The Support Ate it All

I was wearing the Totem of Disguise along with the battle suit, so I looked exactly like faculty member K.

However, Jegal So-so gave me a curious look and spoke.

“Inferno Fist.”

“……”

“You’re Kim Ho, aren’t you?”

I had anticipated that someone with sharp observation skills might figure it out, and as expected, her position as the vice president of the Swordsmanship Club wasn’t for nothing.

How she connected the dots to reach that conclusion would have to wait for another time.

Clink.

For now, we needed to deal with the enemy before us.

There stood a lone and large knight.

Looks like the difficulty is increasing.

We had involuntarily cleared the mid-boss room, and from this point onward, the monsters that appeared would shift to small, elite groups.

Naturally, the Dark Ooblecks that consumed those monsters would become even stronger.

It seemed they had fused two or three knights into one, as this creature now had four arms. The two arms on its right held huge greatswords, while the two on its left carried a longbow.

The knight slightly twisted its body before suddenly nocking an arrow and shooting it in one swift motion.

Whizz—!

I dodged the arrow aimed at the center of my forehead and spoke.

“I’ll handle the damage-dealing. You two tie it down.”

“Okay.”

“Mhmm.”

Jegal So-so and Dang Gyu-young readily agreed.

They likely had their own B-rank offensive skills, but compared to Inferno Fist, they might fall a bit short.

Inferno Fist, though penalized with heavy drawbacks, was overwhelmingly powerful. Since it was a fire area-of-effect skill, it was especially effective against Dark Ooblecks.

Whizz—!

The Oobleck knight loosed another arrow, and then immediately charged toward us.

Its speed was astonishing, to the point that ogres seemed sluggish by comparison.

At the same time, it swung its greatswords in wide arcs. As we ducked or lightly leaped to evade the blades—

Whizz—!

The creature’s left arms fired arrows once again, this time aiming at Dang Gyu-young.

“……!”

Caught in the motion of evading the greatswords, Dang Gyu-young nearly lost her balance as the arrows closed in. But she succeeded in evading it with acrobatic, flexible movements.

I called out to her.

“They’re coming from behind, too.”

Screeeeech!

Sure enough, the arrows the creature had fired were now flying back toward us.

Though they took the shape of arrows, they were essentially parts of the Dark Oobleck itself. Each one moved as if it were an independent entity.

Shadow butterflies intercepted them mid-flight and knocked them down one by one. However, the Oobleck knight’s relentless barrage meant the number of arrows continued to grow.

Dang Gyu-young frowned slightly.

“This isn’t something we can drag out.”

“Let’s finish it quickly.”

I replied as I leaned to dodge the greatsword’s swing.

Taking a step back, I clenched my fist tightly and black flames began to ignite from it.

The Dark Oobleck swung its greatsword again as if determined not to give me an opening, but Jegal So-so stepped in and thrust her sword in response.

Her thin, delicate rapier collided with the huge thick greatsword that was nearly the size of a human body.

The greatsword froze in place as if caught in an invisible lock.

Moments later, shadows rippled at the Oobleck’s feet, and spikes like skewers burst forth, piercing through it repeatedly.

Though it was a slime-type monster and wouldn’t take significant damage from such attacks, Dang Gyu-young had anticipated this.

The shadow spikes that were still impaling the creature shifted and connected together to form a net that trapped it.

Seizing this brief moment when its movements were restricted, I thrust my fist forward.

A fiery storm surged forth, engulfing the creature completely.

Whooooooooooosh!

Even so, I tightened my fist again.

“Once more!”

“……!”

“……!”

Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so who had been starting to relax immediately tensed and refocused on the front.

Sure enough, through the flames, a black silhouette flickered. Despite taking the Inferno Fist head-on, the creature hadn’t fallen.

Soon, the Oobleck knight emerged with its form partially collapsed. Its greatsword which was also crumbling swung wildly.

But Jegal So-so lightly struck it with her rapier, and each time she did, the greatsword stopped unnaturally mid-swing or sliced harmlessly through empty air.

Dang Gyu-young followed up with her shadow magic, chaining it with precision. Once again, the restrained creature was struck by another Inferno Fist.

Whooooooooooosh—!

This time, the Dark Oobleck was completely consumed by the fiery storm.

Dang Gyu-young peered cautiously into the flames and asked,

“It’s over, right?”

“Yes, it’s over.”

Only then did Dang Gyu-young let out a sigh of relief. But a moment later, she turned to Jegal So-so with another question.

“But how did you know?”

It seemed she was curious about how Jegal So-so had realized my true identity.

Jegal So-so smiled gently.

“I actually suspected it from the beginning. I tend to have a wide network after all.”

Jegal So-so, as the vice president of the swordsmanship club, actively interacts not only with students but also with faculty members.

On the other hand, I was someone she had never seen before, so she had been keeping an eye on me the whole time.

“I also thought there must be a reason for distributing the strategy guide.”

The revised strategy guide had been distributed with the good intention of helping the subjugation team clear the dungeon efficiently.

Although Jegal So-so understood that fact, she still suspected that there might be some connection between me and the subjugation team.

“And the decisive factor was the Inferno Fist.”

A prohibited skill that very few people have mastered.

Even fewer can nullify its penalties.

Jegal So-so’s smile deepened slightly.

“Each clue on its own might seem odd but could be overlooked. But when three clues all point to the same person, the story changes.”

“…That makes sense.”

Both of their gazes turned toward me at the same time, and I decided not to hide it any longer.

“Great deduction, senior-nim. It seems you even knew I had mastered the Inferno Fist.”

“I found the connection while covering up the Black Death Dungeon issue. This is my first time seeing it in action, though.”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Jegal So-so turned to Dang Gyu-young and asked,

“Did you know too?”

“Oh? Oooh! I met and talked with Kim Ho in advance.”

Of course, Dang Gyu-young hadn’t pieced together clues; she had simply guessed the totem by instinct.

But it seemed she didn’t want to reveal that to Jegal So-so, so she brushed it off vaguely.

From the way Jegal So-so’s eyes flashed briefly, it seemed she sensed something odd, but she let it slide for now.

Then she looked at me and asked,

“What do you plan to do now?”

“Please feel free to speak casually, senior-nim.”

“In that case, I will.”

Perhaps because of Jegal So-so’s friendly tone, Dang Gyu-young pursed her lips in mild displeasure.

However, the moment Jegal So-so turned back, she returned to her expressionless face.

I pretended I hadn’t noticed anything and began to speak.

“To answer your earlier question, of course, I plan to continue moving forward.”

“Do you think the three of us can manage? It’s not that I doubt your skills, but we don’t know what might come next. We might get separated again.”

“There’s no need to worry about that.”

By now, the subjugation team members should have been sufficiently dispersed.

Even if left alone, they would wear themselves out in repeated battles with the Dark Ooblecks. The Witch of Corruption wouldn’t need to intervene unnecessarily.

For her, it would be more efficient to concentrate her forces on key areas, like strongholds or the boss room.

With the risk of being caught by a teleportation magic circle greatly reduced, all we need to do is focus on navigating the dungeon efficiently.

“In fact, moving around has become much easier.”

When mana was spread lightly in all directions, it reacted and revealed an array of magic circles, both large and small.

When dozens of members of the subjugation team moved together, they had to use the largest magic circle to teleport everyone at once.

“But there are only three of us.”

This meant we could choose from any magic circle except the ones meant for one or two individuals.

We could even decide the direction freely.

There was still the issue of figuring out which magic circle connected to which room among the hundreds scattered throughout the dungeon.

This place is like my own living room.

If I wanted to, I could write not just a revised guide to the dungeon but a complete version.

Naturally, I also knew about all the rooms the Witch of Corruption didn’t.

And there was one more advantage we had.

“Honestly, the problem isn’t that we have to fight; it’s just that they keep getting in the way.”

“…So, if they don’t spot us, we’re fine?”

Dang Gyu-young grinned as she caught on to my meaning.

If we could avoid being noticed by the Dark Ooblecks, we could move to the next room without engaging in battle.

And as the president of the thieves’ club, she could surely hide the three of us without any trouble.

“Well then, let’s get moving.”

Finally, I chose one of the teleportation magic circles and began pouring mana into it.

Fwoosh!

Bright light erupted from the circle, and Dang Gyu-young cloaked the group in shadows.

Our vision soon cleared, revealing the next room.

It was one of the countless rooms we’d seen before, surrounded on all sides by old, crumbling bricks.

At the center stood a large Oobleck Knight.

Clank.

The knight stirred briefly when it saw the glow of the teleportation magic, but it quickly settled back into place, showing no further hostility.

Dang Gyu-young mouthed the words with a curious expression on her face,

– It really doesn’t move?

– Let’s move on immediately.

– Mhmm, let’s go, let’s go.

When I scattered mana widely again, the knight flinched for a moment but soon went still.

I chose another magic circle in the corner and poured a significant amount of mana into it.

It wasn’t until the circle began radiating intense light that the Dark Oobleck finally charged at us with frightening force.

Clank, clank, clank!

“See you later~!”

I waved casually in farewell.

Before the knight’s attack could land, the radiant light engulfed us.

Fwoosh!

***

We continued moving from one room to the next while maintaining our stealth all the while.

The speed at which we moved forward was incredible since we weren’t wasting time on battles.

As we continued, Dang Gyu-young tapped me on the shoulder and asked,

“Where exactly are we going?”

“We’re almost there.”

Rather than explaining, I decided it would be faster to show her. Once again, I infused mana into the magic circle.

Fwoosh!

A scene very different from anything we had seen so far unfolded before us.

The surroundings were still enclosed by aged walls from all four sides like a castle.

However, unlike the previous areas, this one had no torches or other sources of light, yet it was as bright as day. The floor was covered with thick grass.

In front of us stood a solitary, ancient tree.

The tree appeared unremarkable, save for its twisted and gnarled branches and its sparse withered leaves.

Jegal So-so stared at it for a while before speaking.

“This place wasn’t mentioned in the guide.”

“No, it wasn’t. It’s a hidden room.”

I had deliberately left it out of the strategy guide, planning to visit it later if the opportunity arose. Now that it was just the three of us, there was no reason to skip it.

Might as well grab everything we can.

It would definitely prove useful for the strategy guide later.

“What’s this place for?”

“You’ll see soon enough. For now, let’s take a break.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes, this place is specifically designed for resting.”

Most other rooms would activate a teleportation magic circle after a set period, forcing you to keep moving whether you wanted to or not.

But this hidden room was an exception.

You could rest here for as long as you wanted before leaving.

So we all settled down comfortably on the grass floor and passed the time with lighthearted conversation.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I stood up and announced,

“It’s here.”

“…What?”

Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so also got to their feet, and together we walked toward the ancient tree.

Soon, the air above the tree began rippling like disturbed water, and a dark shape suddenly emerged.

“Caw—Caww—!”