The Support Ate it All

Chapter 25: 1st Week Duel Battles (3)

[The Core rank increased. (E->C)]

[Kim Ho]

Skills

Amplification (E)

Copy-Skill [2/2]

1. Hummingbird (E)

2. Magical Engineering (B)

Traits

Core (D)

Monarch (F)

Copy-Trait [1/1]

1. Elemental Resistance (S)

Equipment

School Uniform (D)

Earth Staff (E)

Inventory

10 Silver Coins

10x10x10 Cube Blueprint

[Duel Battle Score: 386 points]

[Strategy Battle Score: 683 points]

(949 +1,200pt)

Throughout the night until dawn broke, I had been constantly working on the cube creation and meditating.

Having absorbed the Dark Ice Crystal and added two spiritual pills which were received as a tuition fee from Yang Ji-hong, I was able to achieve a D-rank [Core].

Though I never showed it, the mana consumption was severe whenever I used magical engineering or hummingbird with amplification.

Now, it felt like I could breathe a bit more freely.

The creation of the [Cube of Life] had also made great progress.

The emanating green energy became denser, and in one corner, sprouts seemed almost ready to emerge.

I had come more than halfway through.

One more day of effort and it would be complete.

After taking care of the current urgent matters, my thoughts wandered to Seo Ye-in and what she might be doing.

When I focused on the cube or meditation, I often entered a semi-trance state and since it was unlikely that she would have mastered distribution overnight, I hadnt been too concerned.

But then, when I checked the back of my student ID, I saw that a message had arrived.

[Seo Ye-in: Done]

She did it already?

It wasnt likely that Seo Ye-in had quit out of boredom; rather, there was a high chance that she had actually mastered distribution.

When I went to the mana cultivation room that Seo Ye-in used, I found it empty.

She must have left because my response was delayed.

[Kim Ho: Hey]

[Kim Ho: Where are you?]

[Kim Ho: Where are you now?]

I sent a few messages but no reply came.

She must be sleeping.

Given that she had been practicing distribution and constantly infusing mana into a glass box, it made sense that she would be exhausted.

In such situations, its better to take it easy.

Although I was curious to know if she had really finished my assignment, it wasnt something I could find out by being impatient.

I decided to wait and check with her when we met in class.

***

[Seo Ye-in: On my way]

[Seo Ye-in: (Running dog emoji)]

Just like I had guessed, Seo Ye-in had gone to sleep.

And she also slept very soundly.

I knew this because her reply arrived only around lunchtime.

Naturally, she had missed all classes until then.

Click

As the classroom door opened, all eyes in Class 3 turned simultaneously towards Seo Ye-in.

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She passed by these gazes indifferently and as she trudged to her seat,

Seo Ye-in.

Lee Soo-doks cold voice stopped Seo Ye-in in her tracks.

He glared at her and asked as if interrogating her.

Why were you late?

I overslept

Seo Ye-in replied as she yawned softly.

Seo Ye-in looked to be unfazed by Lee Soo-doks intense glare and she brushed it off casually while the watching students turned pale.

Faced with the Human Butcher, her nonchalant attitude suggested they might be dealing with a corpse today.

Perhaps they wouldnt even find a body

What were you doing to oversleep?

I was practicing my magical power.

What kind of practice?

Imbuing magic bullets, I guess.

When she said bullets, her eyes unconsciously shifted towards me and Lee Soo-dok seemed to catch that.

His eyes flickered in my direction.

And his gaze grew even more intense than before.

Its unnerving

I couldnt understand why he always did that.

No matter how much I thought about it, I had no connection with that man

Lee Soo-dok glanced back and forth between me and Seo Ye-in and started thinking about something for a moment before withdrawing his gaze.

Pay more attention to managing your condition. If youre late again, youll get a demerit point.

Okay.

The class resumed.

In an atmosphere that had grown even heavier.

Fortunately, lunchtime arrived soon after.

***

Youve mastered distribution?

Mhm.

Lets see it.

Seo Ye-in opened one of her hands.

In the blink of an eye, a cube of mana appeared.

She managed the precise amount of mana for an F-rank [Magic Bullet] without a glass box, and the mana inside was also distributed evenly.

I nodded approvingly.

Its perfect.

Her distribution was flawless, with not a single fault to find.

She even learned it faster than me.

I had set the fastest record in <Dragon Slayer Academy> by spending an entire day on it but Seo Ye-in shattered that record in just half a day.

It was truly a devilish talent.

This makes teaching fun.

Shall we practice magic bullets again today?

Good.

Seo Ye-in immediately accepted my proposal as if she had been waiting for it.

We secured a mana cultivation room, just like yesterday, and entered.

I will now begin the second special lecture on magic bullets.

Clap

Seo Ye-in clapped silently again.

I floated a mana cube above my hand that had its distribution process complete.

Half of the magic bullet is distribution, and the other half is compression.

The size of the cube was compressed to half in an instant.

The shrunken cube kept reducing in size by half and half again until it finally became as small as a bullet.

Lets start by gradually reducing it like this.

Mhm.

Seo Ye-in created her mana cube.

As she focused her mind, it bulged and dipped irregularly.

Eventually, one side collapsed, and mana leaked out like air from a punctured balloon.

She stole a glance at me, but from my perspective, it wasnt something unusual.

After all, everyone goes through this at first.

Again.

The cube was pressed flat from top to bottom and then returned to its original form.

It stretched upwards again only to revert to its original form.

After several attempts, it collapsed again, like a balloon with a hole.

Again.

Seo Ye-in kept trying to compress it, but each time, she was only met with failure.

Again, and again, and again.

As the number of attempts increased, the doubt in my heart also grew.

It shouldnt take this long, right?

Seo Ye-in who was holding the collapsing mana cube looked at me.

As always, her face was expressionless, but her eyes seemed to be asking for help.

Its always best to find out about these things yourself, but perhaps a bit of guidance was needed here.

Mana.

Immediately, Seo Ye-in created a new mana cube.

I gathered a tiny mana particle at the tip of my index finger and poked the cube with it.

Pop

The particle burrowed into the cube and settled at its center.

Think of that as the core, and do it with the image of pushing from the outside and pulling from the inside.

Seo Ye-in nodded slightly and concentrated.

Nothing happened for a while.

However, the cube soon began to slowly shrink in size.

It kept getting smaller and smaller until it finally became a small bullet.

I couldnt help but let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

She succeeded in one try.

I think a genius is a genius if she can catch on immediately after only being given a direction.

Seo Ye-in seemed slightly excited, perhaps because she had solved a difficult problem.

Now, just practice like yesterday. You should be able to do it in one breath.

Snap!

As soon as I flicked my finger, a magic bullet was wedged between my thumb and index finger.

When distribution and compression happen in an instant, the cube is formed and compressed so quickly that the process couldnt be seen, leaving only the bullet.

Its only at that level that one is granted the [Magic Bullet] skill.

I was a support in my class, but if I were a gunslinger, maybe I would have a C-rank magic bullet by now.

Ill be in the next room. Send a message when you get the skill.

Mhm.

I waited while touching the Cube of Life.

I had a strong feeling it would end early, so I didnt concentrate too deeply.

Sure enough, I had only cast [Amplification] twice when a message arrived.

[Seo Ye-in: Got it]

[Kim Ho: Magic Bullet?]

[Seo Ye-in: Yep]

[Seo Ye-in: (Dancing bear emoji)]

[Kim Ho: Good job]

When I entered the mana cultivation room, Seo Ye-in proudly extended her hand to me.

A blue bullet lay on her palm.

It was a perfectly shaped F-rank magic bullet.

I let out a hollow laugh.

Its hard to believe even as I see it.

Would anyone believe me if I said that it took her less than half a day to go through distribution, compression, and acquiring the [Magic Bullet] skill?

Even I, who witnessed the entire process, found it hard to believe.

A sense of greed began to unfurl within me.

Having saved considerable time, I felt it might be feasible to advance another step.

Why not try for an E-rank while were at it?

Mhm.

I borrowed a larger glass box from the training center.

An E-rank requires compressing over three times more mana, meaning the initial amount needed is greater than that for an F-rank.

It meant starting from distribution again.

However, since she had gotten the hang of it with the F-rank, I expected the E-rank to take significantly less time.

That day, Seo Ye-in ultimately succeeded in raising the rank of her [Magic Bullet] by one level.

***

Sandstorms swirled around.

With the sun blazing fiercely and occasionally heated sand whipping through the air, clinging to the skin, anyone would yearn to escape this place swiftly.

Yet Seo Ye-in seemed unfazed as she settled herself on the scorching sand.

In her hand, she held a long, thick rifle shimmering with a black gloss and the optical camouflage ghillie suit made her invisible.

[Seo Ye-in 99% vs Kwak Ji-cheol 98%]

The figure of her opponent, Kwak Ji-cheol, was equally obscured.

Not through an invisible ghillie suit, but by hiding within a bulging mound of sand.

An earth mage from the Emerald Magic Tower.

In a desert area like today, he was literally the worst opponent she could face.

Of course, for the mage Kwak Ji-cheol, facing a gunslinger wasnt exactly a welcome scenario either.

Theres always a reason why people say gunslingers and mages are incompatible.

However, he had observed the placement test duel battle between Seo Ye-in and Song Cheon-hye.

He had learned how to fight a hidden gunslinger by watching Song Cheon-hye and he was now imitating the tactics she used.

While he may not have overwhelming magical power like Song Cheon-hye, he was more confident in his defensive capabilities since he was skilled at earth magic.

Kwak Ji-cheol first wrapped magical power around his body like armor.

Then he pulled the surrounding sand up to form a mound and infused it with mana to harden it.

Seo Ye-in read all this information through her eyes.

[Magic Armor (E)]

[Earth Barrier (D)]

Kwak Ji-cheol solidified his defense like a turtle and then cast an additional spell.

[Earth Grabber (E)]

Hands made of sand groped and roamed the ground.

The moment they detected Seo Ye-ins position, those hands would move to simultaneously grab her and impede her movements.

It would be very easy to finish off a gunslinger who couldnt move.

The sandy hands were gradually expanding their search area.

It seemed like it was only a matter of time before she was discovered.

Even if she wasnt caught by these hands, the footprints she left in the sand as she moved were highly likely to give her away.

However, there was not a hint of crisis on Seo Ye-ins face.

She opened one hand.

Mana gathered and condensed into a bullet shape on her white palm.

The completed Magic Bullet was brought to the rifle and seamlessly absorbed into it.

Seo Ye-in observed the sand mound where Kwak Ji-cheol was hiding through her scope.

Her eyes read the flow of mana maintaining the sand mound.

She noticed parts where the flow of mana shifted unnaturally.

Places like that had always been the weak spot.

She aimed calmly and then pulled the trigger of her rifle.

Crack!

The Magic Bullet, slicing through the air, not only shattered Kwak Ji-cheols solid sand mound but also his thinly layered magical armor.

As the sand mound crumbled, Kwak Ji-cheols figure was revealed.

Caught off guard by the sudden clearing of his view, Kwak Ji-cheol couldnt grasp the situation immediately, but his face quickly turned to one of horror.

No, this, this cant be.

How could something so unbelievable happen?

How could his barrier which was supposedly stronger than Song Cheon-hyes, be so easily destroyed when hers had withstood the attack before?

But there was no time for panic.

I must block it!

Kwak Ji-cheol hurriedly tried to gather sand to restore his Earth Barrier, but before he could, a second bullet struck his face.

Boom!

.

Kwak Ji-cheol lost consciousness and fell backward.

[Seo Ye-in Win vs Kwak Ji-cheol Lose]

[Duel Battle Score: 630+30 points]

Seo Ye-in stared pensively at the scoreboard and then tilted her head slightly.

She raised her finger and tapped the corner of her mouth.

Her mouth seemed to have curled up slightly, perhaps.