The Support Ate it All - Chapter 126: 7th Week Mentoring and Duel Battle (11)

[Song Cheon-hye: 100%] vs. [Son Hyeong-taek: 78%]

[Crystal: 0%]

Son Hyeong-taek’s health gauge took a significant hit with a single body slam.

Though Son Hyeong-taek dropped the crystal from the impact, he quickly recovered it even as he tumbled across the ground.

He then jumped to his feet and regained his stance, showing the resilience typical of a warrior-type class.

“…”

The two of them briefly glared at each other and were locked in a standoff.

Son Hyeong-taek was the first to move.

As he stepped forward and rapidly punched the air, multiple wind fists shot out.

Papapapa!

While Song Cheon-hye countered each incoming wind fist, Son Hyeong-taek turned and made his escape.

That’s the best I can do for now.

Now that it was clear that Song Cheon-hye had the upper hand in both strength and speed, fighting head-on was the worst option for Son Hyeong-taek.

Charging the crystal and holding out was his only chance to seize victory, and to do that, he had to escape to the sanctuary no matter how cowardly it seemed.

Song Cheon-hye immediately gave chase.

As she ran, she extended one hand and currents of lightning split into two on her dark gloves before forming two hummingbirds.

[Hummingbird]

Fzzzzzzzzzt,

The two electric hummingbirds flew gracefully through the air.

“…!”

Son Hyeong-taek maintained his speed and glanced over his shoulder. But the moment the first hummingbird darted toward him, he shifted his steps.

Irregular footprints marked the ground as his figure blurred for a split second, leaving an afterimage, and the hummingbird narrowly missed him.

No matter what, she still can’t hit me with that…

A bit more precise control would do the trick.

It seemed that improving her control was a task Song Cheon-hye still needed to tackle.

“Ah.”

Song Cheon-hye never expected to miss, so for a moment, her expression cracked with surprise.

However, as if this was within her range of expectations, she quickly regained her composure and naturally started controlling the next hummingbird.

Fzzzzzz!

Fortunately, this time she hit the target successfully.

Son Hyeong-taek’s movements noticeably slowed for a brief moment,

“Hup!”

But with a strong shout, a faint energy wave spread from his body and his movements returned to normal.

He had used some kind of debuff removal skill to break free from the paralysis.

And so the chase between the two continued.

They ascended and descended the tiered cliffs as if they were flat ground.

Fizzzzzzzz,

Song Cheon-hye surged forward like lightning.

The distance between them quickly narrowed again.

“…Krrk!”

Son Hyeong-taek checked behind him and grew urgent.

Sensing that he would be body-slammed again if this continued, he started punching in all directions while running.

Papapa!

Towering boulders in his path shattered and fell; the ground overturned; and large and small rocks scattered everywhere.

Song Cheon-hye who was in pursuit had no choice but to slow down to avoid or block them.

Whirr—

Son Hyeong-taek was a step ahead and entered the sanctuary’s range.

Towering rocks and crystals connected with thick beams of light,

[Crystal: 1%]

The charging gauge began to fill.

Even then, Son Hyeong-taek didn’t slow down as if he was determined to keep running until the match ended.

‘That’s right, good job.’

Go, Son Hyeong-taek!

I couldn’t cheer loudly because Dang Gyu-young was nearby, so I sent my encouragement silently while maintaining a serious expression.

If possible, it would be great if he made more dust and threw in some taunting remarks.

Because,

I’m going to run away like that too.

The more Son Hyeong-taek ran around now, the more justified my actions would seem later.

If the opponent complained then,

– Stop running around!

– Why? I’m just doing the same thing Son Hyeong-taek did.

I could retort like that.

However, somewhat disappointingly, Son Hyeong-taek did not engage in any of the various bad manners I had imagined and hoped for.

Martial artists are generally used to facing their opponents head-on, so this game of tag itself must have been unfamiliar to them.

That’s why they couldn’t even think of engaging in bad behavior.

Still, Son Hyeong-taek was doing his best to run away in his own way.

Boom!

With his reckless punching, rocks fell from a nearby cliff.

Every time Song Cheon-hye nearly caught up with him, he created obstacles like this and widened the distance again.

When she caught up again, he created more obstacles to widen the distance.

[Crystal 22%]

Meanwhile, the charge level was gradually increasing.

Song Cheon-hye glanced at the scoreboard and furrowed her brow.

She couldn’t just be dragged around like this.

Thinking she had to find a breakthrough, she moved on to her next action.

She didn’t come up with any special trick but simply drew even more magical power.

However, with three or four times more mana going into the same spell, the result was entirely different.

Fizzzzzzzzzzz!

The thickness and intensity of the lightning surrounding her body increased and eventually enveloped her entire body in a storm of lightning.

Rumble, rumble,

Just moving made thunder roar continuously.

“Ah!”

Once again, Son Hyeong-taek’s punch shattered the rocks on the cliff, sending them crashing down.

But unlike before, Song Cheon-hye moved forward as if there were no obstacles in her way.

The debris disintegrated before even touching her and Son Hyeong-taek’s face stiffened at that sight.

“N-No way.”

It meant the obstacle strategy no longer worked.

The distance between them kept closing.

And to make matters worse,

[Crystal: 27%]

[Crystal: 24%]

The light emanating from the sanctuary faded, and the charge level dropped rapidly.

In his frantic focus on escaping, he had unknowingly moved out of the sanctuary’s range.

“Ugh…”

Judging that running away was no longer possible, Son Hyeong-taek stopped and turned around.

To brace himself for the impact, he also drew as much mana as he could, surrounded himself with it, and activated his best defensive skill.

Finally, the two clashed for the second time in this match.

Rumble!! Boom!!

“Argh!!”

Son Hyeong-taek let out a desperate scream as he was flung away.

He bounced on the ground several times like a skipping stone but managed to stand on his two feet, though he was on the verge of losing consciousness.

His vision blurred and his body wavered unsteadily.

Song Cheon-hye ruthlessly ignored his state, rushed at him and struck with all her might.

Boom!

[Song Cheon-hye Win] vs [Son Hyeong-taek Lose]

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“…….”

Song Cheon-hye bowed respectfully to Son Hyeong-taek, who lay sprawled on the ground like a dead frog, then turned away.

When she returned to the stands through the teleportation portal, Dang Gyu-yeong greeted her with a brief remark.

“You did well.”

“Thank you.”

Song Cheon-hye also bowed her head calmly.

Since it was a match that would have been strange to lose, no significant reaction was needed from either side.

Next, Dang Gyu-yeong turned her gaze to Hong Yeon-hwa and Kwak Ji-cheol.

She seemed to be thinking about which of the two to send out.

I was pushed to the last match, so I wasn’t a consideration.

But surprisingly, Kwak Ji-cheol raised his hand.

“I would like to participate in the second match.”

“I was thinking of sending Hong Yeon-hwa. Do you have a special reason?”

She would listen to the reason, but if it was simply due to a sense of duty, she wouldn’t allow it.

As a mentor, Dang Gyu-yeong had to prioritize the team’s victory while excluding emotional factors as much as possible.

However, Kwak Ji-cheol seemed to have his own reasons.

“I heard something from my big brother before about senior Kim Gap-doo .”

“Seung-jae? What did he say?”

“He said that, unlike a typical martial artist, Kim Gap-doo is excessively cautious.”

“Hmm, that matches what I heard.”

While Dang Gyu-yeong’s team had sent out Song Cheon-hye who had a score in the 900s as their vanguard from the beginning, Kim Gap-doo’s team sent out Son Hyeong-taek who had a score in the 600s.

He was partially a sacrificial piece, and Son Hyeong-taek fulfilled that role well enough.

Additionally, if Kim Gap-doo was indeed as “excessively cautious” as rumored, there was a high possibility that he would send out someone in the 600s range, like Ilgong for the second match as well.

So, Kwak Ji-cheol argued that he should face him since their scores were similar.

Dang Gyu-yeong asked,

“What if you end up against Bukgung Han-seol? Can you win?”

No matter how cautious Kim Gap-doo was, it couldn’t be ruled out that he might try to secure a win in the second match.

Kwak Ji-cheol was silent for a moment before answering honestly.

“…Realistically, it would be difficult. But it wouldn’t be a loss since it would force them to waste one of their stronger cards. And…”

Kwak Ji-cheol glanced between me and Hong Yeon-hwa before continuing.

“…As much as I hate to admit it, they’re a bit stronger than me.”

If we were to use a sacrificial piece, it made the most sense for the weakest to take on that role.

Dang Gyu-yeong confirmed once more,

“So, can you beat Ilgong?”

“I should retrieve the crystal first and then fortify my defenses. The terrain suits me well.”

When it comes to defense, the Emerald Magic Tower’s earth mages were unmatched.

This terrain was also full of rocks which made it perfect for using earth-type magic.

So, if the scores were similar, he would have a good chance of winning.

Dang Gyu-yeong stared at Kwak Ji-cheol for a moment then nodded her head as if convinced.

“Alright. Go ahead.”

Kwak Ji-cheol bowed his head slightly and descended via the teleportation magic circle.

Soon, the names of the participants appeared on the scoreboard.

[Kwak Ji-cheol 620 points vs Ilgong 670 points]

As expected, Ilgong was his opponent.

Kim Gap-du turned out to be an overly cautious toad just as the rumors said.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but wonder.

How did such a cautious man agree to such a bet…?

The 4-on-4 duel battle and the bet felt more like they were decided on the spot rather than being carefully planned and prepared in advance.

The stakes that included the elixirs and club rights were also brought in rather forcefully.

Perhaps he felt a sense of urgency when he saw Dang Gyu-yeong present me as her potential boyfriend.

He might have thought this was her last chance.

When a cautious toad falls in love, rational thinking becomes impossible.

Anyway, the situation had already unfolded like this, and the important thing was “how the upcoming match would turn out”.

I sent my encouragement to Kwak Ji-cheol.

Stay strong, Kwak Ji-cheol.

If you and Hong Yeon-hwa win, I won’t have to go out.