The Support Ate it All

Chapter 132: Toad With a Passionate Heart

Kim Gap-doo had been unbearably petty when placing the bet, but he accepted the outcome gracefully without a word of complaint.

“We lost.”

Eventually, he opened his inventory and took out a bunch of elixirs.

Not only was he skilled enough to serve as a mentor to third-year students, but he was also the president of a mid-level martial arts club, so his resources were enormous.

Even so, each elixir was precious enough to be reluctant to part with, but a promise was a promise, and he distributed them without hesitation.

[Great Blue Pill (B)]

[Three-Hundred-Year-Old Ginseng (B-)]

I guess I’ll be attending the Mana Cultivation Room for a while.

The great blue pill was renowned as one of the top pills in the Elixir series, and the three-hundred-year-old ginseng had accumulated substantial energy over the years so it was quite the high-grade item.

To absorb all that massive energy as nutrients for my [Core], I would need to spend many nights in the Mana Cultivation Room.

These were just the elixirs I received alone, and our team had four members in total.

Even with such a significant outlay of elixirs, Kim Gap-doo didn’t stop there; he also shared elixirs with his mentees.

“You all worked hard too.”

“Th-thank you.”

“Amitabha…”

Even after all that, the fact that his inventory wasn’t empty showcased the strength of the martial arts club president, Kim Gap-doo.

Next, Kim Gap-doo spoke to Dang Gyu-young.

“I’ll also transfer the promised rights immediately.”

“No need to rush.”

But Dang Gyu-young slowly shook her head.

There was no need to take all the rights at once, as they would eventually come to her anyway. If she took everything now, it would be plentiful for the moment, but Kim Gap-doo’s position in the martial arts club would be severely shaken, and the club president might be replaced by the second semester.

There was no guarantee that the new club president would be friendly toward Dang Gyu-young and her Thieves Club.

On the other hand, if the rights were transferred gradually, it would be easier for Kim Gap-doo to control the club’s opinion and ensure his position until graduation.

Maintaining a good relationship with the club was far more beneficial.

I’m not in a hurry either.

In return for showing some of my skills, the promised shares were a special training room season pass for the second semester and a Crafting VIP Ticket.

Since it was only the middle of the first semester, there was no use in getting the second semester season pass now, and it wasn’t too late to consider the VIP ticket after gathering all the materials.

Kim Gap-doo seemed to understand these intentions and expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ll keep my position.”

Then he paused for a moment, looked at Dang Gyu-young with a lonely expression, and asked in a sad tone.

“…Am I really not good enough?”

“Yeah, I absolutely hate you.”

Without a second’s hesitation, Dang Gyu-young drove a metaphorical nail deep into Kim Gap-doo’s heart.

Kim Gap-doo’s face rapidly became pitiful, and he was on the verge of bursting into tears but managed to hold back and regain his composure.

Seeing this, Dang Gyu-young responded again with a more serious attitude.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t have feelings for you.”

“…If that’s the case, then there’s nothing I can do. I understand. Live happily ever after, Dang Gyu-young.”

“Live happi—”

After throwing out a phrase ripe for misunderstanding, Kim Gap-doo sighed deeply and then turned his head towards me.

“Your name is Kim Ho, right?”

“Yes, senior-nim.”

“I’d like to talk with you for a moment. Is that okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

As I followed Kim Gap-doo to a corner of the arena, I could hear Dang Gyu-young desperately trying to explain from behind.

“We’re not like that. We’re not even close to being like that. Don’t misunderstand.”

“…….”

Given the peculiar looks she received from Kwak Ji-cheol and Song Cheon-hye, it was questionable whether her explanation had been effective.

Still, I trusted Dang Gyu-young to handle the aftermath and followed Kim Gap-doo.

After walking for a bit and ensuring no one else was nearby, Kim Gap-doo spoke to me.

“You’re quite skilled. I didn’t expect you to block Jo Byuk’s technique so easily.”

“It’s just a shallow trick. I just worked hard to avoid getting hit.”

“That’s precisely what skill is. I don’t know how much more you’re hiding, but you can take pride in what you showed today.”

As a third-year president, Kim Gap-doo seemed to have grasped the entire course of the battle.

So I decided to accept the compliment without false modesty and responded calmly.

“Thank you for your kind words.”

“With your skills, you shouldn’t get beaten up anywhere. However, the future is unpredictable. You should always be prepared for the unexpected.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Do you have recovery potions stocked up?”

“It’s a shame, but I do not.”

My mindset was that it’s better to avoid getting hit in the first place rather than relying on recovery, which was a very stagnant water way of thinking.

Additionally, recovery potions were quite valuable so it was better to invest resources in improving one’s abilities.

However, Kim Gap-doo’s brows furrowed because he was less able to understand my mindset.

“You’re still complacent in this regard. Here, take this.”

He then took something out of his inventory and handed it to me.

After receiving them, I checked and found that they were three small glass bottles containing concentrated liquid.

[Elementary Elixir (B)]*3

Elixirs were known for their powerful healing capabilities, almost like having an extra life.

Of course, these were elementary versions, so their effect was considerably lower than the genuine item, but they could still heal most wounds instantly.

They were of a higher grade than the high potion Shin Byeong-cheol used to treat Go Hyeon-woo’s internal injuries in the Black Death dungeon.

And there were three of them.

“I don’t understand why you’re giving me such valuable items.”

“I’m not giving them to you because I like you. Don’t get hurt and make me worry for no reason, and always keep them with you. Use them if Dang Gyu-young gets into danger.”

The toad senior grumbled and told me to hold onto them for now and not to waste them carelessly.

I raised my evaluation of Kim Gap-doo by another notch.

Setting aside the huge misunderstanding about the relationship between me and Dang Gyu-young,

It was extremely rare to find someone who would give up valuable items out of concern for the person who had stolen their unrequited love.

Especially powerful potions like elixirs, which were scarce even for personal use, let alone giving them away so readily.

He wished for Dang Gyu-young’s well-being, even if she wasn’t with him.

Kim Gap-doo was really a toad with a passionate heart.

“I will use them wisely. Thank you.”

“…Keep it a secret from Dang Gyu-young. I’m leaving now.”

Kim Gap-doo didn’t properly acknowledge my thanks and quickly turned his back and started walking away.

I watched his retreating figure and sent my support silently.

May you find a good relationship someday.

---

The mentoring session had ended, and the 4-on-4 duel battle with Kim Gap-doo’s team had left everyone quite exhausted, so we all scattered to rest.

Only Dang Gyu-young and I remained, sitting side by side in the arena’s spectator seats.

“What did Kim Gap-doo say?”

“Nothing much, we just talked briefly about the match.”

“He didn’t say anything unnecessary, did he?”

“He just said a lot of nice things.”

And he gave me three good elixirs.

But I didn’t mention this, as per Kim Gap-doo’s request.

“Is that so? He is a nice guy.”

Dang Gyu-young seemed to accept this explanation easily enough.

Although she didn’t seem interested in getting closer to Kim Gap-doo, her general perception of him seemed decent enough.

“……”

“……”

A silence settled between us for a while.

Dang Gyu-young gazed at the arena with a more complicated expression than usual and occasionally turned her head to look at me.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Just, a lot of things are on my mind.”

This senior was human too, so even if she wasn’t interested in Kim Gap-doo, she wouldn’t be able to forget today’s events right away as if they never happened.

“I have a very effective solution for times like this.”

“…What is it?”

Dang Gyu-young was intrigued and asked again. And I answered in a rather serious tone.

“Sparring. When you move your body vigorously, all distracting thoughts tend to fly away.”

“……”

Dang Gyu-young smiled faintly.

Then, she slowly brought her hands to my face and pulled my cheeks.

“Your head is always full of sparring, you brat.”

“Shish jeally jocks joe (This really works though).”

Dang Gyu-young looked at me with eyes that seemed to find me incredibly annoying and kept pulling my cheeks.

She said they were soft and fun to pull, and lately, it has become a complete habit of hers.

Then, she burst into a chuckle and stood up from her seat.

“Alright, let’s go stretch our bodies.”

We entered the arena through the teleportation magic circle and stood facing each other.

Soon, Dang Gyu-young who was holding a shadow hammer as big as her upper body charged at me with terrifying momentum.

When I retreated with Thief’s Step, she slammed it into the ground, barely missing me.

“You’re especially aggressive today.”

“If we’re going to relieve stress, we should do it properly. But this really is effective.”

“I told you so.”

Dang Gyu-young already seemed noticeably more at ease.

As I continued to retreat, Dang Gyu-young threw the hammer she had been pounding the ground with.

The shadow hammer, spinning as it flew, broke into numerous small shadow weapons that rained down.

In response, I pointed forward with Root which caused the wind to gather and create a strong whirlwind that spread outward.

Whirrrrr—

The falling shadow weapons scattered in all directions but then transformed again into dozens of fluttering shadow butterflies.

I kept stepping back and extending Root, causing another whirlwind to form and draw the shadow butterflies into its center.

Whirrrrr—

The merged mass of shadows elongated into a shadow longsword, which Dang Gyu-young then slashed wildly with.

Her movements were as dynamic as when she wielded the hammer, but her tone remained casual.

“By the way, you haven’t forgotten about going out together this weekend with me, right?”

“It’s only been a few days since you mentioned it. Of course, I remember. It’s for the club, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, just following me around will be fun. You can look forward to it.”

Dang Gyu-young smiled confidently.

The intention behind this field trip was to pique my interest and get me to join the Thieves Club.

Unfortunately, I was too tired and experienced to be interested in such things.

I had already figured out that the event she was preparing was the black market.

Despite that, I couldn’t help but look forward to it.

Though it was for reasons slightly different from Dang Gyu-young’s intentions.

There’s a lot to pick up there.

Even more than in the temporary storage.