The Support Ate it All

Almost at the same time, it seemed that Seo Ye-in had also been matched.

[Seo Ye-in 883 points vs. Wang Bin 735 points]

Wang Bin was a name I had never seen before, but I had a strong hunch.

No matter how you look at it, he’s Wang Cheon-sam.

A 0.8 promising student who usually hung around with Jang Moo-geuk, a promising student of the black faction.

For some reason, those two always went around using aliases, but their naming sense was seriously terrible.

Even now, wasn’t it completely obvious?

I decided to give them an earful the next time we met.

I made a suggestion to Seo Ye-in.

“Wanna swap bracelets?”

My dark cloud bracelet blocked physical attacks,

While Seo Ye-in’s cumulus cloud bracelet blocked magical attacks.

But since Song Cheon-hye specialized in magic and Wang Cheon-sam was a physical type, it would be hard for us to benefit from them as-is.

Seo Ye-in must have thought the same, because she nodded without hesitation and we exchanged bracelets.

“Well then, shall we go?”

“Let’s go.”

“Make sure to take out Wang Cheon-sam with your pot too.”

“Clang.”

Her gray eyes sparkled with determination.

Meanwhile, Hong Yeon-hwa had been watching us exchange bracelets with a complicated expression in her eyes, one that I couldn’t quite decipher.

To her, I gave a small smile and spoke.

“You can get matched now. We’ve both been matched.”

“M-Mhmm…!”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks, you too…”

And finally, after giving a last wave, I stepped onto the teleportation magic circle.

My vision flipped in an instant, and I found myself standing on what looked like a rugged, hilly terrain.

The elevation wasn’t that high, but since it was a hill, movement seemed like it would be somewhat inconvenient.

Across from me, Song Cheon-hye was putting on black gloves on both hands.

It was the kind of gear used by all-rounder-type mages. It was highly mobile and served a role similar to a staff.

As she clenched and unclenched her fists once, she asked,

“You’re not going to forfeit again, are you?”

“Well, should I?”

I had no intention of forfeiting, but I pretended to hesitate on purpose.

Because I knew that deep down, Song Cheon-hye had been looking forward to this match.

If she thought I was only participating because I’d been reluctantly convinced, maybe I could squeeze in one small condition.

As expected, although she frowned slightly, Song Cheon-hye kept pressing.

“Why do you keep avoiding me? It’s not like you’re lacking in skill.”

“Wouldn’t you rather go easy if you could? It’s not like I’d lose that many points even if I did lose this.”

“Mr. Lee Soo-dok probably warned you. He said he won’t sit still if you slack off.”

“That’s something for later me to worry about.”

“……”

Just as she tried to persuade me again, I casually brought up my condition as if in passing.

“If you agree to keep this match private, maybe I’ll reconsider.”

“……Fine. Let’s proceed.”

Considering what was about to happen, it was probably best to keep this one private.

For both sides.

After reaching an agreement, we finished our final preparations and soon the countdown began.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

[Kim Ho 100% vs. Song Cheon-hye 100%]

[Time remaining: 9:58]

Like in the previous two matches, I decided to open with a smokescreen.

Pointing off to one side with a start, I shouted,

“Wait, what’s that?!”

“I’m not falling for that.”

However, Song Cheon-hye kept her gaze firmly fixed on me, refusing to look away even for a second.

I deliberately hardened my expression.

“…Did you see through it?”

“I watched all the replays. You divert their attention like that and then apply a debuff, right?”

“You already watched those?”

This time, I was genuinely surprised.

She’d only stepped out for a quick coffee break, yet in that short time, she’d managed to watch both replays?

I bowed my head politely with exaggerated respect.

“Turns out you’re not just a casual viewer. You’re a real-time follower.”

“That’s not it.”

“Do you, by any chance, check every five minutes to see if a new Kim Ho replay has dropped? Refreshing the page nonstop?”

“No! I just happened to check and it was there!”

“Right, of course. You just ‘happened’ to watch both. I appreciate your dedication.”

“I said that’s not true!”

While Song Cheon-hye scrambled to make excuses, I saw my chance.

The perfect opportunity to cast the mutual-destruction skill.

[The target has been afflicted with the ‘Poisoned (C)’ status effect.]

[Cooldown time: 00:00:59]

I flashed a grin at Song Cheon-hye as she glared at me.

“You shouldn’t let your guard down.”

“Wait, when did you—?”

“Look at your knee.”

“……!”

Song Cheon-hye quickly dropped her gaze and inspected her knee carefully.

But soon after, she tilted her head and asked,

“…There’s nothing there?”

“Of course there isn’t.”

There never was, really.

She’s easy to trick.

I often noticed this, but she had a surprisingly gullible side to her.

[Song Cheon-hye: 99%]

Flaash!

But in the next moment, Song Cheon-hye’s body was enveloped in a radiant glow, and her health no longer dropped beyond that point.

She had removed it using [Purification].

As expected, once you reached the top ranks, you started bringing utility skills as well.

They always carried at least one way to remove debuffs.

Did that make the mutual-destruction tactic meaningless?

Not necessarily.

That skill has a long cooldown.

The cooldown for Purification was three minutes.

In contrast, mutual destruction reset every minute.

Unless she had another way to remove debuffs, it meant she would have to endure the next two strikes just as they were.

And there’s still the chance factor to consider.

Purification removed debuffs based on a “certain probability” and that probability varied depending on the rank difference between the Purification skill and the debuff skill, and how many stacks had accumulated.

There was no way Song Cheon-hye’s Purification was already at Rank B. At best, it was probably Rank C.

That meant it was on par with my mutual destruction skill, so the chance of cleansing it was about 80%.

If the debuffs stacked two or three times, the odds would drop even further.

If she were incredibly lucky, she might break through that kind of probability easily—but whether Song Cheon-hye’s luck would hold out remained to be seen.

For now, I just have to buy time.

At least until the next mutual destruction skill was ready.

So I turned around with a spin and started running.

Song Cheon-hye looked dumbfounded.

“You’re seriously running away right now?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“Hah, unbelievable.”

Despite letting out a frustrated breath, she came chasing after me.

At the same time, she concentrated electricity into both hands and summoned three Hummingbirds into the air.

Fzzzzzzzt!

This time, it was my turn to be dumbfounded.

“You’re using Hummingbirds on me?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Well, it can work, sure.”

Whoooosh—

I cast Wind Force in a wide area.

The Hummingbirds of lightning, shaken by the physical force of the opposing wind, trembled in midair before scattering away in vain.

“It’s useless, that’s why.”

Just like that, the Hummingbirds couldn’t even get close to me.

Even after seeing that with her own eyes, Song Cheon-hye cast the Hummingbirds again.

Fzzzzzt—

And then she stopped me just as I was about to respond with Wind Force.

“Wait a second.”

“Why?”

“Just let me try once.”

I had a pretty good idea of what she wanted me to watch.

It was obviously her Hummingbird control.

Since stalling for time like this actually worked in my favor, I gave a small nod, signaling her to go ahead.

Fzzzzzt—

Two Hummingbirds flew toward me, tracing erratic paths through the air.

One zigzagged from side to side, while the other spiraled in a sharp, angular pattern.

I waited for the Hummingbirds to come close, then summoned a cumulus cloud and easily swallowed them up.

Soon after, Song Cheon-hye asked in a slightly tense voice.

“…What do you think?”

“You’ve definitely improved. Looks like you trained hard over the break.”

“I focused on control training.”

When I acknowledged her progress, Song Cheon-hye’s face lit up with confidence.

Of course, that expression didn’t last long.

[The target has been afflicted with the ‘Poisoned (C)’ status effect.]

[Cooldown Time: 00:00:58]

Because I had activated the mutual destruction skill again.

Song Cheon-hye’s mouth opened slightly.

“Wait. When did you cast that again?”

“I told you to watch your knees.”

“….…!”

Song Cheon-hye lifted each of her legs in turn and started checking her knees.

“What exactly is supposed to be there? There’s nothing.”

“Let’s continue now.”

Since there was no reason to tell her, I turned my back and resumed my escape.

[Song Cheon-hye 98%]

[Song Cheon-hye 97%]

[Time remaining: 7:42]

From this point on, Song Cheon-hye began to show signs of growing nervousness.

Her health would continue to drain, and if she failed to damage me within the remaining time, she would lose by decision.

Crackle,

Electricity crackled around her entire body, and with one hand gripping a thick bolt of lightning, she charged at me.

It was clear she intended to close the gap and engage in close combat.

But do you really think I’ll just let that happen?

When she had closed about half the distance, I cast [Ice Wall].

A thick wall of ice suddenly rose up from the ground.

“Ah.”

Startled, Song Cheon-hye hastily changed direction and narrowly avoided crashing into the ice wall.

However, because her speed dropped sharply, the distance between us widened once again.

Song Cheon-hye voiced her frustration.

“Another ice wall?”

“It’s a speed bump.”

Of course, it was a pretty high one.

The moment I said that and leaped diagonally, a lightning bolt grazed the spot where I had just been.

She must’ve thrown it in anger….but there was no way I was going to let myself get hit.

Even after that, Song Cheon-hye continued the chase, firing off various lightning spells, but they either missed or were swallowed up by cumulus clouds.

Then, once the cooldown was up, I cast the mutual destruction eye again.

Whiiir—

This time, wind spiraled around Song Cheon-hye’s body.

It meant she had been afflicted with “Weathering”.

As she chased after me, Song Cheon-hye called out,

“Be honest. It wasn’t the knee, was it?”

“This time, it was somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“Not telling.”

[Song Cheon-hye 90%]

[Song Cheon-hye 89%]

Because the debuff had stacked twice, her health drained away twice as fast.

Song Cheon-hye, equally twice as desperate, pushed her speed harder, but the gap between us showed no sign of closing.

That was because I kept summoning speed bumps along the way.

If she reacted even a little too late, she’d end up kissing an ice wall. So she was probably on high alert, wondering when I’d cast it again.

[Time Remaining: 6:39]

Amid all that, another minute passed, and finally the Purification cooldown was up.

Just as Song Cheon-hye’s body began to glow with a halo of light—

Fwhooosh…

It dispersed weakly halfway through.

She had failed the probability check.

“Ah…”

Song Cheon-hye looked on the verge of tears.

It meant she’d have to suffer the debuff for at least three more minutes.

And there was no guarantee the next Purification would succeed either.

All in all, the situation only increased her need for close combat, so Song Cheon-hye kept chasing after me.

And while waiting for the right moment, I cast the mutual-destruction eye again.

Crackle.

This time, it seemed the freeze effect had taken hold. Ice spread across Song Cheon-hye’s ankles.

Since she had been running at full speed, she tripped forward as if she’d caught her foot on a rock and tumbled messily across the ground.

If there had been sound effects, it probably would’ve gone thud-thud-thud.

And then, she stayed down without moving.

“……”

If she had been incapacitated, she would’ve been teleported out of the arena, so seeing her still there meant that wasn’t the case.

It didn’t seem like a serious injury, either.

But the slight, occasional tremble of her shoulders suggested she had taken a serious emotional hit.

I walked over and poked her with sapling.

“Hey, are you crying?”