The Support Ate it All

Lee Seong-hyeon's greatsword surged with mana.

When he swung it with full force, a blue arc fanned out, slicing through everything in its path.

Sshh—krrk—!

The purpose was to create enough distance to build up speed and to buy us time to fill the gap.

Then, with his shield raised in front, he kicked off the ground.

He's pretty fast.

The distance to his target shrank with every second.

And whether it was fire goblins or Beheader Goblins in his way, he bulldozed through them like a tank.

"Kirrk?!"

He turned to flee, but Lee Seong-hyeon had already caught up and brought his greatsword down with a mighty swing.

Whooooosh—!

In the next moment, the target didn't just get cleaved in two. It was obliterated without a trace.

Without pause, Lee Seong-hyeon charged toward his next target.

Meanwhile, we had our own job to defend the shrine.

I gave Song Cheon-hye instructions.

"Let's do it like before. You remember defending the goddess statue, right?"

"Of course I do."

"I gather, you strike."

"I know."

She nodded coolly.

Then I planted sapling in the ground and stretched out my other hand.

[Earthline]

[Wind Force]

[Twister]

Whoooosh—

"Kek?"

"Kerrrk?"

The fire goblins charging in were caught in the vortex.

They were packed so tightly together, they had no room to maneuver.

And in the very center of the swirl, Song Cheon-hye's lightning bolt came crashing down.

Booooooom—!

Whether fire goblin or Beheader Goblin, all were turned equally into charred husks.

We repeated the pattern. We pulled them in with wind magic and struck them with lightning.

After a few rounds, things settled into a rhythm, and I had time to glance back at Lee Seong-hyeon.

Whoooooooosh—!

Another shaman had just been felled by his greatsword.

Watching him tear through the battlefield, I'd come to a solid conclusion.

He's got a well-balanced build across the board.

Of all the first-years I've met so far including the promising students, he was the most well-balanced.

He might lose now and then against someone who's exceptionally specialized, but I doubt he'd be completely outclassed by anyone.

And being well-balanced meant he'd mesh well with just about any team composition.

Facing him as an opponent in a team match would definitely be a headache.

As I continued the goblin-mixer routine, a familiar sound effect rang out from behind me.

Fwoooosh—!

I peeked into the temple, and sure enough, the charging was complete.

The once-empty crystal was now glowing a vivid crimson.

In contrast, the statue that had been ablaze was now extinguished and looked rather pitiful.

Moments later, the space beside it twisted and cracked open, and a teleportation portal appeared.

I immediately shouted to Lee Seong-hyeon.

"It's done! Let's go!"

"On my way."

Ruuuumble…

Once we confirmed the dungeon was collapsing, Lee Seong-hyeon quickly returned and rejoined us. Together, we stepped through the teleportation portal.

We brought along the fully charged crystal and the random boxes.

[Large Fire Goblin Crystal]

[Fire Goblin Temple Random Box (E)] ×3

Once outside, we took a moment to do a quick debrief.

Song Cheon-hye spoke up.

"We can submit the crystal along with the replay, and since there are three random boxes, how about we each take one?"

"Sounds good."

Lee Seong-hyeon gave a slight nod.

He could've argued for a bigger share, considering he'd done the most in the fixed zone, but it seemed he didn't feel the need.

His mind was clearly on something else.

"When's our next dungeon run?"

This raid period lasted two weeks.

We had plenty of time, but that also meant we were expected to clear two dungeons. This version is sourced from MV3L3MPYR.

I looked at the others and replied,

"As soon as you're ready."

Everyone seemed just as eager to finish early.

Song Cheon-hye and Lee Seong-hyeon each chimed in.

"I just need to recover a bit of mana and I'm good to go."

"Same here."

We took a short break and then dove into our second dungeon raid.

***

Lee Seong-hyeon was the last to step out of the teleportation portal.

"It's done."

"No major issues, thankfully."

We exchanged a few lighthearted comments, still riding the high of our teamwork.

We exchanged a few words in a cheerful atmosphere.

[Lizard Ruins Random Box (E)] ×3

Soon after, Song Cheon-hye and I exchanged glances and silently reached an agreement.

We handed all three boxes to Lee Seong-hyeon.

"Take them."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? You did most of the work. This is your share."

This dungeon had also been a fixed zone, and Lee Seong-hyeon had carried the bulk of the fighting.

Splitting it evenly between the three of us would've been unfair.

Song Cheon-hye backed me up.

"I felt a bit guilty about splitting things evenly last time too. Please take them."

"…Alright."

Without another word, Lee Seong-hyeon stowed the random boxes in his inventory.

With the raids all wrapped up, we climbed the circular stairs back to the surface.

I turned to the group and said,

"Good work, everyone."

"That was a rare, enjoyable run. I'd like to team up again next time."

"Same here."

With a short chuckle, Lee Seong-hyeon turned and headed off on his own path.

Then I turned to Song Cheon-hye.

"Aren't you leaving?"

"Why are you trying to get rid of me already?"

"If you've got something to say, now's the time."

At that, she glanced at me sideways with mock indignation and spoke.

"The wish ticket bet."

"I thought we were skipping that today."

"We're not. I even picked the contest."

"What is it?"

She pulled something out. It was one of the Fire Goblin Temple random boxes.

"Let's see who gets the better item."

"Based on rank, right?"

"Of course. If we get the same rank, it's a draw."

"What's the wager?"

Small, medium, or large. What kind of wish ticket would we be putting on the line?

Song Cheon-hye took a light breath, maybe from nerves, then looked straight at me and said,

"Let's go big today. With a medium wish ticket."

"What's this? You've only ever bet small before."

"…There's a reason."

She brushed it off vaguely, but it was clear she had something up her sleeve.

I frowned on purpose, pretending to think it over.

Sensing her chance, Song Cheon-hye went in for the provocation.

"Getting cold feet?"

"To be honest, I'm kind of hesitating."

"You don't have to take the bet. I'll let you off today."

Song Cheon-hye who was acting like she'd already won raised her chin with smug confidence.

Still feigning uncertainty, I casually asked,

"If I open it myself, I'll probably lose. Mind if I bring in a substitute opener?"

"Doesn't matter. Whoever opens it, the result's the same."

Perfect. She took the bait.

Lowering my stance had only been for momentum.

But if I switched attitudes too fast, she might get suspicious, so I decided to keep playing the hesitant act for now.

"Hmm… Alright, let's give it a shot."

"Who are you going to ask?"

"You know my social circle isn't exactly wide."

There was only one obvious choice.

I messaged Lucky Charm.

[Kim Ho: Where are you?]

[Seo Ye-in: Help……]

[Seo Ye-in: (Sad cat emoji)]

[Kim Ho: ?]

[Kim Ho: What's going on]

[Seo Ye-in: Help……]

[Seo Ye-in: (Collapsed cat emoji)]

What's with her now?

Just in case, I sent a message to Han So-mi.

[Kim Ho: Are you with Seo Ye-in right now?]

[Han So-mi: Mhmm!]

[Kim Ho: Can you bring her over?]

[Han So-mi: Got it~!]

I told them where to meet, and after a short wait, I saw two silhouettes in the distance.

Han So-mi, waving her arms enthusiastically, and a sloth-like figure shambling beside her like a zombie.

Seo Ye-in, upon spotting me, broke into a rare quick step and clung tightly to my arm.

"I missed you…"

"It hasn't even been that long."

"It's been rough…"

Then, when her eyes met Han So-mi's, Seo Ye-in ducked behind me like I was a human shield.

I looked back and forth between the two and asked,

"What did you do to end up like this?"

"Huh? We just cleared two dungeons."

Han So-mi tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.

Then Seo Ye-in peeked out from behind me and muttered in protest,

"Forced march…"

"Sounds like you pushed her pretty hard."

It must have been difficult for the sloth to keep up with a promising student pace.

Not to mention, Han So-mi's always bursting with energy.

Even so, she still didn't seem to understand.

"I went easy today, though?"

Which meant: "I'm not fast, you're just slow."

Seo Ye-in fired back again.

"The weak one passed out."

"Who's that supposed to be?"

Judging by the flow of the conversation, probably the last member of Han So-mi's party. But let's be honest, there's no shortage of "weak ones".

Han So-mi answered for her.

"Kwak Ji-cheol!"

"Yeah, he's definitely weak."

I accepted that without hesitation.

Seo Ye-in's regular punching bag, Kwak Ji-cheol.

Every now and then he'd show up as her duel partner and get thoroughly beaten.

These days, the skill gap's probably so wide, one hit would punch right through him.

No surprise he collapsed after the run.

Having grasped the situation, I gently reasoned with Han So-mi.

"I get where you're coming from. Still, when two of your teammates are struggling, maybe you could slow down a bit more."

"Now that you say it, that makes sense!"

"Communication's key, you know? Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Good."

With the mediation over, Seo Ye-in released me from shield duty.

Though she still clung to me like a piece of gum.

Watching this, Han So-mi turned to me and asked,

"So why'd you call us?"

"She and I have a bet going."

"With Cheon-hye? What kind of bet?"

"Whose random box gives a better item."

Naturally, I left out the part about a wish ticket being on the line.

Han So-mi's eyes lit up with curiosity.

"Sounds fun!"

"Seo Ye-in's gonna open my box for me."

"Then I wanna open one too!"

But Song Cheon-hye immediately shot that idea down.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because… Just no."

"……"

Han So-mi's cheeks puffed up like a blowfish.

Seeing that, Song Cheon-hye gave her an apologetic look, but deciding to console her later, she averted her gaze and turned to me instead.

"I'll go first."

"Be my guest."

As Song Cheon-hye grabbed the random box, her fingertips trembled with tension.

Even the lid lifted little by little….barely a millimeter at a time.

Then finally, she shut her eyes tight and flung the box open.

Flash!

Bathed in bright light, Song Cheon-hye opened one eye, then the other.

And when she checked the item details, her face lit up.

"…….!"

[Flame Katana (E)]

Even setting aside the fact that it was a sword, this was essentially the best possible outcome from an E-rank box.

Song Cheon-hye turned to me with the smile of a victor.

"Looks like I've already half-won."

The odds were high that I'd pull a lower-ranked item and even if I got another E-rank, it would just be a tie.

But does the world ever go exactly according to plan?

I held an imaginary microphone to Lucky Charm's mouth.

"She says she's already won. What do you think?"

"Too soon to tell."

"Shouldn't we teach her a lesson?"

"We will."

At that, Song Cheon-hye's brow twitched slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and smiled coolly.

"Go ahead, if you can."

Seo Ye-in barely listened to her and casually placed the random box on her lap.

Then, without warning, she flung the lid open.

Fla—aash—!

An even brighter light burst out than before.

Song Cheon-hye's mouth fell slightly open.