The Support Ate it All-Chapter 515: Raid Week 14–15 Strategy Battle (3)

“GRAAAH—!”

“RAAAHHH!”

What they were aiming for wasn’t me, Han So-mi, or Geum Johan.

They were just charging in from all directions to break the boss monster’s seal.

But maybe they recognized whatever they ran into along the way as obstacles—because the four-legged, beast-shaped shadows sprang up in huge leaps and pounced.

Cold sword auras immediately stitched the air.

RIIIP!

Han So-mi cut them down in one stroke.

I used Wind Force on my end too—shoving them aside, or booting a shadow wolf right in the maw when it tried to lunge in.

As we slipped out through the hole in the encirclement, I flicked a glance over my shoulder.

SLICE! SLICE!

Every time Geum Johan swung his sword, a golden blade-light flashed.

‘They said he was the Young Master of the Golden Lotus, right.’

Golden Lotus.

Just like the name, it was a group with enormous financial power.

They started as a merchant company, and as the years passed, they reinvented themselves into a martial household.

If he was the young master of that kind of great family, he’d probably learned plenty of usable family arts too.

‘So he’s got enough skill to be in the disciplinary committee club, at least.’

SLICE!

Maybe because of that, even though Geum Johan was surrounded, he didn’t look the least bit intimidated.

The shadow monsters couldn’t even get close to the seal—most of them just ended up chopped in half.

‘At least the boss won’t get released early.’

Even so, the time limit still exists.

The best move is to gather Radiance Stones as fast as possible and regroup.

[Side Quest: Raid Week 14–15](In Progress....)

▷Objective 2: Defeat the boss while holding at least 10 Radiance Stones (-/10)

‘Still, stopping at ten is amateur hour.’

If we collect more, the reward will get boosted that much more.

I’m going to pick up everything we can grab within the time limit.

I led Han So-mi forward at speed.

We climbed and descended the uneven hills, slipped past scattered trees and rocks and other obstacles.

Sometimes shadows would suddenly surge up and chase after us, but—

SLICE,

Han So-mi would charge in like a bullet and cut them down.

As we picked up speed again, she opened her mouth.

“By the way, by the way!”

“What?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we split up and search?!”

In this dungeon, the terrain and Radiance Stone placement are randomized.

And since we’re already short on people, searching separately would be more efficient than moving as a pair.

‘In normal cases, yeah.’

But I’m not a normal case.

I asked her back.

“Are you confident you can find them well?”

“I ammm!”

“Are you confident you can find them everywhere you go?”

“That? No!”

“I am.”

I haven’t done this once or twice. Even with random placement, I get a feel for where they’ll probably be.

So far, it’s been matching up pretty well, too.

Right then, something in the corner of my vision seemed to glint, so I pointed.

“See? There.”

“Seriouslyyyy!”

Han So-mi scurried over.

She gouged up the ground with sword aura—digging hard and fast—then pulled out a Radiance Stone that had been buried deep.

But the next moment, shadows burst up from all over, transformed into monsters, and lunged.

Han So-mi reflexively leaned back—and a shadow wolf’s forepaw grazed past her nose.

“That scared me!”

“There are ambushes.”

BOOM!

Compressed air detonated, and the one rushing in from a blind angle went flying.

“So it’s safer if we stay together, right?”

“That’s a fair point!”

“And if you fight them alone, it’ll take longer too.”

“That’s also a fair point!”

Han So-mi agreed as she swung her sword.

If we split up, search efficiency goes up a little—but it also gets harder to kill monsters or shake them off.

In the end, it balances out, and if that’s the case, moving as a pair makes it easier to respond when something happens.

SLICE!

After dropping the last shadow monster, we resumed moving.

A little farther on, we saw an old dead tree standing alone on a barren hill.

As we passed it, I suddenly pointed upward.

“It’s up there, right?”

“Ooh—You’re insanely good at finding them!”

Han So-mi exclaimed, then sprang up the trunk in a couple bounds and retrieved the Radiance Stone wedged between the branches.

Then she immediately shifted into a combat stance—only this time, nothing came out.

So I said,

“Guess there’s no ambush here. Let’s keep going.”

“Okay!”

After that, we kept moving the same way—collecting Radiance Stones as we went.

And as we did, Han So-mi seemed to relax enough to start tossing out small bits of chatter.

“I have something I’m curious about!”

“Ask away.”

Han So-mi made a face like she was interrogating me.

“Lately you’ve been hanging around Cheon-hye a lot!”

“And?”

“It’s suspicious!”

“What’s suspicious? We spar and stuff.”

I answered like it was nothing, but Han So-mi didn’t stop staring like she was grilling me.

“No. Cheon-hye’s changed.”

“I didn’t notice. What changed?”

“She looks happier than usual? And, like... her steps are lighter!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Like this! Like this! She walks!”

Han So-mi physically demonstrated a “light, bouncy walk.”

I swallowed and asked,

“I don’t buy it. She walks like that?”

“Sometimes! Without even realizing it!”

“You sure you didn’t see wrong?”

“Nope. Senior Kwak Seungjae saw it too!”

Without meaning to, the disciplinary committee club room scene played out in my head.

Song Cheon-hye crossing the room with that bouncy, light step.

Kwak Seungjae, seeing it, asking in a blunt tone—

Song Cheon-hye.

Yes, Senior.

Something good happen? Your steps are light.

?! N-No, I’m sorry.......

If I’m getting embarrassed too, she probably kicked her blanket off at night.

Han So-mi snapped her fist-microphone up toward me.

“Anyway! What’s the secret?!”

“I seriously don’t know.”

Did I do anything special with her?

The only thing I can think of is that over ninety percent of it was me pounding her with squeaky hammers.

Sometimes watching her Blink straight into a wall, too.

But Han So-mi still looked like she believed something was going on between me and Song Cheon-hye.

Seeing that, I got mischievous for no reason and put on a sly expression.

“You’re pretty sharp. Like you said, I’ve been working on it step by step.”

“Huh! I knew it!”

“It won’t be long now. Just a little more and......”

“Are you dating?! Are you dating?!”

“That’s right. She’ll be girlfriend number four.”

“...Huh?”

Han So-mi froze, completely thrown off.

She started counting on her fingers, thinking through the people around me.

Then she stared at me in horror.

“You absolute womanizer!”

“Heh heh heh....... That’s right. This old man is a greedy, lustful beast.”

“You’ve revealed your true nature!”

She said it like that, but she was grinning ear to ear—like she’d realized it was a bit.

BOOM!

I smacked a shadow monster that popped out, then said in my “womanizer” voice,

“I shall make fine use of Topaz’s power.”

“Give Cheon-hye back, you evil outlaw!”

“Heh heh, do you think I’ll return her?”

“By the name of the Sword Empress, I’ll execute you!”

RIIIP!

Saying that, Han So-mi executed the shadows and picked up the Radiance Stone.

We kept trading lines and snickering for a while—then I wiped the grin off my face.

“Seriously, there wasn’t anything special.”

“Yeah?”

“At least, not from what I felt.”

“You never know how it’ll turn out later!”

“You never know what people’s futures will be.”

That seemed like enough of an answer for her.

This time, I asked.

“And you—how are things with Go Hyeon-woo these days?”

“Umm—He’s really good to me!”

Like she said, those two were together almost every time I saw them.

What happened at Craft Haven had made them even closer.

But then Han So-mi’s expression turned complicated.

“But......”

“But?”

“It feels like there’s a wall?”

“So you mean you can’t get any closer than this.”

“Yeah, so I’ve been thinking about it......?”

“You’re worried you’ll drift apart like this?”

“......”

Instead of answering, Han So-mi gave a small nod.

Before I could say anything else, I raised a hand and slowed down.

Where we stopped, a thick shadow arm had sprouted up from the ground—and inside its clenched fist, a Radiance Stone was shining.

I walked up and just yanked it out.

CRUNCH,

The shadow collapsed for a moment—then regenerated, and the arm that had been standing rigid braced itself against the ground and dragged something up from below.

What rose was a shadow brute with a massive frame.

A mid-boss-class monster for this dungeon.

WHOOSH!

Its fist shot out with an air-splitting shriek.

I slipped aside and dodged, then asked,

“You heard about his school, right?”

“...A little.”

I’d briefly mentioned that his school had a long-cherished goal they had to fulfill, but I guess I hadn’t gone deep.

Well, inheriting a divine relic is a huge matter—he’d only confessed it to me recently, even after we’d built trust.

And since the suspicion around the Bloodwind Sword still wasn’t fully gone, the fewer people who knew, the better.

BOOM!

I struck the shadow brute and kept going.

“You know it’s important, right?”

“Yeah. It’s his school’s business.”

“He probably doesn’t have much room in his heart right now. He’s in the middle of sprinting forward, eyes only on the goal.”

Han So-mi’s face darkened a little.

After dodging a few thick shadow punches, she asked,

“I know that too...... so what do I do?”

“Who says you have to do something.”

WHIRRR—

A whirlwind mixed with physical force bound the shadow brute in place.

Holding that state, I asked her back.

“If he doesn’t have room to spare, why would he still make time to be with you?”

“Sparring?”

“He can find sparring partners anywhere. You said you even went to the Swordsmanship Club, right?”

“Yeah. Just last week.”

Now that she had ties with the Swordsmanship Club, if she wanted, she could spar with Moyong Jun—the promising prospect—or even second- and third-years.

Meaning: sparring isn’t some crucial element for their relationship anymore.

So then why?

Han So-mi looked like she couldn’t find the answer.

In the end, I decided to just give it to her.

“Because it’s worth carving out time for.”

“...Really?”

“From what I see, yeah.”

Color returned to Han So-mi’s face.

She set her sword upright at centerline and drew up her momentum—cold pressure gradually taking over the area.

I nodded and said,

“Even just staying by his side like this will help. Don’t get too impatient.”

“Is that really enough?”

“It’s enough. And as time goes on, the place you can fit into will get bigger, little by little.”

“Okay! Thanks!”

Han So-mi hopped in place and unleashed her ultimate technique.

SHRRRK! SHRRRK! SHRRRK! SHRRRK! SHRRRK!

Fierce sword auras poured into the shadow brute, mincing its body into fragments.

As the pieces tried to pull back together, drawn toward each other, an exploding wind scattered them apart.

BOOM!

After finishing it, we started moving to the next spot.

“.......”

Maybe she’d eased a lot of her worry about Go Hyeon-woo—because Han So-mi was back to her usual bright face.

Still, she went quiet for a while, like she was lost in other thoughts.

I figured there was no need to interrupt, so I silently continued clearing the dungeon.

Before long, we reached the next Radiance Stone.

Han So-mi picked it up, looked down at it, and asked like she was talking ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) to herself,

“Should I quit the disciplinary committee club next year?”