The Support Ate it All

Chapter 148: No.640 Great Eagle Escort Agency (4)

When Go Hyeon-woo accepted the proposal without a moment’s hesitation, a satisfied smile appeared on the head of the agency’s lips.

He then introduced the expert beside him.

“This is head guard Kang, one of the top experts among the head guards of the escort agency. It will be a good match for you.”

The head of the agency stepped aside, and head guard Kang immediately asked Go Hyeon-woo,

“Shall we use wooden swords?”

“I prefer a weapon I am accustomed to.”

“A satisfying answer. I feel the same.”

Head guard Kang took out the thick sword he had slung on his back, and Go Hyeon-woo also gripped his iron sword.

Although his main weapon was a magic sword, it shone too conspicuously with a golden glow.

So, he intended to make do with the iron sword.

It shouldn’t break.

Since I made the [Durable Pen], the durability of his weapon has greatly improved.

The existing effect of [Weapon Damage Protection] had increased from F to C rank. This allowed the iron sword to last quite a while.

Also, there was no need to use grand techniques like “Clear Stream” in such a duel.

The two men faced each other from a certain distance.

Head guard Kang spoke first.

“I would normally give the first move to my opponent, but against an expert like you, I might not get any chance at all. Here I come.”

“Please, make your move.”

Head guard Kang advanced cautiously with his sword held forward.

In contrast, Go Hyeon-woo stood still while holding his iron sword in a middle guard position and simply watched him.

As the distance between them gradually closed,

“Hup!”

Head guard Kang stepped forward and slashed diagonally with his sword.

Go Hyeon-woo also took half a step forward and brought his iron sword to meet the trajectory of head guard Kang’s sword.

Contrary to the spectators’ expectations that the two swords would collide, Head guard Kang’s sword slipped past the iron sword and cut through empty air.

“……!”

Head guard Kang’s expression stiffened slightly as he retrieved his sword mid-swing and swung it again.

But once again, when Go Hyeon-woo lightly brought his iron sword to meet it, the trajectory changed slightly.

Head guard Kang retrieved his sword mid-swing and swung again.

Go Hyeon-woo subtly pushed his iron sword forward.

Their swords crossed and diverged.

As this repeated several times, the spectators showed mixed reactions.

“Why does he keep swinging and stopping, swinging and stopping?”

“Is this a duel or child’s play?”

Those who said this were amateurs.

What they saw was head guard Kang swinging his sword halfway and stopping, and Go Hyeon-woo slowly bringing his iron sword to meet it.

All they saw were the weapons swinging in the air, so it seemed like child’s play to them.

“…….”

On the other hand, experts like the head of the agency and those above head guard’s level watched the duel with serious eyes.

So did Ratty and Woeful.

“Truly impressive.”

“It seems the young man’s skill is about a move or a move and a half ahead of his opponent.”

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“I agree. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to deflect such fierce sword attacks so easily.”

Deflecting properly is more difficult than blocking or dodging.

It requires reading the enemy’s attack accurately and seizing a very brief moment.

Yet Go Hyeon-woo was deflecting each of head guard Kang’s fierce attacks with ease. This only went to show his superior skill.

[Pure Flow].

It was Go Hyeon-woo’s third technique that came right after Clear Stream and Rapid Current.

During the Black Death dungeon, it hadn’t been properly refined, so he used his sword to withstand White Snake’s techniques.

However, Go Hyeon-woo continued to polish this Pure Flow while receiving mentoring and used it decisively to defeat mid-bosses during the Feathered Serpent Temple.

Now, he seemed even more proficient than back then.

“Hmm……”

Sweat beaded on head guard Kang’s forehead.

Even though he unleashed all his strength in his attacks, he still hadn’t landed a proper hit.

In contrast, Go Hyeon-woo maintained the same calm demeanor he had at the start while facing him.

The skill difference was so big that continuing the duel seemed pointless.

However, head guard Kang didn’t seem ready to give up.

He retreated for the first time since the duel began. After widening the distance, he gathered his energy.

He then unleashed a series of rapid sword strikes.

Papapapaa!

Multiple sword energies converged, forming a net-like shape as they came down upon him.

There was no doubt that this was head guard Kang’s ultimate move.

“……”

Go Hyeon-woo’s calm gaze also turned slightly more serious.

His whole body was about to be torn to pieces by the oncoming sword energies when he raised his sword to the middle and slowly moved forward.

[Rapid Current]

Swoosh—

The gust of wind that followed added a sudden burst of speed.

As Go Hyeon-woo surged forward and swung his sword, the net of sword energies was instantly cut into pieces.

Even after dismantling his opponent’s attack, Go Hyeon-woo continued to rush forward and he only stopped right in front of head guard Kang.

The iron sword also stopped just an inch from his throat.

Head guard Kang looked down at the tip of the sword with trembling eyes, then tightly closed his eyes.

“…I lost.”

It was an overwhelming victory for Go Hyeon-woo.

“Ah, welcome back, everyone. Did you have a good run?”

Shin Byeong-cheol greeted us cheerfully as we exited the dungeon.

We responded with smiles and showed him the rewards we had received.

[Great Eagle Escort Agency Random Box (E)] *4

Go Hyeon-woo who secured the position of a head guard achieved the dungeon’s maximum goal and received three random boxes.

I only managed to get a temporary guard position so I only received one.

Of course, since they were all E-rank random boxes, the rewards didn’t matter much.

The more important thing was to use the groundwork laid in this dungeon to tackle the next linked dungeon.

Go Hyeon-woo asked,

“So, will you be starting as the leader in that linked dungeon?”

“Yes. Your role is crucial.”

Go Hyeon-woo was set to be given the role of leading the participants, particularly the temporary escort group composed of Ronin which would be his responsibility.

This had been anticipated, which is why I instructed Go Hyeon-woo to display overwhelming martial strength.

That way, the Ronin would follow his lead without any complaints.

Indeed, Ronin like Ratty, Woeful, and the mantis-like Ronin seemed deeply impressed by his skills.

Although the head intentionally avoided mentioning it, everyone sensed that the journey wouldn’t end with just delivering goods to a certain destination.

Something was bound to happen, but having a skilled head guard like Go Hyeon-woo increased their chances of survival which would be reassuring for them.

Everything had been successful up to this point, yet Go Hyeon-woo’s face wasn’t very bright.

He seemed a bit worried.

“I don’t know if I can do it well. I’m confident with the sword, but I’ve never managed people before.”

“It’s nothing. Just follow the strategy written in the guide.”

“Understood. I’ll make sure to learn it.”

Go Hyeon-woo nodded his head.

We climbed the stairs to the ground level in silence for a while.

Then, Shin Byeong-cheol who was leading the way suddenly seemed to remember something and asked,

“By the way, didn’t you go to get something for the swordsmanship club?”

“I did.”

When I showed the piece of the map I had secretly taken from the manor, Go Hyeon-woo and Shin Byeong-cheol examined it closely.

However, for now, it was just a single piece, so there was nothing special to find.

“The swordsmanship club is interested in something like this?”

“To calm them down, you need to pinpoint what made them angry in the first place.”

The important thing wasn’t that a few random boxes were taken.

The main reason they would be angry was that we had entered the dungeon that had received priority bidding.

In other words, violating the influence of the club meant we looked down on them.

Shin Byeong-cheol seemed to start getting the hang of it.

“It’s an issue of honor and pride.”

“That’s right.”

“But what does that have to do with the map?”

“This map and the place it points to have never been disclosed before.”

“Really?”

In the past, countless heroes had scoured every corner of Dungeon Island, and by now, there were hardly any unexplored areas left.

Getting hold of this map meant gaining the first opportunity to claim one of these unexplored areas.

It promised tremendous honor.

“That would definitely tempt them. But what kind of map is it?”

“That’s for later.”

“Hey, you can’t just stop talking in the middle like that. How mean”

If the map’s identity leaked too early, a battle for the pieces might erupt.

So even though Go Hyeon-woo and Shin Byeong-cheol looked at me as if they were going to die from curiosity, I deliberately avoided their gaze.

“At least give us a hint.”

“A hint? It’s one word.”

“One word? What is it?”

“Later.”

The best way to open random boxes was with the lucky charm Seo Ye-in.

However, we couldn’t do it without Go Hyeon-woo, the top contributor to our raid on the Great Eagle Escort Agency dungeon.

Therefore, we decided to postpone the unboxing until all three of our schedules were aligned.

The next day, the strategy battles and mentoring continued as usual.

“Aaagh!”

Crack,

[Kwak Ji-cheol – %]

As usual, Kwak Ji-cheol was knocked out by the ogre.

In the meantime, I worked on increasing my skill ranks alone.

Boom! Boom!

After I tormented the ogre with one point explosions for a while,

He should be waking up soon.

I figured it was about time for Kwak Ji-cheol to come around, so I went outside the dungeon.

Since it was mentoring, it had to be done together as much as possible.

Like I expected, Kwak Ji-cheol opened his eyes.

“Ugh…”

He opened his eyes and started wriggling on the ground.

I prodded Kwak Ji-cheol with Root.

“Ahjussi (Mister/Uncle), wake up. You’ll catch a cold if you sleep here.”

“Ugh… shut up.”

“You should go home, Ahjussi. You should get up.”

“I told you to shut up…!”

Even though he was grumbling, Kwak Ji-cheol stubbornly stayed sprawled out.

But then he noticed something and his eyes widened as he quickly got up.

When I turned to see what had startled him,

“Hyung (big brother).”

“……”

There stood Kwak Ji-cheol’s older brother, Kwak Seung-jae with a stern expression on his face.

It seemed he had stumbled upon us while passing by with other second-year students.

Kwak Seung-jae soon spoke to his companions.

“Something came up. Go on ahead and wait for me.”

“Alright.”

His companions replied indifferently and left.

“……”

Kwak Ji-cheol lowered his gaze and waited for the inevitable scolding.

However, Kwak Seung-jae only glanced at his brother once and that was it.

It seemed I was the one he had business with.

“I have something to ask you. Is that alright?”

“Yes, senior-nim.”

Kwak Seung-jae was one of the influential figures in the disciplinary committee.

Since he initiated a one-on-one conversation with me, it wasn’t something to pass up lightly.

I was also curious about what he wanted to ask me.

So, I moved to a quiet place with Kwak Seung-jae.

According to what I heard from Song Cheon-hye and Dang Gyu-young, Kwak Seung-jae had a very straightforward personality.

If he had something to say, he wouldn’t beat around the bush and would just say it directly.

I expected a somewhat direct conversation, but what Kwak Seung-jae said was beyond my imagination.

“I heard you’re dating senior Dang Gyu-young.”

“Huh?”