The Support Ate it All Chapter 285: Hardship

It seed as if Dang Gyu-young was about to bring up a heavy topic, because her expression grew increasingly serious.

However, she appeared to struggle to get the words out and kept hesitating.

This isn’t sothing that can be rushed.

So I decided to wait patiently until she was ready to speak.

“……”

“……”

We continued walking in silence, and before I knew it, the n’s dormitory was right in front of us.

Thinking that she might not bring it up after all, I was about to say my goodbye when Dang Gyu-young slowed her steps and looked at .

“Kim Ho.”

“Yes, noona.”

“Can I ask you sothing?”

“Anything.”

I nodded my head readily, but Dang Gyu-young hesitated again for quite so ti before finally managing to ask her question.

“In the eyes of a senior who’s graduated over 200 tis… what do you think of my skills?”

“Before I answer, I’d like to know why you’re asking that.”

Dang Gyu-young let out a deep sigh.

“…It’s just that, lately, things have been complicated for . My skills don’t seem to be improving, yet strong opponents keep appearing. anwhile, you’re getting ridiculously stronger at such a quick pace. Even this ti, you ended up contributing more than I did.”

“In simpler terms, you’re worried about falling behind, right?”

“…Honestly, yes.”

The truth was that while Dang Gyu-young excelled in utility skills such as stealth and teleportation, her combat contributions had been relatively limited.

In a direct confrontation, she wouldn’t stand a chance against disciplinary committee president Oh Se-hoon, nor even against other third-year disciplinary committee mbers.

Even during the battle at the Gathering of Villains where we defeated the Twin Demons, my contributions had been significant. I granted poison resistance and used techniques like Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger and Ghost Dance.

Having gone through such experiences, it was only natural that anxiety had begun to take root in her heart.

Soday, won’t Kim Ho catch up to and surpass ?

When that day cos, will I still be needed?

Will soone else end up taking my place?

The recent subjugation mission must have been the breaking point.

Even though I had exchanged only two moves with the Witch of Corruption, I had done so on equal terms and even gained the upper hand.

It was sothing Dang Gyu-young wouldn’t have dared attempt, and my success ant that, in so ways, I had already surpassed her.

This had shaken her confidence even further, and she likely felt the need to hear my honest opinion at this point.

Well, this day was bound to co.

It was an inevitable conversation that we would have to face eventually.

As such, I looked at Dang Gyu-young seriously and began to speak.

“I’ll give you my thoughts honestly, without holding back.”

“…Mhmm.”

“If you continue training diligently even after graduation, I believe you will be able to reach A-rank.”

“A-rank… What about beyond that?”

“That’s the ceiling for you.”

A shadow fell across Dang Gyu-young’s face.

She cautiously asked again.

“What if I train like that and face the Witch of Corruption?”

“If it’s one-on-one, you’ll lose. No exceptions.”

“……”

Dang Gyu-young’s expression darkened further.

Even if she were to train relentlessly from now until after graduation, A-rank would still be her ceiling.

And to make matters worse, she wouldn’t even be able to defeat the Witch of Corruption. Her abilities were nowhere near sufficient to keep up with .

The vague sense of anxiety she had been feeling now took a definite shape. Still, Dang Gyu-young forced a smile, as if trying to pretend it didn’t bother her.

But it didn’t seem to work. Her smile appeared heartbreakingly fragile.

“Well, I still have to try my hardest if I want to at least make it to A-rank. Thanks. I’ll be going now.”

“We’re not done yet.”

At my words, Dang Gyu-young paused mid-turn. She stopped in her tracks and asked in a defeated tone,

“…What is it now?”

“I didn’t say there’s no way to surpass your limit.”

“….…!”

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

As the saying goes, you should always hear soone out until the end.

While sheer effort alone might not be enough to break through her limits, there were other ways to do it.

Like I had told the Witch of Corruption, if sothing is lacking, you just have to find a way to make up for it.

“And I happen to have one such thod. To be precise, I recently acquired it.”

“…What is it?”

“Before I tell you, let ask you one last thing.”

I looked straight into Dang Gyu-young’s eyes and asked in a serious tone.

“This won’t be an easy path. Are you sure you won’t give up?”

Her deliberation didn’t last long.

She looked straight in the eye. Her eyes were full of resolve, and she answered with determination.

“I’ll do it. Whatever it takes. I won’t give up.”

“Good.”

I activated a skill toward Dang Gyu-young.

[Activated ‘Hardship’.]

[Cooldown: 6 days, 23:59:58.]

[‘Stage 1 Hardship’ has been granted to the target.]

Hardship was a quest-type skill.

It assigned a custom-tailored quest to the target that was perfectly suited to their needs.

For a swordsman, it would give a task relevant to a swordsman. For a mage, it would assign a task fitting for a mage.

The types of quests ranged from repeated training and material collection to defeating specific monsters.

The important thing, however, was the difficulty.

Just like the word “Hardship”, it required an effort so grueling it felt like shaving down one’s own bones, and only by pushing oneself to the absolute limit could the quest barely be cleared.

And there are even more stages.

When Dang Gyu-young cleared the Stage 1 quest, I would simply use Hardship again to assign Stage 2. The stages could go on endlessly.

Naturally, the difficulty would increase exponentially.

That’s why I had asked one last ti before using the skill.

If she was truly confident she wouldn’t give up.

Of course, the rewards are well worth it.

The rank of a stagnant skill or trait could leap dramatically, or one could acquire sothing entirely new and powerful.

As long as one endured the trials and cleared the quest, growth was guaranteed.

And not just gradual incrental growth. This was growth that would make her visibly and significantly stronger in a short period of ti.

The reason I earned the nickna “S-Rank Factory” was largely thanks to this skill.

For heroes with less natural talent, Hardship could push their growth to the next level.

Even for those with exceptional talent, it significantly shortened the ti required for their developnt.

I had already raised several heroes with talents on the level of Shin Byeong-cheol to S-rank,

So turning an A-rank like Dang Gyu-young into EX-rank was entirely possible.

Of course, whether it succeeded depended entirely on her.

“What kind of cheat skill is this…?”

Dang Gyu-young muttered half to herself, and her gaze was fixed on sothing in the air.

She was probably reviewing the contents of the quest.

After a mont, she looked at and said,

“The quest’s no joke. But I’ll give it a shot.”

“You can definitely do it.”

We smiled at each other.

But then, as if a thought suddenly struck her, Dang Gyu-young narrowed her eyes and stared at suspiciously.

“…Wait a second. Did you purposely wait until the end to tell this?”

“No way. There’s an order to how things should be said.”

“That’s not true. You totally paused halfway through.”

“Well, that makes it more impactful.”

“I knew it! You did it on purpose! I’m mad now.”

Dang Gyu-young crossed her arms and turned her head sharply to the side.

It was obvious she was pretending to sulk.

Should I even bother trying to make it up to her?

So I deliberately looked off into the distance, pretending not to notice. For a while, an unspoken battle of wills ensued between us.

“……”

Eventually, Dang Gyu-young glanced at out of the corner of her eye. When I turned to et her gaze, she quickly snapped her head away again.

Instead, a shadow rose up from the ground near her feet and lightly tapped .

Then, she scribbled a few words in the air.

[Sulking]

[Must be appeased]

[Hurry]

Wasn’t this just fishing for attention?

Even as I thought that, I walked over to her side.

And then, in a low voice, I said just one word.

“Qyu.”

“…Pffft.”

Dang Gyu-young’s shoulders quivered slightly, as if she was trying to stifle her laughter.

But her head still remained turned in the opposite direction.

It seed like she was silently urging to keep going, so I obliged and added another line.

“Qyu, don’t be mad.”

“Pffft! Hahaha!”

Dang Gyu-young smacked my shoulder repeatedly. She couldn’t hold back her laughter in the end.

***

For the ti being, Dang Gyu-young would be busy with that Hardship quest.

And I had quite a few matters of my own to handle as well.

Among them, the most important was managing the aftermath of the latest subjugation mission.

The next day, as soon as I received a ssage from the academy administration, I headed straight for the principal’s office.

Just as I was about to raise my hand to knock, the door swung open on its own, as if it were automated.

Beyond the door, I could see the principal waving in.

“Co on in.”

As usual, he sat slouched in his chair, dressed in his typically sloppy clothing.

The only difference this ti was that he had both legs propped up on the desk.

The vice principal was glaring at him with a look of utter disapproval, but the principal seed completely unfazed as he spoke in a calm tone.

“I heard from Teacher Lee and Teacher Seo. They ntioned the witch shook them off and targeted you once during the battle, but you still managed to recover. How did you do that?”

“Yes, I figured she’d target at least once, so I prepared for it.”

“Well done. Still, what’s a mistake is a mistake.”

He then ntioned that both Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong had admitted their own mistakes, and he offered an apology on their behalf.

Though to be fair, it really wasn’t their fault.

After all, the witch had used Blink to break in. Even if they’d anticipated it, it’s questionable whether they could have stopped her.

In fact, I had deliberately left an opening to lure her in.

Of course, there was no need to bring that up and devalue my contribution, so I decided to follow the age-old saying:

Silence is golden.

The principal continued speaking.

“So, let’s hear what your “small favor” is. Considering the teachers’ mistake, I’m willing to grant sothing a little more extravagant. Go ahead, tell .”

With that, it was practically guaranteed that he’d agree to my request.

If I wanted, I could ask for new equipnt, skills, or traits, possibly even sothing up to the A-rank level.

I could even request access to the Prohibited Item Storage.

Of course, there would be several limitations on what I could take out of there.

Though those options were tempting, I had already decided what to ask for.

I raised a fist in front of the principal.

“This is what I want.”

“A spar? Quite combative, aren’t you?”

The principal chuckled and rose from his seat.

But I shook my head.

“Not a spar.”

“…Then what is it?”

He looked puzzled, so I flashed him an innocent smile.

“Please let hit you.”

“How many tis?”

“Just ten.”

The principal’s face twisted into an odd expression.

“I naturally assud it would be a spar.”

“Well, I’d lose if it were.”

Challenging a forr hero to a spar?

It would be no different than signing the blank check to get beaten up.

I only fight battles I can win. Battles where I stand to gain sothing.

At that mont, the vice principal who had been silently observing quietly chid in.

“I think that’s an excellent idea. Go ahead.”

She was normally a strict woman. Strict to the point of being described as 2.5 tis as strict as others. But now she seed particularly pleased with my suggestion this ti.

Did she secretly want to hit him, perhaps?

The principal glanced at the vice principal with a betrayed look, then turned back to and made a counterproposal.

“Sorry to go back on my word about granting unreasonable requests, but I can’t just let you hit for nothing. How about this? One question per hit. You answer them honestly, no lies.”

I had a feeling he’d say sothing like that.

He clearly had a lot of questions about . No matter what I asked for, he’d probably have found so excuse to attach conditions.

I nodded my head and made a counterproposal of my own.

“Then I’d like to add one condition too. No items or skills.”

“…You really want to hit that badly? Did I do sothing to upset you?”

“No, there’s no personal grudge.”

I simply want to hit you, that’s all.

The principal’s face contorted even more strangely.

He stared at as if trying to gauge my true intentions, but he didn’t seem to find anything.

In the end, he gave up and confird the terms one last ti.

“Fine then. No items, no skills; only traits. Ten hits, and for each hit, you answer one question honestly. Deal?”

“Deal.”

I followed the principal and vice principal to another location.

***

TN: Lmao….Also, Qyu is the best