The Support Ate it All

Poison Immunity was an S-rank trait.

Naturally, it wasn’t something that could be obtained as easily as it sounded.

However, I was confident that more than half of the preparations were already complete.

There were two main methods to achieve it.

The first was the straightforward approach: gradually progressing step by step through Hundred Poisons Immunity, Thousand Poisons Immunity, and finally Poison Immunity.

The second method was to fuse Thousand Poisons Immunity with another poison-related trait.

And that other trait was none other than:

Poison Resistance.

By locking in the S-rank Poison Resistance trait with the fixed pin and then reaching Thousand Poisons Immunity, the two traits would naturally combine to become Poison Immunity.

I had acquired Hundred Poisons Immunity by consuming the inner core of the Venomous Horned Black Blood Serpent. I gained it at a certain probability.

The same principle applied to Thousand Poisons Immunity.

By consuming the inner cores of poisonous creatures or poisons that Hundred Poisons Immunity couldn’t block, there was a chance to upgrade to the next level.

The only difference was:

The probability is much lower.

As a B-rank trait, it wouldn’t be enough to consume just one or two poisons.

That was why I had prepared so much in advance.

I opened the wooden boxes I had received from Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam.

Immediately, the pungent smells of blood and bitterness filled my senses.

[Inner Core of the Human-Faced Spiderlord (B)]

[Green-Blood Red Leaf Flower (C+)]

[Inner Core of the Desert Python (C+)]

[Inner Core of the White King Snake (C+)]

Since I had traded the opportunity to obtain the Ghost Dance, each of these items held immense value.

When I added the poisonous herbs I had gathered from the weed field to the mix,

The chances should exceed 10%.

Of course, with just a 10% chance, the likelihood of failure was still much higher.

Even so, I remained fairly optimistic about the situation, and the main reason was that this probability was cumulative.

The first time I consume an inner core, the chance of success would be less than 1%. But as the number of inner cores and poisons accumulates in my body, the chances would increase to 3%, 5%, 8%, and so on. R̃

Eventually, I was bound to reach Thousand Poisons Immunity, and once the cumulative probability hit 10%, it would become a fairly meaningful gamble.

I’ll also accumulate quite a bit of mana along the way.

Just like elixirs, poisons also contained powerful energy.

The key difference was that before the energy could be controlled, it harmed the body. However, I could mitigate this damage thanks to my Poison Resistance and the “Harmful Effects Removal” effect on my hoodie.

So regardless of success or failure, I would still be able to amass a significant amount of mana.

Alright, let’s give it a try.

I settled down in the center of the mana cultivation room and popped one of the inner cores into my mouth.

It tasted like a sock that had been soaking in a sewer, but I forced myself to swallow it.

Then I slowly began to guide the mana within my body.

***

In the meantime, Pang Mi-ryeong was sound asleep in her dormitory room.

Since it was the weekend, she planned to catch up on all the rest she’d been missing.

However, that plan didn’t last long before it was interrupted.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

Someone was knocking at her door.

Pang Mi-ryeong groggily opened her eyes and felt a sudden surge of irritation.

Why can’t I even rest on the weekends?

Can’t they just leave me alone for once?

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

The knocking continued relentlessly, completely ignoring her frustration.

And beyond the closed door, a familiar voice called out.

“Hey, Pang! Open the door!”

It was none other than Dang Gyu-young.

To be fair, she had somewhat anticipated this.

There were only a handful of people close enough to her to barge into her room on a weekend.

As if the knocking wasn’t enough, messages started flooding in.

[Dang Gyu-young: Open the door, hurry up.]

[Pang Mi-ryeong: I’m outside.]

[Dang Gyu-young: Don’t lie.]

[Dang Gyu-young: I know you’re inside.]

[Pang Mi-ryeong: Whatever, I’m going back to sleep. Bye.]

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

Dang Gyu-young began pounding on the door even harder.

Almost to the point where it sounded rhythmic.

Pang Mi-ryeong was caught off guard and found herself absentmindedly moving to the beat. Then she realized something.

It’s not just one person.

Although Dang Gyu-young had the ability to summon shadow hands, this felt more like actual human hands knocking.

She had a pretty good idea who else might be involved, and her suspicions were confirmed by the next message.

[Jegal So-so: I brought tteokbokki (simmered rice cake).]

[Pang Mi-ryeong: What flavor?]

[Jegal So-so: Hellfire.]

[Pang Mi-ryeong: Extra cheese?]

[Jegal So-so: A waterfall.]

Hellfire Cheese Waterfall Tteokbokki…just hearing the name was enough to make her mouth water.

Thanks to that, the last traces of her sleepiness faded, and Pang Mi-ryeong got out of bed and headed for the door.

In the meantime, the knocking had escalated from rock to full-blown heavy metal.

Tudadada-Tudadada!

“Enough. Stop knocking.”

When Pang Mi-ryeong opened the door with those words, sure enough, Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so were standing there.

They didn’t look much different from her who had just woken up. Instead of their usual neat and tidy appearances, they wore simple sweatpants and T-shirts.

Of course, Pang Mi-ryeong was used to seeing them like this.

It wasn’t the first or second time these two had barged into her dorm room.

Dang Gyu-young frowned slightly.

“Why did you take so long to open the door?”

“Why don’t you let me know before you come?”

“Then you’d just go back to sleep.”

“Ugh.”

Knowing that Dang Gyu-young would force her way in no matter what she said, Pang Mi-ryeong gave up and let them both inside.

The three of them pulled out a small table, gathered around it, and placed the tteokbokki in the center.

Even without touching it, the warm heat radiating from the dish made Pang Mi-ryeong feel a little better.

“Who bought this?”

“Byeong-cheol ordered it.”

“That guy’s quick on his feet.”

“He’s basically a promising student when it comes to running errands.”

Being friends with the president of the thieves club had its perks.

You could use an errand promising student to fetch tteokbokki for you.

The moment they opened the delivery container, all three of them let out sounds of admiration at the same time.

“Oh.”

“Wow…”

Inside was a vivid red tteokbokki that looked like molten lava, with a sharp spicy aroma spreading through the air.

Pang Mi-ryeong stirred it lightly with the ladle and let out another exclamation.

“Wow, the cheese is insane.”

“It’s like a waterfall.”

Casting aside all pretense, the three of them began devouring the Hellfire Cheese Waterfall Tteokbokki.

Even Jegal So-so who was usually so careful and calm attacked her food with surprising speed. Though she occasionally waved her hand to cool off from the heat.

“..…”

In the midst of all this, Dang Gyu-young gazed down at her plate with a faint smile.

Something about her expression carried a hint of melancholy, which prompted Pang Mi-ryeong to ask,

“Why are you getting sentimental again?”

“Hey, don’t you think this would taste amazing with dumplings?”

“Are you a genius?”

Now that she mentioned it, dipping fried dumplings or tempura into the tteokbokki sauce sounded perfect. Pang Mi-ryeong made a mental note to order some next time, while Jegal So-so tilted her head curiously.

“But why do you have such a wistful look on your face?”

“It’s just… I used to eat dumplings with Kim Ho. It reminded me of that.”

Pang Mi-ryeong and Jegal So-so exchanged glances.

Lately, Dang Gyu-young had been bringing up Kim Ho’s name and praising him more frequently than ever.

It seemed like she was just about to get started again today.

Still, Dang Gyu-young’s mention of the “Duck Egg Dumplings” she had near the end of the raid piqued considerable interest.

Even though Pang Mi-ryeong had entered the same dungeon, she hadn’t even glimpsed such a place, and the thought left her feeling regretful enough to complain needlessly.

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

“Would you have gone if I told you?”

“…Well, no.”

She was the raid team leader, after all.

With a dozen people under her command, she couldn’t afford even a moment of indulgence.

Until the very end, she had been too busy thoroughly investigating every corner of the Blood Ghost Blade Demon’s legacy.

No matter how delicious the dumplings might have been, fortuitous encounters like this always came first.

Dang Gyu-young nodded her head.

“Now that I think about it, I never even got to ask. What did you find in there?”

“One martial arts manual and this.”

Pang Mi-ryeong pulled a thick blade out of her inventory.

A red aura flowed faintly from the hilt to the blade’s sheath.

[Blood Ghost Blade (A)]

“…Wow.”

“It was worth all the trouble.”

Pang Mi-ryeong smiled in satisfaction as she put the Blood Ghost Blade back into her inventory.

Then she turned the question back to Dang Gyu-young.

“Didn’t you guys pick up a lot too?”

“Mhmm, a little of this and that.”

As Dang Gyu-young glanced toward Jegal So-so, she also pulled out an old book to show them.

It was none other than the “True Interpretations of Heavenly Formations” she had obtained from Kim Ho.

Of course, Dang Gyu-young had paid a price more than sufficient to satisfy him.

Afterward, she planned to study the so-called Ilusion Demon Formation with Kim Ho’s help.

Pang Mi-ryeong marveled aloud.

“That guy is impressive. Where does he even learn all this stuff?”

“He graduated over 200 times, apparently.”

Dang Gyu-young replied casually.

Naturally, the three of them weren’t naive enough to take those words at face value.

It seemed far more plausible that he had backing from one of the graduates.

Yet, they hadn’t even managed to catch a hint of who that backer might be or which group they belonged to.

Rather than dwelling on that unresolved mystery, Pang Mi-ryeong decided to satisfy a different curiosity.

Specifically, the relationship between Dang Gyu-young and Kim Ho.

“So, what’s the deal between you and him?”

“What do you mean, ‘deal’? We’re just good senior and junior, that’s all.”

“Didn’t you say you went on a camping trip with him recently?”

“Why not? And when did I ever say it was just camping? We entered a dungeon and took a short break, that’s all.”

Dang Gyu-young responded as if she was exasperated.

At that, Jegal So-so and Pang Mi-ryeong exchanged glances before each chimed in with a serious tone.

“Qyu, no matter how you spin it, seniors don’t go camping alone with juniors.”

“I’ve never gone into a dungeon with a junior either.”

However, Dang Gyu-young was not shaken by the combined attacks of the Swordsmanship Club members.

“Come on, can’t you take a cherished junior out to hang out? Am I the only one who does that?”

Just as Pang Mi-ryeong was about to retort, “Yes, you’re the only one,” Jegal So-so held her back momentarily.

Then, with an even more serious tone, she posed another question.

“Qyu, let’s be honest. Would you ever go on a trip like that with Byeong-cheol too?”

“..…!”

Dang Gyu-young flinched and clamped her mouth shut.

When she heard that, Pang Mi-ryeong felt like giving a standing ovation.

As expected of Jegal, she’s sharp as ever.

For Dang Gyu-young, there was no way to claim, “Shin Byeong-cheol isn’t a cherished junior,” nor could she admit, “Kim Ho is special.”

In situations like this, silence often spoke volumes.

It seemed Dang Gyu-young herself was aware of this, as her lips began to pout slightly.

Jegal So-so decided it was time to step back.

“In matters like this, pacing is key.”

Pushing too hard might cause Dang Gyu-young to close herself off completely.

That would mean losing one of her small sources of amusement, which was hardly worth it.

So she pretended to agree just enough to let her off the hook.

“You know, now that I think about it, it could just be a senior and junior who are a little closer than usual.”

“…Right?”

Dang Gyu-young’s expression softened a little, as though she liked how that was phrased.

Taking advantage of the moment, Jegal So-so casually slipped in her next question.

“So, what would you say is your junior’s most charming quality?”

She emphasized “junior” deliberately, hoping to lower her guard.

Dang Gyu-young furrowed her brow slightly and remained silent.

She herself had never really given this part much thought before.

Eventually, the answer that came out of her mouth was:

“His eyes are cute.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Jegal So-so and Paeng Mi-ryeong both froze. Their expressions momentarily turned blank.

Kim Ho’s face surfaced in their memories.

Fierce eyes, sinister eyes, scheming eyes plastered with hidden intentions. He literally had the eyes of a mastermind crafting dark plots.

…That’s cute?

Seriously?

Does she actually have this kind of taste?

Or is she so smitten that even that outweighs any preference?

Dang Gyu-young who was completely oblivious to their thoughts smiled brightly and added,

“The more you look, the cuter they get?”

***

TN: Oh wow!

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