The Support Ate it All-Chapter 540: Ballista

A second-year classroom.

Even though class had just ended, not a single person stood up from their seat.

Because they all knew they’d just be sitting right back down anyway.

And that they wouldn’t be leaving for a while.

Van Wave had just activated, so barriers had been thrown up at every exit, and disciplinary committee club members would be pouring in any moment.

—ZZZZT—!

Before long, a thin film of electromagnetic force appeared at one side of the room and swept across the interior at high speed.

They’d grown so used to it that most students just stared ahead with blank faces.

Some, however, clicked their tongues under their breath and placed red-glowing items on top of their desks.

“Seriously... why today of all days.”

“Should’ve left it behind.”

They’d known a bag check was coming sometime soon, but they’d gotten complacent, thinking it wouldn’t be today—only to get caught.

Humans were foolish animals. They kept repeating the same mistakes.

“.......”

Hwang Dam-bi, the Archery Club’s second-year deputy vice president, watched them out of the corner of her eye for a bit before slowly lowering her gaze to her lap.

There sat a box that looked like it had been woven out of assorted plants, glowing green.

[Cube of Life (B)]

The reason the Thieves’ Club had been able to secure banned items over and over this year during their repeated attempts on the temporary storage facility—regardless of whether those attempts succeeded.

‘They brought it out by putting it in here...’

Apparently, the aura the cube constantly emitted disrupted Van Wave.

Anything that worked on a similar principle did the same.

It was such an unexpected item that, at first, she couldn’t bring herself to believe it.

To the point where her first thought had been, Isn’t this a scam?

As if they’d expected that reaction, Dang Gyu-young had handed the cube over without hesitation and said—

—Take it and try it. See if it works.

So even while doubting, she’d decided to test it. That was why she was here now.

While disciplinary committee club members moved through the classroom collecting banned items and assigning demerit points, Hwang Dam-bi quietly lifted the cube’s lid.

Inside was a finger—dry and shriveled, with tufts of fur.

An item called [Monkey Finger], proudly occupying one slot on the banned list.

But since its danger level was low, the penalty for getting caught was small too.

Confiscation and a few demerit points. That was it.

It was the perfect item for testing the cube.

And yet, even though Van Wave had already swept through, not even the tiniest trace of red light came off the finger.

The disciplinary committee club members didn’t seem to have the slightest interest in this direction, either.

Hwang Dam-bi, a little dazed, thought—

‘It really works...?’

So my suspicion was pointless.

She felt gratitude and apology toward the Thieves’ Club president at the same time.

‘...No. Forget the gratitude.’

Because the benefits she’d had to hand over in exchange for borrowing it for a few days weren’t just one or two.

It wasn’t the Thieves’ Club. It should be renamed the Robber Club.

Either way, now that she’d confirmed the cube’s performance, this job would be easier than expected.

‘We just have to get into the temporary storage facility somehow.’

Once they did, they’d be securing a set amount of banned items.

Someone might ask.

To enter the temporary storage facility, wouldn’t you have to break through the disciplinary committee club? How is that easy?

A confident smile curled Hwang Dam-bi’s lips.

‘That much is worth trying.’

As long as she used her main weapon.

*****

Not long after Van Wave activated, the disciplinary committee club contacted us.

So I moved with Dang Gyu-young and Chae Da-bin to the meeting place.

A small conference room similar to the one where we’d held our secret talk before.

Gwak Seungjae and Oh Sehun were seated inside, waiting, and they greeted us as we entered.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Sit. Make yourselves comfortable.”

We traded brief greetings and got straight to the point.

Oh Sehun pulled out a single booklet first.

It was black with gray lettering that read, <How to Harvest a Graveyard>—a title that practically screamed necromancer.

“I don’t know if I should call it lucky, but it was in the confiscated items. You said you needed it, right?”

“That’s the one.”

Dang Gyu-young tipped their chin lightly.

Instead of revealing how we’d been diverting banned items, the deal was receiving a necromancer magic tome.

With that in hand, there was no longer a risk this would fall through, so Oh Sehun smiled faintly.

Then he put the booklet away again and said,

“Then let’s talk again after everything’s done.”

“Sure.”

Following my instructions, Dang Gyu-young had also made deals with the Black Blade faction and the Archery Club.

Because of that, if this temporary storage facility infiltration caused problems and banned items leaked out, we’d promised we’d take responsibility—and even share «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the method.

From the disciplinary committee club’s perspective, that meant there was no need to hand over the magic tome until the very end, so they were deliberately delaying the trade.

‘We’re not in a hurry, either.’

We planned to use the necromancer magic tome to expand the [Shadow Extraction] slots, but even if we expanded them right now, there’d be nothing to register.

To extract, you have to kill the target or completely subdue it. And since it was PvP week, even the dungeon building was blocked off. It’s not like a Blood Cult elder was going to come crashing in out of nowhere, either.

We’d probably have to do something during winter break, or wait until next year.

So we could think about the magic tome later.

Gwak Seungjae took in everyone present and began.

“The operation has been concretely formed, so I’d like to brief you. First, the temporary storage facility locations.”

He unfolded the Dungeon Island map, then tapped two spots.

One was in an isolated area near the busy district.

The other was in the forest between the academy grounds and the busy district.

The latter was the place the Thieves’ Club had used as its control tower during the Black Market incident—and also the place that had served as the third temporary storage facility.

Maybe they felt petty for no reason, because Dang Gyu-young grumbled.

“You’re really squeezing every last drop out of it, huh? After taking it from us.”

“The location is suitable, so we’ve chosen to reuse it. It isn’t a building owned by the Thieves’ Club, is it?”

We’d just secretly renovated an abandoned building and used it.

Like they’d run out of things to say, Dang Gyu-young looked away and changed the subject.

“You split it in two again?”

“We judged it would be advantageous.”

If we used Gwak Seungjae’s unique magic—his tree door—support could arrive instantly anywhere, so the more temporary storage facilities there were, the easier it was for the disciplinary committee club to maintain the advantage.

We could’ve placed three or four like we did last time, but the reason we limited it to two was to minimize risk.

Even if we wouldn’t get blocked by [Caw?], the possibility of the tree door being destroyed still existed.

That was why we weren’t going to rely on Gwak Seungjae alone like before.

“We will station more personnel at each storage facility, and the moment we confirm the enemy’s main force, we will provide support.”

“Got it.”

Since this was the same as what we’d heard last time, Dang Gyu-young just shrugged like it was no big deal.

Then they asked.

“So what do we do?”

“Before I explain that, this is the enemy strength we’ve identified.”

Gwak Seungjae handed over a document.

A list of students belonging to the Swordsmanship Club’s Black Blade faction.

Mak Dae-ung, Sagong Uk, and Jang Mu-geuk stood out at a glance.

Flipping through it roughly, Dang Gyu-young let out a low sound of surprise.

“When you see it like this, there are more than you’d think.”

“It’s the Swordsmanship Club.”

It was the biggest club in Dragon Slayer Academy by sheer size—so even a single faction within it had more members than most mid-tier groups.

“They look like they’d fight better than our guys, too.”

Most of them were swordsmen, and there were assassin-class types mixed in.

Several were strong enough to maintain top ranks in PvP week.

They wouldn’t get helplessly rolled the way they would against the Thieves’ Club.

Oh Sehun smiled softly and replied.

“You don’t have to worry about that. At least, we won’t lose on skill.”

“Yeah, fair.”

That kind of confidence was exactly what you’d expect from the disciplinary committee club, so Dang Gyu-young accepted it.

Next was the Archery Club.

Dang Gyu-young took the roster, flipped a few pages with a flutter, and asked,

“...They look like they’re preparing a lot too. They’ll bring it out, right? The Ballista.”

Ballista.

A long-range weapon—basically a scaled-up crossbow.

Depending on the type, it could be operated by an individual like a sniper rifle, but a Ballista could also have multiple people working it together.

This time, it would almost certainly be the latter.

With Skills and Traits stacked, the power of each shot would surpass imagination. If you got hit, even the disciplinary committee club would be finished.

Gwak Seungjae nodded slowly.

“We expect up to three.”

“The president and the deputy vice president are guaranteed. And Dam-bi uses it well.”

“They have a long record of performance in team battles.”

As a fellow second-year, he’d know better than anyone.

From the way his expression stiffened slightly, it looked like he’d been hit hard by it at least once.

Dang Gyu-young seemed to pick up on that, but continued like nothing was wrong.

“So that’s basically the biggest variable in this operation.”

“Yes. It will likely come down to how quickly we identify their position and neutralize it.”

“And you want us to handle that?”

“There are not many people suited to moving without drawing attention.”

The archers weren’t idiots. If they sensed someone approaching, they’d either intercept or relocate.

And as a long-range class, they were fast on their feet.

If you moved wrong, you could get reversed, or you might end up playing tag until the whole thing ended.

But if it was Chae Da-bin and Dang Gyu-young, they could track the enemy position without being detected—or even close the distance.

So Dang Gyu-young asked again.

“I think I said this before, but I can’t handle it alone. How many of your people are you attaching to us?”

The enemy would recognize how important Ballista operation was, too.

They’d be prepared for the possibility of being discovered by the disciplinary committee club.

‘They’ll have escorts.’

Handpicked elites among the swordsmen.

You’d have to assume three or four third-years. In that case, even Dang Gyu-young couldn’t guarantee a win.

‘And this time, we have to hide our identity too.’

It was at my instruction, but lending out the [Cube of Life] and joining the disciplinary committee club was, morally, a bit questionable.

If it got exposed, we’d be completely at odds with the Black Blade and Archery sides, and it would damage our credibility.

This was something we’d discussed before, and we’d already decided we’d borrow two [Mimicry Totem (A)]—one for me, one for Dang Gyu-young.

Chae Da-bin could support from long range and be done with it.

Still, Dang Gyu-young wanted to hear clearly who would be moving with us.

Gwak Seungjae answered in a calm tone.

“People who excel at stealth will accompany you.”

“If it’s ‘people,’ then they’re third-years.”

“That’s right. I’m included too.”

Oh Sehun’s narrow eyes drew a gentle arc.

In contrast, Dang Gyu-young pinched their brows together.

“I knew it. You’re creepy—always sneaking around by yourself.”

“Seungjae can handle commanding the main force just fine. If I’m there, I’ll only get in the way. So isn’t it right to use the remaining strength to shut down any variables that might pop up?”

It was a pretty effective call.

During the second and third temporary storage facility infiltrations, Oh Sehun had popped out right at the end and nearly caused a disaster.

Dang Gyu-young didn’t seem like they’d been planning to oppose it anyway—they just shrugged.

“Fine. Better, since you’re on our side. While we’re at it, let’s try the hammer too.”

“Since you brought it up, hold it once.”

Oh Sehun summoned a shining hammer and handed it over. Dang Gyu-young took it and swung it through the air a few times.

Like they liked it well enough, the corner of their mouth lifted.

“...Heavy.”