The Support Ate it All
Chapter 40: Duel Battle (2)

A challenge for a duel battle that seemed to have been greatly influenced by Mok Jong-hwa.

The picture was becoming clear.

It was likely a challenge to restore the honor of the Emerald Magic Tower.

However, they had overlooked one thing.

“I don’t want to.”

“What?”

They hadn’t considered that I had no reason to accept this duel.

I leaned back in my chair with an attitude full of annoyance.

“Do I owe you anything? Should I just go if you say go, come if you say come, and fight if you say fight?”

“A duel is… a matter of honor.”

“And yet, for someone who values honor so much, you two ganged up on me?”

“That’s-!”

The incident where Kwak Ji-cheol and Jung Soo-ji joined forces against me and lost had become an irreversible stain on the reputation of the Emerald Magic Tower.

The fact that they lost a two-on-one fight was a problem, as was the fact that the opponent was a known “coward”.

Regardless of how my reputation might change later, the important thing was that I was called a coward right now.

To cover up this stain, they needed to defeat me in an official duel and preserve the victory as a replay for everyone to see.

Therefore, they were desperate to draw me into the ring in some way.

From my perspective, I had nothing to lose.

“Anyway, I have no intention of accepting. I’ve already won, so why waste time on something pointless?”

“…….”

“If you really want, consider it a loss for me, and go brag about it.”

I implied that they could boast about a victory over a coward.

I knew well that the Emerald club wouldn’t be satisfied with such a resolution.

However, Kwak Ji-cheol couldn’t think of a solution to overcome this situation.

He looked to Mok Jong-hwa for help with pleading eyes.

Mok Jong-hwa glared at Kwak Ji-cheol as if he were trash and then addressed me.

“So? It’s truly cowardly to run away after only winning once. Are you afraid of losing?”

“Yes, I am a coward. I’m soo afraid.”

Mok Jong-hwa cast the gambler’s provocative skill “You scared?”, but I didn’t even blink.

Having a reputation already at rock bottom proved convenient in such times.

Realizing this tactic wouldn’t work on me, Mok Jong-hwa changed his approach and threw a bait my way.

“I said I wouldn’t waste time needlessly. Would you accept if there’s a stake involved?”

“If it’s worth it.”

Honestly, I wanted to accept the duel right away and beat Kwak Ji-cheol to a pulp.

Yet the reason I kept brushing off their provocations and holding out was,

It’s more beneficial this way.

The Emerald club had to take revenge by any means necessary.

Their president would try to initiate a duel even if it meant using bait.

And that bait would be too tempting for me to ignore.

Of course, it remained to be seen whether I was the one taking the bait or if it was Mok Jong-hwa.

Mok Jong-hwa took out a small ticket from his inventory and slammed it onto the table.

“I bet this.”

Park Na-ri and Ha Soo-yeon, who had been silently observing the situation, looked surprised.

This move indicated the extent of Mok Jong-hwa’s bold strategy.

[Crafting VIP Ticket]

The craftsmen at Dragon Slayer Academy rarely accepted crafting requests.

Due to the excessive demand compared to supply, they only took on a very limited number of requests, and even then, there was a long waiting list.

This VIP ticket allowed the holder to bypass the queue and get an item made with top priority.

It was one of the several privileges offered by Dragon Slayer Academy, just like the special cultivation room season pass.

Thank you very much

I was already in need of better equipment and here was this valuable ticket being offered to me.

“However, this is only if you win.”

“Are you sure you want to wager something like that?”

“It doesn’t matter. If I win, that’s the end of it. Will you accept?”

“Alright. Let’s consider it agreed upon.”

As I accepted the duel, Mok Jong-hwa crossed his arms, and Kwak Ji-cheol stepped forward again.

“Set a date.”

“Two days from now would be good.”

“…Why two days from now?”

I casually showed the recently traded [Blank Skill Book].

“I need to learn this.”

“What?”

“……?”

Everyone looked dumbfounded.

Creating a skill with a Blank Skill Book was challenging enough, but that wasn’t the end of it.

Rather, it was just the beginning.

One had to become familiar with the skill they had crafted and even increase its rank to make it viable in actual battle.

To accomplish all this in just two days seemed utterly absurd.

“Kukuku…”

Mok Jong-hwa let out a low chuckle and stroked his face.

A fierce smile played on his lips; perhaps this was a sign that he was quite irritated.

He might have interpreted my statement as an underestimation of Kwak Ji-cheol’s abilities, thinking I could beat him even with a skill learned in just two days.

“How long it’s been since Emerald has been underestimated like this.”

“I have confidence in my skills.”

Not that I had no intention of underestimating him.

“Kwak Ji-cheol.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“If you lose to this guy, you’re out of the club.”

“…I will win, no matter what.”

Kwak Ji-cheol bowed his head with a stern face.

Since his business was finished, there was no reason to continue sitting in the uncomfortable seat.

One by one, people started to rise from their seats.

“I’m quite looking forward to the day after tomorrow. Show us what you’ve got.”

“You can expect a lot. Make sure to keep the ticket safe.”

“…….”

Until the moment he left, Mok Jong-hwa continued to give me fierce looks.

“I-I’ll be going too. S-see you later!”

“Meow.”

Park Na-ri stuttered a goodbye to me, and her cat Bum waved its front paws in the air a couple of times.

I should head to the training center now.

I have to go and quickly create a skill first.

As I was about to down the half-remaining iced coffee in one shot, Ha Soo-yeon spoke to me.

“Could we talk alone for a moment?”

“……Sure.”

I sat back down in the chair.

As I chewed on the end of the plastic straw, Ha Soo-yeon sighed and began to speak.

“I have something to apologize for. I saw Mok Jong-hwa sending Ji-cheol and Soo-ji to you, and I pretended not to know.”

“Did you test me?”

“To be honest, yes. I wanted to see how you would handle both of them.”

So that was it.

The first person I promoted the cube to was definitely Park Na-ri, but instead of the Mother Nature club taking action, it was the pair of Kwak Ji-cheol and Jung Soo-ji who came to me.

Considering the close relationship between Mother Nature and Emerald, I was certain that Ha Soo-yeon was also involved in this matter.

However, I didn’t expect her to be so honest about it like this.

Nevertheless, I responded with equal honesty.

“I understand. As the president of a club, you had to be cautious. Still, it does feel a bit upsetting.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know if this will make up for it, but I hope you’ll accept it.”

Ha Soo-yeon handed me a piece of parchment as a sign of apology.

[Rank Up (F)].

It was the same item I had received as a reward for three consecutive victories in the duel battles last week.

Getting another one for free was definitely a bonus for me.

She’s really generous.

Although I felt slighted that she had tested me,

Unlike Emerald, she hadn’t caused any direct friction with me, and I had even gained a useful item, so it was something I could overlook generously. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the ɴ0velFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“I’ll accept it gratefully. But… doesn’t this put the Mother Nature club at a loss?”

“It is a loss. Originally, I planned to add this to the cube trade, but the timing got messed up when Na-ri interfered. Still, it’s alright.”

Ha Soo-yeon smiled softly.

There was not the slightest hint of regret about the loss she had incurred.

It seemed she had noticed something from our conversation during the cube trade and about the duel.

If I had really been the coward as the rumors suggested, I couldn’t have interacted so casually with Mok Jong-hwa, who was not only my senior but also the head of the club.

In that case, she probably thought it a good idea to establish a friendly relationship with me in advance to prepare for an unexpected future. And she must have reckoned that an F-rank [Rank Up] was a small price for that.

It was a good choice.

After all, there were still plenty of items to trade with the four major powers besides the [Cube of Life].

“Are you confident about the duel?”

“One hundred percent.”

Ha Soo-yeon looked surprised when I answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“…. I didn’t realize you were that confident. But I’ll warn you in advance. Mok Jong-hwa and Kwak Ji-cheol have analyzed all of your replays and prepared countermeasures.”

“Isn’t that just basic strategy?”

“No. This time, Kwak Ji-cheol will receive support at the club level.”

I thought as much.

Kwak Ji-cheol’s overly confident demeanor when he challenged me to a duel gave me the impression he had something to rely on.

The club would prepare items to exploit my weaknesses.

It was highly likely that Kwak Ji-cheol’s equipment, too, would be replaced by the equipment of second and third-year students.

Considering that I wouldn’t receive much support since I was unaffiliated, the duel was bound to be unfair.

“It doesn’t seem right to me. If you want, I can lend you an artifact from the Mother Nature club.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m fine.”

I showed her the blank skill book.

“This will be enough.”

“……..!”

My claim that I would create and master a new skill in just two days was indeed serious.

However, Ha Soo-yeon seemed to be doubting me.

“…Are you really planning to win with a newly created skill?”

I didn’t explain at length; I just smiled.

“You’ll be surprised when you see it.”

***

Training Center.

I sat alone in the middle of a large training room.

The wooden dummy in front of me would attack me on command, but for now, it remained still and motionless.

A blue light emanated from the [Blank Skill Book] in my hand.

When you infuse it with mana while thinking of the words or sentences you want, they will automatically be input into the book.

While creating a new skill usually involved meticulous thought and careful attention to each character, my skill book was filling up at an unrestrained speed, as if a stenographer were typing away.

It’s not something I’ve done just once or twice.

How many times have I used the blank skill book before?

The count was so high that I had long since given up on keeping track.

Of course, even if I had forgotten how many times I used it, the data accumulated from countless trials and errors remained vividly in my mind.

The optimal skill that could be implemented using the blank skill book was being created.

– What kind of support is the most useful?

There is no definitive answer to this question.

Usefulness varies depending on the situation.

In some cases, healing is more valuable; in others, it might be defense and sometimes buffs or debuffs can be more advantageous.

However,

– What is the most troublesome and annoying support to deal with?

– What is the No.1 support that makes players naturally curse, “That bastard is cheating”?

There was a definitive answer to this question.

Forced Movement Support.

[Learned ‘Skillbook – Wind Force’]

[Acquired ‘Wind Force (F)’]

[Wind Force]

▷Imbues physical force into the wind.

I stood upright while facing the wooden dummy.

A gust of wind blew through the enclosed space, playfully tousling my hair as it passed by.

Suddenly, the wooden dummy creaked and lunged at me with a one-two punch.

In sync, I leaned right, then left, and lightly placed my hand on the dummy’s chest.

Bang!

The wooden dummy flew across the training room and crashed at the far end.

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