The Support Ate it All-Chapter 317 - 18th Week Final Exam (10)

Lee Soo-dok gazed down at the final challenger with an indifferent look on his face.

The challenger was kneeling halfway to the ground and gasping for breath. It was obvious that he was out of energy.

If even a sliver of fighting spirit remained in him, Lee Soo-dok might have waited. But since there was none, he swung his sword without hesitation.

Swish.

The challenger’s body crumpled before vanishing entirely.

He had been expelled from the dungeon.

Pathetic.

Lee Soo-dok dismissed the challengers with that single thought.

As the final exams began, countless students flooded into the Control Room.

The reason was simple. An enormous reward of 1,500 points was at stake.

Even clearing a Strategy Battle Week with the highest possible score only yielded around 1,000 points. Breaking through the Control Room meant surpassing that.

It was an irresistible temptation, even for those who initially aimed only for the basic reward.

The problem was that many of them lacked an objective view of their own abilities. Instead, they blindly relied on sheer numbers to push forward.

That might have worked against opponents of similar skill but against him? Not a chance.

One by one, they all fell to a single stroke of his blade.

How dull.

Before taking on a teaching position, he had spent his days carrying out dangerous missions and engaging in life-or-death battles against formidable foes.

Cutting down dozens, even hundreds, of these weaklings brought him no satisfaction whatsoever.

Nor did he have high expectations for the challengers still to come.

They would all be more of the same, after all.

Of course, there was one exception.

Kim Ho.

If anyone could make him tense, it would be him.

The bad blood between Lee Soo-dok and Kim Ho had begun on the first day of the semester. It was during the placement test.

Kim Ho had left quite the impression from the very beginning.

In the dueling matches, he secured just a single win before forfeiting the rest. In the raid challenge, he walked out of a ten-minute dungeon in just over three minutes.

If that had been all, Lee Soo-dok would have dismissed him as nothing more than a worthless slacker.

But then—

683 points.

In just three minutes, Kim Ho had achieved a score that placed him in the upper-middle ranks of his entire grade.

At first, Lee Soo-dok thought he must have misremembered the dungeon’s time limit. Maybe Kim Ho had completed the full ten minutes?

But after checking the records, he confirmed the truth. The score had indeed been achieved in only three minutes.

It was an overwhelming display of skill, one that even the principal might struggle to match.

A first-year student with no known background, hiding such ability?

There’s a good chance he’s a servant of the Dragon or a spy from the Blood Cult.

That was when it began.

Lee Soo-dok started keeping a close eye on Kim Ho.

Whenever a replay of Kim Ho’s duels or raids became available, he bought it immediately and watched it over and over again.

At first, his goal was to find even the smallest clue.

After all, in high-stakes battles, a fighter’s true skill tended to surface, however slightly.

But at some point, Lee Soo-dok found himself simply admiring Kim Ho’s abilities.

His skill activation timing is measured to perfection. His execution is flawless.

Did he just dodge that? I was sure he’d take a hit.

He predicted it from the start, didn’t he?

So that’s why he positioned himself there… It was all planned.

Everything was perfect.

He even found himself learning from the replays.

For the first time in years, he felt his own stagnant skills improving.

And the more he watched, the greater his thirst for more replays grew.

Whenever a match was made private, he would fume in frustration.

He hides his replays way too often.

What the hell did he do in there?

Does this bastard not care about earning points at all?

There were even moments when he felt the urge to seek Kim Ho out and ask him directly.

– Why did you choose to dodge here?

– The result was good, but… what exactly were you aiming for?

Of course, his pride as a teacher wouldn’t allow him to go that far.

Though he wasn’t aware of it himself, Lee Soo-dok had become what others might call a dedicated viewer….or even a die-hard fan.

At the same time, a thought remained in his mind.

What if he and I fought under the exact same conditions?

If there had been no gap between him and Kim Ho as a teacher and first-year student…

Or if the gap had been smaller than it was now…

Would he have been able to claim victory against him?

For a while, it had been nothing more than a vague question. But at last, an opportunity to find the answer had arrived.

He had been assigned the role of defending the Control Room.

If it’s in the fixed zone, some degree of skill adjustment should come into play.

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Of course, even with the rank restricted to B, the difference in specs remained.

The sheer number of skills and traits alone was vastly in his favor.

Still, with high-rank skills requiring an A-rank core being locked and the effect of other abilities reduced, this battlefield would be a decent enough stage to test their skills against each other.

Besides, Kim Ho wouldn’t be alone. He would have other participants with him, which would help balance things out.

The only remaining issue was…

Can he beat the 25% odds?

The Control Room was divided into four sections.

Given Kim Ho’s personality, he would definitely take on the challenge. But the chances of him facing someone other than himself were far greater.

That part left him feeling regretful, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

Lee Soo-dok clicked his tongue quietly.

Looks like I’ll have to leave it up to luck.

Just then, the heavy iron door creaked open, and a group of students walked in.

Unlike the previous challengers, they seemed well-prepared.

Judging by the number of promising students and disciplinary committee members among them, they had come with serious intent.

And amidst them, he spotted Kim Ho.

“…You’re here.”

When Lee Soo-dok lifted the corners of his lips, his scars twisted, giving him the appearance of a menacing specter.

It was the expression he wore when he was truly enjoying himself.

***

The moment I saw Lee Soo-dok, I let out a sigh in my head.

Of course, things were never going to go smoothly.

It seemed that my lucky charm hadn’t kicked in this time.

If it had been Seo Cheong-yong, Hong Yeon-hwa would have taken the lead.

Madam Jo Ok-soon would have been relatively easy to handle as well.

I didn’t bother mentioning it to the group, as it would only dampen their morale, but out of the four teachers, the most difficult opponent was undoubtedly Lee Soo-dok.

He was known to be more skilled than the others. His abilities were honed through countless real battles.

That meant he was specialized in close combat.

There was a reason the principal had recruited him as a close-combat teacher.

Not to mention, he was practically a human butcher.

Having observed him during the former Labyrinth Raid, I knew all too well why Lee Soo-dok had earned that nickname.

A brutal fighting style, driven by an overwhelming bloodlust, as if he was determined to kill his opponent by any means necessary.

No matter how we won, the cost of victory would be steep.

Still, there’s no choice now.

They couldn’t head to another Control Room, and there was no way Lee Soo-dok would simply let them pass.

The only option was to defeat him and move forward.

At last, Lee Soo-dok lowered his huge cleaver-like blade.

Then, after scanning each of us in turn, he finally spoke.

“Like I explained before, the condition for occupying the Control Room is to reduce my health by a certain amount.”

A moment later, a health gauge appeared above his head.

[Lee Soo-dok: 100%]

“If you bring it down to 90%, I’ll pull the lever. But… there are twelve of you. That seems a bit excessive.”

“There wasn’t a limit on the number of participants, as far as I recall.”

At that, Lee Soo-dok casually nodded.

“Of course, there wasn’t. But no one said I couldn’t adjust the difficulty at my discretion.”

“……!”

With that, he pulled out a transparent orb from his coat and infused it with mana.

The orb gleamed with an eerie violet hue and emitted a piercing, ultrasonic sound.

Giiiing—

A few seconds later, ghostly monsters began to phase through the walls.

Specters, banshees, doppelgangers.

The violet orb was summoning them.

Before we could even think about taking down Lee Soo-dok, we would have to deal with these creatures first.

“Twenty should be enough.”

“Then, would it be fair if I used an item as well?”

“Go ahead. By all means.”

With Lee Soo-dok’s permission, I pulled out an [Exorcism Talisman] from my subspace bag.

It was an item that Hong Yeon-hwa had managed to acquire by sheer luck. When attached to a surface, it created a barrier that blocked ghost-type monsters from approaching.

And if torn, its effect would be even greater.

I had a feeling I’d end up using this.

These kinds of hunches never missed.

With that thought, I tore the talisman clean in half. A formless energy rippled outward, spreading through the air.

– ……!

– ……!

The ghost monsters, which had been drifting through the air, suddenly froze in place. Then, as if struck by sheer terror, they scattered in all directions.

In an instant, the control room returned to its original state.

Lee Soo-dok stared at me with intense eyes.

“……Did you predict this too?”

“I didn’t prepare it in advance. I just happened to have it and used it.”

As I glanced to the side, I noticed Hong Yeon-hwa beaming with pride.

Her expression seemed to ask, “Didn’t I find something useful?”

Since she had done a good job, I gave her a subtle nod before turning back to Lee Soo-dok.

He silently bobbed his head in acknowledgment.

“Even if it was luck, you handled it well. I’ll stop adjusting the difficulty here.”

“………!”

For a brief moment, relief flickered across my party’s faces. Only to be replaced by grim determination once more.

They had seen Lee Soo-dok rest a huge cleaver on his shoulder.

No matter what, we still had to face him.

“Well then, let’s begin. Step forward.”

“..……!”

“..……!”

With those words, the control room raid had officially begun.

We had already divided our roles back in the cheese room.

The melee fighters would take the front line, while those with more mobility would act as all-rounders. Meanwhile, Hong Yeon-hwa and Park Na-ri would be working as a duo and positioning themselves in the rear.

As everyone moved into their designated positions,

Lee Soo-dok raised his huge cleaver behind him.

Then, in an instant, I felt his energy surge to an overwhelming peak.

He’s pulling out a big move right from the start.

I had seen this technique before when we cleared the previous labyrinth, so I shouted to my party members.

“Dodge!”

At the same time, I used Wind Force to lift them slightly off the ground or push them to the side.

And just a split second later, a huge wave of blade energy tore through the battlefield.

Whooooooooooosh—!

Lee Soo-dok’s tone carried a mix of admiration and satisfaction.

“Well dodged. Normally, I take out three or four with that right at the start. However—”

Before anyone could react, he was suddenly right in front of Baek Jun-seok.

His huge cleaver was raised high above his head.

He had used the powerful strike to break our formation, then closed the distance in an instant.

“A raid isn’t something you do alone. No matter how good the leader is, if the individuals lack the necessary skill—”

“Guh…!”

Baek Jun-seok hastily raised his shield just as Lee Soo-dok’s cleaver came crashing down.

Slaaash—!

“—this is what happens. Keep moving forward.”

“……!”

Baek Jun-seok stood frozen and his eyes widened with disbelief.

A thin, clean line had been carved straight through his shield and through him, from the crown of his head down to his groin.

A moment later, he was forcibly ejected from the dungeon.

The safety mechanism had saved him, but if this had been a real battle, he would have been sliced in half on the spot.

“……!”

“……!”

Everyone was too stunned to speak.

Baek Jun-seok may not have been the strongest, but as a knight-class fighter, his defensive capabilities were high.

We had assumed he could endure at least one or two strikes if he focused on blocking. But Lee Soo-dok had cut through him in a single blow.

And yet, to Lee Soo-dok, it was nothing.

“Next.”