The Support Ate it All

As soon as I left the thieves club room, I called out to Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam.

There was no need for lengthy explanations; two words were enough.

[Kim Ho: Ghost Dance]

Sure enough, the two assassins dropped everything and came running.

Their eyes were blazing with anticipation.

“…Kim Ho.”

“Oh, you’re here.”

“Is it true?”

“Why would I lie about something like this?”

Wang Chron-sam asked,

“Do you have it with you now?”

“No, I’m planning to pick it up this week. I called you because there are some things we need to coordinate in advance.”

“Let’s hear it.”

I briefly summarized the conversation that had taken place in the thieves club room.

I explained that we’d be joining a raid in a B-rank dungeon, where one of the hidden pieces we’d be retrieving was none other than the Ghost Dance.

And that there was currently an open spot on the team.

Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam exchanged a look.

With only one slot and two people called, it was only fair that the more skilled of the two would take the spot.

In any case, Wang Cheon-sam’s abilities were slightly below my own standards.

Jang Moo-geuk spoke up at this point.

“You want me to join the raid?”

“Yes.”

“And what do I gain from this?”

“I’ll give you priority rights to the transaction.”

“……!”

The [Ghost Dance] was a technique left behind by the illusion demon among the Four Supreme Demons Under Heaven.

Its true nature was a highly unique and powerful skill and, at the same time, a form of enlightenment.

While it was notoriously difficult to locate and even harder to obtain, the advantages it offered were astounding enough to offset these drawbacks.

It’s not just a one-time use, after all.

Generally, items that granted skills or special traits would vanish the moment they were used.

The skill book and quest scroll Seo Ye-in had used were good examples of this.

In contrast, although Ghost Dance had a limited number of uses, it allowed multiple people to benefit from it in turn.

After the reserved members of the thieves club and Go Hyeon-woo had their chance, it was likely there would still be two or three uses left. My proposal, then, was to offer them priority access to those remaining opportunities.

Jang Moo-geuk’s gaze deepened.

“It’s certainly tempting, but it’s better to hear the full terms before deciding.”

“Fair enough.”

“You said you’d give us priority in the transaction. However, even with priority, if the deal itself falls through, then it’s all meaningless, isn’t it?”

In other words, he was saying that they would agree to the mercenary proposal only after hearing the requirements, to prevent any misunderstandings later.

It was a reasonable condition, so I nodded my head.

“Of course, I won’t make unreasonable demands. For the two of you, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

In fact, it was something even easier to acquire due to their connections to the black faction.

When I stated my requirements, a flicker of surprise appeared in their eyes.

“It won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible. For something like Ghost Dance, paying that much seems fair. But what exactly do you plan to do with it?”

“Is that really important?”

“…No, it’s not.”

The important thing wasn’t how it would be used, but simply that I wanted it as part of the deal.

Jang Moo-geuk didn’t press further and nodded in agreement.

“Fine, I’ll accept your offer. You said Friday, right?”

“Yes, Friday. And here, take this and read through it beforehand.”

I handed him a strategy guide as well.

Of course, compared to the comprehensive version I gave Go Hyeon-woo, Dang Gyu-young, and Chae Da-bin, this one was much thinner.

Since he doesn’t need to know everything.

What I needed from Jang Moo-geuk was his power.

In the event of an emergency, the other party members could handle the rest.

When he tucked the guide into his coat, Jang Moo-geuk asked,

“I’ll read it over. Is that all?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Then I’ll be off. Came in a rush, after all.”

Saying he had run over in the middle of other business, the two of them quickly stood up and went away.

While I was watching their backs as they left, a thought struck me, and I called out with a question.

“By the way, do you still use aliases these days?”

“Of course.”

“What are they?”

Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam exchanged a quick look before answering.

“Jang Oh.”

“Wang Gon.”

“……”

Their naming sense was, as always, spectacularly terrible.

They hadn’t progressed at all from Jang Sam-Wang Pil or Jang Cheol-soo-Wang Min-soo.

Since I stayed silent, Jang Moo-geuk cautiously asked,

“…Not good enough?”

“Guys, what’s the point of using aliases if they’re so obvious the moment someone hears them?”

“That’s true. We’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“So, whose idea was Jang Oh and Wang Gon?”

At that, Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam fell silent for a moment, then simultaneously pointed at each other.

“This guy came up with it.”

“This guy said it was good.”

***

The next day.

After class ended, I was about to leave the classroom when I noticed the atmosphere outside was more chaotic than usual.

In most cases, this meant someone from another class or grade had shown up.

When I peeked outside, sure enough, I saw a familiar head of red hair at the center of the commotion.

“…..”

It was none other than the infamous “Mad Fighting Dog” Hong Yeon-hwa.

Because of her outstanding appearance and her fame, she couldn’t help but draw the attention of those passing by.

However, she felt uncomfortable with people glancing at her, so whenever they focused their gazes on her, she would glare in all directions.

Yet even after she managed to drive off one wave of onlookers, new students would pass by and take another glance. This resulted in a seemingly endless staring battle.

Just then, Go Hyeon-woo approached her with his characteristic smile and greeted her.

“Hello, Miss Hong.”

Hong Yeon-hwa maintained her half-scowling expression, but perhaps since they were somewhat familiar with each other, she gave a slight nod in response.

Go Hyeon-woo started speaking with a friendly smile.

“It was a good match last time. I learned a lot.”

“…Me too.”

He seemed to be referring to the duel battle on the Cloud Stairs.

Though she kept a hard front, even Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t stay tense when she was praised, and her expression softened just a bit.

They exchanged a few more words about the duel battle, and then Go Hyeon-woo asked,

“Did you come here because you had business with Kim-hyung?”

“…Mhmm.”

“Just wait a moment. I’ll call him over for you.”

But there was no need for him to call me.

I had already heard everything, after all.

I had just been watching from the sidelines, curious about the unusual combination.

When I approached, Hong Yeon-hwa’s self-control noticeably improved; the fierce look in her eyes faded and it was replaced with an unexpectedly gentle expression.

Go Hyeon-woo looked back and forth between Hong Yeon-hwa and me and smiled meaningfully.

“Interesting…”

“What is?”

“Oh, nothing. I just hope you two have a good time.”

With that, Go Hyeon-woo walked away. His footsteps were light and swift with his mastery of the “Thousand Winds, Endless Step” technique.

Somehow, I doubted that was what he had trained so hard to use it for.

I turned to Hong Yeon-hwa and looked at her.

“So, why did you come?”

“Ah, well… I came to give you something…”

A long box and a smaller box appeared from Hong Yeon-hwa’s inventory.

Just from the appearance of the boxes, I could guess what they contained.

It’s complete.

The second weapon I commissioned from the blacksmith club president after Root was completed.

Apparently, processing the krakatite hadn’t been too difficult, as it was completed right on schedule.

I didn’t want to show off my new weapon to the passersby, so I took Hong Yeon-hwa to a less crowded place.

When I opened the long box, a short rod lay inside.

Overall, it was dark in color with a faint blue color.

The joints were barely visible at both ends.

I immediately took out Deep Root.

I removed the F-rank iron rod I had been using to simply extend its length and attached the newly acquired rod in its place.

With a satisfying fit, a spear was completed, as if it had always been one piece.

[Deep Rooted Sapling (A+)]

▷ Very high mana conductivity

▷ Damage protection (A) applied

▷Automatic durability recovery

▷Earth Line

▷Octopus Limbs

▷Upgradeable

▷Upgradeable

▷Upgradeable

The item’s name had changed from [Deep Root] to [Deep Rooted Sapling], with its overall rank slightly upgraded from A to A+.

And then there was the newly added trait, [Octopus Limbs].

Didn’t expect to get this one so soon.

I had acquired this incredibly powerful effect much more easily and quickly than I anticipated.

Considering I had only given a few tips to the magic engineering club, the reward felt almost too good.

All thanks to my lucky charm.

In my mind, I offered a deep bow of gratitude to Seo Ye-in who was probably still sound asleep in the classroom.

[Octopus Limbs]

▷Allows simultaneous casting of a skill up to n times.

▷Costs and penalties increase by n² depending on the number of casts.

For example, with Wind Barrier, I would normally have to chant the spell, complete the spell, cast it on one person, then repeat the same process for the next person, and then the next.

But with Octopus Limbs, I could cast Wind Barrier on three people at the same time.

The same goes for skills with cooldown times.

Normally, I’d use a skill, wait for the cooldown, use it again, wait for the cooldown once more, and so on. But with Octopus Limbs, I could cast it on as many targets as I wanted simultaneously.

Of course, the penalty was brutal.

Casting a skill “n times” with Octopus Limbs increased the cost or penalty by the square of n.

So, casting Wind Barrier 3 times at once with Octopus Limbs would consume 9 times the usual mana.

If I used Octopus Limbs to cast a skill with a one-hour cooldown five times simultaneously, the total cooldown would rise to a whopping 25 hours.

With skills like Inferno Fist or Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger, I was already barely managing to offset the elemental penalties, so using Octopus Limbs for them would be completely out of the question.

Still, the potential is limitless.

There were moments in intense battles when, even with such a penalty, it would be necessary to unleash multiple skills at once.

In a way, it was like having another ace up my sleeve.

Meanwhile, Hong Yeon-hwa had been watching me and gauging my reaction the whole time.

When I took my eyes off the sapling, she asked cautiously.

“…So? How is it?”

“I like it. It was a good choice this time.”

I answered her and then asked in return.

“Is there something else you wanted to say?”

“Oh, uh… mhmm….”

Hong Yeon-hwa had come to me on an errand, but I knew that now we were getting to the real point.

Though the Ruby Magic Tower and the Blacksmith Club had a relatively close relationship, it wasn’t close enough for them to use a promising student as a simple messenger.

She hadn’t even been directly involved in the crafting, like when she melted down that Millennium Iron.

I could guess that Hong Ye-hwa had likely sent her.

She must have told her to hand it over and subtly hinted to ask a few questions while she was at it.

Actually, this works out well.

I had actually been planning to reach out to her today or tomorrow, so her coming to find me saved me the trouble.

As expected, her next words didn’t stray far from what I expected.

“Um… I was wondering if… you’d be going into the dungeon sometime this week…?”

Hong Yeon-hwa needed to clear an ice-themed dungeon to rank up her Aqua Flame trait.

However, the second- and third-year students at the Ruby Magic Tower were tied up for some reason. So they couldn’t join her.

And as a result, Hong Ye-hwa had chosen me as her alternative.

Since I had no reason to refuse, I agreed to set aside some time to help her.

And it happens I’m free right now.

This week’s strategy battle had already seen us clearing the Herb Garden on the first day.

And the raid on the Gathering of Villains wouldn’t start until Friday, so I had free time until then.

I nodded my head and asked,

“How about today or tomorrow?”