The Support Ate it All

I took in the sight of Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in across from me.

This is perfect.

Winning was already a given.

Since there was a copy slot as a side quest reward.

It would be as easy as flipping a hand.

Amplifying Wind Force to A+ and pushing them off the clouds would end it right there.

But that would be a bad approach.

What good would it do to show off power and claim a quick victory against those two?

They already knew everything they needed to know.

How they won or lost and what they learned from it.

In that regard, Hong Yeon-hwa was the perfect teammate.

Go Hyeon-woo hadn’t faced many true mages before, and Seo Ye-in only secured her victories by exploiting the natural advantage between gunslingers and mages, but in terms of raw skill, she still had a long way to go.

She was a promising mage so with a little nudge from me,

I could definitely help them realize that.

Therefore, in this match, it was important to win while “giving Hong Yeon-hwa the spotlight”.

“……?”

From the moment the match was set, Hong Yeon-hwa kept glancing at me nervously.

It seemed like she wasn’t sure what to expect since the opposing team consisted of my two closest friends.

I calmly broke the silence.

“Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“Y-Yes…?”

“For this match, you’re the main damage dealer.”

“M-Me…?”

“That’s right. I’ll just be supporting from the side.”

“Is… is that okay…?”

Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t look confident.

In the last three-way match in the volcanic zone, she had faced Seo Ye-in and lost, and now Go Hyeon-woo was added to the mix.

While he wasn’t quite at the level of a promising student, he was known for being quite skilled.

So it made sense that she couldn’t predict an easy victory.

On the other hand, I had a perfect grasp of both of their abilities, as well as Hong Yeon-hwa’s and my own.

So I spoke with certainty.

“It’s fine. You can do it.”

“…….!”

Of course, I’d be the one steering the ship.

I began explaining how we would approach this match.

Hong Yeon-hwa listened to me intently with gleaming eyes.

***

“What a coincidence.”

Go Hyeon-woo had a pleased smile on his face.

Ever since he first met Kim Ho in the middle of the forest, he wanted to fight with him once regardless of whether he won or lost.

So whenever he had the chance, he would request a spar, but Kim Ho always found some reason to decline.

Yet, unexpectedly, they had now met in an official setting.

“…….”

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in seemed more interested in the cloud platforms than the duel itself.

She squatted down and pressed the clouds with her fingertips, then curled up on top of them before lying down.

As usual, her face was expressionless, but there was an unmistakable air of contentment about her.

Go Hyeon-woo was also curious, so he asked for her thoughts.

“How does it feel to lie on them?”

“Comfortable….”

Seo Ye-in’s eyelids began to droop slowly.

She looked ready to fall asleep at any moment.

However, as a responsible teammate, Go Hyeon-woo felt it necessary to bring this human sloth back to reality.

“I hate to break it to you, but that platform will disappear soon. Didn’t they say it vanishes in sequence?”

“…….”

“I’m sure you don’t want to fall down there, do you?”

Seo Ye-in was reluctant to skydive in her sleep so she sluggishly got up from her spot.

Still, her gaze lingered on the cloud platform with regret.

Still, since he had at least managed to get her on her feet, Go Hyeon-woo proceeded to lay out his plan.

“Our opponent is Kim-hyung, and I know Miss Hong’s skills are exceptional as well. It would be wise for us to cooperate, so listen to this—”

“…….”

But throughout his explanation, Seo Ye-in merely stared off into the distance with drowsy eyes.

Go Hyeon-woo couldn’t be sure if she had even grasped what he was saying.

A wry smile tugged at his lips.

This isn’t going to be easy.

Seo Ye-in had never shown much interest in others to begin with.

The only reason she was paying even a little attention was because it was Go Hyeon-woo speaking, someone she saw often enough. If it had been anyone else, she probably wouldn’t have listened at all.

How does this Miss Seo follow Kim-hyung so obediently…?

Even when she was slouched over lazily, she would spring to her feet the moment Kim Ho said anything.

Strangely enough, the situation on the opposite side felt oddly familiar too.

Hong Yeon-hwa was focused entirely on Kim Ho; her ears perked up as if she didn’t want to miss a single word he said.

To Go Hyeon-woo, Hong Yeon-hwa was like a fierce fighting dog.

Her fiery red hair made her stand out everywhere she went, and whenever people would stare at her in passing, her eyes would flash as if to say, “What are you looking at? Got a problem?”

And yet, in front of Kim Ho, she acted as docile as a lamb. She was practically wagging her tail.

It’s really a strange thing…

At the same time, it made him wonder.

At the moment, Go Hyeon-woo was wondering what Kim Ho might be saying to Hong Yeon-hwa and what kind of strategy they had prepared for this match.

It seems like there will be a lot to learn.

With a pleased expression on his face, Go Hyeon-woo brought his hand to his waist.

The golden magic sword slid out smoothly from its scabbard, and a faint breeze coiled around the blade.

Seo Ye-in who was not completely without enthusiasm took out her magic rifle, inspected it, and switched to assault rifle mode.

Once both sides finished their preparations, the scoreboard began its countdown.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

[Kim Ho 100% Hong Yeon-hwa 100%]

vs

[Go Hyeon-woo 100% Seo Ye-in 100%]

Even as the match began, Kim Ho and Hong Yeon-hwa seemed to remain in place for a moment.

But in the next instant,

Boom!

With the sound of an explosion, the two shot upward at incredible speed.

It seemed Kim Ho had been compressing the wind while they were standing still.

In one breath, they ascended two floors and continued to rise higher still.

Despite moving as one, almost like they were tied together in a three-legged race, their speed was overwhelming.

Go Hyeon-woo who was watching this spoke.

“We can’t fall behind either. Miss Seo, let’s go.”

“Mhmm.”

The two kicked off from the cloud platforms and leaped upward.

Although their movements were fairly swift, they couldn’t compare to their opponents who soared effortlessly on wind magic.

The distance between the two teams grew wider and wider.

“Haha, we’re already in checkmate.”

“Kim Ho is fast.”

A quick glance below revealed that the cloud platforms were gradually disappearing from the lowest level upward.

If the Kim Ho-Hong Yeon-hwa team kept climbing at this pace, the trailing Go Hyeon-woo-Seo Ye-in team might eventually be overtaken by the vanishing platforms.

“But it won’t end like this.”

Knowing Kim Ho’s personality, Go Hyeon-woo was certain there were plenty of easier ways he could have ended the match by now.

The fact that he had chosen this method meant there was more to come.

As expected, after climbing steadily, Kim Ho and Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly stopped on one of the cloud platforms.

It seemed they had judged that they had gained enough distance.

“Distance is time.”

While Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in worked hard to close the gap, the other team now had time to prepare from their higher ground.

Whoosh!

Sure enough, Hong Yeon-hwa made full use of the time she had.

The ruby on her wand emitted a dazzling red light and she chanted spell after spell without pause.

A layer of flames enveloped her entire body like armor, and a protective shield formed around her.

Whirr—

On top of that, Kim Ho layered something that appeared to be wind magic.

Go Hyeon-woo’s eyes flashed with recognition.

Their defense has three layers.

It didn’t seem like it would be easy to break through.

Judging that the foundation was now solid enough, Hong Yeon-hwa began to link her offensive spells in earnest.

[Phoenix Feather]

Fwoosh,

Several feathers appeared in Hong Yeon-hwa’s empty hand.

The feathers that were each the size of a palm burned brightly as flames danced around them.

She threw them down without hesitation.

Go Hyeon-woo slashed with his magic sword, intending to cut down the burning feathers flying toward him.

However, as they approached their target, the flaming feathers suddenly slowed and began fluttering irregularly and drifting unpredictably like falling leaves.

Thrown off by the unexpected movement, his magic sword sliced through empty air.

“This!”

Fwoosh!

The feathers touched Go Hyeon-woo’s body, and in an instant, a blaze erupted furiously.

“So troublesome.”

[Go Hyeon-woo: 97%]

He quickly used wind to blow the flames away, so the damage wasn’t severe for now.

However, as he had just experienced, the irregular movements made it incredibly difficult to deflect or block them.

And it wasn’t just one flaming feather.

Each time Hong Yeon-hwa cast her spell, multiple feathers were created and with her continuous chanting, the flaming feathers fell endlessly.

Fwoosh!

Even when they managed to avoid them, the feathers set the cloud platforms on fire which forced the two to hurriedly jump to the next platform.

Of course, Seo Ye-in wasn’t just taking hits without fighting back.

Poof!

A small puff of cloud appeared from her bracelet and began floating around her.

It then swiftly swallowed the incoming flaming feathers.

Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh in disbelief.

That thing baffles me every time…

What rank is that thing anyway?

Still, there seemed to be a clear way to deal with that cloud.

Simply send more feathers than it could swallow.

Hong Yeon-hwa’s casting speed quickened even more.

More flaming feathers appeared in her hand, most of which she directed toward Seo Ye-in.

Seo Ye-in had her cloud swallow some and dodged the rest while continuously hopping from one cloud platform to another.

“Jump.”

The distance between them slowly began to close.

As Hong Yeon-hwa grew increasingly desperate and started linking her flame spells together, there wasn’t the slightest hint of concern on Seo Ye-in’s face.

“Jump.”

Soon, Seo Ye-in landed just one level below the cloud platform where Hong Yeon-hwa’s team was positioned.

For the first time since the match began, she raised her magic gun and aimed it at Hong Yeon-hwa.

She had judged that her opponent was finally within range.

The moment Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes met Seo Ye-in’s gray ones, along with the gun’s barrel, she felt her hair stand on end.

The memory of what had happened in their last match against each other flashed through her mind.

Ratatatatatata!

As soon as the magic gun spewed blue flames, she instinctively curled her body tightly.

“Nngh…”

But what was this?

There were faint impacts, but that was all.

There was none of the pain from magic bullets embedding into her.

[Hong Yeon-hwa: 99%]

She quickly realized it was thanks to the layers of defensive spells protecting her.

Her blazing armor, the reverse curtain, and even the shield Kim Ho had cast.

With three layers of defensive magic in place, even the magic bullets from a marksman couldn’t break through.

“….…!”

Hong Yeon-hwa looked over at Kim Ho with a face full of relief.

Kim Ho gave a small nod, as if to say, “Well done” and added a single comment.

“Stay focused.”

“M-Mhmm…”

Despite dodging the barrage of flaming feathers while frantically jumping from one platform to another, Go Hyun-woo and Seo Ye-in managed to close the distance. They were now just one level below.

Ratatatata!

Seo Ye-in continued to fire her magic gun in rapid succession, while Go Hyun-woo gathered wind to launch a sword of energy.

Naturally, Kim Ho had anticipated this situation and had a simple countermeasure ready.

“Here we go again.”

Boom!

With a burst of compressed air, both their bodies shot upward.

Go Hyun-woo and Seo Ye-in who were caught off guard could only watch them rise like dogs chasing after chickens.

“Huh.”

“That’s so unfair.”