The Support Ate it All

[Main Quest 2-1]

▷ Objective: Investigate the unidentified monster.

▷ Reward: Random Box Enhancement Scroll

This was the second main quest I encountered since entering the world of this game.

Unlike the one-off nature of the first quest, this one was structured as a series of chain quests.

It was like piecing together a large puzzle, starting from the smallest clues and working toward the bigger picture.

And with the appearance of “that thing”,

It seemed like “the bigger picture” was still on track.

Due to the ripple effects of the EX-rank reincarnation quest, every character had been replaced, and the events they triggered had shifted slightly.

At least not yet. Even if I had no way to predict what might happen later.

For example, the assassin who showed up at the Black Market after being fooled by the fake cipher was someone I didn’t know at all.

Even so, he was still a Blood Cult Elder. And the Blood Fury pill incident had still occurred during the midterm on the deserted island.

I expected this time to be no different.

With these thoughts settled, I focused my gaze back on “that thing”.

Dark Oobleck.

A slime-type undead monster.

Its rank ranged widely, from A to D.

Given that this was a D-rank dungeon, it was likely they would send in a C-rank. Half a rank to a full rank higher than the dungeon’s level.

It wasn’t an utterly hopeless situation, but it wasn’t one to be optimistic about either.

So we had to prepare now.

“Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“Y-Yes…?”

“How much mana do you have left?”

“Not… much.”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression darkened slightly.

For hours now, we had been in the dungeon with her casting spells in rapid succession, recovering, and then casting again, over and over.

The fatigue had built up so much that even using mana recovery magic wasn’t as effective as it had been.

Still, it was better than nothing.

“Recover as much as you can, even a little.”

“…Got it.”

Hong Yeon-hwa immediately chanted a spell, and blue magic circles appeared beneath her and she started to replenish her mana.

– …..!

Meanwhile, the army of ice monsters paused in their siege and turned their attention all at once to the rear.

They had spotted the approaching Dark Oobleck.

Its appearance was very bizarre, so it was only a matter of time before it caught their attention.

The moment it was detected, the Dark Oobleck writhed and charged forward with incredible speed.

It rapidly closed the distance toward the Ice Witch as its target.

To block its path, a horde of Ice Orcs and Trolls stood in the way, while shamans and the Ice Witch cast freezing spells at it.

Yet the creature slipped right through and evaded their attacks without suffering much damage.

In an instant, it reached the front of the Ice Witch, spread itself wide, and engulfed her entirely.

There was a brief struggle from inside and signs of a jerking motion, but it quickly went still.

She’s been devoured.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Dark Oobleck moved quickly again and ate a nearby Ice Golem.

Clump, slosh.

The Dark Oobleck that was now swollen in size writhed violently before the black ooze began to harden as if frozen solid.

Its new form appeared to be a mix of the Ice Witch and the Ice Golem.

That’s what makes it so tricky.

The Dark Oobleck would devour victims in this way. Then it could borrow their appearance and powers.

And when there were multiple victims like now, it would merge their features into a single combined form.

Now that it transformed into a giant Ice Witch Golem, the Dark Oobleck turned its head and fixed its gaze directly on the fortress wall.

Then, imitating the Ice Witch, it let out a piercing shriek.

– ——!

The Ice Monster army, which had fallen into disarray, quickly regained control and the siege resumed.

The Dark Oobleck took a few steps forward, then began charging with astonishing speed for its massive size.

Boom, boom, boom!

The ground rumbled a few times before, in the blink of an eye, it reached the fortress wall and crashed into it with its full weight.

Crash—!

A deafening shockwave burst forth, scattering debris and dust in every direction.

A moment later, as the dust settled, a deep crater in the fortress wall came into view.

It won’t hold for long.

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If the wall were breached, it would mean a failed defense and, ultimately, failure to clear the dungeon.

I turned to Hong Yeon-hwa and said,

“Let’s move. Have you recovered enough?”

“…A little. I’ll try anyway.”

She hadn’t been able to fully restore her mana with the limited time, but at this point, there was no other choice.

Hong Yeon-hwa must have understood that reality, which was why she answered as she did.

“We’ll do it just like we did during midterms.”

“…Mhmm.”

Like when we faced the Alpha Ogre, the plan was for the vanguard to hold it in place while the rearguard dealt damage.

Splitting roles this way was not only more efficient but also increased our chances of success compared to me tackling it alone.

Especially since that creature was both undead and of the ice attribute, Hong Yeon-hwa could deal devastating damage with her Aqua Flame.

I checked in with Hong Yeon-hwa one last time.

“We don’t have many chances. Maybe once, twice if we’re lucky. Can you do it?”

“I can. I will.”

Hong Yeon-hwa met my gaze directly with an unusual show of resolve.

A trace of fear flickered in her eyes but determination held strong.

That was enough for me.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Rumble—!

The ground underfoot shook violently once more.

The Dark Oobleck had slammed into the fortress wall a second time.

We have to finish this fast.

Just like I told Hong Yeon-hwa, we didn’t have many chances.

With the walls on the verge of collapse, we couldn’t afford a drawn-out battle.

My stamina and mana were nearly depleted as well.

So, the method I chose was simple:

Overwhelm it. Finish it in an instant.

[Activated ‘Octopus Limbs’.]

[Activated ‘Amplification’.]

A combination of Octopus Limbs and Amplification.

Normally, the cooldown would be thirty minutes, but if I was willing to take the penalty, I could cast them multiple times at once.

I started by amplifying Hong Yeon-hwa’s main skill and trait.

[The rank of ‘Fire Pillar’ has increased. (C+ -> A+)]

[The rank of ‘Aqua Flame’ has increased. (C+ -> A+)]

“……!”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes went wide with surprise.

With her rank suddenly increased by two levels, it was only natural she would be stunned.

She probably had plenty of questions, but those would have to wait until later.

I went on to amplify my own skills.

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

[The rank of ‘‘Overheat’ has increased. (C -> A)]

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

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

[Duration: 00:04:58]

[Cooldown: 17:59:58]

Using Octopus Limbs to cast a skill with a 30-minute cooldown six times in a row resulted in a penalty multiplier of thirty-six times.

The cooldown had now extended to eighteen hours.

It’s a shame I can’t push it further.

It would’ve been ideal to boost everything else too, but that would make the cooldown impossibly long.

If I couldn’t use Amplification for the B-rank dungeon run on Friday, the impact would be severe, so I had to stop here.

This should be more than enough to handle it.

I had only five minutes but with specs far beyond the Dark Oobleck’s.

I launched myself over the fortress wall without hesitation.

The snow-covered ground rushed up to meet me, then slowed dramatically.

I used Wind Force and landed easily.

[Inferno Fist]

[Overheat]

Fwoosh!

The flames imbued in my fist were absorbed, and power surged throughout my body.

Even before, absorbing Inferno Fist would cause my physical abilities to surge, but now Overheat had reached A rank.

My view shifted rapidly with every push off the ground.

Swish, swish!

I summoned dark clouds, wrapped them around the sapling, and surrounded them with Wind Barrier which was now strengthened to A-rank.

And when I clashed with the Ice Monster Army in that state—

Boom!

Whether it was ice orcs or trolls, they all flew back in a heap, tumbling across the ground.

For the five minutes while the amplification lasted, I was nothing short of a wrecking ball.

Nothing in this dungeon could stop me.

Just like the Dark Oobleck, I plowed straight through the army of ice monsters and advanced toward my target.

The creature had put some distance between us near the fortress wall, seemingly preparing to launch itself at me again.

But just as it was about to charge—

[Wind Force]

Boooom!

A burst of compressed wind exploded from its side, forcing it to veer sharply off course.

The Dark Oobleck staggered momentarily but quickly regained its balance. Then it fixed a deadly glare on me.

I’ve got its attention at least.

I scanned the area and noticed a large circle etched into the ground.

Hong Yeon-hwa’s Fire Pillar magic circle.

My role was to push it into that range and keep it restrained.

“——!”

The Dark Oobleck let out a sharp, piercing sound similar to the Ice Witch’s scream, then shot one of its fists at me with terrifying speed.

I didn’t dodge but swung the sapling to meet it head-on.

Boom!

The Dark Oobleck slid back.

The dark clouds wrapped around the sapling neutralized its physical force, while my Wind Force added extra power to the impact.

Not stopping there, I drove in deeper and struck its torso.

Boom!

Even though it was heavier and faster than an Alpha Ogre, it was helplessly pushed back.

While the Dark Oobleck’s rank at best, was C+, I was fully equipped at A-rank skills so the result was inevitable.

Rank rules this place.

Boom! Boom!

After several clashes with it repeatedly taking losses and being pushed back, the creature seemed to realize this wasn’t working.

Suddenly a fierce blizzard surged around us.

It was drawing on the Ice Witch’s magic.

As it extended one hand forward—

Whoooosh—

The blizzard concentrated on me.

Thanks to my S-rank elemental resistance, the effect was minimal, but I could still feel my movements slowing.

That’s a pretty good skill too.

Chillwind.

A magical skill with half ice and half wind attributes.

It was high-level spell and quite rare too.

It was also the reason I chose this place among several ice-themed dungeons.

Originally, this was a spell the Ice Witch could only cast under specific conditions, so I nearly missed my chance to acquire it when it was absorbed by the Dark Oobleck.

“Thanks for using it for me.”

[Activated the ‘Copy Skill.’]

[The target’s skill ‘Chillwind (F)’ has been registered in the slot.]

▷ Copy Skill [3/3]

1. Silent Step (B+)

2. Overheat (A) (Amplification ↑)

3. Chillwind (F)

Thinking my movements had been slowed, the Dark Oobleck swung its arm again, but that level of force was hardly enough to affect me.

I swung the sapling weapon without a hitch to meet its attack.

Bang!

The creature was forced to stumble back again. This time, it linked a dark spell to Chillwind.

Black crystals flew at me, mixed into the raging blizzard.

“Still not enough.”

[Wind Barrier]

A barrier of wind wrapped tightly around me and it deflected every one of the dark crystals.

Keeping the shield up, I closed in and struck again.

Bang!

The Dark Oobleck who was continuously pushed back finally came to a halt with both feet planted within the magic circle.

The once simple, wide circle was now filling up with intricate symbols.

“Stay right there. Don’t go anywhere else.”

“——!”

It answered with a sharp screech of defiance while twisting its body to step sideways.

But before it could even take its next step, I appeared right in front of it.

“Gotcha.”

Bang!

“——!”

For the Dark Oobleck, this was all frustrating.

The army of ice monsters crumbled at a mere gesture from me,

It was repeatedly overpowered in close combat,

Its magic had no effect,

And whenever it tried to escape, I blocked its path like a ghost.

With nothing else left to try, it finally resorted to its last option.

The giant Ice Witch Golem which had been solid and formidable collapsed into a shapeless heap and returned to its original oozing sludge state.

It tried to scatter in all directions like that.

“I said no.”

Whiiirrr—

The wind blew from all directions and trapped it in the form of a whirlwind.

A spiral explosion amplified to A+ rank.

The huge whirlwind even pulled in the entire army of ice monsters in the area.

Then the magic circle glowed a bright crimson and unleashed a towering pillar of flame.

Kwoooosh—!

The fire pillar spiraled upward endlessly as if to reach beyond the fortress wall and up to the sky.

Following that, the air compressed by the Spiral Explosion burst free.

Booooom—!

It triggered an even greater explosion of flames.

In the aftermath, not only the Dark Oobleck but also the entire army of ice monsters evaporated without a trace.

Looks like it’s over.

I retraced my steps and climbed back up the fortress wall.

With a few uses of Wind Force, I quickly propelled myself up to the top.

“Finished it in one go without any mistakes. Well done.”

“……”

Though I offered a compliment, Hong Yeon-hwa’s response was utterly flat.

She was exhausted and so she collapsed to the ground. When her tension eased, all the accumulated fatigue seemed to come crashing down at once.

On top of that, she had overused the little mana she had left.

Her core was still at C-rank, yet I had raised her Fire Pillar skill to A-rank and she even used it at maximum output, so by now, her mana was likely depleted.

Even so, the dungeon would be closing soon, so rest or not, she needed to get outside to recover.

I reached out my hand to Hong Yeon-hwa.

“It’s over. Let’s go.”

“…….”

Hong Yeon-hwa stared at my hand in a daze, then slowly placed her own on top of it.

…And then she just stayed there for a long moment.

She must have been too weak to put any strength into her grip.

“Can’t stand up?”

“…Mhmm.”

I had no choice. I moved closer and bent my knees as I turned my back to her.

“Climb on.”

“..….”

Under normal circumstances, she would have hesitated or shrunk back, but this time, Hong Yeon-hwa quietly stretched out her arms and wrapped them around my neck.

It seemed like her mind wasn’t working quite right.

As we walked toward the exit, Hong Yeon-hwa mumbled like someone a little drunk with her face buried against my back.

“Unnie… liar…”

Why was she suddenly talking about her older sister (unnie) here?

Maybe something she had been keeping to herself slipped out without her realizing.

That made it likely to be close to the truth.

So I threw out a casual question.

“What is it?”

“You know… the effect…”

“.…..”

“This… so warm…”

Her words trailed off.

Soon, all I could hear was the soft, steady sound of her breathing against my back.