The Support Ate it All

While Dang Gyu-young was immersed in her own world, the remaining party members stayed on alert, guarding the surroundings.

It was a critical moment of realization. We absolutely couldn't interrupt her, nor could we allow anyone else to do so.

The problem is time.

We had no idea when our intrusion would be discovered.

After all, we had blasted the security room with ice magic and taken down more than a few chimeras and researchers along the way.

Everyone undoubtedly wanted to escape as quickly as possible.

However, even after a long time had passed, the cocoon of shadows surrounding Dang Gyu-young showed no signs of dissipating.

Seo Cheong-yong spoke with a hint of concern.

"Kim Ho, how much longer do you think it'll take?"

It was a variable we had discussed during the strategy meeting:

That the time it took to absorb and internalize knowledge could vary from person to person.

But taking longer didn't necessarily mean a lack of talent.

On the contrary, it likely meant the power being gained was all the greater.

In other words, it was well worth the risk to wait.

Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong seemed to understand that too, though the wait was clearly dragging on longer than expected.

And then, the feared situation finally happened.

– Weeeeeeeeeeeeeing—!

An alarm blared from outside.

Lee Soo-dok spoke with his usual indifferent tone.

"We've been found."

"Looks like we'll have to break through."

"We were prepared for this."

The two teachers gave quick glances toward Dang Gyu-young before each offered me a word of advice.

"The situation's only going to keep getting worse. You'd be better off giving up before it's too late."

"As long as you're alive, you can always try again."

Both statements were sound and filled with genuine concern.

So I responded just as sincerely.

"I'd like to trust her a little longer. We're not at the worst-case scenario yet."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes, and I should be able to handle most situations."

"Alright. Let's place a bit more trust in her."

But no sooner had Lee Soo-dok said that than a huge ripple spread across one side of the director's office.

The ripple quickly became a crack, and that crack split wider and wider with a tearing sound.

The sign of a teleportation spell.

Lee Soo-dok asked again.

"You think you can handle that, too?"

"I can."

The two teachers, though only half-convinced, began gathering their energy and readying for battle.

Meanwhile, the rift widened until it was large enough for a person to pass through. And from within, a gaunt middle-aged man stepped out.

Wearing glasses, a business suit under a white lab coat… he looked like your average researcher.

But his eyes were devoid of any whites and were pitch black. The tattoos revealed on parts of his body were inscribed with potent dark magic sigils.

The lab director.

We were now face-to-face with the dungeon's final boss.

Of course, the teachers weren't about to just sit back and let an enemy arrive via teleportation.

Lee Soo-dok slashed diagonally with his kitchen knife, and Seo Cheong-yong launched a wave of compressed force.

Slash—!

Boom!

A deep gash was carved into the director's chest, and his torso twisted grotesquely. But the next moment, decaying flesh bubbled up violently, only to be reabsorbed—

Leaving his body completely healed, without a scratch.

A flesh golem.

A golem made of massive chunks of flesh.

The director had chimerized his own body and taken on its traits.

Most likely, layers upon layers of compressed meat were packed into his body.

Which meant his durability would be off the charts.

He spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.

"Quite a rough welcome. Not that it matters…we'll be fighting to exhaustion soon enough."

And sure enough, the space behind him rippled wildly as teleportation portals began popping open one after another.

Other researchers were attempting to come through as well.

That was when the boss fight would truly begin.

But I had no intention of letting them do as they pleased.

So I extended the Crow Tree forward.

"Caw?"

"……"

"……?"

Everyone looked at me as if they were seeing something completely inexplicable.

In a tense moment like this, letting out a high-pitched "Caw?" like some crazy crow… of course everyone thought I'd lost it.

But then something even stranger happened.

All the teleportation portals that were just about to open slammed shut at once. The air returned to stillness, as if nothing had happened.

The lab director grew dumbfounded and glanced around the space before turning to me and asking,

"…Was that your doing?"

"As you can see."

"You don't look very strong, but I'll admit…. that was a clever move. Though I wonder, why didn't you use it earlier? I already made it through, didn't I?"

"You're the only one who did."

I answered confidently.

It meant I had deliberately cast the "Caw?" a beat late.

Realizing the implication, the lab director's brow furrowed.

"There are four of you… No, three? You're telling me the three of you think you can take me?"

"You heard right."

"…You're an arrogant young man, aren't you? But I don't mind. Realizing your own foolishness in your final moments isn't the worst way to go."

"I've heard that line way too many times. It's a bit old, honestly."

"Well then, feel free to come at me. I've got time."

His demeanor was relaxed, almost smug.

He had full confidence in his durability and was clearly betting on reinforcements arriving once he stalled us for long enough.

But things don't always go according to plan.

I turned to the two teachers and gave the order.

"We'll end this quickly. Please be ready."

At the same time, I pulled out a magic scroll from my inventory.

The moment he recognized it, the smug look disappeared from the director's face.

"…That's—!"

[Magic Scroll – Time Freeze (S)]

With a grin, I held the scroll and said,

"Are you sure you've got time?"

"Wait—"

But before he could finish, I ripped the scroll clean in half.

The magic sealed within burst out, and the entire room turned black and white and frozen in time.

A ticking sound echoed near my ears.

Tick—Tock—Tick—Tock—

At that moment, I activated my combo.

[Activated 'Octopus Limb'.]

['Time Resistance' has been granted to the target.]

['Time Resistance' has been granted to the target.]

[Rank of granted 'Time Resistance': A]

Although Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong were powerful enough to be considered A-rank, they still didn't have a proper countermeasure for time magic.

But now, even they could move within the frozen time.

The only ones still frozen were Dang Gyu-young in the corner and the director of the lab.

In other words, we could launch a one-sided assault.

"……!"

"……!"

Noticing that fact, the two teachers immediately charged at the director.

From Lee Soo-dok's arms came the sickening sound of joints twisting and muscles tearing.

He had pushed his strength beyond human limits, and his body was paying the price.

Then came a barrage of strikes, his blade slicing through the air like lightning.

Seo Cheong-yong also gathered his full force into one hand.

A sphere imbued with energy quickly compressed, then shot straight toward the lab director.

I attacked in my own way.

[Activated 'Octopus Limb'.]

[Activated 'Amplification'.]

[The rank of 'Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger' has increased. (B → S)]

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

I drove my frozen, icicle-like finger into him.

Once, then twice.

['Pain Delay' has been activated.]

A trait that stores damage up to three times within 10 minutes, then delivers it all at once.

But even two strikes from Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger were more than enough.

Better to save the last one.

Tick—Tock—Tick—Tock—

We poured on the attacks relentlessly.

Knowing the time freeze would soon wear off, I pulled Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong back.

And just as we created distance, the black-and-white world snapped back to color.

Immediately, the lab director began convulsing violently.

"Guh—Uurgh—"

Rotten chunks of flesh exploded from all over his body, then receded, only to burst out again.

He was clearly trying to absorb the damage somehow, but the rate at which his wounds increased was faster.

In the end, his body was in shambles, and he coughed up a basinful of blood.

"Gwaaaargh—!"

On top of that, a continuous cracking sound echoed from inside. The chill of the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger was eating away at him from the inside.

He probably didn't have much time left.

I said casually,

"It's over."

"…I heard most things can be dealt with…but you even had Time Freeze."

"There was only one scroll, so it's a bit of a waste. Still, I insisted on it, so it's only right that I use it."

And it had definitely been worth using.

Next to the collapsed lab director were two small boxes.

[Research Facility No. 4 Random Box (A)] ×2

They had dropped because we'd completed one of the dungeon's clear objectives.

We'd split them evenly, 1:1, but considering the help we got from the academy side, it wasn't a loss at all.

Besides, there was still more to gain.

Soon, the shadow cocoon faded, and Dang Gyu-young revealed herself—

—with a confident smile on her face.

I casually asked,

"All done?"

"Mhmm. Wanna see?"

Without hesitation, Dang Gyu-young shared the notification message.

[Class Advancement Successful!]

[Class has changed. (Shadowmancer → Umbramancer)]

['Shadow Extraction (0/2)' has been acquired.]

Umbramancer. It was a hybrid class also known as the "Master of Shadow Arts".

It crosses the domains of shadow magic and necromancy.

At the core of this class was [Shadow Extraction], a skill that extracts and controls the shadows of subdued or defeated targets.

Like [Copy], it was a slot-type ability where the extracted target's rank gets registered.

Although she kept the Hardship quest and her class change a secret, she did explain the new skill to Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong and even shared the system messages.

It was part of the agreement from the start, and to maintain cooperation with the Dragon Slayer Academy, this was the smarter move.

As he listened, Seo Cheong-yong's eyes suddenly lit up as if something had occurred to him.

He turned to me with a question.

"Then… can you use it on that?"

He pointed to what used to be the lab director who was now lying in a heap.

I nodded without hesitation.

"Of course we can. That's exactly why we took him down."

Getting only an A-rank random box in return even after using an S-rank magic scroll just didn't add up.

We had calculated everything, including taking the lab director with us.

Even if Dang Gyu-young had completed her class change earlier, we would've waited on purpose.

Eventually, Dang Gyu-young stepped forward and extended one hand.

Then, the shadow of what used to be the lab director slowly slid out and merged into the shadow at her feet.

This kind of system message probably appeared:

[Activated 'Shadow Extraction.']

[Registering 'Lab Director (A)' in a slot.]

▷Shadow Extraction [1/2]

1. Lab Director (A)

1. (Empty)

The two teachers watched the scene with fascination, then turned toward the door and said,

"We've confirmed everything we needed. Let's go; we've stayed too long."

"Yes."

Dang Gyu-young and I followed them out of the director's office.

Left behind in the room was a single corpse that was now without a shadow.

***

TN: Arise?