lee Soo-dok ground the remains beneath his boot.

Like the witch had claimed, the one we had just defeated was merely a doppelgänger.

She had set up a backup plan, which was the only reason she dared infiltrate Dungeon Island alone.

Though the proportion was a bit excessive.

Calling it a doppelgänger was an understatement; she had invested over 90% of her power into it, making it practically indistinguishable from her true form.

Recovering from this would likely take her a very long time.

And in the meantime, we would grow strong enough to face her head-on, even without the help of our teachers.

I repeated her words silently to myself.

Yes, come back if you can.

It would be even better if you brought your master along.

After confirming that the Witch of Corruption was utterly defeated, Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong immediately rejoined the subjugation team.

The battle that was already turning in the subjugation team’s favor, shifted even more decisively. The Oobleck King was soon brought to the ground as well.

At that moment, a notification message appeared in the corner of my vision.

[Main Quest 2] (Completed)

[Beginning calculations.]