The Support Ate it All

Looking at the middle-aged man reminded me of the typical fool in the neighborhood.

The fool who was always shabbily dressed in a tracksuit and dragging his worn-out slippers everywhere.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so as two female students who were sitting in front of me were whispering such things to each other.

However, their whispers were so loud that they could be heard by those around them.

– That’s the principal, right? He doesn’t look very impressive…

– No, you’re mistaken. Even if he looks like that, he was the leader of the dragon slayer team when he was young. I heard he even killed two adult fire dragons.

– Wow, really?

Traditionally, the principal of the Dragon Slayer Academy is a position held by a hero who retired from the front lines.

And the title of <Hero>, much like that of <Thunder Lord>, is bestowed only upon one among the many powerful S-rank individuals.

Despite his unimpressive appearance, he harbors an unimaginable amount of power within him.

Since the heroes I raised before had about 20 S-rank skills,

I’m guessing he’s about the same.

– But he’s still single.

– Really? I heard he’s been rejected by the saintess four times!

– No, it’s actually five now. He proposed again recently and got turned down again.

– Oh my~

Ah, the principal…

What kind of battles had this man faced…

The perception of the principal in my mind suddenly became that of pity.

He looked around the crowd with weary eyes and opened his mouth.

“Welcome, new students. I sincerely welcome you to the Dragon Slayer Academy.”

The auditorium suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The principal’s expression, which started with a gentle greeting, turned serious.

“Long ago, the Dragon Slayer Academy, as its name suggests, was established to prepare for the war against dragons and to nurture dragon slayers.”

“The reason the first hero insisted on including the character for ‘slayer’ among many good words was probably to encourage you all to deeply consider what it means to be a Slayer.”

“What is a slayer? You can’t become an ogre slayer without slaying an ogre, nor a dragon slayer without slaying a dragon.”

“As such, taking life is both our fate and essence as slayers. Do not turn away from this truth.”

“At the same time, you must think it through. Why do I want to become a slayer? For what purpose do I wish to take life?”

“I hope that by the time you graduate, you will have found your own answers.”

The reason the principal began by mentioning these uncomfortable truths was that:

Beyond physical training, tempering one’s inner self is of great importance.

And this inner tempering starts with setting a clear goal in mind.

The A-rank and S-rank monsters the students would have to face after graduation are akin to living natural disasters.

With vague aspirations like wanting to live well or become rich, one would simply crumble like a candle in the wind when confronted with such monsters.

Besides me, there were quite a few students who nodded their heads in understanding or were lost deep in thought at the principal’s words.

It would have actually been an excellent opening speech if he had stopped there.

“Just one more thing—”

Unfortunately, the principal was someone who didn’t know how to stop at the first “verse”.

His “sermon” went on and on.

The students twisted in agony, but the principal was oblivious to their discomfort and continued at a lullaby’s slow pace, insisting on saying what he wanted.

“This time for real, just one last thing—”

***

Had someone not intervened, his talk might have continued for hours more.

A woman in a suit who was waiting near the podium made a gesture as if pointing to her wristwatch.

Only then did the principal seem to decide to wrap things up.

“—I hope you all become true heroes at Dragon Slayer Academy. That’s all.”

“Ugh.”

“Mom… my head hurts…”

All of the new students were in a state of deep despair, some were clutching their faces and others complaining of headaches.

Amidst this, Go Hyeon-woo kept nodding his head with a smile, as if he was deeply moved by the principal’s words.

“Hmm. Truly a meaningful time.”

“Weren’t you bored?”

“Bored? Kim-hyung, how can you say that? Each word was a valuable lesson, like flesh and blood. My master used to give me such advice every day.”

“You heard this kind of thing every day?”

So he was already well-trained for this, huh?

I gave up on the conversation.

In life, there are some battles that you simply cannot win, and this was precisely one of those moments.

“……”

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in had her arms crossed and her head was bowed ever so slightly.

I waved my hand lightly in front of her face, but she showed no reaction.

She was dozing off with her eyes half open.

I didn’t know if I should wake her up, so I just let her be.

After the principal stepped down from the podium, a woman in a suit took his place.

She was a person who seemed flawless both from the outside and the inside.

Perhaps if Song Cheon-hye aged about 10 years, she might just look like this woman?

I overheard the girls in the front row whispering, “It’s the vice principal.”

Had I not known and seen the principal and vice principal standing side by side, I would have probably been confused about who was actually the principal.

When the vice principal swept her cold gaze over the audience, the chatting students flinched and immediately shut their mouths.

It was only a matter of moments before the slowly growing noise died down.

“The following is an announcement. This year’s list of prohibited items has been updated. These items are subject to confiscation simply if the student carries them or keeps them in his or her inventory, and depending on the severity, a punishment of more than demerit points will be imposed. Please be fully aware of them and abide by them to avoid being penalized.”

“In addition, new students will only conduct practical evaluations on the ground level of the dungeon until further notice. Unauthorized entry into the lower levels can cause problems not only for the individual but also for their affiliated sects, towers, and clubs. A moment of curiosity should not lead to misery for everyone.”

The vice principal delivered this message with a warning look.

The new students shivered as if they felt a chill even though they had done nothing wrong.

“The entrance ceremony will now conclude so that you can have dinner. Please return to your dormitories on time.”

After the vice principal finished saying that, she immediately came down from the podium.

Compared to the principal’s lengthy speech, it was a brief, to-the-point, and practical announcement.

It happened so quickly that there were many students sitting in their seats thinking that the entrance ceremony had not yet ended.

However, once all the faculty and staff members began to leave, they slowly started to get up as well.

Go Hyeon-woo stretched lightly in his place.

“It’s time for dinner. I was just starting to feel hungry.”

“Let’s hurry. If we arrive a bit later, we’ll have to line up.”

The two of us were about to hurry away when we suddenly remembered something we had forgotten and turned around at the same time.

There sat Seo Ye-in, still slouched in her chair, half-asleep with her eyes half-open.

Her presence was so faint that we almost left without her.

“Hey, Seo Ye-in.”

“……”

I knew I had to wake her, but she didn’t respond to my call.

I moved closer and then I gently tapped her shoulder with my fingertip.

“……”

Only then did Seo Ye-in slowly lift her eyelids and stand up.

Having just woken up, she appeared disoriented and she started scanning her surroundings lazily as if struggling to grasp the situation.

Then she noticed me and stared intently at my hand, the culprit that woke her up.

“The entrance ceremony is over. Let’s go eat.”

“Mhm……”

***

Seafood pasta was served for dinner.

When you cook meals for hundreds of people at the same time, the food quality naturally drops, but this pasta was actually on par with that of a famous restaurant.

This went to show how skilled the kitchen staff were.

This also proved that the Dragon Slayer Academy paid attention to even the smallest details, like the quality of meals.

Given that it’s an institution dedicated to nurturing future heroes who will protect humanity, it makes sense that they would offer such exceptional treatment.

After all, not just anyone could enroll here.

“Hey, friends, enjoying your meal?”

“Oh, you’re here.”

Just like when we first met on the train, Shin Byeong-chul came over and casually took the seat next to us.

Whatever he had been up to, there were three red scratch marks diagonally across his cheek.

Go Hyeon-woo couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked.

“Shin-hyung, what happened to your face?”

“Oh, this? Just a minor incident.”

A timid-looking female student passed by and she cast an uneasy glance at Shin Byeong-chul.

The cat perched on her shoulder hissed and arched its back with its claws extended.

I decided to pretend I hadn’t seen anything.

The shrimp is delicious.

Shin Byeong-chul commented as he devoured his portion of the pasta.

“Eat well and rest up. Tomorrow is a big day waiting for us.”

“Big day? What does that mean?”

“You don’t know? Tomorrow is the first day of classes.”

“True, but what happens on the first day of classes?”

Shin Byeong-cheol opened his mouth to explain but seemed to change his mind midway and smiled mischievously.

“Heh, I’m not telling. Let’s leave it as a surprise for tomorrow.”

“Kim-hyung, do you know anything?”

“It’s nothing big. Just wait until tomorrow.”

“Ehum… I’m still curious though… Miss Seo?”

“I don’t know.”

Seo Ye-in didn’t even spare Go Hyeon-woo a glance.

Feeling left out, Go Hyeon-woo sighed softly.

“Haah, the principles of the martial world have fallen indeed…”

After dinner, we continued chatting about trivial matters.

Of course, out of consideration for Go Hyeon-woo, we never mentioned what the next day was about…

As time passed, the members of the disciplinary committee announced that it was getting late.

“Let’s start wrapping things up!”

“Everyone, head to your dorms!”

“If you don’t know the way, don’t wander around; just come and ask!”

Now that darkness had set in, our final destination was the dormitory.

When I took out my student ID, I noticed the number 3-406 engraved on the back.

This meant that it was in building 3, room 406.

When I found building 3 and put my student ID card on the device that glowed softly with magic, the front door opened.

But Go Hyeon-woo kept following me.

We went through the same gate, climbed the same stairs, passed through the same hallway…

Even when I stopped in front of room 406, he was still with me, so I asked him.

“Hey, which room are you in?”

“I’m in 407. What about you, Kim-hyung?”

“406.”

“Oh.”

It was like that.

It seemed like some twist of fate had made us neighbors overnight.

“What a pleasant coincidence to be next-door neighbors.”

“I’m not so happy about it.”

“Haha, then rest well, Kim-hyung.”

I waved my hand nonchalantly at his polite greeting and entered my room.

The room was unexpectedly stylish and spacious for a dormitory and was fully equipped with the necessary facilities.

It was so good that it could have been mistaken for a hotel room.

The elements I had casually encountered in the game have now become my reality.

I sat down on the bed, feeling a strange mix of emotions.

The bed was also of a very high quality and it was so comfortable that I felt like I would fall asleep right away the moment I laid down on it.

But I wouldn’t sleep tonight.

There was something I needed to do.

Create the [Core].

[Kim Ho]

▷Skills

Amplification (F)

Copy-Skill [1/1]

1. Hummingbird (E)

▷Traits

Monarch (F)

Copy-Trait [1/1]

1. Elemental Resistance (S)

▷Equipment

School Uniform (D)

▷Inventory

E-rank weapon selection (E)

5 silver coins

I copied the [Hummingbird] skill from Song Cheon-Hye, but I couldn’t use it right away.

To use skills that require magic power or inner power, one must have a power source to provide it.

And the primary power source for this is the [Core].

Usually, it takes weeks of dedicated effort to create one, but I have walked the shortcut hundreds of times before.

One night should be enough.

I had already accumulated an abundance of mana within my body, thanks to the [Dark Ice Crystal] I absorbed on the train.

Now, all I needed to do was compress it into a complete [Core].

I began to clear my mind and focus my thoughts.

This was necessary to control the huge energy accumulated inside me.