The Support Ate it All-Chapter 354: End of Mentoring Session

[Seo Ye-in: (Gift emoji)]

[Kim Ho: A gift?]

[Kim Ho: What is it?]

[Seo Ye-in: (Rope emoji)]

[Seo Ye-in: (Handcuffs emoji)]

[Seo Ye-in: (Cat stalking emoji)]

[Kim Ho: ?]

[Kim Ho: (Wary cat emoji)]

What is she trying to imply?

Is she saying she prepared rope and handcuffs as a gift?

Or is it a trap disguised as a present?

When I would return to school, Seo Ye-in’s sinister plot might be waiting for me.

But it’s not something I need to worry about right now.

For now, focusing on mentoring was the right move.

The final week flowed similarly to the ones before.

As expected, Stage 7 of hardship that Dang Gyu-young received was related to control.

Specifically, it was about “simplifying control”.

[Butterfly Flight] was a skill similar to the Hummingbird, where the caster had to pay attention to every single movement of the butterflies until they reached their target.

Because of that, the number of butterflies that could be controlled at once was inevitably limited, and focus would be divided when casting shadow magic at the same time.

However, if each shadow was granted autonomy and control was simplified—

Even if precision dropped slightly, it would allow handling a far greater number of shadows at once.

Meaning a war of attrition would become possible.

It was an essential trait for managing operations on the scale of a legion.

Dang Gyu-young seemed to have realized that too and was grumbling the entire time but earnestly enduring the hardship.

Hong Yeon-hwa also finished her Stage 4 of Hardship and completed her Three-Headed Hydra.

Apparently, the following fifth stage was also related to the Hydra, but the details were a bit different.

Instead of increasing the number of heads, it seemed to aim for strengthening them in other ways.

Meanwhile, I continued working on rank-up training by volunteering as Hong Yeon-hwa’s punching bag.

[The rank of ‘Wind Armor’ has increased. (D+ → C+)]

It hadn’t been that long since I learned it, and yet it had already reached C Rank.

I had also raised [Wind Barrier] to Rank B and evenly ranked up other skills and traits, including [Core], so I had more than exceeded the goals I set for this mentoring session.

Finally, there was the mentoring quest.

[Event: Second Mentoring] (In Progress…)

[Time Remaining: 3 Days]

▷Grow faster with the help of a mentor.

▷D-Rank Monsters Defeated: 52

▷C-Rank Monsters Defeated: 36

▷B-Rank Monsters Defeated: 13

▷Rewards given for defeating a set number of monsters

After I had completely used up the C-Rank crystals, I started hunting B-Rank monsters, and there were a few close calls.

Most of them were weaker than the first Phantasmanser that was summoned, but every now and then, some incredibly powerful ones would show up. These were monsters that didn’t feel like normal enemies.

Whenever that happened, I used my reserved Inferno Fist and Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger to take them down.

After all, Dang Gyu-young and Hong Yeon-hwa needed to conserve their strength if we were going to keep taking down B-Ranks back to back.

Each monster was far tougher than what I’d faced before, but in return, defeating them granted me significantly stronger buffs.

Each kill even gave me a generous 5 to 10 stack increase.

Thanks to that, I managed to reach the third reward tier before the mentoring ended.

200 stacks.

The reward was a small vial, shaped like an eye drop container.

Inside, there were only a few drops of a milky-white liquid.

Of course, when it came to items, what mattered wasn’t the size or amount….it was the performance.

And since I recognized what it was at a glance, I couldn’t have been more satisfied.

▷Reward: Gongcheong Oil (A)

It was a rare elixir said to be formed over countless years by the entanglement and condensation of nature’s energy, and just a single drop held immense potency.

And with an amount that filled an eye dropper-sized vial, it looked to contain at least six drops.

Dang Gyu-young, who had been peeking over curiously, widened her eyes.

“No way, you got something like that as a quest reward?”

“Graduates get quests like this, you know.”

To be precise, it was more like an extension of the reincarnation quest perks.

And since I had graduated more than a few times, I wasn’t exactly lying.

Dang Gyu-young pouted her lips.

“There you go using that cheat code again. Anyway, congrats. I’m jealous. I wonder if something like that will ever drop for me.”

She clearly had her eyes on the elixir and kept glancing repeatedly at the Gongcheong Oil. Hong Yeon-hwa was darting her eyes around as if she was equally intrigued.

I tossed out a comment as if in passing.

“There is a place where it drops, though.”

“…Really?”

Dang Gyu-young immediately stepped closer with a twinkle in her eye.

Even her tone was softer and more flattering than usual.

“Oh great and wise senior who’s graduated so many times~ You know my heart, right~?”

“Of course I do. Want a drop of Gongcheong Oil?”

“I’d be incredibly grateful if you shared~”

Hong Yeon-hwa also began inching closer, watching the situation unfold as she crab-walked over.

I glanced down at the Gongcheong Oil.

It’s not like I can’t share it.

There were six drops, after all, and hoarding them all for myself didn’t seem like the best idea.

Elixirs generally lost efficiency the more times you took the same kind, and Gongcheong Oil was no exception.

The first drop would work at full A-rank potency, the second at B-rank, and the third at C-rank. Its effect would decrease each time.

Rather than consuming such a precious elixir at a C-rank or lower level of potency, it seemed like a smarter move to share it and rack up some favors.

Later, I might get priority for other elixirs, items, or dungeon rewards in return.

Still, I should definitely take the first two drops for myself.

Even at B-rank efficiency, the mana boost would be significant.

So, I decided to take two drops for myself and evenly distribute the remaining four to Go Hyun-woo, Seo Ye-in, Hong Yeon-hwa, and Dang Gyu-young.

Soon after, the two of them each offered a word of thanks.

“Thanks to you, big senior, I finally get to try Gongcheong Oil. Appreciate it.”

“M-Me too… Thank you…”

In the warm, cheerful atmosphere, we took turns starting our mana cultivation.

***

The mentoring program ended about two days earlier than originally planned, mainly because we had used up every last crystal.

Dang Gyu-young asked casually.

“Feels a bit awkward to bring just a few more, right?”

“Yeah, it does. Let’s just rest for the remaining two days.”

“Mhmm mhmm, let’s take it easy and head back to school early.”

So that day, just like a few weeks ago, we all sprawled out at the lodging and lazed around together.

In the evening, we bought various ingredients and had a barbecue.

While handing out perfectly grilled sausages, Dang Gyu-young spoke up.

“Good job, everyone. I didn’t really get to teach you much this time. I was too busy with my own training.”

“Just finding us a good spot like this is more than enough. You really went out of your way for us.”

If it hadn’t been for all the buffs we got from the summoned monsters, we wouldn’t have grown this quickly.

Honestly, just securing the location accounted for more than half the effort.

Hong Yeon-hwa nodded in agreement, and a proud smile formed on Dang Gyu-young’s face.

“Huhum, now that it’s all over, I’ll tell you. It was a huge pain getting that place approved, you know?”

“I figured it would be.”

“But seeing you all make good use of it made it worth it. I even managed to get some use out of it myself now and then.”

Then, looking between the two of us, she added in a half-joking tone,

“You’ve grown up strong, so once school starts again, go break everything. Got it?”

“Leave it to us.”

The mentees’ grades were essentially the mentoring program’s grades.

No matter how well a mentor taught, if the mentees performed poorly in duel battles or strategy battles, the mentor wouldn’t receive a good evaluation.

Of course, for Dang Gyu-young, that wasn’t something she had to worry about. Not in the slightest.

Both Hong Yeon-hwa and I had been practically undefeated in the latter half of the first semester, and the second semester was only going to be better.

After that, we devoured the barbecue while chatting about the upcoming second semester’s practical evaluations and various events.

Once the area was somewhat tidied up, Dang Gyu-young struck a pose again, trying to set the mood.

“Then, to mark the grand finale of today’s barbecue—”

She pulled something familiar out of her inventory.

It was the convenience store’s 33 Bar.

“—let’s go for round two.”

“When did you even buy that?”

“I snuck it in while picking up stuff for the barbecue.”

Remembering how they had managed to get one over on me for once, the two women both smirked at the same time.

Of course, I had been hoping for round two myself.

“I won’t back down. Let’s do it.”

“Last place picks first~”

Dang Gyu-young grinned mischievously as she held out the 33 Bar.

Without hesitation, I grabbed the center stick, and their smiles deepened.

“The center again? You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“No regrets, okay?”

They were probably thinking the same thing would happen again.

Soon enough, Dang Gyu-young and Hong Yeon-hwa each grabbed a stick on either side.

“When I count to three, we pull. One, two, three—”

Now.

At the perfect moment, I flicked my wrist and lifted the stick upward.

As a result—

“Looks like I won this time.”

“…You took quite a chunk.”

I ended up holding nearly two-thirds of the ice cream bar in my hand.

In round one, the ratio had been: Dang Gyu-young 1.5, me 0, Hong Yeon-hwa 1.5.

But in round two, it was: Dang Gyu-young 0.5, me 2.0, Hong Yeon-hwa 0.5.

I could’ve taken it all, but out of courtesy, I left them each a little piece.

I spoke in a smug tone.

“Not falling for it twice.”

“Round two’s definitely tougher. But hey, Kim Ho.”

“Yes, noona.”

Dang Gyu-young leaned toward me slightly.

“Since we each let you have a bite of ours last time, isn’t it only fair that we each get a bite this time?”

Hong Yeon-hwa quickly nodded her head in agreement, but when I looked her way, she quietly averted her gaze.

Even so, her head was still gently bobbing.

Since it wasn’t an unreasonable point, I offered them the ice cream bar meant for two.

“Have a bite, both of you.”

“Okay!”

Right away, Dang Gyu-young grabbed my hand, and it seemed like she was going to take a small bite of the ice cream bar.

But instead, she bit off a whole portion. An entire serving.

“That was a pretty big bite.”

“Hehehe!”

With her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel, Dang Gyu-young burst into laughter.

“All that over an ice cream bar. Doesn’t your head hurt?”

“Chusht a liddle? (Just a little?)”

She clutched her head, then patted my shoulder repeatedly, laughed again, and then clutched her head once more.

She was quite busy doing all that.

I shook my head and moved on.

“I trust you’ll take a fair amount, guided by your conscience.”

“……”

At that, Hong Yeon-hwa gave me a glance I couldn’t quite interpret, then leaned in.

She really did just take a tiny nibble at the very tip, but whatever the ice cream was made of, a larger chunk ended up coming off with it.

In the end, what was left in my hand was less than half a serving.

Seeing that, Dang Gyu-young burst into even louder laughter.

“Pffhahaha!”

I shoved the remaining ice cream into my mouth.