The Support Ate it All

Chapter 82: 5th Week Mentoring and Duel Battles (5)

Hey, Kim Ho.

Yes, senior.

You crossed the line this time.

I apologize, senior.

You did that on purpose, didnt you?

Not at all, senior.

But why tear it off so forcefully?

The intensity of the fight made me exert more force, senior.

Dang Gyu-young narrowed her eyes and glared at me.

As if doing so would allow her to discern the truth from the lies in my words.

But its the truth.

The combination of the Thiefs Step and the amplified Overheat made it difficult for me to maintain perfect control.

Moreover, trying to peel off the sticker from Dang Gyu-young, who was exerting her full power, inevitably required more strength.

Still, other than accidentally tearing off the button, I was honest in my intention and I met Dang Gyu-youngs gaze without averting my gaze.

..

Dang Gyu-youngs eyebrows dramatically shifted in shape every few seconds.

They would knit into a V when she was angry, then relax into a gentle curve as if she was deep in thought, only to furrow again in renewed irritation.

If one were to guess Dang Gyu-youngs current state of mind, it might go something like this:

She certainly knew that the recent mishap was an unfortunate accident.

But even though she knew, she felt a little hurt.

Despite receiving several apologies, she hesitated to continue venting her frustration at me.

She didnt want to appear petty as a senior.

But her anger hadnt fully dissipated and she didnt want to just let it go.

Amidst this cycle of anger and reflection, Dang Gyu-young suddenly cast her gaze downward.

Still clutching the torn shirt,

She wanted to resolve this quickly and uttered a brief word.

The stickers.

Yes, senior.

When I took the three stickers back and held them out, shadow hands emerged and swiftly snatched them away.

Another shadow hand gestured in the opposite direction.

Look over there.

Yes, senior.

I turned my back completely and began to examine the walls of the round arena.

There was the sound of rustling behind me followed by a sigh.

I half-listened to these noises while checking the quest details.

[Side Quest: 5th Week Duel Battles]

Objective: Remove Stickers (3/3)

Reward: Enhanced Bonus from Mentoring Event (Large)

[Event: 1st Mentoring] (In progress)

[Remaining Duration: 27 Days]

Accelerate your growth with the help of a mentor.

Increased probability of acquiring skills/traits.

Increased skill/trait growth speed

Enhancement bonus (Large) currently applied.

The quest reward was an increase in the growth bonus from the mentoring event.

I succeeded on my very first attempt and was rewarded with an enhancement bonus (large).

Normally, one might expect a bonus of around 20%, but with this large bonus it exceeded 100%.

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It meant my growth rate had more than doubled.

For someone like me who was eager to learn a few powerful skills and traits through this mentoring session, this reward was very good.

However, since this was a mentoring event, progress was impossible without the cooperation of Dang Gyu-yeong regardless of the bonus received.

I hoped her anger would subside soon.

Poke.

While I was lost in thought, I suddenly felt something poking my back.

It felt like a finger and it began to scratch back and forth across my skin.

It seemed as if someone was writing letters on my back.

Trying to guess what it was Id?

Then, something else was written beside it.

Senior?

As I glanced over my shoulder, I saw Dang Gyu-yeongs very upset face.

She poked my cheek with her index finger.

Who said you could turn around? Look in front of you; in front of you.

Her index finger seemed to urge me on as it pressed firmly into my cheek.

Since I felt guilty, I turned my head back to its original position and willingly offered my back as a canvas for her to scribble on.

Go ahead; write to your hearts content until youre no longer upset.

.

Dang Gyu-young finished writing idiot on my back, and then she continued to scribble down a series of trivial insults, including jerk and country bumpkin.

Finally, her voice softened a bit, indicating that her anger might have subsided slightly.

. Turn around.

When I was allowed to turn back, I saw Dang Gyu-young wearing a zip-up hoodie over her clothes.

She had zipped it up all the way.

The two stickers that were originally on her shirt were now obscured by the zip-up, leaving only the one on her thigh visible in its original place.

Try that again next time.

Ill be careful.

Lets go.

***

When I came out using the teleportation magic circle, I could feel a heavy tension among the three who had left before us.

The physical and mental aftermath of being hit by Dang Gyu-young was apparently more significant than I had anticipated.

At first, Song Cheon-hye tried to act as if everything was normal, but perhaps finding it difficult to keep up the pretense, she quietly took a seat in the front row of the spectator stands. On the other hand, Kwak Ji-cheol sprawled himself across two or three seats.

Hong Yeon-hwa, having been relatively unharmed thanks to my intervention at critical moments, seemed to feel no need to join the others in the stands and instead stood in front of the stage with her arms crossed.

Then, as Dang Gyu-young and I made our appearance, the three of them surged towards us.

Even though Dang Gyu-young came out wearing a zippped-up hoodie, unlike when she entered, Kwak Ji-cheol didnt seem to feel anything strange.

Song Cheon-hye, however, sensed something suspicious and shifted her skeptical gaze between Dang Gyu-young and me.

Given the warm weather, it was unlikely that anyone would wear a hoodie zip-up to get warmer, and even if she did, she wouldnt have uncomfortably pulled the zipper up all the way to her chin.

And Hong Yeon-hwa,

!

Seemed to tremble slightly as if she had discovered something more.

Her gaze was fixed on Dang Gyu-youngs thigh, or more precisely, on the sticker attached to it.

At first glance, you wont notice much of a difference, but if you look a little more closely, you will notice that the position of the sticker has changed very slightly.

This meant that the sticker had been removed and then put back on.

The look Hong Yeon-hwa gave me likely carried this sentiment:

He actually managed to pull it off!

Amidst these varied thoughts,

Dang Gyu-young took a moment to carefully scan the first-year students once again.

And she began to speak with a sigh.

Um Originally, I planned to follow the manual and give feedback individually based on skills, but it seems thats not whats important right now.

There was a glaring common flaw that overshadowed the need for individual feedback.

Dang Gyu-young must have decided it was better to address this issue.

The flaw was,

Your close combat is too weak. All of you. Its not just weak; its disappointingly so. Even considering youre mages, its weak.

!

Think carefully about what you did when you faced me just now. Did any of you even try to touch the sticker?

The three of them momentarily bristled at the critique of their abilities, but they soon fell silent again at Dang Gyu-youngs follow-up.

Because they were unable to find words to retort with.

For example, Hong Yeon-hwa who had been watching from the sidelines.

At first, she launched her attacks with a semblance of momentum.

However, after deviating from her initial strategy, she failed to find any significant openings in Dang Gyu-youngs defense and ended up merely exchanging ineffective jabs before being overwhelmed by Dang Gyu-youngs counterapproach.

Finally, when I forced her to engage in close combat, she tried reaching for the sticker, but she literally just stretched out her hand and it was difficult to see it as a valid action.

Following that, it was a one-sided beating.

I wasnt exactly sure how Song Cheon-hye and Kwak Ji-cheol fared, but I suspected their experiences werent much different from Hong Yeon-hwas.

Dang Gyu-youngs critique continued.

Shouldnt close combat be a basic skill if youre aiming to be an all-rounder? Even if we concede, for arguments sake, that you dont aspire to be all-rounders and just want to be average ranged mages, you should still have at least some basic countermeasures for close combat.

Thats a fair point.

I nodded my head in agreement.

Indeed, her advice was invaluable for these fledglings.

Imagine youre facing an opponent with strong charging or mobility skills. Do you think merely backing away will shake them off? You need to withstand their attack, even if only for a moment, create an opening, and then widen the gap to stand a chance.

.!

Dang Gyu-young merely gave them an example but the three of them flinched as if she had pointed them out specifically.

They must have experienced a similar scenario before.

Especially Kwak Ji-cheol and Hong Yeon-hwa, who seemed to recall a certain memory, glanced at me briefly before hurriedly averting their eyes.

So, lets focus exclusively on close combat in this mentoring session. Our goal will be to master close combat well enough to take down opponents who are at least 200 to 300 points below us. I believe its doable. You all have a solid foundation.

Considering the skills and traits they had learned from their respective towers, each had more than a couple to their names.

Take Hong Yeon-hwa for example who possessed a skill called Overheat which was highly suitable for close combat.

It was just a matter of using the skills properly.

With that, the direction forward became clear.

If we keep at it until you get used to it, somethings bound to stick.

The plan was to fight brutally and accumulate experience through combat.

And most of those battles were expected to be against Dang Gyu-young herself.

It would be tough on their bodies, but skill grows faster the more one pushes and twists their body.

As for the duel battle, Ill give you three more chances to challenge me. If you manage to remove all your stickers within those attempts, youll gain 50 points. Fail, and youll lose 50 points.

It was an encouragement to try challenging her once they started to gain confidence.

If they failed, they would go back to sparring with Dang Gyu-young to hone their skills and then challenge again.

Earning 50 points in a duel battle equated to winning two matches against opponents of a similar score, or the points one might lose in defeat.

Even though failing wouldnt be a major setback, it was enough to instill a reasonable level of tension.

As for strategy battles honestly, theres a lot to discuss there too, but for now, were focusing solely on close combat. Figure out the rest on your own.

***

The schedule for the week could be summarized as follows:

Academic and personal training routines continued as usual.

Any spare time was devoted to mentoring sessions.

Given our groups proven weakness in close combat, we engaged in one-on-one sparring sessions with Dang Gyu-young to gain experience.

Each person sparred for about 30 minutes a day.

Why are you even receiving mentoring?

As soon as we were alone, Dang Gyu-young questioned me.

This weeks schedule was built under the assumption that we were all weak in close combat.

However, that assumption didnt apply to me.

I had already removed all my stickers long ago.

In the end, it seemed that Dang Gyu-young was at a loss about what specifically she could teach me since my training needed to be different from the rest.

I responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Is there any other reason? Im here for mentoring because I want to learn as much as I can.

Do you think theres something you can learn from me? You seem to be doing just fine on your own.

Theres a lot I can learn. This time, especially, I need your help.

The notion that her help was needed made Dang Gyu-youngs eyes sparkle.

Is that so? What is it?

Im looking to master a new trait.

What kind of trait?

Its a long story, but for now, Ill just say its related to evasion.

Evasion, you say Then you do need my help.

Naturally, to learn a trait related to dodging, someone would have to attack me.

Moreover, there was another reason why Dang Gyu-young had to be my sparring partner:

[Event: 1st Mentoring] (In progress)

Enhancement bonus (Large) currently applied

Although my growth speed has been increased to more than double with the side quest reward, there was one condition.

I had to receive help from a mentor.

No matter what kind of training I did, the presence of a mentor was required to secure the bonus.

For one reason or another, Dang Gyu-young had to be my sparring partner.

Even though it was vague, Dang Gyu-young actually welcomed the direction I provided.

Alright, lets give it a try. Get ready.

Shadows began to flicker.

However, just as the battle was about to start, I raised my hand to stop Dang Gyu-young.

Senior.

What now?

Id prefer if you removed your bracelet.

?

Dang Gyu-young blinked her eyes and lifted her arm.

While showing the C-Rank restriction bracelet she wore for the duel battles.

This?

Yes, that.

You want to do this without any rank restrictions?

It would increase the chances of success.

What sort of trait requires that? Let me at least hear its name.

If the acquisition condition included evading a full-powered attack from a third-year, it couldnt be an ordinary trait.

It was just as Dang Gyu-young had guessed.

I remember that when I was playing <Dragon Slayer Academy>, only two or three people including me, were able to master this trait even among the top ten rankers.

It was known to very few due to the cumbersome conditions attached to its acquisition, and even once it became known, many gave up on learning it if the conditions didnt align.

However, the power it bestowed upon mastery was formidable, making it one of the most challenging defensive traits to contend with among countless others.

The name of this trait was;

[Distortion].

Thats another interesting thing you said. What does it do?

Ill show you after Ive mastered it.

Alright then.

Dang Gyu-young slipped her wrist out of the C-rank restriction bracelet.

As the shackles were released and her skills regained their original rank, the shadows at her feet became denser and darker.

Are you confident you can dodge?

Somewhat.

Hmm, fine. Give it your best.

The shadows then stirred violently,

And with the bracelet off, an immense torrent of shadows burst forth that far surpassed anything before.

Whoosh!