The Support Ate it All

Chapter 17: Fixed Zone (2)

<Dragon Slayer Academy> was essentially a single-player game but it also had content where players could compete and battle against each other.

For instance, in the competitive content, some practical evaluations and events were tallied across all users.

Of course, I was ranked first.

No matter which ranking I checked, my name was always at the top.

And that too, with a considerable margin over the second place.

The gap was even more significant in the Fixed Zone.

To the extent that the word overwhelming would be an understatement.

Thats why I earned the nickname God which I found to be a bit embarrassing.

There was no one who could rival me in the Fixed Zone.

[Entering the Fixed Zone.] [The rank of some skills/traits/equipment will be adjusted.]

I glanced at the notification message and brought up the status window.

[Kim Ho]

Skills

Amplification (F)

Copy-Skill [1/1]

1. Hummingbird (F)

Traits

Core (F)

Monarch (F)

Copy-Trait [1/1]

1. Elemental Resistance (F)

Equipment

School Uniform (F)

Earth Staff (F)

According to the Fixed Zone rule, the rank of all skills, traits, and equipment was fixed at F-rank.

Since most of what I originally had was around E-rank, there wasnt much change for me.

Additionally, a skill like [Hummingbird], whose main purpose was controlling enemies rather than destruction, would perform similarly even at F rank.

However, this time I planned to challenge myself by using only my basic physical abilities without even using Hummingbird.

I need to warm up.

This was my first experience in the Fixed Zone since enrolling in the academy, and it was a chance to see what I was capable of.

And my physical abilities alone should be sufficient.

After all, I didnt get the nickname God of the Fixed Zone for nothing.

I surveyed my surroundings.

The terrain of the [Mist Forest] was randomly formed the moment a challenger entered through the portal.

But random as it may be, this dungeon was ultimately created by humans.

Broadly speaking, there are several standardized patterns.

If you can figure out these patterns, you can predict when, where, what kind of monsters will appear, and in what numbers.

Judging by the arrangement of the bushes, trees, weeds, rocks around me, and the direction of the mist flow,

Its the C pattern.

I took my position in front of an empty space near a rock.

Gripping the Earth Staff with both hands, I raised it high above my head.

The system began the countdown.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

[Monsters will be summoned.]

[Remaining Time: 9:59]

[Current score: 0 points]

Black and dirty smoke billowed in the air before me.

From within the smoke, a monster with green skin the size of a five- or six-year-old child burst out.

Keuk, keureuk.

As soon as the goblin was summoned, its yellow eyes flashed and it tried to find a target to kill.

However, the first thing that came into its view was a thick wooden stick plummeting towards its head.

Kwajik!

I crushed the first goblins skull and immediately snatched the dagger it was holding.

At the same time, I swung the staff with all my might to the left, exploding another head.

I grabbed that goblins dagger too and ran recklessly towards the bushes.

Before the three plumes of black smoke could even transform into the shapes of goblins, I swung my staff at them.

Kwajik, kwajik, kwajik!

Three goblins were summoned and they were immediately converted into points,

and in the same spot, about ten black smoke masses rose up.

As I prepared to swing the staff again,

Two orcs at 7 oclock. In 3, 2, 1 seconds.

At the count of 1 second I threw the two daggers over my shoulder.

Pukpuk!

Gik.

Keuk.

While I was sweeping away the goblins in front of me, I heard two sounds of flesh being torn and two short death cries from behind.

I put the Earth Staff into my inventory.

Weapons were now abundant for me.

Clutching a handful of daggers dropped by goblins, I rushed toward the corpses of the orcs I had just killed.

While doing so, I tossed the daggers in all directions as if scattering them.

Goblins flocking from all sides each took a dagger in the forehead and collapsed.

The two dead orcs each had a shortsword and an axe.

I grabbed one in each hand and sprinted to the next summoning location.

Between two trees, large and small plumes of smoke arose.

Six goblins to the left, four goblins and two orcs to the right, and a troll at the rear. 3, 2, 1.

At the count of 1 I leaped into the smoke, whirling my body like a windmill.

Swoosh!

I annihilated the lesser monsters in an instant and charged at the newly summoned troll.

Before it could resist, I plunged the shortsword into its heart, twisted it, kicked the hilt to drive it deeper, and finally brought the axe down on its forehead.

Kwajik!

Then onto the next location, and the next.

Monsters had their heads severed as soon as they were summoned.

To an outsider, it would have seemed like blatant cheating.

It might have appeared as if someone was deliberately summoning monsters right where I was going.

But this was not cheating, but rather the result of long experience and meticulous analysis.

Alright, thats enough.

I felt that it was about time and stopped walking towards the next summoning location.

Turning my gaze to the scoreboard,

[Remaining Time: 7:02]

[Current Score: 683 points]

The result was slightly disappointing.

I only scored 683 points in 3 minutes

I feel like I lost a lot.

Back in the days when I was setting new records, I would have scored at least 800 points in the Misty Forest in three minutes.

Anyway, I had achieved my initial goal.

[Side Quest: Placement Test]

Objective: Achieve a mid-tier or higher rank on the placement test.

Win at least once in the duel battle placement test (1/1)

Rank in the top 50% in the strategy battle placement test (Current Ranking: N/A)

Reward: [Copy-Skill] Slot +1

The goals of the placement test quest were to achieve at least one win in duel battles and rank in the top 50% in the strategy battle.

Normally, the cutoff for the top 50% fluctuates between 400 and 500 points, so with a score of 683, I should rank comfortably in the upper-middle range.

There was still 7 minutes left, but I felt no need to increase my score further.

Of course, even if I took it easy, winning first place in the strategy test was a given.

But attracting too much attention would render my forfeit against Song Cheon-hye pointless.

Huh? Kim Ho is in first place?

Maybe hes stronger than we thought?

Then why did he concede?

Did he just let her win?

I would probably become the subject of gossip like this.

Just like in the duel battle matches, I needed to hide my abilities until I could handle the fame that came with them.

So, I decided to end the placement test here.

I want to stop here.

Everything around me turned gray and came to an abrupt halt and a message appeared in front of me.

Of course, the remaining time continued to decrease.

[Remaining Time: 6:49]

[Do you really want to end the strategy battle test?]

[Accept/Decline]

Yes.

[Do you want to save the replay?]

[Accept/Decline]

No.

The exit promptly opened its mouth,

And I leisurely walked outside.

***

Buch of weaklings.

Lee Soo-dok frowned.

His already fierce face grew even more menacing, which caused the passing students to involuntarily lower their gaze.

At the end of his gaze were the weaklings, that is, the ones who failed the test.

The placement test had been underway for quite some time, yet there they were, still sprawled or sitting helplessly on the ground.

Still unable to get up?

Though he wouldnt mention it outright due to his nature, Lee Soo-dok, as a teacher, had the discretion to offer students who retired a chance to retry.

If even one of them had asked for help or asked if there was any way to make amends, he would have given them a chance.

But there was no such indication from those defeated ones.

They seemed to have completely lost their will.

Just over something like this.

Lee Soo-dok himself was once a student at the Dragon Slayer Academy.

The path he had walked was far more brutal and treacherous; it was much worse than this.

Even in such conditions, he had climbed up from the very bottom with sheer will.

So, it was only natural for him to be dissatisfied with their early surrender.

Lee Soo-doks gaze briefly shifted to the side.

A portal that had been closed earlier just opened, and another student emerged from it.

He remembered that this student had entered about 3 or 4 minutes ago.

This meant that this student didnt last the 10 minutes period.

Another one retired.

He didnt know the students name, but his face was one he remembered.

A student who had forfeited in the duel battle test with the claim that he was in a bad shape.

And now, it seemed, he had retired from the strategy battle test as well.

What kind of dragon are you going to catch with such rotten spirit?

He doubted that student could even handle a B-rank boss after graduation, let alone catch a dragon.

If his own subordinates had engaged in such pathetic antics, he would have beaten them to a pulp. But this was Dragon Slayer Academy, and that guy was a student in his class.

The thought of having to teach and lead such a worthless creature as a homeroom teacher was already giving him a headache.

Despite it being a request from a former legendary hero, Lee Soo-Dok regretted his hasty decision to accept it.

Wait a minute

Lee Soo-Dok turned his head.

He felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

After pondering the source of this feeling, he realized it only after his eyes caught the faces of the disqualified students.

That student, he walked out.

The safety mechanisms in the artificial dungeons employ a forced teleportation spell to eject students when their safety is at risk during the strategy battle.

The reason students were seen tumbling out of the dungeon was precisely because of this.

The lingering effects left them disoriented for a while.

But this student was walking out nonchalantly and checking the leaderboard as if nothing had happened.

At the very least, it meant he hadnt been ejected.

Lee Soo-Doks gaze followed the students gaze to the leaderboard.

[Kim Ho, 683 points, 38%]

Upper middle range?

Such score couldnt possibly be achieved in just three minutes.

Even if one were to exaggerate and assume a polymorphed dragon appeared in the dungeon, such a feat would still be impossible.

So does that mean he lasted the full 10 minutes?

But he had only entered about 3 minutes ago. Did I see it wrong?

Lee Soo-Dok, who always maintained a cold demeanor, felt a slight sense of bewilderment this time.

His name was Kim Ho, right?

Lee Soo-Dok made a mental note of the students name.

He resolved to definitely check the replay of his dungeon battle later.

*******

TN: Its already erased though.

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