The Support Ate it All-Chapter 305: No. 482 Old Sapphire Temple (2)

I had already come to terms with the fact that I was greedy.

Even after raising a thousand S-rank heroes, I was still searching for more. If that didn’t make me a greedy person, then what would?

Of course, given the flow of the conversation, Hong Yeon-hwa’s question wasn’t referring to that kind of greed. It was about something else entirely. But my answer would have been the same regardless.

“……”

Hong Yeon-hwa looked visibly flustered.

It was only natural. After all, I had just shamelessly and confidently declared, “I’ll take everything!”

Then as if something had crossed her mind, she hesitated and her lips parted slightly.

“Th-Then…”

“……”

“……”

“Then what?”

She kept hesitating, unable to finish her sentence, so I nudged her a little.

At that, Hong Yeon-hwa quickly waved her hands in dismissal.

“N-No, it’s nothing! I misspoke!”

“I see.”

She certainly looked like she had something to say, but I decided not to press her any further.

Crack.

Just then, a deep fissure split across the icy cocoon.

It was the sign that the Sapphire Goddess Statue had finished regenerating.

We immediately shifted back into battle mode, turning to face the statue.

As its trident thrust forward and freezing spells rained down, we each unleashed our skills in response.

***

Hong Yeon-hwa used her rapid casting speed to chain together fire spells.

Pillars of flame erupted, and blazing fireballs poured down like rain.

Whoosh!

…And yet, deep down, she was lost in thought.

Wow, thank goodness. Seriously, thank goodness.

Maybe it was the mood, or maybe it was because she was too tense, but she had nearly asked a question she absolutely shouldn’t have.

– You… have a lot of people you like?

– Then… what about me?

– Do you… like me too?

However, the last shred of reason in her mind hit the brakes at the final moment, preventing the disaster of those questions from slipping out.

What if she had asked? And what if the answer had been negative?

In Hong Yeon-hwa’s imagination, Kim Ho wore an awkward expression on his face.

– Sorry.

– I don’t have those kinds of feelings for you.

Then, a colder version of Kim Ho spoke with a stern face.

– I don’t understand.

– What made you think I liked you?

– I have no idea where that confidence came from.

Aaaahhh!!

Just imagining it made shame wash over her.

For the next three years, she would keep running into him at school. Whether in duel battles, strategy battles, or club events. How was she supposed to face him every time? ɌΆΝΟ𝐁Ěꞩ

Looking back, swallowing her question had been the right choice.

Even so, a small thought lingered in her mind.

But still… what if…?

What if, by some incredible chance, he actually did like her?

Even if it came with the condition that he was greedy, what if Kim Ho showed interest in her?

How would she react?

Once again, Hong Yeon-hwa let her imagination take flight.

Kim Ho took a step toward her. Then another. Closing the distance between them.

Unlike usual, a gentle smile played on his lips.

– Hong Yeon-hwa.

– U-Uh…?

– I said I was greedy, didn’t I?

– ……!

– Now I want you, too.

Hong Yeon-hwa’s face turned redder and redder until it nearly matched her hair.

And then… they would do this…

And that…

And maybe even…

“Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“Waaah!! No! I wasn’t thinking that!”

The flustered Hong Yeon-hwa waved her arms wildly and kept babbling nonsense.

Meanwhile, Kim Ho’s voice remained calm.

“I don’t know what you weren’t thinking about, but focus.”

“…Ah. Sorry.”

Now that she thought about it, they were in the middle of a battle.

She had let her mind wander while facing the Sapphire Goddess Statue, and before she knew it, things had spiraled beyond the point of no return.

Hong Yeon-hwa took a deep breath and calmed herself.

Right. I need to focus.

Letting her guard down during a fight…

Even if they had been just repeatedly doing the same thing, it was something she should never have done.

A single mistake could mean life or death.

It was also disrespectful to Kim Ho, who was working hard to hold the front line.

Come to think of it, I only asked out of curiosity.

Neither the question nor the answer was something deeply tied to her.

At least, not yet.

For now, just hearing Kim Ho’s perspective should be enough.

She would be lying if she said she didn’t have complicated feelings about it, but…

…I’ll think about it later.

There would be plenty of time for that.

Hong Yeon-hwa shook off her hesitation and resumed chanting her spell.

Fwoosh!

***

Most of the conversations we had between battles were as trivial and everyday as the ones before, but every now and then, we had serious and productive discussions.

Once again, the Sapphire Goddess Statue was trapped inside an icy cocoon and was in the process of recovering.

As we watched the Statue in silence for a moment, Hong Yeon-hwa spoke up.

“Hey, you know…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I think it’s about time I learned a new spell.”

It was indeed the right time for her to start considering her next direction.

Hong Yeon-hwa had already set her path as a battery-type mage.

Her weak defenses had been reinforced with three spells: [Reverse Curtain], [Scorching Armor], and [Blaze Shield].

Now that she had secured a certain level of stability, she wanted to shift her focus back to offensive magic.

I tilted my chin slightly.

“I think that’s a good idea.”

If she still needed to strengthen her foundation, I would have objected. But after watching her throughout this battle, I knew she was solid overall.

Hadn’t I even given her rare praise?

If offense was her strong suit, then it made sense to refine it further.

At my approval, Hong Yeon-hwa’s face lit up with excitement.

Then she asked carefully,

“What kind of spell… do you think I should learn…?”

“There are tons of offensive spells.”

“If you had to recommend just one…?”

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“You know best what you need. Think about it. Has there been anything you felt was lacking?”

“Something lacking…”

Hong Yeon-hwa muttered to herself and fell into deep thought.

I decided to give her another hint.

“And you already have a spell you use well. Fire Pillar.”

“……..!”

“It’d be even better if you could develop a derived skill from it.”

A skill that could be linked with Fire Pillar and fill in the gaps where she needed more power.

At this point, it seemed like Hong Yeon-hwa had a few ideas in mind.

But it looked like she’d have to set her contemplation aside for now.

Crack.

The ice cocoon shattered, and the goddess stepped forward.

Another round of farming ensued.

Then all of a sudden, Hong Yeon-hwa flinched and shifted her gaze to empty space. It seemed a system notification had popped up for her.

“…….!”

“Did it rank up?”

“Mhmm.”

“Aqua Flame?”

“No, something else.”

Considering she had been linking multiple fire spells together, it wasn’t surprising that one of them had ranked up.

Aqua Flame, the most important one, was still stuck in its stagnation phase. But even so, Hong Yeon-hwa seemed happy with her progress and her expression was noticeably brighter.

Meanwhile, when I checked how much time was left on the rank boost, I saw that it was almost over.

That meant both the rank grinding and dungeon raid were nearing their end.

So I spoke up.

“Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“Hmm?”

“I need you to keep what I’m about to show you a secret.”

“Mhmm, alright…”

Hong Yeon-hwa nodded her head without hesitation.

When it came to hidden pieces or the skills I’d been keeping under wraps, the fewer people who knew, the better.

Since it was Hong Ye-hwa who had permitted and supported Hong Yeon-hwa’s dungeon raid, I had already accepted the fact that she would inevitably learn about some of what had happened inside.

However, judging by Hong Ye-hwa’s reaction after we cleared the Winterhalt Fortress, it seemed that, despite being sisters, Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t share every single detail with her.

For example, she apparently hadn’t mentioned the [Tentacle Limbs] and [Amplification] combo I had used against the Dark Oobleck.

Since she knew how to keep certain things secret on her own, I figured I could trust her with this as well.

Still, despite nodding her head in agreement, Hong Yeon-hwa looked a bit puzzled. This was probably because I had yet to specify what exactly I wanted her to keep secret.

I took out the Book of Chaos and answered her unspoken question.

“I’m going to use it again.”

“……!”

The Book of Chaos increased dungeon variables and boosted rewards.

And there was no rule saying I couldn’t use two or even three pages in succession.

“Will it be okay…?”

Rather than curiosity, Hong Yeon-hwa seemed more concerned.

Even using just one page carried the risk of unexpected variables appearing….so what would happen with two?

In reality, the uncertainty that came with using two pages wasn’t just twice as much; it increased exponentially.

Of course, I had already tested the Book of Chaos in countless ways, twisting and turning every possible scenario. I knew exactly what to expect.

“It’ll be fine. Trust me.”

“…Mhmm.”

Perhaps because of how confidently I spoke, Hong Yeon-hwa gave a small nod once again.

Since I had her approval, there was no reason to hesitate.

Right on cue, the Sapphire Goddess Statue finished its regeneration and began emerging from its cocoon.

Crack.

I faced the creature, opened the Book of Chaos, and tore out a page.

The sealed magic was unleashed, and the entire space began to shake violently.

Rumble—!

The tremors and distortions were incomparable to when I had used just one page.

Soon, the Sapphire Goddess Statue’s body started to swell like a balloon.

It had already been massive, forcing me to look up just to take it all in. But now, it grew even larger. So much so that my neck began to ache.

“……!”

Hong Yeon-hwa stared up at the giant goddess statue and her lips slightly parted.

She looked completely unsure if something that huge could even be taken down.

Of course, there was no need for her to step in this time.

“It’s fine. Just watch.”

Leaving those words behind, I took a step forward.

The giant Sapphire Goddess Statue grinned and looked down at me.

Then, wielding a trident that had grown several times larger than a person, it thrust the weapon straight at me.

Sweeaaak!

If it hit me, my body wouldn’t just be pierced; it would be reduced to dust.

Needless to say, I had no intention of letting that happen.

[Activated ‘Amplification’.]

[The rank of ‘Inferno Fist’ has increased. (B → S)]

My clenched fist flared up with dark red flames.

I drew it back as if drawing a bowstring, then launched it with all my might at the huge goddess statue.

Kwoooosh—!

A storm of fire swept through everything in its path.

In the next moment, the giant goddess statue collapsed to its knees, reduced to nothing but its lower half.

Thud.

The elemental penalty had been severe, leaving my fist charred and smoldering.

But that only lasted for a brief moment.

[Activated ‘Retrorecovery’.]

[Cooldown: 2 days 23:59:56]

My hand instantly returned to its unscathed state, as if it had never been burned at all.

Having a healing trait was definitely nice.

I turned to Hong Yeon-hwa and said,

“It’s over.”

“……! ……!”

She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly with her face frozen in shock.

It was clear she couldn’t believe what she had just seen.

With a skill overwhelmingly stronger than her own and a fire-type skill at that….the enemy had been taken down in a single strike.

I smirked slightly and raised a finger to my lips.

“Secret.”

“Mhmm, mhmm.”

Hong Yeon-hwa nodded vigorously with her head bobbing up and down.

Rumble…

Before long, the entire space began to tremble violently, as if an earthquake had struck.

Since the boss monster had been defeated, the dungeon was now collapsing.

Moments later, a teleportation portal opened, and in front of it, a cluster of small chests appeared.

Random boxes.

Among them, however, one shone with an especially clear blue light.

The rewards got enhanced too.

After all, I had torn out two pages from the Book of Chaos.