The Support Ate it All

As expected, it’s not working.

I spent the entire weekend alternating between consuming poison and cultivating mana and repeated the cycle until all my stock was exhausted.

Even so, it seemed I was still far from achieving the Thousand Poisons Immunity.

I was hoping it might work in one go just once.

There was a faint hope, just a sliver, that like striking gold, I might suddenly achieve it in one try. But of course, nothing comes that easily.

Still, the poison had steadily bolstered my internal energy, so the results weren’t entirely in vain.

I was confident that if I continued consuming poison and cultivating, the Thousand Poisons Immunity wouldn’t remain out of reach for much longer.

There was, however, one thing I regretted.

It’s already Monday.

Even though I felt some regret, I still had to attend class, so I sent a message to Seo Ye-in.

[Kim Ho: Swish.]

[Seo Ye-in: ?]

[Seo Ye-in: Swish.]

[Kim Ho: Swish~]

[Seo Ye-in: Swish.]

[Kim Ho: Food?]

[Seo Ye-in: Ok.]

I met Seo Ye-in in front of the student cafeteria.

She wore a hoodie over her school uniform. It was a size or two too big, the same one she had been wearing when we first met on the train.

“Haven’t seen that in a while.”

Seo Ye-in slowly extended her arms forward.

Her sleeves were so loose that her hands were completely hidden.

“Exchange.”

“For mine?”

“Mhmm.”

I hadn’t expected her to boldly demand a one-to-one exchange.

Of course, that hoodie didn’t look like just any ordinary hoodie.

It seemed to carry the touch of Hye-seong Group’s advanced technology and was probably at least B-rank in quality.

Even so, trading wasn’t an option, so I refused outright.

“No.”

Seo Ye-in waved her outstretched arms slightly as if insisting I accept the trade.

The loose sleeves swayed along with her movements.

In situations like this.

I grabbed both sleeves and tied them into a knot.

Seo Ye-in looked down at the knot, then raised her head to stare blankly at me.

“…Untie it.”

I calmly untied her sleeves, then took the lead.

“Let’s eat.”

You should smoothly divert the topic. It was only natural.

The breakfast menu was instant omelets.

You could choose from a variety of ingredients, including eggs, and take your plate to the egg station where they’d make an omelet for you on the spot.

I preferred sticking to the basics, so I piled my plate with eggs, plenty of cheese, finely chopped ham and bacon, and a bit of vegetables.

Seo Ye-in glanced at my plate with curious eyes.

“The same?”

“Mhmm.”

I made Kim Homlet No. 2 like I wanted and handed it over to the chef, who skillfully began to shape the eggs into rugby ball shapes.

In the midst of all this, I felt eyes on the back of my head and turned my head,

“H-Hello…”

Hong Yeon-hwa was shyly waving her hand.

It seemed she had noticed us while choosing ingredients for her omelet.

I waved back in response and asked,

“Did you come alone?”

“Mhmm, just today…”

“If you don’t mind, join us.”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s face lit up with delight.

Out of courtesy, I turned to Seo Ye-in and asked her as well,

“You’re okay with it, right?”

– Nod.

Since Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa had taken the deserted island midterms together, they were at least familiar with each other.

Even in the duel battles against each other had led to a healthy rivalry, with wins and losses depending on their progress.

Because of this, I figured having breakfast together wouldn’t feel awkward for anyone.

By the time both Kim Homelets were ready, I gestured with my chin toward an empty table.

“I’ll grab us a spot.”

“Mhmm, I’ll be right there.”

I found a table and sat down, side by side with Seo Ye-in.

Seo Ye-in steadily moved her fork. She seemed to be satisfied with the Kim Homelet recipe.

After a short while, Hong Yeon-hwa also returned with a cup of coffee and a freshly made omelet, and then took a seat across from us.

The coffee, as always, was her usual espresso loaded with black, concentrated bitterness.

And then…

Why is that so red?

I had no idea what she’d put in it, but sitting on her plate was a bright red rugby ball of an omelet.

Even from across the table, the spicy aroma was strong enough to reach me.

While Seo Ye-in subtly leaned back to increase the distance, Hong Yeon-hwa nonchalantly went about eating her omelet, as if nothing was unusual.

I quickly adjusted to the spicy scent and, after slicing off a corner of my Kim Homelet with my fork, I decided to strike up a conversation.

“Did you rest well that day?”

“O-Oh? Oh, yeah! I rested well, Mhmm!”

Hong Yeon-hwa stammered and her eyes darted around nervously.

It seemed like the various embarrassing memories from her mana exhaustion were surfacing.

Judging by how she kept opening and closing her mouth, it was clear she had something to say but couldn’t bring herself to say it.

At times like this, it was best if I took the lead in the conversation.

There was something I was curious about, anyway.

“Did you open the random box?”

“Mhmm… I even used an enhancement scroll…”

“Is that so.”

As I feared, she had used an enhancement scroll on a D-rank box. What a waste.

Of course, it was her choice, so it wasn’t my place to comment.

However, I was a bit surprised by what Hong Yeon-hwa said next.

“I got Rank Boosts. Two of them.”

“Two?”

“Mhmm…”

Two Rank Boosts would be almost a B-rank or higher reward.

It seemed that while she wasn’t as lucky as Lucky Charm, Hong Yeon-hwa had pretty decent luck.

“What about the other one?”

“From that one… I got this.”

She replied while showing me a small keychain.

[Ice Golem Keychain (F)]

In some ways, it was even less useful than a teacup.

At least a teacup had practical uses as a lifestyle item, but this was purely a souvenir.

Still, with the two Rank Boosts she’d gotten earlier being such great rewards, the overall haul was a significant gain.

After poking at her omelet a few more times with her fork, Hong Yeon-hwa hesitated before speaking again.

“Um… so, you know…”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Well, when are we… going back down again?”

She seemed curious about the next dungeon trip and Aqua Flame training.

When she heard that, Seo Ye-in quietly tugged at my sleeve.

“Me too.”

“Nope. You’ll have to wait until summer break.”

I firmly refused in a calm yet authoritative tone.

As much as I wanted to sneak her along, I couldn’t risk losing Hye-seong Group’s trust.

I turned back to answer Hong Yeon-hwa’s question.

“Well, we’ll figure out the next dungeon trip later. Things have been a bit tense lately, haven’t they?”

“Mhmm, that’s true.”

Even we had faced unnecessary trouble during our last raid when we encountered the Dark Oobleck.

Since a similar situation could happen again, we needed to proceed with caution.

On top of that, like we had confirmed during the Gathering of Villains, the defenses on the lower floors had been significantly reinforced.

It had taken the combined efforts of the thieves club president and vice-president to barely break through, so if we left the navigation to Shin Byeong-cheol, he’d likely be caught immediately.

Until the threat of the Witch of Corruption was completely eliminated, the situation was effectively frozen.

Hong Yeon-hwa seemed to understand that much, though she also looked a bit disappointed.

I continued speaking.

“It shouldn’t take too long. If things go well, the dungeon might reopen as soon as next week.”

The faculty wouldn’t just stand by and let the Witch of Corruption keep causing trouble.

They’d likely want to resolve the issue during this week when the dungeons were closed and aim to reopen them for normal operations by next week.

Of course, we’d have to wait and see how things progressed.

Hong Yeon-hwa nodded her head slowly.

“Mhmm, let me know once it’s decided.”

“Okay, and while we’re on the topic…”

“…..?”

I pulled up my message window and showed her.

“If you have something to say, don’t come all the way to our class, just send me a message.”

Having a promising student loitering outside another class would only stir up unnecessary commotion, and Hong Yeon-hwa wasn’t fond of drawing attention to herself either.

It was a reasonable suggestion, but Hong Yeon-hwa reacted as if it was something she hadn’t even considered.

“Can I… really do that?”

“Of course you can. Wouldn’t it be more convenient for both of us?”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s face lit up with a bright smile.

***

[Hong Yeon-hwa: (waving puppy emoji)]

[Kim Ho: (waving puppy emoji)]

[Hong Yeon-hwa: (tail-wagging puppy emoji)]

“Do it after class.”

“Sorry.”

At Lee Soo-dok’s curt remark, I immediately closed the message window.

Lee Soo-dok glanced at me briefly before sweeping his sharp gaze across the classroom.

“Recently, the scores for both duel battles and strategy battles have been notably poor.”

“It’s obvious that it’s due to the hostile environment, isn’t it? Or am I wrong?”

Since it was true, the students kept their mouths shut and merely exchanged nervous glances.

From my perspective, duel battles and strategy battles conducted in hostile environments weren’t all that different from before.

In some ways, they were even easier for me.

But that was only because I possessed overpowered traits like elemental resistance and poison resistance.

Most people don’t have those.

So most students were busy dodging fireballs, avoiding lightning strikes, and staying clear of poisonous gas.

Under such circumstances, it was nearly impossible for them to perform at their best.

“It seems many of you are still struggling to adapt. Therefore,”

Lee Soo-dok projected a set of rules and an environment map onto the board.

MAP: [Glacial Zone]

RULE: [Crystals] [Double]

“The hostile environments will continue to appear from now on, until you can fully adapt to them.”

The students’ faces turned pale.

Perhaps displeased by their reaction, Lee Soo-dok frowned and spoke sharply.

“Mark my words, it’s better to go through this now and adapt. If you’re still like this after graduation, it’ll cost you your life.”

“I don’t need to explain the rules, do I?”

By now, everyone was familiar with the Crystal rule. They have encountered it in duel battles, strategy battles, and midterms.

The double rule required no further explanation either.

“Use your brains and give it your all. That’s all.”

With that, Lee Soo-dok said no more and left the classroom.

As the students’ murmurs grew louder, I checked the recently arrived side quest.

[Side Quest: 14th Week Duel Battles] (In Progress)

▷ Objective: Complete 2 duel matches. (-/2 matches)

▷ Deadline: ~ midnight on Sunday.

▷ Reward: Varies based on the number of wins. (-/2 wins)

It’ll probably be a random rank up reward.

Since this was another chance to collect a stamp, I planned to clear it with the highest achievement possible, as always.

It was best to get it done on the first day.

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in was lying down with her hoodie half-pulled down.

Every single day, without fail, Seo Ye-in dozed off in class so much that even the infamous human butcher Lee Soo-dok eventually gave up on waking her.

In a way, wasn’t that an achievement of its own?

Still, if we were going to head to the duel battle, I had no choice but to wake the human sloth.

“Hey, Miss Seo. Wake up. Class is over.”

“Miss Seo. Let’s go to the duel battle.”

“Change… my hoodie…”

Even then, Seo Ye-in didn’t budge an inch.

Left with no other option, I decided to take drastic measures.

Whoosh

When I cast [Chill Wind] at the weakest possible strength, a cold breeze swept over her.

At that, Seo Ye-in shivered slightly while still slumped over her desk, then slowly lifted her head.

“You’re awake.”

She looked around slowly, as if trying to grasp the situation, and finally turned her gaze to me.

It seemed she had figured out that I was the source of the cold wind.

Then, she pulled out the Kim Ho pot from her inventory and gripped it in her hand.

It was clear she was very upset, so I quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t like cold wind.”

“I won’t do it again.”

It had been an effective solution, but since it could provoke resentment from the other party, it wasn’t the best option.

This was something to be used only occasionally.

Seo Ye-in put the Kim Ho pot back into her inventory and glanced around the room again.

Realizing that the classroom was already half-empty, she asked,

“Is it over?”

“Yeah, class is over. Let’s go for the duel battle.”

“

Seo Ye-in slowly got up from her seat.

***

TN: Just noticed the heroines are using cat, fox, and puppy emojis… so cute!