The Support Ate it All - Chapter 184: 9th Week Midterms (8)

As we continued walking in the direction chosen by Lucky Charm, we eventually encountered a group of goblins.

We had run into and taken down goblins several times on the first day, but today, there was a noticeable difference.

“Grrrr…”

“Grrrr…”

Two Beheader Goblins were mixed in with the group.

The midterm exam’s deserted island kept throwing stronger monsters at us as the days went on.

Stronger monsters appeared on the second day compared to the first, and even stronger ones showed up on the third day.

This was intended to accelerate the participants’ collection of crystals.

“Graaaah—!”

One of the Beheader Goblins let out a roar and hurled a cleaver from its hand.

I knocked the spinning cleaver aside with a flick of my wrist, and Seo Ye-in immediately aimed her assault rifle at the creature.

Ratatatatatata!

“Grrk. Gack. Gahk.”

Every single one of the dozens of magic bullets slammed into the creature.

The Beheader Goblin collapsed to the ground without putting up much of a fight.

I glanced over at Seo Ye-in.

She really has improved a lot.

The first time we faced a Beheader Goblin in the Timed Attack strategy battle, it took five sniper rifle shots just to bring it down.

But now, just a burst from the assault rifle was enough.

That was the power of C-rank [Magic Bullets] and [Ejection].

The fate of the second Beheader Goblin wasn’t much different.

Ratatatata!

“Grrrk. Grrrk. Gahk.”

It swung its cleaver wildly through the air and tried desperately to deflect the magic bullets, but it was like trying to block the sun with your hand.

More bullets hit the monster than it could deflect, and it eventually couldn’t hold out any longer and collapsed.

“Keruk?”

“Kekek?”

The other goblins who now had lost their focal point so quickly after the battle started were in complete disarray.

A whirlwind swept them up. It gathered them together like rice balls,

Boom!

And then exploded.

The area was soon cleared.

Seo Ye-in walked forward before picking up the crystals that had fallen to the ground.

One red crystal in one hand, one green crystal in the other.

“Two of them dropped.”

“What? Why do you keep cheating like this?”

In truth, the crystal drop rate for Beheader Goblins wasn’t very high.

It usually hovered between 5% and 10%.

Yet, two crystals dropped in succession.

Although it was less shocking than the one that dropped from the ordinary goblin yesterday, it was still a ridiculous outcome.

“……?”

As I stared intently at her, Seo Ye-in tilted her head slightly to the side.

I can’t quite grasp what this trait is.

It was almost certain that Seo Ye-in possessed a luck-type trait.

I had conducted several experiments to identify it, but aside from the fact that it worked on a rechargeable basis, I couldn’t narrow it down.

I wonder if there was a luck trait that was so powerful, had such a wide application from random boxes to monster drops, and had such a high activation rate.

For something so strong, it didn’t seem to have any restrictions.

It might be a unique trait.

There was a good chance it was a trait I had never encountered before.

For the time being, all I knew was that it existed which left many unknowns, including the mysterious EX-rank.

I decided to keep observing it for the time being.

Having obtained two crystals already, there was no need to debate the next destination.

“Should we go charge?”

“That’s right.”

After visiting the sanctuary, it seemed we could wrap up today’s schedule.

The nearest sanctuary from our current location was the mill.

It was the same place where we had recharged the crystals yesterday.

So, Seo Ye-in and I leisurely walked toward the mill.

Fzzzzzzzt,

Boom!

From the direction of the mill, the sound of lightning and explosive blasts echoed.

Since it meant a battle was underway, we slowed our pace further and carefully scanned our surroundings as we advanced.

Before long, the mill and the general situation came into view.

“What a mess.”

At the mill, someone was continuously charging crystals with bright flashes of light, while several teams were frantically tangled in a chaotic skirmish nearby.

Fzzzzzt, bang!

As expected, the source of the lightning was Song Cheon-hye.

When she joined forces with Han So-mi, they seemed to be not only holding their ground against the combined attack of two or three teams but actually overwhelming them.

I quickly came to a conclusion as I watched them.

“Well, we’ve done all the charging we can today.”

There were at least five or six teams visible, and counting those hidden by the forest, there were easily over ten.

In this situation, charging into the heart of the battle could result in a concentrated attack and losing everything.

Seo Ye-in who had been quietly watching the situation asked me,

“Give up?”

“We’ll have to. Instead,”

It felt too disappointing to just retreat, so we needed to gain something else here.

I lightly tapped Seo Ye-in’s shoulder and pointed somewhere.

At the end of my gesture was another team approaching the mill.

“……”

Seo Ye-in stared at them for a moment. She then realized my intention and gave a small nod.

She switched her magic gun to sniper mode.

The long barrel followed their movements slowly before emitting a blue flame.

Bang—!

“Ugh!”

A male student was struck squarely in the temple by the shot and collapsed.

The teammate who was walking next to him was startled and ran away.

He couldn’t even pick up the space bag that fell on the ground.

No need to chase him down.

After all, our target from the start had been the items.

Upon checking the bag on the ground, I found an uncharged red crystal inside.

For some reason, red crystals seemed to come up often.

There was also a sleeping bag inside, and though it didn’t seem particularly useful, I decided it was better to have it than not so I took it.

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in found her next target and pulled the rifle’s trigger.

Bang!

“Geh!”

The second victim who was a female student collapsed with a sound like a frog being squashed.

However, the space bag was still in the hands of her male teammate.

“W-What the hell!”

He looked at us in panic, but by then, I was already rushing toward him at an incredible speed.

Whoosh—

He tried to back away to widen the distance, but he was held in place by Wind Force and couldn’t move.

I struck the top of his head with Root using all my strength.

Clang!

The light faded from his eyes as he crumpled to the ground.

Left in his place was a single yellow crystal.

And it was fully charged.

I waved the yellow crystal toward Seo Ye-in.

“We’ve got them all.”

Clap, clap, clap—

▷Crystals

Red 100% x1

Blue 100% x1

Green 100% x1

Yellow 100% x1

Red 0% x2

Green 0% x1

I completed a full set with the highest achievement in the midterm quest and even managed to collect three extras.

This was more than enough for today’s quota.

“Let’s start heading out.”

“Dinner?”

“Of course. How about grilled fish for dinner?”

“Fish sounds good.”

Fzzzzzt! Boom, boom!

When I checked the mill again, the battle had become even more intense.

The number of visible teams had increased from five or six to over ten, and the combat radius had expanded to nearly double.

Meanwhile, we could hear a familiar sound of piercing air from somewhere.

Swish-swish-swish!

It was Cha Hyeon-joo and Kang Hee-chan.

They had taken a position a bit away from the mill, with Cha Hyeon-joo firing arrows and Kang Hee-chan holding off the approaching enemies.

I exchanged glances with Seo Ye-in.

“We can’t just leave them like that, can we?”

“She said something bad.”

[Activated ‘Amplification’.]

[The rank of ‘Ejection’ has increased. (C->A)]

Seo Ye-in’s Ejection skill was amplified to an A-rank and she quickly demonstrated its new power.

Baaang—!

The blue beam of light that shot out from the muzzle of Seo Ye-in’s gun seemed to connect with Kang Hee-chan’s abdomen,

Boom—!

Kang Hee-chan was sent flying and bounced across the ground like a leaf caught in the wind or a skipping stone on water.

Truly a work of art.

I’d give it a 12 out of 10.

“…….!”

Cha Hyeon-joo who had just witnessed Kang Hee-chan’s dramatic fall with her eyes wide in shock, quickly snapped her head in the direction of the sniper.

And as soon as she spotted me, her face twisted in fury.

“Kim—Ho—!”

“Hello again. And goodbye.”

I waved cheerfully, then grabbed Seo Ye-in’s hand and started running in the opposite direction.

There was no need for us to take her down ourselves.

Because,

Fzzzzzzt,

Song Cheon-hye and Han So-mi had already approached and blocked her path.

With Cha Hyeon-joo being a promising student who kept firing arrows, they probably found her more annoying than the others and wanted to take her out first.

“Get—back—here—!”

Cha Hyeon-joo screamed at the top of her lungs from behind us, but we paid no attention and kicked off the ground using Wind Force.

“Jump.”

“Jump.”

Bang!

***

There were plenty of places to rest if we looked around.

Nevertheless, Seo Ye-in and I returned to the rocky hill where we had rested the night before. This was mainly because there was a lake nearby.

More precisely, it was convenient for catching dinner.

I stood by the lakeside and spoke up.

“Then let’s catch some fish.”

“Fishing?”

“There’s an easier and faster way.”

I pointed at the lake with Root.

A faint whirlpool appeared on the surface, and then a deep thudding sound echoed from the depths of the lake.

I had cast Spiral Explosion.

Moments later, dozens of fish as big as my forearm floated to the surface with their bellies up.

All we had to do was happily scoop them out.

This was a forbidden explosive fishing method that could only be used in an artificial dungeon.

Back at the rocky hill, I skillfully cleaned the fish with a knife, removed their guts, and skewered them one by one on branches.

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in had gone into the forest and returned with an armful of dry branches.

“You picked ones that are perfect for starting a fire.”

“Mhmm.”

“Now all that’s left is to light the fire…”

Unfortunately, among all the survival items, there wasn’t a single one for starting a fire.

If only we had a lighter, a simple flick of the finger would have solved the problem.

With no other choice, I had to make a makeshift flint and start rubbing it diligently.

Just as I was about to begin my battle with frictional heat,

—a sharp sound whizzed past my ear, and Seo Ye-in and I simultaneously focused on the same spot.

The alarm trap we had set nearby had been triggered.

This meant someone was approaching, so we quickly stood up and got ready.

“Of all times, they had to mess with us right before dinner. Let’s deal with this quickly and then eat.”

“Let’s deal with this.”

We descended the rocky hill and swiftly moved toward the intruder’s location.

Surprisingly, the intruder remained stationary, and I could sense the flow of mana which meant they were casting a spell.

They must have realized that they had triggered the alarm trap; so they must have decided to make a stand on the spot.

Knowing that time was against us, I sped up and soon the intruder came into view.

“……!”

It was Hong Yeon-hwa who was just about to activate a series of Fire Pillar magic circles.

Our eyes met, and her eyes widened in surprise before she hastily canceled her spells. Like a child caught doing something naughty.

Perfect timing.

A “campfire” had walked right up to us.