The Support Ate it All
Chapter 36: 2nd Week Strategy Battles (3)

A standoff in which Seo Ye-in who wore an invisible ghillie suit and I faced off against the beheader goblin.

“Grrrr…”

As the beheader let out a low threatening growl, the ordinary goblins didn’t dare intervene and merely watched from a distance.

Just as the creature was about to leap forward and swing its rusted cleaver,

Thump—

A magic bullet, fired from somewhere, struck it squarely between the eyes.

Its face contorted and its head snapped back violently.

However, the beheader goblin jerked its head back to its original position. What a tough guy.

Its eyeballs rolled around wildly before focusing on the direction from which the bullet had come.

“Ajhussi, don’t get distracted. Look this way.”

I had to keep its attention on me to allow Seo Ye-in a safe shot at its weak spot.

I charged at the beheader as I swung the Earth Staff (melee) and cast a hummingbird simultaneously.

Both the staff and the hummingbird targeted the creature from opposite sides.

“Grrrr!”

The beheader’s body blurred in place and split into two as if using a duplication technique.

Its cleaver also split into two, attempting to cut through both the staff and the hummingbird at the same time.

Since it was a boss monster, it evidently knew how to use skills.

This is actually better.

I had planned to hit only one of them anyway so its diversion of power was a welcome development for me.

I quickly retrieved the staff, stepped back, and maneuvered the hummingbird.

Fzzt

The beheader swung its cleaver at me as if it was unaffected by this level of paralysis.

I leaned back and narrowly avoided the rusty blade as it whooshed by.

I then lunged back in, hitting its side with the staff, but it seemed to take little damage.

This creature was wrapped up in physical abilities and traits; my attack which was fueled only by mana, naturally did little damage.

Thump—

Seo Ye-in’s magic bullet hit for the second time.

Again, it struck the creature’s face.

Even as its head snapped back, the beheader’s bulging eyes were locked in the direction from which the magic bullet had come.

“Didn’t I tell you not to get distracted?”

“Grrraaah—!”

As I stretched out my staff and tapped the area where the magic bullet had just hit, the beheader got enraged and rushed towards me.

Such was its fury that streams of sword energy were visibly emanating from its cleaver.

But I used the [Thief’s Step] and kept a close distance, weaving through its attacks with precise timing.

Thump—

Another magic bullet struck the head of the beheader goblin.

The creature seemed momentarily torn between focusing on me or going after Seo Ye-in.

While it was clearly angered by me, the real threat was coming from Seo Ye-in’s direction.

The goblin seemed to have decided to catch the latter first, so it bent its legs and crouched in place.

“Not so fast.”

[Activate ‘Amplification’.]

[Th rank of ‘Hummingbird’ increased (E->C)]

Fzztzztzzt!

When it was hit squarely by the C-rank hummingbird, the beheader’s movements came to a complete halt.

— Thump—

And then a fourth magic bullet embedded itself in its face.

The beheader, unable to maintain its balance, began to stagger.

The creature then gathered up as much mana as it could, infused it into the cleaver, and hurled it with all its might toward the place where Seo Ye-in was hiding.

The thrown weapon ruthlessly tore through the area.

Kaka-gaga-gak!

Swamps and damp soil were wildly overturned.

The air wavered, revealing Seo Ye-in’s form.

Even amidst the chaos, Seo Ye-in stood motionless in her place and aimed her rifle.

Thump—!

The fifth sniper shot hit its mark.

The goblin beheader bent one leg and then eventually knelt on both knees.

“Gu…ru…”

And finally, it collapsed with a thud.

Its body turned to ash and was scattered.

“Gotcha. Let’s go.”

“Mhm.”

We started running again.

The rifle was immediately reassembled into two pistols and they started shooting out blue fire.

Tutututu!

“Keruruk? Keruk!”

“Kekkek??”

Due to the defeat of the boss monster, the goblins were in disarray.

Some blocked the path, while others ran away or jumped into swamp puddles.

As Seo Ye-in passed by, she allowed herself to eliminate those she could and focused on repelling the approaching ones, while running straight for the totem.

As soon as she got close enough to the totem, Seo Ye-in unleashed a barrage from her magic guns and managed to destroy it.

[Remaining Time: 0:18 Seconds]

+ [Goblins Killed: 11]

+ [‘Strong Enemy’ Killed: 120]

—————

[Remaining Time: 2:29 Seconds = 149 Points]

+ [Clear Bonus: 500 Points]

—————

[Total Score: 649 Points]

Although she moved more swiftly than in her first attempt, the time taken to defeat the beheader goblin meant the total duration was similar.

The number of goblins killed was lower since she only eliminated those in her path.

However, this time, the elimination of a [Strong Enemy] added a significant 120 seconds.

The score was over 100 points higher than our first attempt. Sᴇaʀᴄh the ɴ0velFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“The time was reduced quite a bit. We can shorten it even more.”

“…….”

Seo Ye-in silently nodded her head.

However, her expressionless face subtly revealed a sense of dissatisfaction.

I quickly realized the reason but couldn’t bring it up myself.

So I asked while pretending not to know,

“What is it?”

“.…….”

Seo Ye-in hesitated, starting to speak and then stopping.

After waiting patiently, she finally began to speak.

“……you know.”

“Yeah.”

“……can you give me another special lesson on magic bullets?”

She felt something lacking in her magic bullets.

The beheader goblin had been incredibly tough.

As a close-range boss monster, it’s normal for it to be robust.

Yet the fact that it took five rifle shots to take it down seemed to bother Seo Ye-in.

It wasn’t just any five shots, but five shots that were precisely aimed at its vital spots.

The monster’s defense wasn’t particularly strong either.

Because I had marked it perfectly and exposed its vulnerabilities.

Essentially, it was like shooting at an obvious target, but it still took her a long time, so she must have thought it wasn’t good enough.

She does have a competitive spirit, doesn’t she?

The device called [Strong Enemy] was originally installed to give freshmen a hard time, or to put it more politely, to make them experience a wall.

It was meant to induce a sense of frustration at least once.

Seo Ye-in did feel the wall when facing [Strong Enemy], but far from getting frustrated, she immediately wanted to overcome this barrier and was eager to grow.

For me, this was a welcome development.

Teaching becomes more fun when the learner is enthusiastic.

“So, shall we wrap up today’s strategy battle session here and head to the training center?”

“Mhm, let’s do that.”

***

The training center.

Today, we settled in a personal shooting range, not the mana cultivation room.

Any obstacle needed for shooting could be summoned here.

“Now, I will begin the third special lecture on magic bullets.”

Clap—

Seo Ye-in welcomed this with silent applause.

“First, let’s see how far you’ve progressed. Your [Magic Bullet] skill is E-rank now, right?”

“Mhmm.”

“How much longer do you think it will take to reach D-rank?”

Since the last magic bullet lecture, Seo Ye-in must have practiced on her own.

Seo Ye-in was lost in thought for a moment and then opened her mouth.

“…Tonight? I’m almost done with it.”

“You’re quick. Good. Keep it up. Today, we’re going to learn a new skill.”

“All right.”

I set up a large wooden stump a short distance away as an obstacle.

In one hand, I created a magic bullet and in the other, I curled my thumb and index finger to mimic flicking a marble.

“Let’s pretend this is a magic gun.”

I inserted the magic bullet into the flick and then snapped my fingers towards the wooden stump.

The magic bullet flew weakly, barely touching the stump before rolling to the ground.

“Right now, this is your state. Your magic bullet is flawless, and you use a good magic gun, but you’re still only using them as tools.”

This is akin to a swordsman who has mastered the use of a fine sword and techniques but is “only swinging” it.

To become stronger, one must advance beyond this stage.

After all, it’s said that a swordsman treats their sword as an extension of their body, and a sword is an extension of the arm.

The relationship between a gunslinger and a magic gun isn’t much different.

“Watch again.”

I formed the flick again and placed the magic bullet within.

This time, while aiming at the wooden stump I concentrated the mana on my index finger and fired it like a magic bullet.

Snap!

The speed of its flight and the sound it made were distinctively different.

The wooden stump swayed from the impact.

“This skill is called [Ejection]. Let’s try to master it.”

I gathered mana in my hand, focusing it on the area from where it would be launched, namely the index finger.

Then, in sync with the flicking of the finger, I released the mana.

The principle was similar to how martial artists launch a finger-force energy.

“…….”

Seo Ye-in awkwardly formed the shape of a flick.

She placed a magic bullet between her thumb and index finger, concentrated her mana, and flicked it.

Ping!

The magic bullet flew off in a large arc but landed in the wrong place.

It seemed less an issue of poor aiming and more that the action of flicking was unfamiliar to her.

I had to immediately modify the training content.

At this rate, we would be stuck at the basic stage of flicking, which wasn’t even necessary to practice.

“…Let’s try without the magic bullet. Just managing to send mana flying will already be counted as a success.”

Seo Ye-in diligently flicked her finger in the air.

Gathering mana at her index finger had been achieved without much effort, but sending it flying posed a bit of a challenge.

Even after flicking her finger, the mana would sometimes remain on her index finger, or she would release it a beat too soon.

Timing the release was just as important as the act of sending it off.

After all, it was a skill used while firing a magic gun.

Thwack

Finally, after several attempts, a faint blob of mana sprung from Seo Ye-in’s fingertip and it managed to brush against a wooden stump.

Though more mana remained on her index finger than what was sent flying, even taking that into account, her progress was quite fast.

I nodded my head.

“You’re doing well. Keep it up.”

“All right.”

***

By the time evening arrived, the training had progressed even further.

Now, she could easily send mana flying with a flick of her finger.

From this point on, I had her train using her own magic gun.

Completing this would grant her the [Ejection] skill, and then she could move on to using D-rank magic bullets.

“But what should we do for dinner?”

“……..?”

Seo Ye-in found herself in a somewhat awkward position.

She was in the midst of intense training and wanted to continue focusing, but skipping a meal altogether wasn’t an option as she was hungry.

She was caught in a state where she could neither do this nor that.

Eventually, I decided to run an errand for her.

“I’ll just go to the student cafeteria and grab some food.”

“Thank you.”

Seo Ye-in handed me her card, which meant that I should use it for the payment.

It was a heavy thick black card with a black sheen on it.

***

I picked various types of bread at the student cafeteria.

Chocolate, sausage, cream puff, muffin, croquette…

This seemed like enough for a snack.

After grabbing a few drinks as well, I was about to leave when,

“Hello!”

I made eye contact with Han So-mi who was sitting at a table eating her meal.

Seeing her wave cheerfully at me with a bright smile on her face, it seemed she no longer harbored any hard feelings about the incident on the train.

I too held no ill will towards Han So-mi.

After all, she was just doing her duty as a member of the student disciplinary committee, and technically, it was I who had broken the school rules.

Moreover, since we were both in the same class, I thought it would be nice to at least exchange greetings, so I waved back.

“.……?”

When Han So-mi waved her hand, Song Cheon-hye who was sitting across from her, turned her head as if to see whom she was greeting.

She had a happy smile on her face as she took a bite of her cake, but as soon as she saw me, she immediately changed her expression.

Was there really a need to change her expression that drastically?

Anyway, while I was at it, I casually waved to Song Cheon-hye as well before continuing on my way, when suddenly,

“Hey! Wait!”

Song Cheon-hye approached me.

“What?”

“That is… Could you show me your hand, please?”

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