The Support Ate it All Chapter 78: 5th Week Mentoring and Duel Battles (1)

Having obtained the tal for crafting weapons, there was no reason to delay.

So my next destination was the blacksmiths workshop.

Clang! Clang!

The rhythmic clanging of hamr on tal resonated and it was interspersed with bursts of intense heat.

Nurous students were evidently busy at work inside yet oddly enough, no voices could be heard.

It seed everyone was too engrossed in their tasks to spare a mont for conversation.

As an outsider, wandering around the workshop could be quite disruptive, so I opted to stand by the door while waiting for soone to erge.

As I inwardly matched the rhythm of the hamring sound, a muscular man with bulging veins ca to greet .

His school uniform was partially undone, so the tie pin was not visible, but he was highly likely a senior.

His face simply didnt look like that of a second-year which ant he was perhaps a third-year student.

In contrast, the blacksmith senior rely needed to glance at the tie pin on my chest.

First year? What do you need?

I ca to request a commission.

The third-year senior casually scratched his back; it seed I wasnt the first to approach him with such a request since he looked to be slightly annoyed.

Sorry, but the queue for this sester is already full. If you place an order now, it might not be completed until the start of next sester.

Could I possibly speak with the president of the workshop?

He acted almost as if he could see right through and his deanor suggested he had seen many others with similar requests.

He probably thought I intended to hand the president an item and make a personal request.

Thats not how it works. Even if you were from so prestigious family, it wouldnt make a difference. Dont waste your ti and just leave.

Im not from a prestigious family, but I do have this.

I pulled out a small ticket from within my coat.

Upon seeing it, the previously indifferent seniors eyes widened in shock.

[Crafting VIP Ticket]

No way, how does a first-year have sothing like this

Where else, if not from stealing it from another club.

The VIP ticket was the prize for winning a duel against the Erald Magic Tower, which beca mine after a fierce battle with Kwak Ji-cheol that ended with him being thoroughly defeated.

I had carefully stored it in my inventory for several weeks and now its mont to shine has finally arrived.

I smiled and asked again.

May I see the president of the workshop?

Uh Yes, okay. Just a mont.

The third-year senior hurried inside, and shortly after, a different muscular man ca out to greet .

The head of the blacksmithing club looked even older than the senior who had initially t .

He was clearly a third-year student, yet he didnt look like a student at all.

Looking back, the blacksmiths I had encountered in the past also appeared rugged and aged beyond their years.

Could it be that wielding a hamr ages a person?

While I entertained this impertinent theory, the head of the blacksmithing club approached and abruptly said,

The ticket.

Yes.

When I showed him the VIP ticket, he quickly verified its authenticity without taking it from .

While the VIP ticket did indeed prioritize in the queue, the decision to accept the commission rested on the craftsmans choice in the end.

It ant he would hear out before making up his mind.

What are you looking to make?

It might be quicker if you see for yourself.

I handed over the blueprint I had prepared in advance to the president of the club.

A rod slightly longer than a human forearm.

And it was designed to be assembled.

The club president scrutinized the blueprint carefully.

This is no ordinary rod. The design is unique; it includes components for attachnt, and its quite elaborate. Is this so kind of magical engineering equipnt?

Youve got it right.

I passed him the E-rank [Levitation Rod] I had made earlier as a reference.

Naturally, I removed the core components.

The club president turned the rod over in his hand while inspecting it from all angles and then nodded his head in approval.

This looks interesting. Normally, I wouldnt bother with magical engineering equipnt, but Ill make an exception this ti.

Blacksmiths generally prefer not to work with magical engineering components.

The reason was that it was more manly to process and wield a large heavy lump of iron as a whole rather than crunching on several tiny parts.

Yet, the blueprint I presented must have captured the interest of the president of the blacksmithing club.

He moved on to his next question.

What about the materials?

Please use this as the main material.

As I pulled out the Millennium Iron Ingot, the blacksmiths expression subtly changed.

Up until now, he had seed indifferent while barely giving a glance, but now, for the first ti, he looked in the eye.

An interesting freshman you are. Asking for sothing unique to be made, holding a VIP ticket and even possessing Millennium Iron.

Ive been rather lucky in so respects.

Luck doesnt always bring such things But lets assu thats the case. If Millennium Iron is the main material, what do you plan to use as the secondary material?

For the secondary material, I intend to use this.

I took off the [Black Mithril Band] I was wearing and also handed over the [Priests Black Bracelet].

Both were mainly made of a tal known as [Black Mithril].

The first advantage of Black Mithril was its exceptionally high mana conductivity, and the second was that you only needed a small amount of it to make a piece of jewelry.

Noticing my intent, the head of the blacksmithing club sharpened his gaze.

A Millennium Iron and Black Mithril alloy If done right, we could harness the best qualities of both tals.

Exactly.

Its a combination Ive never worked with before, but I dont foresee any difficulties. It will likely take around a week. Ill contact you when its finished.

However, I was certain.

It wouldnt take a week; I expected to hear back from the president of the blacksmithing club in just a few days.

No difficulties?

It might not unfold as smoothly as he anticipated.

***

Week 5.

Monday.

For so, it was just another week of duel battles but,

It was a week that had a little more aning for others.

From this week on, ntoring sessions were set to begin.

There were no changes to the academic schedule, and only those who had signed up for ntoring were to juggle both.

When the class concluded, Lee Soo-dok made an announcent.

Students participating in the first round of ntoring are to head to the arena imdiately. Check the back of your student ID cards for the exact location.

Just under half of the students stood up from their seats.

Those who remained seated had their reasons for not signing up for the ntoring this ti, but their minds might change once they saw the gap widening between them and those who had enrolled after about a month.

Participation was expected to jump considerably from the second ntoring session onwards.

Go Hyeon-Woo, Seo Ye-In, and I started making our way to the arena at a leisurely pace.

Our destination, the arena, was the sa for all of us.

Since the ntoring was intended to include sparring sessions, the academic departnt had designated the arena as the eting spot.

However, where exactly in the arena we were supposed to go varied.

Just as Lee Soo-dok had instructed us, if we checked the back of our student IDs,

[163-H]

I was assigned a seat number in the spectator stands.

Go Hyeon-Woo and Seo Ye-In received different seat numbers.

And each of us was to et our respective ntors in these designated seats.

Go Hyeon-Woo asked if sothing ca to his mind.

Co to think of it, arent there others besides oneself who are being taught by the sa ntor?

Of course, there are. About three or four.

Are they also warriors like oneself?

Unless its a very special case. Thats why I filled out the application form so carefully.

Since the classes of ntors and ntees have been narrowed down to be as similar as possible, the classes of ntees will inevitably be similar as well.

If there were four other ntees besides Go Hyeon-Woo, it was likely that all four would be swordsn.

Excitent grew on Go Hyeon-Woos face.

To think Ill not only see the skills of a senior expert but also those of the other participants, Im really glad I joined this ntoring program.

Look for opportunities to spar as well.

Of course, I intend to.

However, whether there would be a swordsman of Go Hyeon-Woos caliber to spar with in his group remained to be seen.

The groups were matched based on the ntor, making the composition of each group entirely random.

It was possible he might end up disappointed if the skill levels werent up to his expectations.

Just then, a question ca from over my shoulder.

Did you guys sign up for the ntoring too?

Turning around, I saw Han So-mi walking in step with us, seemingly out of nowhere.

Given that we were in the sa class, it was only natural that we would end up walking together.

Song Cheon-hye who was usually inseparable from Han So-mi was also there, but she had created a little distance and pointedly ignored us from the mont Han So-mi started talking to .

I nodded nonchalantly in response.

Its a good opportunity. Theres no reason not to.

Youre in the caster category, right?

Yes.

A Battle Mage, right? An all-rounder.

Thats right, but why do you ask?

When I asked that, Han So-mi answered by pointing to Song Cheon-hye.

It was like, Voila! I think I could hear that sound effect.

Cheon-Hye has also applied to be an all-rounder! If things go well, the two of you might even receive ntoring together!

At those words, Song Cheon-Hye who had been pretending to be interested in sothing far off turned aghast.

Stop talking nonsense, really!

Huh? Whats so strange about it?

Thats

When Han So-mi tilted her head with an innocent look on her face, Song Cheon-Hye seed at a loss for words.

It appeared she hadnt divulged all the suspicions about , like the Inferno Fist or the dungeon intrusion.

Perhaps nothing was conclusively confird yet, or maybe the seniors in the disciplinary committee warned her to keep silent.

After closing and opening her mouth a few tis, she seed to decide not to speak after all.

Theres So stuff happened!

It was sowhere between evasiveness and a sharp retort.

Then she turned around and walked ahead at a fast pace,

Uhii.

She stumbled and faltered on empty ground.

After barely regaining her balance, she shot us a sharp glare before hastening away at twice her previous pace.

I turned to Han So-mi and asked,

Does she often do that?

Yes, all the ti.

So, it was a regular occurrence.

Just like I had sensed before, she was sohow clumsy.

As we engaged in a few trivial exchanges, the arena ca into view right before us.

We decided to split up and find our respective seats.

Good luck with the ntoring and the team matches; see you later.

Yeah! Bye!

I wish good luck to Kim-hyung too.

...

After Han So-mi cheerfully said her goodbyes and left, Go Hyeon-woo also flashed a smile and walked in the sa direction as Han So-mi.

Seo Ye-in lazily waved goodbye and set off on her own way.

Around the stands, third-year students or graduate ntors settled into their spots and warmly welcod the first-year students who approached them hesitantly.

It appeared that all participants had already gathered in so areas with groups of four or five people sitting around a ntor and listening intently to their explanations.

I too checked the seating chart to find my spot.

163-H should be around there.

Since it was an upper seat, I had to raise my gaze quite a bit.

The area was mostly empty which ant our ntor hadnt arrived yet.

I decided to head there first and wait so I started walking towards the stairs.

Just as I was about to step onto the first stair,

Song Cheon-Hye who was a bit ahead of sensed soone behind her and turned around.

Our eyes t, and her expression instantly soured.

Why are you following ?

Im not following you.

Then go ahead.

Fine.

I walked past the immobile Song Cheon-Hye and trudged up to seat 163-H.

And I sat down in a very comfortable position.

After I settled into my seat, Song Cheon-Hye finally began to move again.

And when she stopped, it was right in front of .

With a face full of disbelief, she alternated between checking her student ID and the seat number.

Could it be

Youre in 163-H too?

How did this happen?

How should I know that?

All I could do was shrug my shoulders in response.

Did I know things would turn out this way?

Haaah

After letting out a deep sigh, Song Cheon-Hye stood a short distance away with her arms crossed and eyes closed.

Of course, she only pretended to close her eyes. She would occasionally sneak glances at with half-open eyes.

Let her look; I relaxed and waited for the next arrivals.

Surely Song Cheon-Hye wasnt the only one joining the ntoring session.

Who else would be coming up?

With a sense of anticipation, I looked down to see.

Theyre all familiar faces.