The Support Ate it All

[Kim Ho: 763 points, Seo Ye-in: 775 points]

vs

[Wang Gon: 698 points, Jang Oh: 828 points]

The assassin duo.

For some reason, this week we’ve only had two matches, but both were against promising students.

On top of that, assassin-class characters were natural predators of ranged classes.

While the Gunslinger class was agile enough to make it a somewhat even match, we were still at a disadvantage.

This might actually be a good thing.

It doesn’t seem like a bad idea to use this opportunity to gain some real combat experience.

Seo Ye-in, on the other hand, didn’t care about experience or anything else; she just wanted to finish this quickly. Still, once the battle began, she’d show her usual enthusiasm.

Before entering, we took a final moment to check our preparations.

“Make sure the spikes are on tight.”

“Spikes tight.”

“Get your hand warmers ready.”

“Hand warmers.”

“Put your hood on to stay warm.”

“Hood on.”

“Let’s move out.”

“Let’s teach them a lesson.”

With that, we stepped onto the teleportation magic circle.

Whiiiiiish—!

Instantly, a snowstorm lashed at our faces without mercy.

The bit of enthusiasm Seo Ye-in had mustered quickly started to fade.

“……I want out.”

“Sure, let’s finish quickly and get out of here.”

“Now.”

“Yeah, let’s start right now.”

I responded naturally, and just in time, the countdown began.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

[Kim Ho: 100%, Seo Ye-in: 100%]

vs

[Wang Gon: 100%, Jang Oh: 100%]

“This time, we’ll move together.”

“Mhmm.”

The Park Na-ri/ Jeong Soo-ji duo had been easy for me to handle alone, mainly because they were a defensive team with low offensive power, and the difference in mobility caused by the presence or absence of spiked soles worked in my favor.

This time, however, dividing roles would only put us at a disadvantage.

The opponents had overwhelming attack power, and there was no guarantee Seo Ye-in could endure it.

I asked her as we walked side by side,

“Which way is the crystal?”

“Over there.”

“Good.”

Seo Ye-in slowly raised her hand to point in one direction.

Even in this bitter cold, Lucky Charm’s radar seemed to be functioning perfectly.

Sure enough, after walking a little further, I spotted something standing out amidst the swirling snowstorm.

A makeshift altar with a crystal placed on top of it.

After retrieving the crystal, we turned toward the sanctuary.

“Let’s go charge it.”

“Mhmm.”

But before we got very far, we had to slow down.

Two silhouettes appeared ahead, blocking our path.

Naturally, they were Jang Oh and Wang Gon. Or more accurately, they were Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam.

I gave a light wave as a greeting and tossed out a question that had crossed my mind earlier.

“Are you sticking with those aliases? Jang Oh and Wang Gon?”

I had already told them those names were lame.

They each muttered a response with awkward expressions.

“…We’re not using them because we like them.”

“But we can’t keep changing them all the time, can we?”

It seemed they had no choice but to stick with those aliases for the time being.

In the first place, if they had chosen decent aliases, they wouldn’t have needed to change them so often. But since I could understand their situation well enough, I decided to let it slide.

Next, the two of them simultaneously turned to look at Seo Ye-in.

Although it was their first time meeting her, it seemed they had already caught on to the fact that she was someone who often accompanied me.

Perhaps because of this, Jang Moo-geuk asked in a somewhat playful tone.

“Is this our sister-in-law?”

Wang Cheon-sam also raised the corners of his lips and corrected his words.

“Wouldn’t ‘Hyung-nim’s wife’ be a more appropriate term?”

“Then that would make Kim Ho our Hyung (older brother).”

“He doesn’t look like a younger brother, though?”

“If it’s neither, then ‘sister-in-law’ sounds like the best option.”

These two could seriously argue about the most trivial things.

I decided to intervene.

“Guys, neither is right, so just stop arguing.”

The premise itself was wrong.

We weren’t even dating, so why were they tossing around terms like sister-in-law?

Seo Ye-in gave a light nod before pointing at me.

“Buttler.”

“Buttler? That’s even less fitting.”

The longer this went on, the messier it was bound to get, so I quickly decided to move to the main point.

“Let’s keep the replay private and go head-to-head with our real skills.”

Since Jang Oh and Wang Gon were operating under false identities, they tended to hold back their true abilities in formal matches and challenges.

That’s why, even though the two of them were a promising student and a 0.8-promising student, their ranking scores ended up similar to ours.

However, since fighting them like this wouldn’t provide meaningful practical experience, I suggested we face each other with our full strength.

Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam exchanged a glance before nodding and replying one after the other.

“Since you already know who we are, there’s no reason to hide it anymore.”

“Besides, don’t we still have an unfinished match to settle between us?”

When I had faced them in a two-on-one match under the orders of the Black Faction, the confrontation had ended inconclusively when the disciplinary committee intervened midway.

Because of that, they must have been secretly waiting for a chance to settle the score. And now, with the numbers balanced at two versus two, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Jang Moo-geuk turned to Seo Ye-in to confirm.

“Is it okay with you, sister-in-law?”

Seo Ye-in tilted her head slightly and then looked at me.

“Will it be over quickly?”

“Probably.”

She didn’t seem to care about anything else. She just wanted to get out of the freezing cold as soon as possible.

Of course, since the opponents were both assassins, the match was bound to be short, regardless of who won.

In fact, it would be faster to render the two of them unable to fight than to charge the crystal.

Click.

When Seo Ye-in loaded her magic pistol, Jang Moo-geuk seemed to take it as her agreement.

“Alright then, let’s begin.”

“…….”

The four of us immediately shifted into combat stances.

The first thing I checked was the footing of our opponents.

They’ve come prepared.

Their shoes had sharp, spiked soles attached to the bottoms.

News of the first match must have spread quickly among the students, and most had likely prepared for the snowstorm and icy ground.

And they’re assassins, after all.

For assassins where each mission could mean life or death, gathering intelligence and thorough preparation were standard practices.

They had probably prepared their gear before their first match even began.

To sum it all up,

We have no advantage in equipment.

It was actually better this way. Competing purely with skill against skill.

I cast Enchantment and Amplification.

[Octopus Limbs]

[Enchantment]

[You have granted the skill “Elemental Resistance (S)” to the target.]

[The rank of the granted ‘Elemental Resistance’: B.]

[You have granted the skill “Distortion” to the target.]

[Duration: 00:14:58]

[Cooldown: 02:19:58]

[Activated ‘Amplification’.]

[The rank of ‘Elemental Resistance’ increases. (B → S)]

[Duration: 00:09:58]

[Cooldown: 01:19:58]

I could have distributed the amplification more evenly, but that would have defeated the purpose of giving Seo Ye-in some practical experience.

If all I cared about was winning, I wouldn’t have asked those two to show their real skills in the first place.

I need to manage cooldowns, too.

There was no telling what might happen later this week. If I overused Octopus Limbs in this match, the cooldown could become so long that Enchantment and Amplification might be unavailable at a critical moment.

So, I settled for granting Elemental Resistance to help Seo Ye-in move more freely in the cold and Distortion to give her at least one more opportunity to act.

“……!”

Thanks to the four hand warmers and the S-rank Elemental Resistance, Seo Ye-in looked much less cold.

She glanced between Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam, then raised her assault rifle and launched the first attack.

Ratatatatatata!

As the barrage of magic bullets rained down, the two split to either side to avoid the attack while closing the distance with frightening speed.

Jang Moo-geuk headed toward me, while Wang Cheon-sam charged at Seo Ye-in.

Pyoong!

A fist-sized black cloud materialized in midair.

While wrapping it around the sapling, I cast Wind Force and Chillwind toward Jang Moo-geuk at the same time.

Whiiing—

Even under the slowing effect, Jang Moo-geuk charged forward at an impressive speed.

At the moment of impact, he swung the sword he had been holding low.

Clang!

I crossed the sapling just in time to deflect the blow.

As soon as Jang Moo-geuk brushed past me, he pivoted sharply and redirected his attack toward Seo Ye-in.

So that’s been his plan all along.

Distract me momentarily, slip past, and take Seo Ye-in out first. That was his intention.

And it was working to some extent; the two assassins closed in from either side before converging on Seo Ye-in in a coordinated assault.

Of course, I wasn’t about to stand by and watch.

“Jump.”

“Jump.”

At my command, Seo Ye-in activated Feather Step and leaped straight up into the air.

Bang!

I used Wind Force, and her trajectory curved as she flew through the air toward me.

The moment she landed beside me, she stabilized her stance and resumed firing.

Ratatatatatata!

“Damn it…”

The opponents, who had been confident they had her cornered, were momentarily startled as Seo Ye-in abruptly soared out of their reach. Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam scrambled to dodge the incoming magic bullets.

But they couldn’t evade them all; a couple of shots grazed Wang Cheon-sam and caused some damage.

[Wang Gon: 97%]

[Wang Gon: 93%]

The assassins were not discouraged and attacked again with the same unrelenting ferocity.

I made the dark clouds float near Seo Ye-in and let them drift aimlessly, then planted the sapling into the ground.

Then I stretched my hand forward.

[Earth Line]

[Chillwind]

[Wind Force]

Whiiiiiish!

“So annoying.”

Wang Cheon-sam muttered with a frown.

It wasn’t just the constant pushing and pulling that irritated him, but the fact that the accumulated cold slowed him down more and more with each passing moment.

[Wang Gon: 93%, Jang Oh: 97%]

On top of that, Chillwind’s freezing enhancement effect doubled the power of the blizzard and caused their once-steady health to chip away bit by bit.

Even so, their focus remained fixed on Seo Ye-in. Once again, they thrust their swords from two directions.

While I parried Wang Cheon-sam’s attack, Seo Ye-in used Feather Step to evade Jang Moo-geuk’s sword.

But as if anticipating her movements, the blade tip wavered and pursued her, only to collide with the dark clouds I had sent, causing its trajectory to falter.

In that brief opening, Seo Ye-in took aim with her gun.

Ratatatatatatatatata!

Even at such close range, Jang Moo-geuk deftly dodged and weaved through the magic bullets with movement technique.

As expected from a promising talent, his mastery of movement techniques was remarkable.

At the same time, the two assassins widened the distance before each of them hurled a dagger toward us.

Ssshhhkk!

A distraction.

The real attack was coming next. I deflected the daggers roughly and kept my eyes locked on them.

As expected, a thin nearly invisible layer of energy enveloped Jang Moo-geuk’s sword, which made it harder to detect.

With a few swift steps forward, he suddenly blurred, and his form faded as though he had become a ghost.

Ghost Dance.

A quick glance to the side confirmed that Wang Cheon-sam was also activating Ghost Dance. His movements were smooth, stealthy, and incredibly fast as he closed the gap.

In an instant, Jang Moo-geuk reached Seo Ye-in with his blade poised to strike—

Flash!

Seo Ye-in activated Bullet Time.

Her gray eyes captured the trajectory of the two blades.

In an instant, her presence seemed to fade.

Swish.

With movements as smooth as a sliding shadow, she slipped past the assassins’ attack.

She used Bullet Time to perceive their attacks and Ghost Dance to escape.

“…….!”

“…….!”

The two assassins, who had been confident their strikes would land, were visibly shaken when their blades sliced through nothing but air.

They frantically scanned their surroundings, but Seo Ye-in had already repositioned herself at a distance with her gun barrel aimed squarely at them.

Her magic gun unleashed a relentless barrage of blue fire.

Tututututututu!

The magic bullets slammed into Wang Cheon-sam’s shoulder and side before exploding on impact.

“Urgh…!”

[Wang Gon: 91%]

[Wang Gon: 64%]

The two were quite surprised and couldn’t speak for a long time with their eyes wide open.

Finally, Jang Moo-geuk broke the silence.

“…What just happened?”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

She learned it too.