The Support Ate it All

Chapter 76: Midnight Walk

As the night deepened, the thieves club and Kim Hos group disbanded immediately upon leaving the student disciplinary committee room.

Go Hyeon-woo headed to the infirmary to treat his internal injuries.

While the members of the thieves club said they were tired and went to their dormitories.

Meanwhile, Dang Gyu-young had something she needed to say to Kim Ho and questions she wanted to ask.

So, she subtly called out to her junior who was just beginning to walk away.

Would you like to walk for a bit?

Sure.

It was before dawn so the sky was still a dark blue, almost black.

Following the path illuminated by streetlights, the two of them walked in step.

Even a path taken daily could feel different when walked in this time and when it was just the two of them.

Perhaps because of that, no words were exchanged between Dang Gyu-young and Kim Ho for a while.

Then, Dang Gyu-young hesitated for a moment before turning her head away and breaking the silence.

Im sorry. For getting caught.

The core objective of this mission, infiltrating the deep dungeon, had been a success. However, the missions requirement was to exit the underground floors without being detected until the very end.

But they were caught by Kwak Seung-jae at the last moment and received demerit points, so the completion of the task was less than perfect.

Especially since the president of the thieves club was directly involved in this. It was all the more disappointing.

Kim Ho sighed deeply.

Senior-nim, Im a bit disappointed. No matter how delicious the jerky was, you should have stayed focused until the end.

No, thats not it! I was focused the whole time!

For someone who was focused, you seemed to enjoy the jerky quite a bit. Werent you more focused on that?

Hey, thats really not it! Honestly, Kwak Seung-jae just made a really good move

Dang Gyu-young got flustered and stepped in front of Kim Ho only to notice a playful smile on his lips.

It seemed that now that they had become a bit closer, Kim Ho would occasionally play such pranks.

If it had been any of the other brooding members of the club, Dang Gyu-young would have immediately set about enforcing discipline. But coming from this junior, she somehow found it cute.

So she ended up just giving him a light shove on the shoulder.

Aisshi. Stop teasing me.

You dont have to feel too sorry. Im not really bothered by just one demerit point.

Even though it was just one demerit point, it wasnt without impact on the grades.

They accumulate over time and can become a bigger issue.

However, Kim Ho seemed unconcerned about grades and had a truly nonchalant attitude.

He then changed the subject and brought up Kwak Seung-jaes tracking skills.

Senior Kwak Seung-jae s tracking ability is really something, isnt it? He stuck with us all the way, even back in the temporary storage incident.

Exactly. That guy has had a nose for tracking right from the start; a real bloodhound.

Kwak Seung-jae had excellent detection and tracking skills, but he also had deep focus and an oddly good intuition which allowed him to have a history of arresting second- and third-year members of the thief club even during his freshman year.

While the older thieves club members were more skilled, Kwak Seung-jae still managed to catch them off guard once or twice out of ten attempts.

It got even trickier when he became a second year.

When Kwak Seung-jae was a first-year, he managed to catch the thieves only once or twice out of ten attempts. But now that he was a second-year, his success rate had increased to two or three times out of ten.

And today happens to be one of those two or three times just to clear up any possible misunderstanding.

Dang Gyu-young was keen on proving that she was not as incompetent as she appeared to be.

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She cleared her throat and steered the conversation back on track after it had momentarily veered off course.

Anyway, its true that our service was lacking, so Ill offer more help with the cleanup. This should resolve any issues, right?

Id appreciate that.

Let me take a look at your hand for a moment.

There had been something that had been bothering her for a while.

Dang Gyu-young carefully examined Kim Hos hand and started turning it over back and forth.

Faint burn marks marred the skin.

These were the aftereffects of using [Inferno Fist].

For some reason, although Kim Hos hands had been unscathed after using Inferno Fist previously, this time marks remained.

He must have had a tough time in the Black Death dungeon.

What exactly happened inside would be a story for another time.

For now, more pressing issues needed to be addressed.

Seung-jae must have seen this, right?

I believe so.

Kwak Seung-jae had delegated all interactions to Oh Se-hoon and he chose instead to step back and observe everyones every move.

During this observation, his gaze landed on Kim Ho far more frequently than on anyone else, so it was highly unlikely that he missed the burn marks.

This could lead to being caught. Did you use Inferno Fist a lot in the Black Death dungeon?

To be honest, I made quite a mess of things there.

The way he said it meant that he had indeed used it a lot.

The scene must be chaotic with fires and destruction everywhere.

If the swordsmanship club had successfully succeeded in conquering the black death dungeon, the scene would be saved as a replay.

And that would remain as great evidence.

However, even with such evidence, it wouldnt immediately lead to the conclusion that Kim Ho has mastered Inferno Fist and used it against the Black Death clan.

After all, there are numerous fire spells.

But as these circumstances pile up, the suspicions of the disciplinary committee would deepen and the probability that the academic authorities would grant permission to use the [Magnifying Glass] item would also increase.

Once it was confirmed through the magnifying glass that Kim Ho had mastered the Inferno Fist, things would start to become really troublesome.

It was essential, then, to take measures in advance to prevent the investigation from making any progress.

The key issue is whether the replay of the Black Death dungeon can be kept private.

I would appreciate it if you could exert your influence in that regard.

Lets do that. Its in our best interest not to have you caught.

If Kim Ho was caught, those who had received demerit points that day were at risk of being implicated as well.

With the charge of colluding in a deep infiltration mission.

Therefore, not just for the sake of cleaning up the mess that she caused but it was in everyones best interest for the replay to disappear.

The course of action the swordsmanship club would take remained uncertain but Dang Gyu-Young was planning to use her influence to its fullest.

Dang Gyu-Young cautiously added a suggestion.

While were at it Should I help a bit with the issue of ignoring the bidding process and going ahead?

No, thats something I need to handle. Please leave anything related to that to me.

However, Kim Ho was very firm in his response.

Dang Gyu-Young pouted her lips.

She thought to herself how surprisingly stubborn he could be.

She would have helped if he had just asked.

Worried as I am about you, I know youre capable, but can you truly handle it?

Yes. If I thought it was too much for me, I wouldnt have started in the first place.

Alright, I understand.

Dang Gyu-Young reluctantly nodded her head in response to his firm answer. She realized that to doubt him further would be akin to disrespecting Kim Ho.

The atmosphere turned a bit awkward due to his firm refusal and a brief silence followed.

After walking with her gaze fixed on the tips of her shoes for a while, Dang Gyu-Young carefully broke the silence.

Kim Ho, theres something Im curious about.

Ask away.

You. What is it that you want so badly to achieve by doing all this?

It had only been a month since Kim Ho had enrolled at Dragon Slayer Academy.

In that short span, he had already violated several major and minor school rules and clashed with the Emerald Magic Tower which was an intermediate-level club.

Now, he seemed poised to create friction with one of the largest forces within Dragon Slayer Academy. The swordsmanship club.

What was he hoping to gain by going to such lengths?

What reckless act was he planning next?

Dang Gyu-Young was well aware that her own role as a thief hardly put her in a position to lecture others.

Yet she quite liked this junior of hers.

And she didnt want to see him cross an irreversible line and meet a tragic end.

It was with such a worried heart that she had asked about his intentions, only to receive an unexpected reply.

World peace.

Youre joking again.

Dang Gyu-Youngs expression turned sour.

Her serious question was met with a sarcastic response as usual.

Just like the time he claimed to have graduated 200 times.

Perhaps those seemingly nonsensical words were Kim Hos way of diplomatically refusing to answer.

She sensed this during their previous exchanges and Dang Gyu-Young had simply shaken her head in disbelief and let it pass.

But this time, she was determined to hear a real answer.

Just one more time.

She gently pulled Kim Ho towards her, locked eyes with him, and asked again,

Im asking you seriously. Cant you tell me?

Dang Gyu-Young looked up to him and Kim Ho looked down.

The two stayed silent for some time.

Perhaps sensing her sincerity, Kim Ho slowly averted his gaze to the distance and began,

I told you Ive graduated over 200 times.

Dang Gyu-young who was about to say, Are you saying that again? saw Kim Hos serious expression and closed her mouth again.

She couldnt decide whether it was a lie or not.

During those 200 times, not every experience was pleasant. Especially in the early stages, when the numbers were in single digits, I was much less experienced which led to more unfortunate events.

Like what?

Like people dying, getting injured, things like that.

Kim Ho mentioned these events casually but they weighed heavily on Dang Gyu-Youngs heart.

She assumed the claim of 200 graduations was surely a lie, which meant these stories were likely veiled truths of a painful past etched deep within him.

Im sorry. Maybe I shouldnt have asked.

Its alright. Those days are behind me now. But one thing I made sure of during that time.

Whats that?

Kim Ho continued to stare into the distance and answered in a calm tone.

To never let anything of mine be taken away. To ensure that no one I care about dies.

To ensure that no one I care about dies

Dang Gyu-Young softly repeated the words to herself.

Is that what you want?

Yes.

That sounds difficult.

It is.

Students aspiring to be heroes at the Dragon Slayer Academy all live with the uncertainty of the future.

They never know when they might be thrown into the midst of battle, where life and death hang in the balance.

In such places, its challenging enough to cling to ones own life, let alone take care of ones people.

Kim Ho added,

Thats why we have to become stronger until it gets easier.

To become faster and overwhelmingly stronger.

Dang Gyu-Young felt she was beginning to understand.

Thats why he was striving to such lengths.

Being cautious and protecting yourself might bring immediate comfort, but you might face a more difficult fight later and possibly end up losing someone.

On the other hand, even if getting into disputes with other clubs and breaking a few school rules now meant getting entangled in all sorts of trouble, it could ultimately lead to achieving what was desired.

Kim Ho had concluded that the latter option would bring fewer regrets.

Its a relief; this should be fine.

She felt like a heavy burden was lifted from her chest after hearing that.

If protecting others was Kim Hos goal, then ensuring he also remained unharmed should also be part of that objective.

With this in mind, he would naturally take care not to cross any lines that shouldnt be crossed.

Dang Gyu-Youngs lips curled into a gentle smile.

I like that.

If the side of Kim Ho she had just seen was indeed genuine, she was more than willing to be his accomplice moving forward.

Before they knew it, the dormitory was in sight.

Despite deliberately taking a longer route, Dang Gyu-Young felt a tinge of regret that it was already time to part ways.

She wanted to take another round and talk about trivial matters, but she decided to stop here for today.

After all, today wasnt the only day they had.

Its getting late. Lets go in and rest.

Rest well, senior.

Yep, see you in Monday!

?

Kim Ho looked puzzled and tilted his head.

As if he was recalling whether they had arranged something for Monday together.

But then nothing came to mind and he asked.

Why Monday?

Dang Gyu-Young gave a playful wide smile in return.

Why should you be the only one to tease? Its my turn now.

I wont tell you.