The Support Ate it All

Hong Yeon-hwa walked along slowly. She was all by herself.

Baek Jun-seok had been rendered incapacitated and was forced out of the dungeon.

Unfortunately, they encountered two teams at once and had to fight in a two-versus-four battle.

Though Baek Jun-seok was a skilled sword and shield warrior with considerable defensive skills, he couldn’t withstand the concentrated attacks from all four opponents and eventually fell.

In return, Hong Yeon-hwa wiped out all the enemies with overwhelming firepower, so in the end, it was a decisive victory.

The crystals and survival items they took from the enemies were quite worthwhile as well.

However, the real problem came after.

Any participant expelled from the midterm dungeon had to wait six hours before entering again.

And now, darkness was already settling in around her.

There goes my sleep for tonight…

Yesterday, she and Baek Jun-seok had taken turns standing watch, but now that she was alone, it seemed she’d have to stay awake through the night.

If she happened to fall asleep and got ambushed, she wouldn’t have even the slightest chance of survival.

Still, at the very least, it would have been nice to find somewhere comfortable to sit or lean against.

That was why Hong Yeon-hwa kept wandering aimlessly even as the night deepened.

“!!”

Rustle.

The sound of leaves being stepped on echoed from not far away.

Hong Yeon-hwa tensed up and gripped her staff tightly.

She immediately began chanting a spell and got ready to unleash a fireball at any moment.

“!!”

The sound of leaves rustling came again from a short distance away.

Rustle.

And she saw a squirrel climbing up a tree.

When she saw this, Hong Yeon-hwa let out a deep sigh before she canceled her spell as a wave of exhaustion washed over her.

She felt pitiful and let out a deep sigh.

What a mess I’m in.

To actually get startled by nothing more than a squirrel’s noise.

The fatigue and hunger creeping in only added to her sense of dejection.

As she trudged along again, Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Ah.

She felt as if she had brushed against something magical.

It seemed to be some kind of alarm spell.

Hong Yeon-hwa immediately turned to flee but she hesitated.

It’s already too late.

The presence approaching from the other side was moving much faster than she had anticipated.

In that case, rather than being caught while trying to escape, it would be slightly more advantageous to prepare herself and face the opponent.

Hong Yeon-hwa immediately began casting a spell.

Several red magic circles appeared on the ground.

Her plan was to activate them all at once as soon as the enemy revealed themselves.

However, when she actually saw who it was, Hong Yeon-hwa froze like a statue.

“……”

Kim Ho stood silently there as he stared at her.

Hong Yeon-hwa lamented her misfortune.

Why always me…?

If it had been anyone else, she would have at least tried to resist, but why did it have to be that monstrous man?

Now, her fate was entirely in Kim Ho’s hands.

Kim Ho averted his gaze from Hong Yeon-hwa and carefully scanned the surroundings before asking.

“Where is Baek Jun-seok?”

“He’s gone…”

He must have understood what “gone” meant.

Hong Yeon-hwa decided to ask a similar question.

“Um… what about Seo Ye-in…?”

“……”

Kim Ho turned his head over his shoulder without answering.

Then the space flickered at the end of his gaze and Seo Ye-in appeared.

She had been hiding with the help of an invisible ghillie suit.

Her indifferent gray eyes and the rifle in her hand were aimed directly at Hong Yeon-hwa.

At this point, Hong Yeon-hwa resigned herself completely.

She realized that running away or resisting was pointless.

“……”

Kim Ho looked at her and slowly gestured with his hand.

It seemed like he was telling her to come closer, so Hong Yeon-hwa cautiously and hesitantly approached him.

“H-Here…”

With trembling hands, she pulled out a crystal and held it out.

It was her way of offering it in exchange for her safety. She was hoping they’d let her go unharmed with that.

“……”

However, after looking down at her for a few seconds, Kim Ho turned his back and began to walk ahead.

“Follow me.”

“……?”

Hong Yeon-hwa blinked with the crystal in her hands.

He’s not… doing anything?

He’s not even taking the crystal?

And now he’s telling me to follow him.

He probably meant that he would let her rest with him.

Hong Yeon-hwa felt tears welling up in her eyes.

How kind…!

Even with his absolute advantage, he was offering her kindness first.

Hong Yeon-hwa who was moved by this also felt a twinge of guilt.

Kim Ho was treating her so well, yet she had been harboring preconceived notions and avoiding him halfway.

She resolved to try being a bit more friendly toward him.

—But that resolve didn’t last long.

The place where Hong Yeon-hwa arrived after following Kim Ho was in front of a pile of branches stacked like a mountain.

It was obvious that they had been gathered to start a campfire.

Kim Ho pointed to them and spoke.

“Start the fire.”

“…….”

Hong Yeon-hwa blinked her eyes blankly

She was so taken aback that she couldn’t even speak.

As a direct descendant of the Ruby Magic Tower and the precious gem of the Hong family, she had always been pampered and revered by others.

She had never been treated like some kind of lighter before.

Her suppressed rebellion began to rise.

She needed to make it clear right now.

You may have extended kindness first, and I intend to help as much as I can.

But I am not a tool—I am a person!

You cannot treat me so carelessly like that!

Just as Hong Yeon-hwa was about to open her mouth after perfectly rehearsing her argument, Kim Ho’s eyes flashed.

“Fire.”

“…….”

Whoosh!

A short while later, Hong Yeon-hwa found herself diligently tending to the campfire.

I’ll protest… later.

Was there really a need to do it right now?

There would be plenty of opportunities later, wouldn’t there?

Now that she thought about it, was it really something worth getting so worked up over?

Hong Yeon-hwa quickly rationalized her decision.

Then when Kim Ho handed her a perfectly grilled fish, even the small bit of resentment she had left vanished completely.

Hong Yeon-hwa thought to herself while nibbling on the grilled fish, ‘

This is delicious.

***

With just a casual flick of her staff, Hong Yeon-hwa ignited the campfire and even adjusted the flames to the perfect intensity for grilling the fish.

Soon, the fish—each about the size of a forearm—were perfectly cooked to a golden brown, and we each took a skewer and started eating.

As expected, half the battle in cooking is the ingredients.

With ingredients this good, it was impossible for the food not to taste great.

As proof, Hong Yeon-hwa was showing an intense focus on the grilled fish as if she hadn’t eaten in days, and Seo Ye-in was nibbling at a much faster pace than usual.

After finishing our meal, we sat across from each other by the campfire and began to talk.

Naturally, the topic was the status of the midterm exam.

“Crystals?”

“Right now… I got about this much …”

In response to my question, Hong Yeon-hwa showed me all the crystals she had.

The blue and yellow ones were fully charged, while there were two more blue crystals that were not glowing yet.

These are almost all just blue.

When I silently looked down at them, Hong Yeon-hwa noticed my reaction and hesitantly pushed the crystals a little closer to me.

“Here…”

“I’m not asking for them.”

I raised my hand to stop her.

She kept trying to give me things, which made me feel like I was coming across as the bad guy.

Instead, I pulled out my uncharged red and green crystals.

“Here, let’s trade.”

“R-Really…?”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened in surprise.

By exchanging and charging my crystals, she could complete a set neatly.

I nodded my head casually.

“We’ve already finished, so whatever we get now will just be duplicates.”

“T-Then… thank you.”

Hong Yeon-hwa who was now beaming quickly exchanged the crystals.

For me, it wasn’t a gain or a loss, but for Hong Yeon-hwa who could now pick and choose her desired colors the gratitude she felt was far greater.

It wouldn’t hurt to treat her well.

After all, the Ruby Magic Tower would repay the favor.

– Unnie says thank you and she asked if you could stop by the clubroom whenever you have time…

Just because I helped her get good scores during the mentoring week, they asked me to stop by the club.

With people who don’t forget their gratitude like this, they’ll surely express their thanks for the help given during the midterm exams as well.

I made another suggestion to Hong Yeon-hwa.

“Let’s stick together tomorrow. There are two more people besides us.”

“Six of us?”

“Yeah, you’ve probably noticed too.”

On the first day, almost everyone moved around in pairs, but on the second day, you could see teams moving in groups of four and even as many as six.

Originally, moving in a single team was intended to make the crystal hunt more efficient.

However, on the second day, the quantity and quality of monsters had increased and gathering crystals had become relatively easier.

“But now, there’s competition for charging.”

“Mhmm.”

For example, the last stop today was at the mill where the fierce competition turned the place into utter chaos.

It wasn’t about charging crystals anymore; it was about being lucky if you didn’t get yours taken.

Hong Yeon-hwa herself had faced a four-man team today and had fought her way through while Baek Jun-seok got ejected.

And tomorrow, the competition was expected to be even more intense.

As stronger monsters appear, the crystal drop rate will also increase.

So, to charge the crystals safely and protect them securely, it was good to move in groups of six.

Hong Yeon-hwa nodded her head in agreement.

“Alright. I’ll talk to Baek Jun-seok about it.”

“When is he coming back?”

“Hmm… probably in about five hours…?”

“Okay, let me know when he arrives.”

Suddenly, I glanced over at Seo Ye-in who was dozing off by the campfire.

The night had grown late, so we decided it was time to go inside and rest.

When we were tidying up the area, Hong Yeon-hwa spoke cautiously.

“Um… I can take the watch.”

“Thanks for offering, but there’s no need.”

I gestured toward the forest.

“There’s an alarm trap set up. The one you stepped on earlier.”

“Oh…!”

“So just get some rest. We even have an extra sleeping bag.”

“…….!”

When I handed her the sleeping bag, Hong Yeon-hwa looked like she was on the verge of tears.

She had volunteered to take the night watch, but now that she could rest comfortably and even had a sleeping bag provided, she seemed deeply moved.

After we finished tidying up, we headed toward the cave nestled between the rocky hills.

Hong Yeon-hwa who was amazed by how well the entrance was concealed kept looking around curiously until she noticed the darkness inside the cave and began murmuring a spell.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, several sparks the size of fireflies began to float in the air and move around.

Despite their small size, the sparks of fire filled the cave with a comforting warmth, and the light they cast was neither too dim nor too bright which created a cozy atmosphere.

Compared to the butcher shop vibe created by the red crystals yesterday, this was a completely different scene.

After setting the fireflies aloft, Hong Yeon-hwa laid out her sleeping bag with an expression that suggested she still couldn’t believe her good fortune.

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in clutched her sleeping bag and scooted closer to me before staring up at me intently.

I had to ask.

“Why are you coming so close?”

“Sleep with me.”

“??????”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s gaze darted around. Her eyes couldn’t find a place to settle.