The Support Ate it All
Chapter 84: 5th Week Mentoring and Duel Battles (7)

Time goes back by about two weeks.

Ahn Jeong-mi was in the midst of flawlessly handling all her tasks that day as well.

The mountain of papers before her quickly dwindled as her hands moved with unmatched speed and machine-like precision.

But her hands, which never stopped until all her assigned tasks were completed, were stopped that day by one exception.

“What did you say?”

Ahn Jeong-mi rose abruptly from her seat.

Her face was trembling with astonishment.

Both were rare sights to behold, so that could only mean something truly surprising had occurred.

The cause of her shock was an unexpected piece of news from a “reliable informant” planted within Dragon Slayer Academy.

“Miss is applying for mentoring?”

It was the news that Seo Ye-in had applied for mentoring.

This piece of information was so ridiculous that it was hard to believe even if it came from that “reliable informant”.

From what Ahn Jeong-mi observed over a long period of time Seo Ye-in was the person who was most distant from the word ‘zeal for learning.’

She had a disposition that found the act of learning new things or stuffing information into her head to be exceedingly tedious.

No, this lack of enthusiasm wasn’t confined to learning alone.

Seo Ye-in simply lacked motivation in virtually everything.

Except, perhaps, for finding a cozy corner to sleep in.

It was truly frustrating for those who watched her and they often found it baffling how someone with such brilliant talents and potential could exhibit such laziness.

And because Ahn Jeong-mi had taken on most of the responsibility for Seo Ye-in’s education, she felt more frustrated than the others.

In a desperate move by the Future Strategy Office, they decided to enroll Seo Ye-in at Dragon Slayer Academy.

The hope was that by meeting, socializing, competing, and clashing with her peers, she might find some stimulation.

But when Ahn Jeong-mi sent her off, her expectations were not high.

She thought Seo Ye-in might just spend her days tucked away in a library corner or napping in the dormitory.

She would be grateful if she could at least attend class every day.

But it was only a month after Seo Ye-in entered Dragon Slayer Academy.

The “reliable informant” began sending updates that were hard to believe.

Seo Ye-in was not only attending classes daily but was also actively participating in weekly duel battles and strategy battles.

Surprisingly, her grades were quite decent!

Could it be that her peers had indeed sparked a positive change in her?

Even so, mentoring?

But applying for mentoring and actively seeking instruction seemed a bit too far-fetched, didn’t it?

Therefore, Ahn Jeong-mi found the news of the mentoring particularly hard to believe.

However, after several rounds of cross-verification and as the news solidified into truth, she had no choice but to believe it.

This might actually be a good thing.

Ahn Jeong-mi’s mind quickly spun into action and she came up with a new plan on the spot.

Dragon Slayer Academy just happened to have made an announcement that they were looking for mentors.

Coincidentally, Ahn Jeong-mi was a high-ranking “Marksman” and a “Graduate” so she perfectly met the criteria.

This is an opportunity.

A golden opportunity to teach a girl who would not listen to others no matter how hard they tried.

And wasn’t it Seo Ye-in who had personally requested this mentoring?

Unlike before, she was willing to learn from someone else, making it an even better opportunity.

Thus, Ahn Jeong-mi put all else aside and reached out to the Dragon Slayer Academy with the desire to become a mentor.

The academy saw no reason to turn away someone of her caliber and gladly accepted her proposal.

When it came to long-range classes, the number of marksmen was significantly lower compared to archers.

Among them, those with exceptional skills were even fewer.

And among those, the number of marksmen willing and available to take on a mentoring role was smaller still.

Due to this shortage of personnel, Seo Ye-in was inevitably going to be assigned under an archer mentor, but with Ahn Jeong-mi stepping in to take the role, she was assigned under her instead.

This too was precisely as planned.

The outcome was the one-on-one tutoring sessions Ahn Jeong-mi had always dreamed of—teaching the motivated young miss.

Ahn Jeong-mi trembled with overwhelming emotion.

This time for sure…!

This time, I will impart everything I know with all sincerity and effort!

Yet, she concealed her true feelings and spoke in a casual tone.

“For the next month, you’ll be undergoing duel battles and strategy battles with me.”

“……”

Seo Ye-in was still as expressionless as ever and showed no reaction, but Ahn Jeong-mi, who had been watching her for a long time, was able to read the subtle emotional changes hidden within her.

That’s the look she has when something really displeases her…

She realized that Seo Ye-in was already finding the situation bothersome.

Was she truly interested in mentoring?

Could there have been some misunderstanding or a mistake in the application?

Doubts flashed through her mind, but she was too far in to back out now.

Ahn Jeong-mi quickly continued with her explanation.

“This week’s [Strong Enemy] in the duel battles will be me. But before we delve into the specifics of the match, I intend to assess how much you’ve grown.”

No matter how reliable her sources were, the information that could be leaked from outside the Dragon Slayer Academy was extremely limited.

At best, it was fragmented information like “Seo Ye-in’s wins and losses in fuel battles”, not to mention replays were out of the question.

Therefore, it was necessary to gauge Seo Ye-in’s exact level of progress before proceeding with the mentoring.

Ahn Jeong-mi gathered a cluster of mana in her hand.

The mana spread out into an octagonal shape before creating a bullseye and shield.

“I’ll be using this again.”

The mana shield summoned by Ahn Jeong-mi was perfectly suited for measuring skills, as it had successfully blocked Seo Ye-in’s shots countless times in the past.

Ahn Jeong-mi added a slight taunt to the mix.

“I’ve strengthened the shield since I believe you must have grown a bit. I doubt you’ll be able to penetrate it.”

She knew well that despite Seo Ye-in’s generally indifferent attitude, she had a surprisingly strong dislike for losing once challenged.

The plan was to create a simple shield with the least amount of magical power,

Block Seo Ye-in’s shots with it,

And then provoke her further with a comment like, “Miss can’t even break through something this?”

This usually motivated her to engage earnestly for a while.

Believing this time would be no different, Ahn Jeong-mi gave the signal.

“Come on.”

“……”

Without a word, Seo Ye-in methodically assembled her dual pistols into a rifle and loaded it with a magic bullet.

Huh?

Ahn Jeong-mi’s eyebrows involuntarily rose as she watched.

Just a month ago, Seo Ye-in’s magic bullets were nothing more than roughly shaped clumps of mana.

But now, the bullet glowing blue in Seo Ye-in’s hands was flawlessly formed, so perfect it was almost beautiful.

With a magic bullet of that caliber…

The possibility of breaking through the mana shield Ahn Jeong-mi had conjured was very high.

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I can’t do that.

She had already thrown down the gauntlet.

Attempting to infuse more mana belatedly would not only fail to provoke Seo Ye-in’s competitive spirit but might backfire entirely.

Moreover, Seo Ye-in had an almost supernatural knack in this regard.

Her eyes were incredibly sharp, capable of detecting even the slightest fluctuation in mana instantly.

Ahn Jeong-mi was thus forced to rely on the mana shield she had summoned.

She tapped away in her mental calculator and tried a different tactic.

If mana is concentrated at the point of impact at the moment of a hit…

The chances of blocking it would increase significantly.

It would require quite a bit of skill and control, but for a marksman of her caliber, it was not an impossible task.

As the long rifle was aimed at her, Ahn Jeong-mi nodded one last time.

Bang!

The barrel then emitted a blue flame.

At this time, there were two things that Ahn Jeong-mi did not expect.

She thought that no matter how incredibly talented Seo Ye-in was, it must have taken a tremendous amount of effort to train her [Magic Bullet] to that level of perfection.

The first thing that she never expected was that Seo Ye-in had learned another skill, let alone [Ejection].

The second thing was that Seo Ye-in’s abilities hadn’t just slightly improved; they had grown immensely and even exponentially.

Throughout the past week, Seo Ye-in had poured every free moment into practicing [Magic Bullet] and [Ejection], just as Kim Ho had instructed.

With her tremendous talent, it was impossible for her skills not to develop when effort was added to the mix.

Additionally, whether she knew it or not, the effects of the B-rank cushion had improved her sleep efficiency, which in turn extended the time she remained awake. Those additional hours were wholly devoted to training.

The result was that both [Magic Bullet] which was previously at D-rank, and [Ejection] which was previously at E-rank had reached C-rank.

Kim Ho’s thought of “it seems impossible, but maybe…” had turned into a reality against all odds.

Thus, the shot fired from Seo Ye-in’s rifle was a powerful one that far exceeded Ahn Jeong-mi’s predictions.

The shield she had raised with the expectation that Seo Ye-in’s skills had only marginally improved over the last month was utterly incapable of stopping this formidable shot, no matter what she tried.

A blue streak was drawn between the rifle’s muzzle and the mana shield.

In the next moment, the Magic Bullet shattered the thin shield and embedded itself in Ahn Jeong-mi’s forehead.

Bang!!

Overwhelmed by the tremendous shock, Ahn Jeong-mi’s head snapped back, and she slowly fell to the ground.

It was only upon taking the hit herself that she realized,

So you’ve learned [Ejection]…

And at a quite high rank at that.

As her consciousness faded away, Ahn Jeong-mi let out a low exclamation of admiration.

“Miss… You are truly amazing…”

To have grown so magnificently in just a month… Thud.

***

Although Ahn Jeong-mi had taken an unexpectedly powerful strike and fallen with a crash, she was a graduate after all and she quickly came to her senses.

And with a bulging lump in the middle of her forehead, she asked many questions.

“How did you learn [Magic Bullet]? And [Ejection]?”

How she managed to master not one, but two skills in a month, and even raise them to C-rank was beyond her.

Unfortunately, Seo Ye-in wasn’t very talkative and gave most of her answers in short answers or shaking her head, so she had to go back and forth for almost 20 rounds.

Anyone else might have given up in frustration, but Ahn Jeong-mi has dealt with Seo Ye-in for a long time as her family’s butler so she was well accustomed to this.

By now, she had reached a level where Seo Ye-in could say a few words and she’d understand the whole context.

Finally, Ahn Jeong-mi understood the whole situation and nodded her head in understanding.

“You’re saying a man named Kim Ho was the one who taught you?”

“Mhmm.”

“So, Miss, why did you chose mentoring as well?”

“He told me to.”

“……!”

Ahn Jeong-mi felt her respect for the guy called Kim Ho growing in her heart.

What kind of magic did he use to motivate Miss who is as lazy as a sloth?

What’s the secret?

Wondering if she might learn the secret by asking, Ahn Jeong-mi tentatively posed a question.

“Seeing Miss working so diligently fills me with pride, but also curiosity. May I ask about the reason?”

“……”

Seo Ye-in paused for a moment while staring blankly into space.

She seemed deep in thought and tilted her head slightly to one side.

After a long pause, the answer that came from her was,

“Just because.”

It just turned out that way.

To Seo Ye-in, Kim Ho is someone special.

He was one of the rare individuals whose status window that only she could see with her “eyes” was filled with question marks.

Yet, if one were to ask if her time spent with Kim Ho over the month was solely because of this, it didn’t seem entirely the case.

Then, what other reason could there be?

Seo Ye-in herself couldn’t provide a clear answer.

After Kim Ho, she found herself attending classes every day without realizing it, participating in duel battles, practicing diligently, and even mentoring.

It seemed this pattern would continue into the future.

And so, she lumped all these inexplicable things together under “just because”.

Naturally, for Ahn Jeong-mi, this was an answer that was impossible to understand or accept.

But Seo Ye-in was not the only one who needed to answer.

“I would like to meet that person named Kim Ho.”

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