The Support Ate it All-Chapter 333: Underworld Dragon King (2)

The Underworld Dragon King seemed to be intent on satisfying his own curiosity first. He immediately asked a question.

“How did you come to look like that? A Monarch should possess a rank similar to ours, yet you appear… small, or should I say, young?”

The reason he was so puzzled was because I, despite being only at the level of a C to B-rank, was considered a Monarch.

Normally, to meet the necessary conditions and acquire the relevant traits, one would need to be at least in the high A-ranks or even S-rank. But I had received them from the start as a benefit of the Reincarnation Quest.

In many ways, I could be considered an alien being in this world.

Of course, I had no intention of revealing anything about reincarnation quests or entering the game world.

“Due to certain circumstances, it’s difficult to explain right now.”

“I see. That’s no fun.”

“Then may I ask a question of my own?”

“Go ahead.”

As I looked at both the Underworld Dragon King and the chairman, I asked,

“How did your two factions come to work together?”

In the game, the Meteor Dragon had been neutral in stance, yet here he was, allied with the Hye-seong Group.

And not just a simple alliance. The Guardian, the Underworld Dragon King, was openly coming and going from the chairman’s office.

Such deep trust was no trivial matter.

I needed to understand how they had become so close.

“……”

The Underworld Dragon King exchanged a glance with the chairman.

As if silently asking, “Can I say it?”

But the chairman subtly shook his head and spoke.

“Sorry, but I’ll have to give you the same answer you gave us. It’s difficult to explain right now.”

“I understand.”

I nodded coolly.

Everyone had one or two secrets they couldn’t talk about, and I had been the one to refuse to answer first.

Besides, judging by the Underworld Dragon King’s hesitant attitude, it didn’t seem like it was that big of a secret anyway.

There’ll be another chance later.

In the first exchange, neither side gained anything meaningful.

Next, the chairman was the one to speak up.

“I heard a brief summary about you from the principal.”

The box I had delivered on the first day contained a small item and a scrap of paper.

I assumed it had been a letter.

“I heard that even though you’re a Monarch, you enrolled at Dragon Slayer Academy. That you want to grow alongside the other students. Is that true?”

“Yes, it’s true.”

At that, the chairman’s expression grew more serious.

“Then let me ask you. What is it you ultimately hope to achieve through that growth?”

“World peace.”

To be precise, it was to prevent the destruction of the world, just like the objective described in the EX-rank reincarnation quest.

On top of that, I also had a personal goal of raising EX-rank heroes.

The chairman’s gaze deepened.

“World peace, huh…”

“It’s understandable if that sounds unexpected.”

“Frankly, it does. I thought your goal would be more self-centered to some degree, but it’s quite noble.”

The Underworld Dragon King looked at me with interest.

“Chairman, this little Monarch is better than you. When you were his age—”

“Ahem!”

The chairman cut off the Underworld Dragon King with an uncomfortable cough.

Then, wearing a serious expression, he continued the conversation.

“In that case, I suppose we share the same goal. Since you speak of world peace, how much do you know about the current state of affairs?”

“Only as much as the average person does.”

I had heard the general picture from Shin Byeong-cheol.

Things like the armed forces of the Blood Cult clashing with the Magic Tower or an S-rank boss being taken down.

One puzzling detail was that these incidents occurred with exceedingly frequent regularity. Yet, given my access to information as a student, I couldn’t find the specifics.

The chairman too seemed not to expect me to know much.

“I see you’ve never heard this before. It’s a secret known only to a handful.”

When I nodded, signaling I’d keep silent, he began his explanation.

“Not long ago, I received a system notification.”

“What did it say?”

Perhaps deciding it’d be easier to show me directly, the chairman projected a message into the air:

[EX-rank has been unlocked.]

Though brief, those words signaled nothing short of a cataclysm.

“Did only you receive this, Chairman?”

“No. This fellow here received it too. Other dragons confirmed the same. The prevailing speculation is that all S-ranks got it.”

Dragons, boss monsters, heroes, villains….anyone classified as S-rank received it.

The ripple effects must’ve been huge.

Until this notification, S-rank had been the highest rank. Though power gaps existed among S-ranks, collaboration allowed mutual checks, maintaining a fragile balance.

But with the introduction of EX-rank, that equilibrium now teetered on collapse.

In this world, ranks were absolute.

For example, even if a horde of first-years averaging C-rank rushed a third-year club president or teacher, they’d stand no chance. Similarly, if someone with EX-rank harbored malice, S-ranks alone couldn’t easily stop them.

In such a scenario, the optimal choice was obvious:

“Everyone must be scrambling to reach EX-rank first.”

“You’ve grasped it precisely.”

To avoid being trampled, you had no choice but to race. Even if unwilling.

Another question surfaced, and I asked,

“Has anyone achieved it yet?”

“Not as of now. As I said, the notification arrived only recently.”

“How recently, exactly?”

“A little under five months.”

“……”

A strange coincidence.

Five months ago aligned almost exactly with when I entered this game world and enrolled at the Dragon Slayer Academy.

Which came first?

Did the EX-rank open because I had trained a thousand S-rank heroes?

Or did EX-rank open first, after which I was invited due to my qualifications?

For now, these questions had to remain unanswered speculations.

Still, I’ll eventually find out.

Setting aside these uncertainties for the moment,

I decided to return my focus to the original topic.

“Five months definitely seems far too short.”

Even I already had several skills stuck at the C-rank bottleneck; surpassing S-rank would surely be extraordinarily difficult.

The chairman nodded his head. He apparently shared my thoughts.

“We won’t see one emerge anytime soon. Still, a few strong contenders exist.”

Among the S-ranks, some individuals were particularly powerful.

Those figures, already known among players as “Beyond S-rank”, might very well have reached the upper limits of S-rank by now.

Meteor Dragon alone fits that description perfectly.

He possessed three S-rank dragons as guardians, including Pluto Dragon who stood right before me.

Even during my time as a player, he’d been notoriously tricky to handle.

Besides him, notable candidates included the Thunder Monarch, Blood Cult Master, Corpse Dragon, and Giant Mountain Dragon.

From my perspective, the Great Crow Sage also seemed more than capable.

This time, I directed my question to Pluto Dragon.

“What did Meteor Dragon say about this?”

“He made no particular remarks. He’s still channeling the power of the stars.”

“Seems he hasn’t made any progress yet.”

“But what alternative is there?”

Pluto Dragon responded nonchalantly.

As he said, whether progress had been made or not, the best choice was to continue steadfastly on the current path.

After all, that was exactly how they had reached S-rank in the first place.

However, the real problem was,

“The same likely goes for the other candidates.”

“Precisely.”

The chairman answered with a grim expression.

Each person had their own method of reaching such heights, and among those methods, some were anything but gentle.

How much blood had been spilled for the Blood Cult Master to rise to his position?

And how many dead lay sleeping beneath the feet of the Corpse Dragon?

Now that EX rank had been unlocked, the likelihood of similar tragedies repeating had significantly increased.

The chairman spoke.

“Recently, the Blood Cult has been expanding its power at a terrifying pace. Corpse Dragon’s faction is also becoming increasingly active. I even heard they recently attempted to infiltrate Dragon Slayer Academy.”

“Fortunately, we managed to prevent it without major damage.”

“I heard you played a significant role in that. Still, from now on, you’ll hear more bad news than good, so never lower your guard.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Read lat𝙚st chapters at fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓ Only.

“We don’t have much time. Grow stronger as soon as possible. Hye-seong Group will invest in you.”

As he said that, the chairman paused for a moment.

After a short silence, he continued, speaking in a reluctant tone.

“…Also, according to Team Leader 2, you and Ye-in want to undertake unauthorized raids on the underground floors?”

“I believe it’s the fastest way to become stronger.”

With Lucky Charm by our side, we’d be able to tackle even the dungeons heavily influenced by luck without hesitation.

The wider the range of dungeons we could choose from, the greater variety of rewards we could obtain.

Despite that, the chairman let out an uncomfortable groan.

“Hmm… Honestly, it doesn’t sit well with me. Sending my only granddaughter into life-threatening battles isn’t easy.”

“Sooner or later, it’s bound to happen anyway. Building experience now will be better in the long run.”

“I suppose you’re right. You must have your own insight. Now that you’ve trained her, what’s your impression of Ye-in’s talent?”

I answered honestly.

“Her talent shines brighter than anyone else’s I’ve ever seen.”

“…Is that so? Then please continue to look after her.”

A faint smile formed on the chairman’s lips.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something more,

“And… never mind. Just pretend you didn’t hear that.”

His expression instantly turned displeased.

I’ve got a feeling I know what he was about to say.

Something about “my granddaughter this, a bum like you that…”

I decided to play dumb and let it slide.

If I brought up anything about him being possessive, he might just collapse from stress.

***

After saying goodbye to the chairman, I got into the elevator.

Just as I was about to press the button for the first floor, the Dragon King suddenly stepped in and stood next to me.

“Let’s go together.”

So dragons take elevators too, huh.

If he wanted, he could’ve just used teleportation magic to go down.

Accepting it as it was, I pressed the close button, and the elevator quickly began to descend.

As soon as the doors opened, Seo Ye-in was still standing exactly where she had been earlier.

So I asked,

“What are you doing here?”

“I waited.”

“I told you to sit while waiting.”

“You said you’d be right back.”

So she’d just been standing there aimlessly at the entrance.

As always, Seo Ye-in grabbed the sleeve of my jacket.

Then her gaze shifted to the side as she spoke to the Dragon King.

“Godfather.”

“Niece. It’s been a while.”

The Dragon King returned the greeting in a dry tone.

Then, seeming to notice the question in my eyes, he explained,

“I’m her godfather.”

“I see.”

“I even brought a gift.”

The next moment, the space beside the Dragon King opened, and a large metal ingot appeared.

I couldn’t help but be surprised when I saw it.

[Adamantite (S)]

It was the first time I had seen an S-rank metal since falling into the game world.

To hand something like that over just because he hadn’t seen his niece in a while. He was generous in a way only a dragon could be.

In contrast, the Underworld Dragon King didn’t seem to think much of it, as usual.

“You said you were making something, right? You asked for materials, so I brought them.”

“…Godfather, you’re the best.”

Seo Ye-in’s eyes sparkled brightly.

Seeing that, I couldn’t shake off a bad feeling.

No way… It can’t be, right?

There’s no way she’d use an S-rank material to make something like a pot.