The Support Ate it All Chapter 40: Duel Battle (2)

A challenge for a duel battle that seed to have been greatly influenced by Mok Jong-hwa.

The picture was becoming clear.

It was likely a challenge to restore the honor of the Erald Magic Tower.

However, they had overlooked one thing.

I dont want to.

What?

They hadnt considered that I had no reason to accept this duel.

I leaned back in my chair with an attitude full of annoyance.

Do I owe you anything? Should I just go if you say go, co if you say co, and fight if you say fight?

A duel is a matter of honor.

And yet, for soone who values honor so much, you two ganged up on ?

Thats-!

The incident where Kwak Ji-cheol and Jung Soo-ji joined forces against and lost had beco an irreversible stain on the reputation of the Erald Magic Tower.

The fact that they lost a two-on-one fight was a problem, as was the fact that the opponent was a known coward.

Regardless of how my reputation might change later, the important thing was that I was called a coward right now.

To cover up this stain, they needed to defeat in an official duel and preserve the victory as a replay for everyone to see.

Therefore, they were desperate to draw into the ring in so way.

From my perspective, I had nothing to lose.

Anyway, I have no intention of accepting. Ive already won, so why waste ti on sothing pointless?

.

If you really want, consider it a loss for , and go brag about it.

I implied that they could boast about a victory over a coward.

I knew well that the Erald club wouldnt be satisfied with such a resolution.

However, Kwak Ji-cheol couldnt think of a solution to overco this situation.

He looked to Mok Jong-hwa for help with pleading eyes.

Mok Jong-hwa glared at Kwak Ji-cheol as if he were trash and then addressed .

So? Its truly cowardly to run away after only winning once. Are you afraid of losing?

Yes, I am a coward. Im soo afraid.

Mok Jong-hwa cast the gamblers provocative skill You scared?, but I didnt even blink.

Having a reputation already at rock bottom proved convenient in such tis.

Realizing this tactic wouldnt work on , Mok Jong-hwa changed his approach and threw a bait my way.

I said I wouldnt waste ti needlessly. Would you accept if theres a stake involved?

If its worth it.

Honestly, I wanted to accept the duel right away and beat Kwak Ji-cheol to a pulp.

Yet the reason I kept brushing off their provocations and holding out was,

Its more beneficial this way.

The Erald club had to take revenge by any ans necessary.

Their president would try to initiate a duel even if it ant using bait.

And that bait would be too tempting for to ignore.

Of course, it remained to be seen whether I was the one taking the bait or if it was Mok Jong-hwa.

Mok Jong-hwa took out a small ticket from his inventory and slamd it onto the table.

I bet this.

Park Na-ri and Ha Soo-yeon, who had been silently observing the situation, looked surprised.

This move indicated the extent of Mok Jong-hwas bold strategy.

[Crafting VIP Ticket]

The craftsn at Dragon Slayer Academy rarely accepted crafting requests.

Due to the excessive demand compared to supply, they only took on a very limited number of requests, and even then, there was a long waiting list.

This VIP ticket allowed the holder to bypass the queue and get an item made with top priority.

It was one of the several privileges offered by Dragon Slayer Academy, just like the special cultivation room season pass.

Thank you very much

I was already in need of better equipnt and here was this valuable ticket being offered to .

However, this is only if you win.

Are you sure you want to wager sothing like that?

It doesnt matter. If I win, thats the end of it. Will you accept?

Alright. Lets consider it agreed upon.

As I accepted the duel, Mok Jong-hwa crossed his arms, and Kwak Ji-cheol stepped forward again.

Set a date.

Two days from now would be good.

Why two days from now?

I casually showed the recently traded [Blank Skill Book].

I need to learn this.

What?

?

Everyone looked dumbfounded.

Creating a skill with a Blank Skill Book was challenging enough, but that wasnt the end of it.

Rather, it was just the beginning.

One had to beco familiar with the skill they had crafted and even increase its rank to make it viable in actual battle.

To accomplish all this in just two days seed utterly absurd.

Kukuku

Mok Jong-hwa let out a low chuckle and stroked his face.

A fierce smile played on his lips; perhaps this was a sign that he was quite irritated.

He might have interpreted my statent as an underestimation of Kwak Ji-cheols abilities, thinking I could beat him even with a skill learned in just two days.

How long its been since Erald has been underestimated like this.

I have confidence in my skills.

Not that I had no intention of underestimating him.

Kwak Ji-cheol.

Yes, hyung.

If you lose to this guy, youre out of the club.

I will win, no matter what.

Kwak Ji-cheol bowed his head with a stern face.

Since his business was finished, there was no reason to continue sitting in the uncomfortable seat.

One by one, people started to rise from their seats.

Im quite looking forward to the day after tomorrow. Show us what youve got.

You can expect a lot. Make sure to keep the ticket safe.

.

Until the mont he left, Mok Jong-hwa continued to give fierce looks.

I-Ill be going too. S-see you later!

ow.

Park Na-ri stuttered a goodbye to , and her cat Bum waved its front paws in the air a couple of tis.

I should head to the training center now.

I have to go and quickly create a skill first.

As I was about to down the half-remaining iced coffee in one shot, Ha Soo-yeon spoke to .

Could we talk alone for a mont?

Sure.

I sat back down in the chair.

As I chewed on the end of the plastic straw, Ha Soo-yeon sighed and began to speak.

I have sothing to apologize for. I saw Mok Jong-hwa sending Ji-cheol and Soo-ji to you, and I pretended not to know.

Did you test ?

To be honest, yes. I wanted to see how you would handle both of them.

So that was it.

The first person I promoted the cube to was definitely Park Na-ri, but instead of the Mother Nature club taking action, it was the pair of Kwak Ji-cheol and Jung Soo-ji who ca to .

Considering the close relationship between Mother Nature and Erald, I was certain that Ha Soo-yeon was also involved in this matter.

However, I didnt expect her to be so honest about it like this.

Nevertheless, I responded with equal honesty.

I understand. As the president of a club, you had to be cautious. Still, it does feel a bit upsetting.

Im sorry. I dont know if this will make up for it, but I hope youll accept it.

Ha Soo-yeon handed a piece of parchnt as a sign of apology.

[Rank Up (F)].

It was the sa item I had received as a reward for three consecutive victories in the duel battles last week.

Getting another one for free was definitely a bonus for .

Shes really generous.

Although I felt slighted that she had tested ,

Unlike Erald, she hadnt caused any direct friction with , and I had even gained a useful item, so it was sothing I could overlook generously.

Ill accept it gratefully. But doesnt this put the Mother Nature club at a loss?

It is a loss. Originally, I planned to add this to the cube trade, but the timing got ssed up when Na-ri interfered. Still, its alright.

Ha Soo-yeon smiled softly.

There was not the slightest hint of regret about the loss she had incurred.

It seed she had noticed sothing from our conversation during the cube trade and about the duel.

If I had really been the coward as the rumors suggested, I couldnt have interacted so casually with Mok Jong-hwa, who was not only my senior but also the head of the club.

In that case, she probably thought it a good idea to establish a friendly relationship with in advance to prepare for an unexpected future. And she must have reckoned that an F-rank [Rank Up] was a small price for that.

It was a good choice.

After all, there were still plenty of items to trade with the four major powers besides the [Cube of Life].

Are you confident about the duel?

One hundred percent.

Ha Soo-yeon looked surprised when I answered without a monts hesitation.

. I didnt realize you were that confident. But Ill warn you in advance. Mok Jong-hwa and Kwak Ji-cheol have analyzed all of your replays and prepared counterasures.

Isnt that just basic strategy?

No. This ti, Kwak Ji-cheol will receive support at the club level.

I thought as much.

Kwak Ji-cheols overly confident deanor when he challenged to a duel gave the impression he had sothing to rely on.

The club would prepare items to exploit my weaknesses.

It was highly likely that Kwak Ji-cheols equipnt, too, would be replaced by the equipnt of second and third-year students.

Considering that I wouldnt receive much support since I was unaffiliated, the duel was bound to be unfair.

It doesnt seem right to . If you want, I can lend you an artifact from the Mother Nature club.

Thank you for the offer, but Im fine.

I showed her the blank skill book.

This will be enough.

..!

My claim that I would create and master a new skill in just two days was indeed serious.

However, Ha Soo-yeon seed to be doubting .

Are you really planning to win with a newly created skill?

I didnt explain at length; I just smiled.

Youll be surprised when you see it.

***

Training Center.

I sat alone in the middle of a large training room.

The wooden dummy in front of would attack on command, but for now, it remained still and motionless.

A blue light emanated from the [Blank Skill Book] in my hand.

When you infuse it with mana while thinking of the words or sentences you want, they will automatically be input into the book.

While creating a new skill usually involved ticulous thought and careful attention to each character, my skill book was filling up at an unrestrained speed, as if a stenographer were typing away.

Its not sothing Ive done just once or twice.

How many tis have I used the blank skill book before?

The count was so high that I had long since given up on keeping track.

Of course, even if I had forgotten how many tis I used it, the data accumulated from countless trials and errors remained vividly in my mind.

The optimal skill that could be implented using the blank skill book was being created.

What kind of support is the most useful?

There is no definitive answer to this question.

Usefulness varies depending on the situation.

In so cases, healing is more valuable; in others, it might be defense and sotis buffs or debuffs can be more advantageous.

However,

What is the most troubleso and annoying support to deal with?

What is the No.1 support that makes players naturally curse, That bastard is cheating?

There was a definitive answer to this question.

Forced Movent Support.

[Learned Skillbook Wind Force]

[Acquired Wind Force (F)]

[Wind Force]

Imbues physical force into the wind.

I stood upright while facing the wooden dummy.

A gust of wind blew through the enclosed space, playfully tousling my hair as it passed by.

Suddenly, the wooden dummy creaked and lunged at with a one-two punch.

In sync, I leaned right, then left, and lightly placed my hand on the dummys chest.

Bang!

The wooden dummy flew across the training room and crashed at the far end.