The Support Ate it All-Chapter 529: No.287 Walking Turtle (3)

Seo Ye-in stared straight at the crow Great Sage, too.

From behind my back, with only her head peeking out.

The blizzard was still raging without a break.

Maybe the Great Sage noticed, because it casually flicked its staff through the air, and a translucent barrier wrapped around the area—then everything stopped as if it had been a lie.

Only then did Seo Ye-in step forward.

“......Warm.”

“You seem to like it, child blessed with the power of a meteor.”

“How do you know?”

Seo Ye-in tilted her head.

If I interpret that, it’s basically: How did you figure out my connection to the Meteor Dragon?

The Great Sage answered.

“CAW, I built a friendship long ago. Rarely, it was a dragon that knew how to keep its manners. I can see a fragment of that power within you.”

“My ultimate technique.”

“Amazing—what a special existence!”

Come to think of it, the Underworld Dragon King said something similar, too.

—That brat is truly special. The only one of its kind, now and forever.

Then the crow Great Sage turned its head toward me.

“CAW, young sovereign. May I speak with this child alone?”

“Is it something I’m not allowed to hear?”

“I can see the thread that connects you. However, your Bond and this are separate matters. The Meteor Dragon made certain arrangements for this child.”

I could guess what those arrangements were.

Some of Seo Ye-in’s Skills and Traits were displayed as [???], so neither I nor even she herself could identify what they were.

It looked like the Meteor Dragon had hidden them by some method.

“CAW—meaning the time has not yet come. It is not something I can reveal.”

“So it really is like that. I understand.”

I thought I might get a step closer to Seo Ye-in’s secret while I had the chance, but I guess not this time either.

To resolve it, I’d have to meet the Meteor Dragon directly.

When I nodded readily, a second translucent barrier formed around the Great Sage and Seo Ye-in.

It looked like they were talking inside it—its beak kept opening and closing, and Seo Ye-in occasionally nodded or shook her head.

Meanwhile, Hong Yeon-hwa was watching the situation with wide eyes.

So I asked her,

“Looks like you’re surprised.”

“Yeah... a little......?”

“You should know what you need to know.”

Now that we’d formed a Bond, we were going to move together anyway.

And she was more than quiet enough about things.

So I explained it to Hong Yeon-hwa.

“Honestly, the Meteor Dragon and the Hye-seong Group are on good terms. The Underworld Dragon King is that one’s godfather.”

“Ah...... I didn’t know.”

Outwardly, it’s known that the Meteor Dragon and the Hye-seong Group signed a kind of truce agreement.

Hye-seong New City is a defensive city built in case the Meteor Dragon ever snaps like the Wild General Dragon did.

But in reality, their relationship is far closer than that, and instead of checking each other, they’re trading help back and forth while building power together.

“From our side, nothing really changes. Just... keep it in mind.”

“Okay.”

Hong Yeon-hwa nodded.

By then, it seemed the crow Great Sage and Seo Ye-in had finished talking, because the barrier was gone.

“CAW, you seem to be doing well. Trying to cross the wall of transcendence.”

“Don’t you want to cross it?”

That “wall of transcendence” probably meant EX-rank.

It had more than enough ability to challenge it, so I asked—but the reaction was strangely lukewarm.

“Someday, yes. But right now, the desire doesn’t come.”

“Everyone has their own right time.”

“CAW, that’s true.”

The Great Sage lightly bobbed its head up and down.

Then it looked at us and opened its beak.

“Young sovereign, child blessed with the power of a meteor—now tell me why you came to find me.”

“I want to learn a Skill.”

“CAW, you mean one of our crows’?”

“If it isn’t space magic, it has no meaning.”

As expected, it didn’t look pleased.

“It is not an easy request. Even for the two of you, a secret art is still a secret art.”

“What if we pay the price?”

“CAW, an ordinary price will not be enough.”

“Space-type Skills are valuable.”

“Correct! And my tastes are very picky.”

The Great Sage specializes in magic, so its combat power is also high.

It’s neutral, so it probably didn’t go around plundering, but at the very least, it had more chances to accumulate wealth than other crows.

And the more you pile up, the less you want.

It probably wouldn’t even glance at ordinary jewels.

Of course, I’d expected this from the moment I made the plan.

If I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t have come to meet it.

The statues Kang Byeol carved have high artistic value, and each one is rare.

The Tailor liked them that much—how could the Great Sage dislike them?

With that thought, just as I was about to open my Inventory—

A bright radiance began to pour out from Seo Ye-in’s chest.

“......?”

Seo Ye-in tilted her head, then fumbled around inside her school uniform’s inner pocket.

And pulled out a golden card.

It was the one a fortune teller in the shopping district had given her. At first it was charcoal, but once Lucky Charm luck came back around, it turned into that.

We could probably trade with that.

Back then, the Tailor had happily taken the golden card I’d received, and in exchange, it fused the Immortal Pot and the Night of Severance for me.

In a way, it’s an item worth even more than the statues—so the Great Sage would definitely be interested.

As expected, it leaned forward and stared hard at the card.

“CAW, a shining card! The Tailor boasted about it.”

“You don’t want it?”

“Of course I want it!”

“Then let’s trade. With that card.”

Even so, the crow Great /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Sage didn’t answer right away. It hesitated again and again, then opened its beak.

“CAW, tell me what you want to learn! I’ll decide after I hear it!”

Not all space-type Skills are the same.

Depending on power and rarity, the value varies.

Seo Ye-in’s eyes sparkled.

“......★Blink★?”

“Even you know better than anyone that it’s impossible, child blessed with the power of a meteor.”

“......What a shame.”

Her sparkling eyes dulled right back down.

And I continued.

“Honestly, the answer is decided. A space-type Skill a marksman can use—and one with enough practical combat value.”

“CAW, what is it?”

“Space Fold.”

“!”

The crow Great Sage started hopping in place, flapping its wings.

“Young sovereign, how in the world did you figure that out?”

“There are ways.”

Like playing the game until you go from veteran to crude oil—then getting dragged into that world.

But I couldn’t say that out loud, so as always, I activated Sovereign Steamroll.

It seemed to believe it completely, and let out an admiring sound.

“CAW! As expected, you are no ordinary sovereign!”

“So can I take it the deal is done?”

At that, the crow Great Sage slowly shook its head.

“I’m sorry, but this alone is not enough!”

“It’s not a common item.”

“CAW, that is true! But doesn’t the Tailor have one too? Even if I get it, I’ll only be second!”

I walked up to Seo Ye-in and took the golden card from her.

Then I moved it left, then right, alternating—and the Great Sage’s gaze tracked it back and forth.

“For someone who’s ‘second,’ you look like you want it a lot.”

“I want it! But I need more for the price!”

“So there’s no room to negotiate.”

Then we had no choice but to add more from our side.

First, I asked Seo Ye-in.

“You got anything? Something expensive.”

“......?”

She rummaged through her Inventory for a moment, then pulled out a thick black card.

“......?”

“It’s expensive, but not that.”

“......Nothing.”

Seo Ye-in shook her head.

I only asked just in case, so I wasn’t expecting much either.

Then I’ll have to use mine.

My original plan was to learn a ★Blink★-derived Skill.

There are other ways to learn it, but I judged this route to be the fastest.

Since it’s relatively lower in value, two statues should’ve been more than enough.

Still, right now, it’s better to yield.

The Space Fold Seo Ye-in wants is something she can basically only learn through the Great Sage.

If she misses this chance, she’ll have to wait a long time for the next.

Yielding isn’t a big loss.

Whether it’s the Hye-seong Group or the Underworld Dragon King, they’ll pay me back more than what I “lose.”

They could bring me another method to learn a ★Blink★-derived Skill, or I could take something else—either way, it’s not bad.

Most importantly, that isn’t a unique Skill.

Meaning it can be copied.

Like [Destruction Gale]—if Seo Ye-in learns it, I can use it too.

It’s basically the same as both of us learning it at the same time.

After finishing the math, I pulled out two statues.

“I’ll add these.”

“CAW! May I take a look?”

“Of course.”

When I nodded readily, the crow statue and the miniature golden Principal statue floated up and drifted over in front of the Great Sage.

It grew wildly excited and started examining them one after the other.

“CAW! These are different from what the Tailor received!”

“Can I give you the exact same thing? It’s art. I put some thought into it.”

“An excellent idea, young sovereign!”

The Great Sage kept looking them over.

Then it pointed at the miniature golden Principal and asked,

“CAW, this person feels strangely familiar.”

“That’s our Principal. Have you met?”

“I think I saw him once! He was someone who didn’t act his age!”

“He still doesn’t.”

To borrow the Vice Principal’s words, he’s still an elementary school kid.

Even so, it didn’t reduce the statue’s value at all—the Great Sage clearly liked both.

I gave it a little more time to enjoy them, then asked,

“Is it enough?”

“CAW, this is just barely enough!”

“Then let’s proceed.”

“Good! I’ll teach you!”

I handed over the golden card too, and it stared at everything as if savoring it, then stored it carefully in its Inventory.

Then it pointed somewhere with its staff.

“CAW, child blessed with the power of a meteor—stand over there.”

Seo Ye-in trudged over as told and stood there.

The crow Great Sage raised its staff high.

“Okay.”

“CAAAAW—!”

In an instant, a wide circle was drawn around Seo Ye-in.

Next, complex magic circles appeared one after another, then linked together organically and began to resonate.

The resonance grew louder and louder until, eventually, it felt like our heads were going numb just listening.

And all the light pouring out of the magic circles was focused on Seo Ye-in, so we could barely make out even her outline—just a pure white silhouette.

That state continued for a long time.

Then, in a single moment, the resonance and the radiance burst outward like an explosion.

At the same time, the Great Sage snapped its staff and pointed at Seo Ye-in.

“CAAAAW—!”

In an instant, everything subsided and the surroundings returned to normal.

Seo Ye-in stared into the air as if checking a notification message.

So I asked,

“Did you learn it?”

“I learned it.”

Then she shared the notification message.

[Acquiring ‘Space Fold (F)’.]