The Support Ate it All

Chapter 279: No. 50 Teleportation Labyrinth (5)

Kim Gap-doo shot forward in an instant and arrived directly in front of the Oobleck knight.

As if it intended to swat away an annoying obstacle, the creature frantically swung its five arms, but Kim Gap-doo narrowly dodged each attack and pressed in even closer.

Then, at a distance so close he could almost touch it, he thrust his fist forward like lightning.

Boom!

A resounding explosion echoed as the huge Oobleck staggered backward.

Perhaps deciding that a frontal confrontation offered no chance of victory, the creature reverted to the same tactics it had used against Jegal So-so. It quickly increased the distance and launched sword energy in retaliation.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

Jegal So-so continued the pursuit alongside Kim Gap-doo. At the same time, she swiftly assessed the newly joined allies and issued orders.

“Jeong Chong-myeong, you are the battery.”

The battery position was best assigned to the person with the greatest firepower.

If Jeong Chong-myeong put his mind to it, he could deliver an even stronger attack than Inferno Fist.

There was also the matter of keeping my identity as hidden as possible.

Though I had already used Inferno Fist in front of a few people, increasing the number of people who knew wasn’t ideal.

After all, it’s a prohibited skill.

Unless the situation became truly dire, it was best to keep it under wraps.

Before long, Jeong Chong-myeong took a position in one corner and began chanting a spell.

The faculty member at his side appeared to be of a support class and provided support.

He intercepted the occasional stray blade of sword energy and enhanced the power of Jeong Chong-myeong’s magic.

As their combined incantation progressed, a huge magic circle began to form on the ceiling some distance away.

Jegal So-so pointed to the area within the magic circle’s range and gave the next order.

“Drive it over there.”

“Understood.”

Kim Gap-doo replied curtly before forcefully kicking off the ground and shooting forward again.

Once more, he closed in on the Oobleck knight and delivered another devastating punch.

Bang!

The Dark Oobleck was pushed back, sliding toward the magic circle. Sensing the need to create more space, the creature began to retreat quickly.

However, just as it was about to step beyond the edge of the magic circle, a thick wall of ice suddenly erupted behind it.

I had cast Ice Wall.

The creature failed to evade and crashed straight into the wall.

Thud!

The ice wall cracked heavily and looked as though it might shatter at any moment.

One more strike would likely do the job, but the Oobleck knight seemed unwilling to waste even that much time.

It abruptly changed direction and dashed off toward another area.

But, of course, Jegal So-so was already there blocking its path.

She didn’t dodge the incoming longsword swings; instead, she deflected each one with precision.

It might have seemed like an unnecessary move, but it kept the creature’s arms occupied and prevented it from launching sword energies elsewhere.

In addition, shadow spikes suddenly shot up from beneath its feet, piercing the creature and further restricting its movement.

Dang Gyu-young wore a triumphant smile on her face.

“Now it’s properly caught.”

As expected, restraining is best done with multiple people.

With so many of us, there was no room for it to escape.

Kim Gap-doo, Dang Gyu-young, Jegal So-so, and I blocked all its escape routes, forcibly pinning it within the magic circle.

A short while later, Jeong Chong-myeong seemed to have finished his casting. A blue pillar of light descended from the magic circle etched into the ceiling.

Boom—!

The Oobleck Knight was crushed flat beneath the pillar of light and soon disintegrated without a trace.

Even so, Jegal So-so stared at the spot for a while longer. Only after confirming that the creature had been completely eradicated did she lower her sword.

“We’ll regroup.”

Everyone readily followed Jegal So-so’s instructions.

This indicated tacit approval of her authority as the leader.

While the support staff cast light recovery magic on everyone, Kim Gap-doo glanced at the three of us in turn and remarked,

“Looks like none of you are hurt.”

Kim Gap-doo’s group, however, had accumulated numerous injuries, both large and small, from continuous battles and were visibly fatigued.

In contrast, the three of us were completely unscathed and relatively relaxed, thanks to the rest we’d taken in the hidden room.

Dang Gyu-young responded nonchalantly.

“We were hiding in secret the whole time.”

“That’s definitely something you’d pull off.”

Kim Gap-doo quickly accepted the explanation and moved on.

But then, as if another question had occurred to him, he gestured toward me and asked,

“And… who is this?”

I was still disguised using the Totem of Disguise.

Not everyone was as quick-witted as Jegal So-so, so it was only natural that Kim Gap-doo and Jeong Chong-myeong didn’t recognize me.

Of course, we had anticipated this situation and prepared an explanation in advance.

Knowing it was best for me to remain silent, Dang Gyu-young answered on my behalf.

“I didn’t hear all the details, but apparently, he plays a very important role in this raid. You saw Teacher Lee guarding him, right?”

“I did.”

“While the teacher’s away, it’s our job to protect him.”

“Got it. Understood.”

Kim Gap-doo nodded his head.

For a brief moment, Jeong Chong-myeong’s eyes glinted sharply, but he too set his doubts aside and focused instead on the raid’s objectives.

After all, my abilities would be revealed once we reached the boss room.

Once we finished regrouping, the party continued onward to the next room.

As before, Dang Gyu-young cast Shadow Magic to cloak us in stealth, but the frequency of detection increased.

With such a large group, the effect of the stealth spell was diminished, and the Oobleck mages were appearing more frequently.

As a result, we engaged in several more battles, taking additional time to regroup after each fight.

Amidst this, Jeong Chong-myeong let out a small sigh and commented,

“Well, at least we’re not getting lost.”

If we had taken on this dungeon without any prior knowledge, we might have ended up retracing our steps or even straying farther from the boss room.

We would also have been forced into countless unnecessary battles.

In contrast, by following the strategy guide, we were progressing steadily without deviation.

Jeong Chong-myeong held up the revised edition of the strategy guide and waved it at Dang Gyu-young.

“Make sure to thank whoever gave this to you.”

“Mhmm, I’ll do that.”

Dang Gyu-young responded nonchalantly and then slyly flashed a playful grin in my direction.

It was as if she was asking, “Hey, did you hear that just now?”

***

The raid continued to proceed smoothly after that.

The Oobleck knights gradually grew more grotesque, with an increasing number of limbs that made them resemble octopuses or centipedes. This made them trickier to deal with.

Still, since the party was well-organized, we were able to advance without much damage.

We gathered to review the strategy guide during one of the many breaks, though no one could keep track of how many there were.

Jeong Chong-myeong’s gaze deepened as he spoke.

“We’re almost there. The boss room.”

According to the map, we had nearly reached our destination. Soon, teleportation portals leading directly to the boss room would begin to appear one by one.

Despite this, the expressions of our party members were far from bright.

One more hurdle remains.

The monsters guarding the rooms surrounding the boss chamber were significantly stronger. The strategy guide had emphasized this with a clear warning: “Be cautious.”

It was also likely that the Witch of Corruption had prepared something even more dangerous for us.

Kim Gap-doo shrugged nonchalantly and remarked,

“It’s not like we have a choice, do we? We’ve just got to go.”

“If anything, we should hurry. For all we know, other parties might already be engaging the boss.”

Jeong Chong-myeong added a word, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Finally, Jegal So-so gave the last instructions.

“Let’s stay calm, just as we have been. Everyone, get ready.”

Before long, we gathered around the teleportation magic circle. As we infused mana into it, a radiant light burst forth, enveloping the entire party.

Fwaaaash!

But before our vision could fully recover, we heard a courteous voice coming from somewhere nearby.

“Welcome.”

Startled, we all quickly turned to the front, where a single knight stood. It was bowing politely in our direction.

Unlike the others we had encountered, this knight had a normal set of limbs, two arms and two legs, and its equipment was relatively simple.

Still, not a single person in our party underestimated it.

Kim Gap-doo narrowed his eyes and glared at the Oobleck knight.

“…It speaks.”

“Is that so strange?”

“Well, not strange exactly. Just surprising.”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The fact that it could communicate meant it was a higher-level entity with more intelligence.

The Oobleck knight continued,

“Your surprise is understandable. I was told that my master put considerable effort into creating me.”

“I’m sure she did.”

After all, creating a creature capable of consuming even an A-rank monster would not have been an easy feat, even for the Witch of Corruption.

Still, with over a month at her disposal, she had evidently succeeded.

The Oobleck knight bowed politely again before speaking.

“Of course, my role is simple; to stop you, or at the very least, deplete your resources as much as possible.”

“That’s only to be expected.”

“Yes, so I hope you’ll understand.”

“…Understand what?”

“That my methods might be a bit cowardly.”

With that, the knight suddenly kicked off the ground and hurtled toward us at an incredible speed.

Its target was the rear of our formation.

It was the location where Jeong Chong-myeong, the support staff member and I were positioned.

How cowardly. I like it.

If the mage group could be wiped out, it would weaken both their firepower and sustainability. So it was the best choice for the enemy.

I silently acknowledged its cleverness.

Of course, the frontline wasn’t foolish enough to simply let it pass unchallenged.

Kim Gap-doo and Jegal So-so blocked its path and launched a coordinated attack.

However, just as they were about to clash, multiple long, thick arms suddenly extended from what was once a single arm of the Oobleck at incredible speed.

Whooosh!

“…What the—!”

“…….!”

Kim Gap-doo and Jegal So-so were forced to retreat hastily.

Considering the opponent was a slime-type monster, they must have anticipated some unconventional moves.

However, the sheer power behind the attack far exceeded their expectations, and both were flung to the sides.

At that moment, the Oobleck knight broke through the frontline and rapidly closed the distance toward us.

An ice wall abruptly rose in its path, but the creature immediately swung its arm down.

Crash!

The sturdy ice wall shattered in an instant, scattering shards everywhere.

Until now, such defenses had been effective, but with this mid-level A-rank boss, it was inevitable that it would break through so easily.

Of course, my intention was never to stop it outright.

It’s to obscure its vision.

Not just its vision, but my companions’ vision as well.

[Inferno Fist]

[Overheat]

The flames enveloping my fist channeled tremendous power throughout my body.

With my physical abilities heightened to the limit, I leaped into the midst of the scattering ice shards.

The creature instinctively swung its arm, but I narrowly dodged it.

At the same time, without anyone noticing, I discreetly extended my index finger.

Thud.

Then, with a swift kick to the ground, I pulled back and retreated from the monster.

My index finger which had been frozen solid like an icicle quickly melted and returned to its original state.

This tactic works surprisingly well.

Chrrrk.

A part of the creature’s arm rapidly froze over.