The Support Ate it All-Chapter 522: It’s Easier to Ask Forgiveness Than Permission

[Slot Plus].

A universal slot-expansion item—if it’s a slot-type skill or trait, it increases the slot count by one with zero restrictions.

It was also an item that was basically impossible to get as many as people wanted, so I’d half given up and was aiming for other methods.

And Lucky Charm had just yanked it out of the box.

“...!”

“...!”

Maybe because of that, everyone’s faces were full of obvious shock.

As if they couldn’t believe it even while looking at it, they stared at Seo Ye-in’s hand.

Then I regained my composure and said,

“Let’s talk after we get out.”

“That would be best.”

We crossed the teleport portal before the dungeon completely collapsed.

The moment we got outside, Dang Gyu-young covered us in shadows.

After checking whether any disciplinary committee club members or staff were patrolling nearby, she led the way and carved us a path.

We walked in silence for a while, then Dang Gyu-young looked back over her shoulder at Seo Ye-in and let out a hollow laugh.

“Your luck is seriously insane.”

“That’s why she’s Lucky Charm.”

“I know, and it still shocks me. Anyway—what are you going to use it on?”

Everyone focused on me, waiting for my answer.

Especially Hong Yeon-hwa—she was practically vibrating, ears perked up with anticipation.

‘There are three big options.’

The [Shadow Extraction], [Copy], and [Bond] slots.

First, I compared shadow extraction and copy.

‘Right now, copy is a little better.’

Because it can pull in skills or traits on the level of A-rank or S-rank.

Your combat power jumps up instantly.

‘But the ceiling on shadow extraction is higher.’

Copy is basically capped at S-rank.

At present, we don’t even know if EX-rank skills exist—much less whether copy works on them.

If my guess is right, it almost certainly won’t.

Shadow extraction, on the other hand, has the potential to blow past that ceiling.

It’s a unique skill, and there’s synergy with Dang Gyu-young’s other skills, traits, and gear.

‘And if we need to, we can just use a Fixed Pin to lock the slot.’

A Fixed Pin was still a pretty valuable item, but it was less rare than [Slot Plus].

And I even had one spare, so there was even less reason to rush.

So—[Copy] was out.

Next: [Shadow Extraction] versus [Bond].

‘It’s a bit easier to expand the former.’

Because we can use the necromancer Hidden Piece.

We’ll probably have to trade with the Principal, but that’s still better than trying to get another [Slot Plus].

Of course, difficulty isn’t the deciding factor here.

The truly important question was this:

‘Which one benefits our power growth more?’

Do we raise Dang Gyu-young’s individual ceiling, or do we bring in one more bond member?

If we pick the latter, the only immediate gain is Hong Yeon-hwa receiving two shared traits.

Even setting aside the fact those two are basically S-rank, the rest of the group doesn’t get any immediate benefit.

At least, not right now.

‘Long-term, it’s different.’

With Bond’s [Shared Trait], any member can register traits.

Right now, there aren’t enough slots and everyone’s still growing, so we register mine first—but later, we’ll be able to share Dang Gyu-young’s traits or Seo Ye-in’s traits too.

And Hong Yeon-hwa is basically a winning lottery ticket anyway. If we give her a slot now and accelerate her growth, we’ll be able to start sharing traits from her sooner as well.

When I explained that advantage, Dang Gyu-young nodded in easy acceptance, chin tipping up.

“Fine. I’ll expand with something else. I still need more practice handling two of them anyway.”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s face lit up brightly.

Looks like she’d been worried her turn would get pushed back again.

Not long after, we slipped out of the dungeon building without getting caught.

Outside, it was broad daylight with bright sun, and there were lots of students coming and going.

There was no way we could cast Bond right in front of everyone, so we moved somewhere quiet.

[Using ‘Slot Plus’.]

▷Bond[2/3]

Dang Gyu-young

Seo Ye-in

(None)

I shared the notification message where everyone could see it.

Then I stood facing Hong Yeon-hwa and asked,

“You’re sure about this?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

Hong Yeon-hwa answered with a serious face.

I figured that was enough and was about to cast Bond, when a question suddenly occurred to me, so I threw it out.

“But how did you convince your senior?”

“Our... sister...?”

“Yeah. She doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

She fully supports helping Hong Yeon-hwa power up, but she clearly doesn’t like the idea of any pink-tinged vibes between us.

Probably because she’s worried Hong Yeon-hwa will get distracted by dating and fall behind in the prospect race, or get pushed around by competing factions.

And now we’re talking about binding ourselves with a powerful contract?

I couldn’t see Hong Ye-hwa accepting that easily.

Sure enough—

“I still... haven’t... with my sister...”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s pupils were shaking hard left and right. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

She’d been so focused on her decision that she probably hadn’t even thought that far.

I watched her for a moment, then said,

“At minimum, you should talk to your family first. This isn’t a light contract.”

Since it can’t be undone, it’s basically handing your future over to a sovereign.

That’s why even Seo Ye-in—who does whatever she wants—still got her parents’ consent.

Hong Yeon-hwa seemed to think similarly, slowly nodding up and down.

“Yeah... I’ll talk to them. My sister, and my dad....”

“Want me to come with you?”

Getting permission is what makes sense.

And if we go together, it’ll feel more sincere too.

From the side, Dang Gyu-young’s eyes curved mischievously.

“Yeah, go together and get permission. Father-in-law! May I leave an indelible mark on Yeon-hwa’s body?”

“That wording is... kind of messed up.”

“You said it to me.”

Seo Ye-in chimed in too.

“You said it to me too.”

“You two really get along when it’s time to gang up on me.”

So this is the day I get hit with the Double-Kkyu combo.

I shook my head, then faced Hong Yeon-hwa—whose face was bright red.

“So, what—want me to go with you?”

“No, it’s okay....”

“That was just them messing around. Ignore it.”

“It’s not because of that... I think it’d be more comfortable to talk alone....”

“Alright. If you need me later, text me.”

“Okay.”

We decided to postpone the box-opening ceremony for now.

And we sent Hong Yeon-hwa back to the Ruby Magic Tower.

*****

Hong Yeon-hwa hovered in front of the clubroom door, hesitating.

It was a place that felt as comfortable as home now—but today, she couldn’t figure out why it felt so unfamiliar.

Then she thought, at this rate she’d end up spending the whole night standing here, so she took a deep breath and steeled herself.

‘...Okay. Go in. Go in and talk.’

But even then, Hong Yeon-hwa had to repeat the same thing several times before she could finally grab the doorknob.

She opened the door about a third of the way and only peeked her head in, checking the situation.

A meeting was in full swing inside.

Hong Ye-hwa and a group of second- and third-years were seated in a circle, talking back and forth.

Even among the freshmen, there aren’t really any talents....

I heard Sapphire is getting a promising prospect....

From what she could tell, it was about this:

This year’s second-years didn’t have anyone especially outstanding, so next year—when they became third-years—the Ruby Magic Tower’s influence might drop a bit.

And it didn’t help that the incoming first-years next year sounded pretty average too.

Meanwhile, the competing club—the Sapphire Magic Tower—was expecting the younger sibling of Han Gyeo-ul, who’s currently a third-year, to enroll as a freshman.

Han Ga-eul.

They said she had even more talent than her sister, and the “promising prospect” slot was basically reserved for her already.

Even so, the members didn’t look that grim.

As long as they had Hong Yeon-hwa—the holder of AquaFlame—Sapphire had no way to surpass Ruby, no matter what they did.

While the meeting continued, Hong Yeon-hwa went to a corner of the room and sat quietly.

That, instead, made something flash through Hong Ye-hwa’s eyes.

‘Sitting quietly...?’

Normally, meeting or no meeting, members present or not—she would’ve dove straight into the sofa.

But right now, she was moving cautiously, like she’d come to someone else’s house, rolling her eyes lightly as she read the room.

Hong Ye-hwa realized immediately.

‘Something happened.’

And it didn’t look ordinary.

So when the meeting ended, Hong Ye-hwa took her sister into the president’s office.

And the moment the door closed, she glared.

“Hey, Hong Yeon-hwa. What now? What kind of trouble did you cause?”

“Trouble?”

“You’re acting like this because you caused trouble!”

“N-no? I did great. What trouble—”

Hong Yeon-hwa grumbled and held out the [Book of Chaos].

Hong Ye-hwa took it and stored it away, then kept pressing.

“If it’s not trouble, then what? Don’t try to deny it. It’s written all over your face.”

“What’s wrong with my face? This is ridiculous, seriously....”

But to anyone, Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression was suspicious beyond all doubt.

Like a dog that had savagely chewed up its owner’s sneakers.

Hong Ye-hwa was about to snap harder, then decided to hold back.

“Hah.... Say it. I won’t get mad.”

“...Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

Of course, this wasn’t the first time Hong Ye-hwa had made that promise.

If you counted them up, there were more times it hadn’t been kept.

Even so, Hong Yeon-hwa decided to be brave.

‘But... what do I even say first?’

In an instant, her thoughts turned into a tangled mess.

She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it, closed it—over and over.

Watching that, Hong Ye-hwa’s anxiety kept rising by the second, but she forced it down as hard as she could because of what she’d just said.

Finally, Hong Yeon-hwa looked straight at her sister and dropped the first bomb.

“Sis.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m... not going to be the Ruby Magic Tower Master.”

“W-what?”

WHOOSH!

Flames rose over Hong Ye-hwa’s entire body, and lava dripped in streams from her hands.

Like that, she stepped toward her sister one step at a time.

Normally, Hong Yeon-hwa would’ve gone pale and backed away—but this time was different.

She held her serious expression and stood her ground.

“I thought about it a lot before deciding.”

“If you’re not going to be Magic Tower Master, then what are you going to do?”

Hong Ye-hwa asked—then sucked in a sharp breath.

She’d realized something.

Staring at her sister with wide eyes, she asked again.

“...Don’t tell me you’re going to follow Kim Ho? No, right? Say no.”

“Yeah. Kim Ho.”

“Hey!! Hong Yeon-hwa—!”

KABOOOOOM!

A fire explosion swept through the president’s office.

Hong Yeon-hwa threw up a barrier and blocked it, shouting,

“You said you wouldn’t get mad! You said you wouldn’t! You said you wouldn’t get mad!”

“Do I look like I’m in a situation where I can’t get mad?!”

“A-anyway! Kim Ho is a sovereign, okay?”

“...What?”

Because she hadn’t known, Hong Ye-hwa froze for a beat.

Then she carefully retraced her memories and all the little question marks she’d had.

“If he’s a sovereign... that explains a lot. So?”

“So, I’m going to Bond with him—”

“Ab. So. Lutely. Not.”

Hong Ye-hwa said it slowly, distinctly, one syllable at a time.

She had some knowledge about sovereign bonding too.

“Even adults don’t do that lightly, and you? As a freshman already?”

“I can do it early!”

“No. I guarantee you’ll regret it. And you can’t even undo it. That’s a real disaster!”

“I won’t regret it! It won’t be a disaster!”

No matter how strongly Hong Yeon-hwa insisted, Hong Ye-hwa’s stance didn’t budge.

She shook her head and said,

“Fine—go around with him if you want. But this, I can’t allow. Even if dirt gets in my eyes, I won’t allow it.”

“Ah! Sis!”

“Absolutely not. That’s final. Get out—I need to clean up.”

“...!”

So frustrated she felt like she might burst, Hong Yeon-hwa kept clenching and unclenching her fists.

And maybe because of that—

she lifted one corner of her mouth and blurted out whatever popped into her head.

“I already... did it. Bonded. With Kim Ho.”

“...What?”

Hong Ye-hwa’s face drained white.