The Support Ate it All

Since I had already greeted Seo Ye-in’s family, I would be able to move around more freely from then on.

Ahn Jeong-mi asked for my opinion.

“Kim Ho-nim, do you have any plans for your stay?”

“Yes, I’ve thought of a few things.”

“Please let me know. I’ll take them into consideration.”

My main objective in coming to Hye-seong City was to meet Seo Ye-in’s guardians and get permission to explore the unauthorized underground floors with her.

This is pretty much settled.

It wasn’t 100% confirmed yet, but both the chairman and her sloth father had been very receptive of me.

Since the chairman and I had even confirmed that we were both Monarchs, the chances were even higher.

“Even during vacation, training must continue.”

I would be staying in Hye-seong City for about a month.

Since I had a fair amount of time, I planned to use it meaningfully.

Ahn Jeong-mi looked very pleased.

“That’s an excellent mindset. I only wish the young miss would work as hard as you, Kim Ho-nim.”

Seo Ye-in, on the other hand, was busy observing the pedestrians passing by and acting as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

I pulled her closer and said,

“Of course, I’ll be training her too. It’s about time she set a new direction.”

The human sloth possessed genius-level talent, but she lacked motivation and was generally passive.

To maximize training efficiency, setting a clear goal was the best approach.

“And I need to plan for the second round of mentoring as well.”

Just as I would receive another round of mentoring from Dang Gu-young, Seo Ye-in would receive another from Ahn Jeong-mi.

However, during the first mentoring session, Ahn Jeong-mi had struggled immensely to get the human sloth to show any enthusiasm.

Considering that, it was best to build up momentum in advance.

Ahn Jeong-mi nodded her head.

“As expected, you’re thinking ahead, Kim Ho-nim. What direction do you have in mind?”

“Well, her offensive power has improved quite a bit.”

Seo Ye-in’s [Core] and [Magic Bullet] were already at B-rank.

In this regard, she was above the level of an ordinary promising student.

On top of that, she could double the power of her magic bullets with [Explosive Bullet] and enhance all her firearm-related skills and traits with [Marksmanship].

There was probably no one in the first year who could block her attacks head-on.

Even Lee Soo-dok, whom she had faced in the control room, had only managed to respond by dodging or deflecting.

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt to learn one more.”

“You’re thinking of dual special bullets.”

“That’s right.”

Dual special bullets.

As the name suggested, it was the ability to manifest two special bullets at the same time.

For example, combining explosive bullets with piercing bullets would create [Pierce-Explosive Bullets], which would penetrate an enemy’s body before detonating inside.

Mixing explosive bullets with impact bullets would result in [Impact-Explosive Bullets], which would trigger an explosion and a shockwave at the same time.

Their power was, of course, immense.

However, they also had their drawbacks.

The biggest issue was the difficulty of controlling them, as it required managing two skills at once.

Additionally, leveling them up would be twice as hard.

Of course, for a genius sloth, twice the difficulty meant nothing.

Her learning speed was five times faster than usual anyway.

Ahn Jeong-mi seemed to have a similar thought as she asked,

“Do you have a particular recommendation?”

“I’ll leave the choice to her again this time.”

It was hard to say that any one special bullet was definitively the best. It all came down to personal preference.

That was why Seo Ye-in had chosen explosive bullets herself before, and why I intended to let her decide again now.

Soon, both Ahn Jeong-mi and I turned to look at Seo Ye-in.

Then we asked her,

“Pick one. Piercing, slicing, or impact. Which one do you like best?”

Seo Ye-in didn’t take long to answer.

“Impact bullet.”

“You made a great choice.”

Ahn Jeong-mi’s expression brightened noticeably.

Since her own main special bullet was also an impact-type, she must have secretly hoped that Seo Ye-in would choose the same.

With her expertise in the field, teaching it would be much easier.

Before long, Ahn Jeong-mi was swiftly exchanging messages with someone. It seemed she was securing an Impact Bullet skill book.

Not long after, she turned to us and said,

“They just so happen to have it in stock.”

Getting a skill book with a single phone call… how impressive.

Well, considering this place was practically Hye-seong Group’s backyard and had plenty of gunners around, it made sense.

And yet, Ahn Jeong-mi wasn’t finished.

“The young miss’s new weapon has also been completed. I’ll bring it right away.”

Following her lead, we moved to the training ground, which also doubled as a shooting range.

The facility was just as well-equipped as the Dragon Slayer Academy training center. There was nothing lacking.

I figured I’d be spending quite some time here as well.

In one corner of the training ground, a middle-aged man in a suit was waiting.

Looking closely, I recognized him. It was the same man Seo Ye-in had given a cookie to before we visited the chairman’s office.

When our eyes met, he bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Did you eat the cookie?”

At Seo Ye-in’s question, he responded with enthusiasm.

“Yes! I enjoyed it very much! Thank you.”

“Good.”

It seemed he had no problem handling spice. He must have eaten the Inferno-flavored cookie without issue.

As always, Ahn Jeong-mi maintained a perfect poker face.

Though… her eyes look ever so slightly displeased.

Perhaps she found it a bit disappointing that he hadn’t suffered as much as she had.

But it was such a subtle shift that the suited man didn’t notice at all as he handed over the items.

The Impact Bullet skill book and a long, tactical-looking metal case.

With those in hand, we stepped into the training room and shooting range.

A spacious room.

On the opposite side, metal dummies were lined up.

Ahn Jeong-mi gave them a brief glance before asking,

“Which one would you like to test first?”

“The gun.”

It seemed Seo Ye-in had quite the interest in her new weapon as well.

When Ahn Jeong-mi pressed a button on the corner of the metal case, it automatically dismantled itself, revealing an assault rifle.

It’s at least A-rank.

The previous magic gun had been decent, but this one looked even better.

The most noticeable difference was the thick launch tube attached to its side that was several times wider than the barrel.

A grenade launcher.

A weapon somewhere between a cannon and a gun.

It seemed to be an added feature, considering Seo Ye-in had mastered explosive bullets.

After all, using explosion firearms would maximize destructive power.

Seo Ye-in stared at the new magic gun with curiosity.

“……?”

“Try using it.”

As Ahn Jeong-mi suggested, there was no better way to assess its performance than a test run.

Seo Ye-in aimed the gun at the metal dummies.

At that moment, mana gathered in one of her hands, condensing into the shape of a bullet before seamlessly merging into the magic gun.

The next instant, the muzzle erupted with streaks of blue fire.

Tududududu!

The change wasn’t immediately obvious, but the magic bullets clearly packed a bit more power.

Then Seo Ye-in adjusted the secondary launch tube.

Thunk—

With a crisp sound, a thick magic round shot forward.

Upon impact with the metal dummies, it exploded.

Booooom—!

Seo Ye-in turned to look at me. Her gray eyes sparkled.

“You seem to like it.”

“Mhmm.”

However, it seemed the weapon test was far from over.

Watching us with satisfaction, Ahn Jeong-mi casually offered another suggestion.

“Try switching to a different mode.”

Seo Ye-in’s magic gun could switch between different modes, such as pistol-to-rifle or assault rifle-to-shotgun, depending on her preference. The new weapon was no exception.

Soon, the assault rifle began to dismantle itself, the parts seamlessly reassembling into a new form.

This time, instead of having a grenade launcher attached as an additional component, the weapon was a fully automatic grenade launcher in itself.

Seo Ye-in once again aimed the muzzle forward and loaded a magic round.

The moment she pulled the trigger—

Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk.

A series of crisp sounds rang out as thick magic rounds shot forward in rapid succession.

And in the next instant—

Booooooom—!

Explosions engulfed the metal dummies.

The sheer power of the multi-shot grenade launcher was overwhelming.

Ahn Jeong-mi spoke up again.

“Do you like it?”

“Mhm.”

“The blast radius is wide, so be careful when using it. You might end up hitting yourself or your allies.”

She went on, mixing instructions, precautions, and even a bit of nagging as she explained.

At first, Seo Ye-in listened attentively, but as time passed, her focus seemed to waver. Eventually, she just stared blankly at me.

In the end, it was Ahn Jeong-mi who gave up first.

“…I’ll explain it again later. For now, try learning this.”

With that, she handed over an Impact Bullet skill book.

As soon as Seo Ye-in used the skill book, a brilliant light burst forth.

Flaaash!

[‘Skill Book – Impact Bullet’ has been used.]

[‘Impact Bullet (F)’ has been acquired.]

Something like that must have popped up as a notification.

Currently, Seo Ye-in’s [Explosive Bullet] was at C-rank.

To link it with [Impact Bomb], the ranks of both special bullet skills needed to be kept at a similar level. So, for the time being, she would have to focus solely on Impact Bullet.

Since Ahn Jeong-mi knew more about this field than I did, I decided to let her continue explaining for a while.

Maybe I should learn one too while I’m at it.

After all, I also needed to train moving forward.

With that in mind, I took out the Blank Skill Book I had received as a reward for the final exams and immediately began writing a skill into it.

The once-clear, empty pages of the skill book started filling up with text.

This wasn’t my first time doing this, so my hands moved without hesitation.

I had already decided what kind of skill I would create, down to its detailed elements.

The skill taking shape would compensate for the weaknesses I currently had.

Attack power.

To be fair, with Inferno Fist and Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger in my arsenal, it wasn’t as if my attack power was lacking.

Among first-years, I was unrivaled, and I could even take on second-years.

However, the problem was that those techniques were classified as prohibited skills, which meant they were practically useless in official settings.

Even in the final exam’s control room, I had been forced to fight Lee Soo-dok without using them, relying solely on my other skills.

That meant I needed to create something that wasn’t considered a prohibited skill or at the very least, one that wouldn’t get me caught.

Still, there’s no way I’m giving up on destructive power.

At the end of the day, raw strength was the best.

If I had to settle for something mediocre, I might as well just stick with what I already had.

Since I was using a rare Blank Skill Book, my goal was to get the best of both worlds.

It does sound a bit contradictory, though.

I wanted to avoid using prohibited skills, yet I also wanted a skill with just as much power.

Of course, there were plenty of ways to work around that.

As long as I take the penalty elsewhere, it won’t be a problem.

I added an additional condition to the Blank Skill Book.

▷Applies the ‘Poisoned’ status effect to the caster.

In most cases, a penalty severe enough to classify a skill as prohibited.

However, for me, it was as good as nonexistent.

After all, I possessed the overpowered trait [Poison Immunity].

Poison Immunity has especially high resistance.

Its versatility was lower compared to elemental resistance, but when it came to poison, its effect was on an entirely different level.

For example, while A-rank elemental penalties could still cause burns or frostbite, even an S-rank poison wouldn’t affect me in the slightest.

With this, there’s no risk of getting caught.

Since I wouldn’t be poisoned in the first place, there was no way for anyone to notice.

And just like that, I had resolved the first contradiction in my requirements.

The next keyword was—

Debuff.