The Support Ate it All

Whoosh!

At that moment, something faintly white flew toward us from ahead.

We quickly stepped aside, and as it passed by, we managed to catch a faint glimpse of its form.

It was a hammer glowing brilliantly white.

Dang Gyu-young turned her head sharply to look ahead as if she had identified who had thrown the hammer.

Soon, the bushes rustled, and a male student stepped out.

A sturdy build like a bear, slightly curved eyes that seemed to smile faintly, and a soft yet ambiguous expression.

It was none other than the disciplinary committee president, Oh Se-hoon.

Although we were still wearing black uniforms and masks, he seemed to have seen through our identities at a glance and spoke to us.

“Gyu-young, I have to admit, I’m a little surprised. This was a plan we prepared for a long time, but I didn’t expect you to break through all the way to here.”

Dang Gyu-young immediately removed her mask. She seemed to decide that there was no point in denying it.

After all, breaking past someone as skilled as the disciplinary committee president would inevitably require shadow magic, so it was only a matter of time before our identities were exposed.

“You definitely put a lot of effort into it. Got me good. Was this Seung-jae’s idea?”

“That’s right. These days, Seung-jae handles all the major plans.”

“I figured as much. But what are you doing here?”

It was a pointed question, asking why someone as important as the disciplinary committee president wasn’t participating directly in the operation but instead lurking in a corner of the forest.

Oh Se-hoon’s lips curved into a gentle smile.

“Seung-jae handled things so well that I didn’t have much to do. So I decided to take a stroll and prepare for any unlikely situations. Judging by the fact that we’ve run into each other like this, it seems I made the right call.”

After glancing briefly at Dang Gyu-young who frowned in annoyance, Oh Se-hoon turned his gaze toward me.

“Kim Ho, I’m very disappointed. If you keep breaking school rules, we’ll have no choice but to impose disciplinary action.”

“Why do you think this is Kim Ho?”

It could be someone else.

Dang Gyu-young tried to throw up a smokescreen, but it didn’t work on Oh Se-hoon.

“I think I’ve mentioned this before, but the two of you give off a very similar vibe.”

“…Really?”

Dang Gyu-young seemed pleased for a moment but quickly masked her expression and feigned indifference.

“That’s just your opinion, isn’t it?”

“True, it’s my intuition. But we’ll find out soon enough, won’t we?”

It seemed Oh Se-hoon was getting ready to start, as he began to prepare for battle.

Fwoosh—

Light gathered in his hands, forming a large shield in one and the shape of a hammer in the other; it was the same hammer he had thrown at us earlier.

This confirmed his class beyond a doubt.

Hammer Paladin.

The Paladin was a branch of the Holy Knight class. It was a class known for its solid defense and skillful use of divine magic, making it a formidable opponent.

The key difference from a typical Holy Knight was that it sacrificed some defensive capabilities as a knight in favor of focusing on divine magic.

To put it simply, he’s like a magic swordsman.

Oh Se-hoon smiled faintly and spoke.

“How about a proposition? In a little while, the others will get here, but if you can break through me or evade me before then, I’ll act like none of this ever happened.”

“What’s gotten into you to say something like that?”

When Dang Gyu-young asked with a hint of surprise, the smile on his lips deepened slightly.

“Well, since we’re already fighting, I thought it’d be nice if you put in some effort. It seems like this might be a good motivator.”

Although he didn’t say it outright, he probably had confidence that he could win even if Dang Gyu-young and I teamed up against him.

It was a proposal that wasn’t disadvantageous for us.

After all, it was a given that we would face Oh Se-hoon in some way.

So, after exchanging glances with Dang Gyu-young, we both nodded at the same time.

Then, drawing upon our mana, we began to prepare for battle.

A tense atmosphere enveloped the area.

It’s better not to use prohibited skills.

Unless I was certain it would take him down, a Paladin at the level of a third-year disciplinary committee president would likely withstand even Inferno Fist.

Not to mention, he’d probably withstand the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger with a debuff removal skill.

That would mean exposing the existence of prohibited skills for no gain.

Therefore—

Win or lose, I’ll have to settle this with wind-type skills.

[Activated ‘Octopus Limbs’.]

[Activated ‘Amplification’.]

[The rank of ‘Wind Barrier’ has increased. (C+ → A+)]

[The rank of ‘Wind Force’ has increased. (C+ → A+)]

[The rank of ‘Spiral Explosion’ has increased. (C+ → A+)]

[The rank of ‘Chillwind’ has increased. (E+ → C+)]

[Duration: 00:09:59]

[Cooldown: 21:19:59]

Although I had used Amplification through Octopus Limbs multiple times, there was only one trait I could immediately grant through Enchantment.

[‘Distortion’ has been granted to the target.]

Whoosh—

When I enveloped us with Wind Barrier, Dang Gyu-young mouthed silently.

– We don’t need to take him down completely. You know that, right?

– Of course, I do.

The goal was solely to break through Oh Se-hoon or shake him off.

In that case, the best strategy would be for one of us to distract or hold him down while the other escaped.

The moment Oh Se-hoon opened his mouth,

“Looks like you’re ready. Let’s get started.”

“Let’s do it!”

Thud!

Dang Gyu-young and I immediately split to the sides and started running.

Oh Se-hoon stood still for a moment, watched us alternately, and then said,

“It’s better to follow Kim Ho.”

He began chasing after me.

The fact that a mere first-year like me was moving with Dang Gyu-young was suspicious enough.

In reality, I was the one carrying the Life Cube.

Dang Gyu-young, after sprinting hard, suddenly turned and dashed back.

“Ugh, his instincts are sharp as ever.”

She muttered that to herself and sent out a swarm of shadow butterflies.

Oh Se-hoon deflected the butterflies with his shield while simultaneously throwing the hammer he held at me.

Whirl!

The glowing hammer spun rapidly as it flew toward me.

I dodged it with a slight sidestep, but before I knew it, two more hammers were flying toward me.

As I zigzagged with Thief’s Step to avoid them, yet another two hammers followed.

To make matters worse, the hammers I had previously dodged didn’t vanish. Instead, they orbited around me like satellites and continuously flew back at me.

His control is impressive.

As expected of the disciplinary committee president, he didn’t just throw hammers but could control each one with meticulous precision.

On top of that, their number was bound to increase, which would make it harder and harder to dodge as time went on.

So,

I’ll have to deflect them.

Whooosh—!

[Wind Force]

[Twister]

A whirlwind infused with physical force wrapped around the sapling.

I lightly deflected the incoming hammer with it, causing its trajectory to shift before it embedded itself in the ground.

Oh Se-hoon chuckled as if he was amused.

“That’s right, nice deflection.”

Whirrr!

Then, with ease, he threw more hammers to replace the ones I had knocked away.

At the same time, his entire body shimmered incessantly.

Flash!

Flash!

Buff stacking.

While my attention was fixed on the hammers, he was layering various buffs on himself: increased attack power, resistance to debuffs, increased speed, and more.

Sure enough, Oh Se-hoon’s speed grew faster and faster.

The hammers too felt heavier with each strike, and even when deflected with the sapling, they didn’t stay down. Instead, they regained their speed and came after me again.

Dang Gyu-young wasn’t just standing idly by either.

From beneath Oh Se-hoon’s feet, shadow hands emerged and gripped him tightly.

As a result, he was pinned in place for a few seconds, but—

Flash!

A burst of radiant light spread out from him, reducing the shadow hands to scattered dust.

It seemed he had used a skill to dispel debuffs.

Of course, even those few seconds were more than enough for Dang Gyu-young to prepare her next spell.

[Shadow Leap]

The shadows beneath Oh Se-hoon rippled again, and Dang Gyu-young suddenly emerged from them.

With daggers gripped in both hands, she lunged and started stabbing and slashing with fierce precision.

Oh Se-hoon blocked each one with his shield and countered with swings of his hammer as he spoke.

“Looks like your skills have improved. You’re a bit trickier than before.”

“You seem awfully calm for saying that.”

Dang Gyu-young replied through gritted teeth.

In reality, even as Oh Se-hoon busily exchanged attacks with her, he occasionally hurled hammers in my direction.

Whirrr!

By now, more than ten hammers were orbiting around me.

Looks like it’s about time.

With so many hammers gathered, it was the perfect setup for a chain attack.

I kept my speed steady, staying ready to react at any moment, and just as expected, faint ripples of mana began emanating from behind me.

[Detonate Light]

Fwoosh!

The glowing hammers exploded simultaneously, flooding the area with blinding white light.

At that moment, I stepped forward.

[Ghost Dance]

Swoosh…

With a fluid, gliding movement, I slipped out of the explosion’s radius.

Oh Se-hoon looked slightly startled. He was clearly not expecting me to evade his chain attack.

What’s more, thanks to Ghost Dance, he momentarily lost track of me.

If I’m going to counterattack, this is my chance.

I planted the sapling in the ground and extended my hand forward.

[Earth Line]

[Chillwind]

[Wind Force]

[Spiral Explosion]

Whooosh—!

A fierce whirlwind blew around Oh Se-hoon and Dang Gyu-young.

Having suffered repeatedly from my wind magic in the past, Dang Gyu-young quickly realized what was about to happen. She hastily used Shadow Leap to escape.

Moments later, the wind that had been gathering and compressing erupted in a huge explosion.

Boom!

“Well done.”

The next moment, Oh Se-hoon’s voice echoed from above me.

I immediately kicked off the ground and retreated backward—

Crash!

A hammer slammed into the spot where I had been, sending shockwaves rippling outward.

Of course.

If Dang Gyu-young could use Shadow Leap, it stood to reason that someone as skilled as Oh Se-hoon would have a similar ability.

Sure enough, just before he could be caught by Spiral Explosion, he had moved above me.

He had used Blink which was a short-range teleportation skill.

Oh Se-hoon who was close by swung his hammer at me.

As he did, he continued to praise me.

“Your skill and psychological tactics are flawless. I’d believe it if someone told me you were a second-year.”

“You flatter me.”

Soon after, Dang Gyu-young rejoined the fight using Shadow Leap, and the three of us began a two-against-one close-quarters battle.

Shadow daggers, glowing hammers, wind imbued with physical force, holy energy, sapling attacks, and a radiant shield clashed in a chaotic whirlwind.

But it wasn’t long before Oh Se-hoon suddenly stopped in place.

The hammers that had been circling him without pause were all withdrawn.

He spoke with a gentle smile.

“Shall we call it a day?”

From all directions, presences were closing in.

It was undoubtedly the disciplinary committee members.

Blinding flashes of light and deafening roars echoed around us. It would have been impossible not to notice.

Failing to shake them off in time meant we had effectively lost.

I bowed respectfully to Oh Se-hoon.

“I’ve learned a lot from you, senior.”

“Yes, Kim Ho, you fought well. You too, Gyu-young.”

In contrast, Dang Gyu-young merely pouted with her lips jutting out in displeasure.

Soon, members of the disciplinary committee swarmed around us and surrounded us completely.

Rumble…

A wooden door rose from the ground not far away.

Through the open door, the interior of the disciplinary committee’s room came into view.

Moments later, Kwak Seung-jae stepped through and bowed to Oh Se-hoon.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“No, you’ve had the hardest job here. Let’s head inside.”

Following their lead, we stepped into the disciplinary committee’s room.