The Support Ate it All

Chapter 163: The End of the First Mentoring Event

The result of kicking Kwak Ji-cheol for a week and tormenting the Ogre with One Point Explosions,

[The rank of ‘One Point Explosion’ has increased. (D->C)]

I was able to raise its rank to C.

Among the three prerequisite skills for Spiral Explosion, two were now prepared.

Additionally, other wind-type skills were also considerably ranked up.

[Skills]

▷Wind Force (C+)

▷Inferno Fist (B)

▷Amplification ©

▷One Point Explosion ©

▷Copy-Skill [2/2]

1. Thief’s Step (B+)
2. Overheat (D)

Most of them remained in the stagnant zone of C-rank with no noticeable numerical changes for now.

However, If I continued to steadily accumulate proficiency, they would eventually reach B-rank one by one.

So I should make full use of the mentoring event until the end.

The first mentoring event which had spanned a month was coming to a close.

As expected, the Hong Yeon-hwa and Song Cheon-hye duo maintained 100% health and achieved a perfect game against the ogre.

Kwak Ji-cheol also sustained some damage but cleared it with a decent score.

So, Dang Gyu-young looked us over with a satisfied expression on her face.

“You’ve all worked hard for a month. You’ve kept up well without anyone falling behind.”

In fact, Dang Gyu-young had set the difficulty level higher than the other mentors with random rules.

For example, in the sticker duel battle, only Hong Yeon-hwa managed to remove one sticker because Dang Gyu-young showed no mercy, and in the recent crystal strategy battle, she placed no restrictions on the ogre except for [Weakness].

Despite this, everyone not only completed the tasks but also achieved good results.

“But since this is just the beginning, everyone has to keep moving forward. Let’s keep the goodbyes short here. Rest well over the weekend, and good luck on next week’s midterms.”

“Thank you for your efforts, senior-nim.”

“Thank you.”

The team members bowed deeply to express their gratitude and left one by one.

Dang Gyu-young silently watched their retreating figures for a long time.

I asked her,

“Why are you looking at them like that?”

“Just, I wondered if this is what it feels like to have students. I’m feeling a mix of relief, pride, and a bit of sadness.”

“Seems like this job suited you better than expected.”

“Yeah, surprisingly.”

Originally, Dang Gyu-young had no intention of getting involved in mentoring.

However, due to multiple disciplinary actions piling up from the temporary storage room intrusion, and with the disciplinary committee offering to dismiss them, she was practically forced into the role.

One might expect her to just do the job half-heartedly, but Dang Gyu-young took her mentoring duties seriously until the end.

It seems she felt various things while watching her mentees grow as well.

That’s the joy of raising people.

That sense of pride is why I raised 1,000 S-class heroes.

Once the team members were out of sight, Dang Gyu-young stretched and yawned.

“Ah, but aren’t you leaving?”

“I need to, but I just wanted to hear what your plans are for tomorrow.”

“Right, you said you’d help a bit too.”

The black market would open tomorrow, that is, starting this weekend.

And in exchange for securing prohibited items for me in advance, I agreed to lend a hand.

Dang Gyu-young smiled playfully.

“You remembered that. Aren’t you practically a member now? Let’s just fill out the application.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Tch.”

When I firmly refused, Dang Gyu-young clicked her tongue briefly and then answered the earlier question.

“We’ll open at noon, but you don’t need to come then. We’ll just be testing the waters at first.”

The building the thieves’ club would use for the black market exchange had rooms labeled A to F.

But at first, they planned to open only the A and B exchanges and observe the situation.

How many customers would come? How the disciplinary committee would react?

With only two exchanges open, there wouldn’t be a shortage of hands so they wouldn’t need my help.

“Then when should I come?”

“Around five or six in the evening? Let’s have dinner together then.”

“Understood.”

“Also feel free to wander around the market during the day.”

“That’s the plan.”

Where there is shade, there is also light.

If the black market deals in prohibited items,

Of course, there was also a market where ordinary items were traded.

Actually, this is the main attraction.

After the mentoring ended, the graduates were supposed to leave Dungeon Island within a few days.

Before that, they wanted to clear out unnecessary items from their inventories as much as possible, so the marketplace of the downtown area would open grandly with a large number of items up for sale.

“So, tomorrow we will all take a look around the downtown area together.”

I declared this while sitting in front of Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in.

Go Hyeon-woo nodded his head.

“Indeed, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit this time.”

Go Hyeon-woo was a living training machine who dedicated every moment outside of sleeping and eating to training.

However, he was also human and a student, so he was secretly curious about what the downtown area was like.

And just in time, the market was opening which proved to be a perfect excuse for him to participate with great enthusiasm.

“But what kind of items will be available in the downtown area?”

“We’ll only know when we get there.”

It was hard to pinpoint exactly what to aim for.

Not only graduates but also second-and third-year students brought out a lot of unused items to sell, so there should be an immense quantity released and a great variety.

“Of course, ‘unused items’ don’t always mean ‘bad items’.”

“That’s true. If you’re lucky, you might find a pearl in the mud.”

“Right, if you’re lucky.”

Go Hyeon-woo and I simultaneously turned our heads to look at one place.

Because the luckiest person in Dragon Slayer Academy was lying there.

I asked Seo Ye-in,

“Young miss, how’s your schedule?”

“I’m going.”

Seo Ye-in’s eyelids were half-closed until she heard the word “downtown area” then her eyes instantly lit up.

The last trip to the downtown area must have been quite fun for her.

“Going to the game center again?”

“It’s not on our schedule for tomorrow, though.”

“Gunslinger Adventure.”

Her gray eyes stared at me intently.

She’s completely hooked on it.

I chuckled as I looked at Seo Ye-in, then turned to Go Hyeon-woo and asked,

“Shall we go a bit early? Tomorrow.”

“Any time is fine with me. I’ve been interested in that game center, so it’s perfect.”

“Alright, let’s leave in the morning then.”

Going early to look around and visiting the game center with the remaining time isn’t a bad idea.

There might be some good items on the prize list.

With that, Seo Ye-in nodded her head briefly and got up from her seat.

“Are you leaving?”

“Mhmm, I’m going to sleep….”

Even though it wasn’t yet evening, we didn’t bother pointing that out and let Seo Ye-in go.

Go Hyeon-woo shared his guess.

“She’s probably planning to conserve her energy.”

“Maybe.”

“It seems like a good idea. I should do some meditation in advance too. We probably won’t be back until evening tomorrow.”

“Go ahead.”

After Go Hyeon-woo also tidied up and left,

Ahn Jeong-mi who had been watching us from a distance approached me.

She bowed politely.

“Thanks to you Kim Ho-nim, I successfully completed the mentoring program. Once again, I sincerely thank you.”

Over the past three weeks, I had guided Seo Ye-in to follow Ahn Jeong-mi’s training and played a crucial role in boosting her motivation.

This week’s crystal strategy battle was no different.

After scoring points together,

– But we still couldn’t defeat the Ogre. What a pity.

– You know this is also part of the midterm, right? The Ogre will appear again.

– Make sure to practice a lot in advance.

By dropping these hints, I ignited Seo Ye-in’s motivation.

Thanks to that, she diligently repeated the practice mode until today even after scoring points together with me.

Without me, Ahn Jeong-mi would not have been able to teach even half of what she had prepared as a mentor, which is why she kept expressing her gratitude every time she saw me.

Then Ahn Jeong-mi handed me a business card.

“If it’s Kim Ho-nim, I think I can trust you with the young miss. If it’s alright with you, I hope we can stay in close contact going forward.”

Since Ahn Jeong-mi was only temporarily here as a graduate mentor, she had to leave Dungeon Island like other graduates.

She couldn’t leave the position of the Future Strategy Office Team Leader vacant forever.

Therefore, she handed me a business card with her direct contact information.

This way, she could keep hearing updates about Seo Ye-in from me who was closest to her.

“If you support the young miss, Hye-seong Group will also promise to provide the best support to you Kim Ho-nim.”

“I will do my best.”

Ahn Jeong-mi and I looked at each other and smiled softly.

Then I turned serious and spoke.

“Though it is quite early, there is something I would like to ask of you, Team Leader.”

“……!”

Seeing my serious expression and hearing me use “Team Leader” instead of “Butler”, Ahn Jeong-mi seemed to sense something unusual.

“Please, go ahead.”

“I would like you to keep an eye on this place tomorrow.”

I handed her a piece of paper with a time and place written on it.

It was the cipher I discovered on the wall of the downtown area during my preliminary field trip to the black market.

That was the time and place the cipher indicated.

I had cleverly changed the cipher to create a misunderstanding between the two sides.

Of course, there was a chance they had figured it out and changed the meeting, but if not,

“…. At least one side will show up there, you say?”

“That’s what I believe.”

Ahn Jeong-mi thought for a moment before asking with a serious expression on her face,

“Wouldn’t it be better to inform the academy?”

“For now, I have too many secrets to keep.”

From Ahn Jeong-mi’s perspective, she only knew the time, place, and the fact that a mysterious figure would appear there.

Although I claimed they were villains, if I were wrong, I might end up capturing innocent people.

Likewise, even if I informed the academy, they would find it difficult to act based on this limited information.

To prove that the mysterious figure was a threat to Dragon Slayer Academy, I would have to reveal my hidden secrets and risk the academy’s focus on me.

As a result, my range of action would be severely limited. So informing them would be a bad move.

And so, the only option was to ask for help personally from Ahn Jeong-mi.

“So, please keep an eye on the situation and intervene if needed.”

In short, this was a kind of insurance.

Ahn Jeong-mi did not take long to accept my request.

“If what you say is true, I would act even without your request. I’ll keep an eye on things.”