The Support Ate it All

Rumble…

The summoned wooden door sank into the ground as if being swallowed up.

Kwak Seung-jae watched it with his face stiffened.

It wasn't the first time he had been interrupted.

His spatial magic was powerful enough to completely overturn the tide of battle, and because the enemy knew this, they always treated him as their top priority target.

There had been times when they bombarded him with attacks to break his casting or destroyed the wooden door the moment it appeared.

But this… what is this supposed to be?

The spell had completed just fine, and the door was completely intact, yet the doorknob wouldn't turn.

It was several times more baffling and shocking than when his casting was interrupted.

– Enemy spotted.

– We're engaging.

– Engaging…

All four locations were under attack at once.

Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head.

A third-year member was standing there.

"Seung-jae, no good?"

"…I'm sorry."

"So it's no good."

Contrary to his expectations, the upperclassman who asked didn't look especially disappointed.

Instead, he spoke with a serious expression.

"Let's figure out the cause later. Right now, it's time to act."

At those words, Kwak Seung-jae looked around again.

Everyone's eyes were on him, waiting for instructions.

Like the third-year who had spoken to him, they showed not disappointment, but trust.

He calmed his confused mind.

Right… taking responsibility can come later.

For now, he had to fulfill his role as commander and do what he could to minimize the damage.

Kwak Seung-jae immediately gave the order.

"Split up and move to each storage site. Hurry as much as you can."

As if they had been waiting for that signal, all of the Disciplinary Committee members began moving in perfect coordination.

Then, in the middle of that, a third-year suddenly voiced a question that had just occurred to him.

"…By the way, where's Oh Se-hoon?"

***

Rumble…

Watching the wooden door sink into the ground, Dang Gyu-young smirked as if she had already figured out the situation.

"Looks like they're not coming."

"……"

In contrast, the Disciplinary Committee members' faces hardened.

The situation had completely flipped from just moments ago.

Of course, they still carried themselves with the confidence and composure befitting the Disciplinary Committee.

The Hell Axe and the knight upperclassman each spoke up.

"Well, this works out nicely. I was thinking it'd be too dull to end things so quickly."

"Let's just say we've bought ourselves a bit more time to hold out."

Dang Gyu-young let her shadow bat hang loosely and grinned.

"That's the spirit. It wouldn't be any fun if you gave up already."

"……"

"……"

With everyone's fighting spirit blazing, the tension in the air rose higher and higher.

Then, as if on cue, they all kicked off the ground at once and charged toward each other.

The Hell Axe swung at frightening speed, drawing crimson arcs in the air.

Shwiiiiiing!

The shadow bat was sliced clean through, but instantly regenerated and came swinging back.

When the shadow undead on either flank joined the attack, the Hell Axe senior was soon forced into a purely defensive stance.

Kim Gap-doo looked like he was about to join in, but Dang Gyu-young pointed toward the knight.

"Take down that tin can first."

"Got it."

Kim Gap-doo and a third-year martial artist from his club began pressing the knight hard.

The twin brothers took on the second-year committee members, while Chae Da-bin, after exchanging communications with the other parties, moved to support the twins.

As for me—

No need to waste my strength.

I decided to hang back and watch.

Whether it was wind skills or the Frozen Spirit Shot, my main skills wouldn't have much effect on second- and third-year committee members anyway.

If anything, it would only make it easier for them to figure out my identity.

Besides, just neutralizing Kwak Seung-jae's wooden door was more than enough work for tonight.

Despite their confidence, the Disciplinary Committee didn't last long.

The first to fall was, unsurprisingly, the knight.

Kim Gap-doo was already a formidable opponent as a third-year club president, and with two people attacking together, the knight didn't stand a chance.

On top of that, he had taken quite a hit from the Inferno Fist earlier, which only made things worse for him.

The two martial artists exchanged a glance, then closed in tight on the knight from the front and back, unleashing a flurry of lightning-fast strikes.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

"Ghhk…"

He let out a low groan, dropped to one knee, and eventually collapsed sideways with a thud.

Kim Gap-doo sent his own club members to finish off the second-years, while he stepped in to join the fight between Dang Gyu-young and the Hell Axe Senior.

Of course, Dang Gyu-young held the advantage here as well.

Every time the Hell Axe senior unleashed his axe energy, Lab Director Qyu swelled his limbs like balloons to absorb the blow.

It was a perfect display of the Flesh Golem's endurance.

And the other shadow undead Qyu had summoned took the form of a slender woman.

From her, long shadow tendrils shot out, either entangling the Hell Axe senior or lashing at him.

The Vine Queen.

She was the boss monster of the C-rank dungeon Dang Gyu-young had reportedly cleared just last week.

Her attack power wasn't remarkable, but her utility and especially in restraining targets was exceptional.

Even now, forced to keep an eye on the shadow vines, the Hell Axe senior's movements were heavily restricted.

He gripped his axe hastily and swung it as he spoke.

"They said your skills had improved… it seems they were right."

"Oh? What's this? You actually giving me a compliment?"

"Personally, I've got plenty of resentment toward you, but I give credit where it's due."

"Is that so? Thanks for the kind words."

"Still… it seems I can't win like this. I'll have to make the first decisive move."

The Hell Axe senior drew himself up, gathering all his fighting spirit.

But at that very moment, a fist came flying in from the side, slamming hard into his ribs.

Puh-uhng!

The blow was strong enough to bend his torso sideways.

Still in that position, he turned his head and met the eyes of Kim Gap-doo, whose fist was still extended.

"Kim… Gap-doo…!"

"Sorry. Ambushes aren't really my style."

Right after that, Dang Gyu-young closed in and swung the Qyu-shadow bat with all her strength.

Buh—eok—!

The Hell Axe senior's neck snapped sideways, following his bent waist.

He was right on the edge of losing consciousness.

And then Dang Gyu-young offered an apology.

"Hey, I'm sorry too."

"…So… you do know what sorry means…"

"You guys are just doing your jobs. Beating you up doesn't exactly feel great."

"Then… why…?"

To that, Dang Gyu-young answered boldly.

"Because I'm Number One. I've got a duty to protect world peace."

"What… the hell…"

The Hell Axe senior never finished his question before losing consciousness.

Though Dang Gyu-young had said she was sorry, there was clear satisfaction on her face.

After all, for three years straight, she'd been on the receiving end every time they met. So finally paying him back felt good.

In the meantime, the second-year Disciplinary Committee members had all been dealt with.

Dang Gyu-young gave instructions to her own members, then to Kim Gap-doo as well.

"Go in, grab what we need, and get out. You guys wait outside."

"Got it."

Leaving the Martial Arts Club outside, they all headed into the abandoned building.

As we were walking in, Dang Gyu-young came over to me, smiling brightly.

"Young Monarch, if you had something like that, you should've told me beforehand. Honestly, I was a little nervous."

"I was saving it for a more dramatic effect."

"Always with the style."

She gave my forearm a light slap.

Then she pointed at my staff and asked another question.

"How far can that thing go?"

"It's a lot more limited than you'd think."

The timing to use [Caw?] to disrupt spatial magic was extremely narrow.

Take Kwak Seung-jae, for example. While I can stop him from summoning a wooden door or block a door he's already summoned, it's useless once the door has been opened.

The effect's range was so narrow it might as well be considered a single-target skill, and the distance requirement meant I have to be fairly close.

If Kwak Seung-jae figured that out and summoned the wooden door somewhere outside my line of sight before flinging it open, I wouldn't be able to stop it.

Listening to my explanation, Dang Gyu-young tilted her head.

"So the door thing should work just fine on the others, right?"

"Right."

"Judging by the fact we haven't heard anything yet, I'm guessing they don't know."

"They're probably pretty flustered."

Even now, if he summoned a wooden door again, he could easily get to another temporary storage site.

But the shock from having it blocked the first time must've been so strong that he hasn't even dared try again.

That's exactly the kind of psychological warfare I was aiming for by deliberately using Inferno Fist to draw the Disciplinary Committee's attention.

"Too bad. We should really see Seung-jae's face right now."

Dang Gyu-young chuckled to herself.

Then, noticing the party members looking over, she quickly composed her expression and took the lead.

Just as Chae Da-bin's scouting had confirmed, the Disciplinary Committee hadn't stationed anyone inside the building.

They hadn't even bothered to set up magical traps or mechanical defense devices, seemingly placing their full trust in Kwak Seung-jae's abilities.

Now, though, that trust had turned into poison and was coming right back to bite them.

Who told them to go all in on a wooden door, anyway?

Before long, we arrived at a room piled high with prohibited items.

Dang Gyu-young jerked her chin in command.

"Take everything."

"Got it, Noonim."

The twins and Chae Da-bin gleefully began sweeping every item they could grab into their inventories.

Even so, Dang Gyu-young carefully picked out only the most valuable and important items to store in the Life Cube. Just in case.

After all, there was still a small chance we could be caught on the way back, and there was no harm in being cautious.

Meanwhile, I started searching for anything that might be useful to me.

First, poisonous herbs.

Thanks to my Poison Immunity, I could absorb the strong energy within them without any harm.

In other words, they were as good as spirit herbs to me.

So I shoved every one I spotted straight into my cube.

While scanning the room, I also spotted a familiar glass bottle.

[Dark Ice Crystal (C)]

An item I had received as a slot machine reward back on the train.

It held such immense energy that it had helped me reach E-rank Core in one leap while unarmed.

And now, it had gained another use.

Perfect for training my ice-type skills.

For example, Frozen Spirit Shot, or the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger

So I quickly scooped that up as well.

Meanwhile, Dang Gyu-young was quietly studying a book with a pitch-black cover.

It had no title, and no item description appeared, but an eerie energy was seeping out of it.

"A necromancer skill book."

"Mhmm. Should I learn it?"

"Hold on to it for now."

Most of it could probably be applied to an Umbramancer build as well.

Dang Gyu-young slipped the book neatly into the cube.

In the meantime, the room had been stripped clean without even a speck of dust left behind.

The thieves wore expressions like they'd just enjoyed the feast of a lifetime.

Dang Gyu-young too had a satisfied smile tugging at her lips.

"Alright, let's go."

We poured out of the building.

Kim Gap-doo who had been waiting outside glanced our way and asked,

"All done?"

"Yeah, now we just have to head back."

"Doesn't seem like it'll be too hard… but we shouldn't let our guard down until the very end."

"That's the right mindset."

Our group started walking. The atmosphere was light and cheerful.

But before we'd gone far, something flashed ahead.

Looking closer, I saw it was a pure white hammer, gleaming brilliantly.

The hammer streaked through the air, then suddenly shifted its trajectory before dropping straight toward us.

Booooooom!