The Support Ate it All-Chapter 348 - 2nd Mentoring Session (5)

In the end, Dang Gyu-young gave in to my persuasion, pulled out a D-rank crystal, and activated the summoning gate.

The monster that soon walked out was one we had seen several times over the past few days.

Clatter.

It was a skeleton knight.

Probably around number eight.

Among all the D-rank monsters we had summoned so far, it was practically the weakest.

Even Hong Yeon-hwa could burn it to ashes in no time, so with Dang Gyu-young’s skills, it would likely be reduced to dust in just a hit or two.

Of course, that was assuming there were no penalties.

With the Hardship Quest restrictions in place, it wouldn’t be as easy as usual.

Clack.

Soon, the hollow eyes of the skeleton knight turned toward Dang Gyu-young.

And with its bone shield raised in front, it began to steadily advance.

“…….”

Dang Gyu-young watched it with eyes that showed not even a hint of tension, then lightly waved her hand in the air.

[Butterfly Flight]

A shadow butterfly fluttered up from beneath the monster’s feet.

▷ C-rank monsters defeated: 4

▷ B-rank monsters defeated: 0

▷Rewards given for defeating a set number of monsters

So it really was 50 kills.

The first reward threshold was 50 kills, based on D-rank monsters.

C-ranks counted as two or three per kill.

Just as predicted, the reward was a defense-type skill.

[You have acquired ‘Wind Armor (F+)’.]

As the name suggested, it was a spell that cloaked the body in wind-like armor.

Compared to barrier-type spells, it took up less space and allowed for more mobility, but the thin layer of wind meant its defensive power was somewhat lacking.

Of course, since the two could be layered together, the comparison didn’t hold much weight.

Well, I’ve learned two decent ones for now.

Both [Wind Barrier] and [Wind Armor] simply increased defense and nothing more.

Considering Hong Yeon-hwa’s [Reverse Curtain] automatically counterattacked, and [Blazing Armor] boosted fire damage, they felt a bit plain by comparison.

Of course, this isn’t the end.

Just like with [Spiral Explosion], the final effect of a skill depended entirely on how it was combined with others.

For the third and final skill, a very special one was being kept in mind.

Though, of course, that would only be learned after school started again.

For now, it’s best to strengthen what I already have.

Ranking up was something that had to be done eventually anyway.

The more I got done now, the more resources I could allocate elsewhere later on.

With that in mind, I gave Hong Yeon-hwa a signal with my eyes, and we resumed the sparring session we had briefly paused.

I cast Wind Barrier and Wind Armor in quick succession.

Whoooosh—

One layer of wind wrapped around my body, while the other formed a circular shield in the air around me.

Then, as I walked among the pillars of flame, the fire serpents relentlessly launched fireballs at me.

Boom boom boom!

***

After finishing that day’s training, we were resting in our dorm when Dang Gu-young called us over.

“Hey, you two. Come here for a moment.”

She looked between Hong Yeon-hwa and me before speaking.

“Let’s go out tomorrow.”

“Is something up?”

“Mhmm, we need to get more crystals.”

Although Dang Gu-young had received permission to use the crystals as a mentor, there was still a limit on how many she could use.

No matter how much of a third-year she was, she was still just a student. Who would trust her with hundreds of them?

What if she suddenly had a change of heart? Who knows what could happen?

“So I initially brought about sixty, but there aren’t many left now.”

Since we had poured almost all of our time into training, except for when we ate and slept, they had been used up faster than expected.

As soon as the buff ended, we summoned another one and defeated it, then summoned again once the next buff ended. Like that, we had taken down more than fifty in just a little more than a week.

“We’ve got some B-ranks left, but as you know, it’s not really the right time to use them.”

“Because the penalty is still in effect.”

Dang Gu-young’s fighting power had been severely reduced due to the Hardship quest.

She couldn’t even take down a skeleton knight now. If we summoned a B-rank monster, there’d be no way to handle it.

Realistically, I would have to fight it alone.

I could probably manage, but there’s no reason to push myself.

It’s not like they dropped any items. At most, the buffs were a bit better.

There wasn’t enough benefit to risk the danger.

It seemed better to wait until the latter half of our mentoring period, when both of their [Hardships] entered their final stages, to start summoning B-ranks.

So everyone agreed with the plan to replenish the lower-rank crystals.

Of course, since we’d fought enough D-ranks, we would now focus mainly on C-ranks.

With a sigh, Dang Gu-young added,

“Phew… and let’s take a break. We’ve been pushing ourselves too hard lately.”

As soon as those words were said, both Dang Gu-young and Hong Yeon-hwa turned their gazes toward me. It was because I was the very reason things had been so intense lately.

I asked Hong Yeon-hwa with a stiff face.

“Tired?”

“……”

Her pupils darted around, searching for a place to rest.

She kept hesitating, probably thinking that answering wrong would lead to consequences she couldn’t handle.

Seeing that, Dang Gu-young smacked my shoulder with a slap.

“Why are you staring at her like that? She can’t even speak!”

“Was I?”

“Yes! Save that kind of pressure for me.”

I relaxed my facial muscles and asked the same question again, this time in a gentler tone.

“Should we take it easy tomorrow?”

“……”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes were still shifting as if trying to figure out whether it was a trap. But with a subtle look from Dang Gu-young, she seemed encouraged and gave a small nod.

She must have been struggling more than she let on.

Honestly, even doing just the Hardship quest was tough, and she had been keeping up with my pace on top of that for all the training.

“It really would be best to take a break around now.”

“Mhmm, let’s pick up the crystals, walk around a bit, and maybe grab something to eat.” ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com