The Support Ate it All

The place we arrived at was right in front of a large shopping complex.

It was a general store in the heart of the downtown area.

If the “Long Ears Magic Item Shop” focused solely on archery, woodcraft, and nature-type items used by elves, this place dealt in all kinds of items across the board.

And the quantity is insane.

Of course, that also meant the quality varied greatly, with some items being noticeably inferior.

At “Long Ears Magic Item Shop”, all we had to do was take a quick look at the A-rank section, and we were done. But here, we had to sift through an entire building filled with items to find anything worthwhile.

Naturally, that took time, and luck and a keen eye played a major role.

Not that I was too concerned about that.

If it’s about having a good eye, that’s my specialty.

Besides, I had my lucky sloth with me, so we might finish sooner than expected.

And as a bonus—

“Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“H-Huh…?”

“Planning to buy something?”

“No…? Not really…?”

—I had a portable lighter Hong Yeon-hwa tagging along too.

She had followed us here despite insisting she had nothing to buy.

Judging by how she kept glancing at us more than the displayed items, she was probably curious about what we were looking for.

Well, no need to chase her off.

The items I was after were related to my own power-ups, but it wasn’t like they were some top-secret information that needed to be hidden.

Besides, there was always a chance she could help in an unexpected way.

So I decided to let Hong Yeon-hwa stick around.

I spoke to Seo Ye-in who was standing next to me.

“Lucky Charm radar, activate.”

“Whiiiin—”

Seo Ye-in imitated the sound of a radar in her usual monotone voice.

She slowly looked to the left, then to the right, tilted her head slightly, and finally pointed toward the stairs.

“Whiiiin.”

“You’re saying we should go up?”

“Whiiiin.”

I stepped onto the stairs, following the direction of the Lucky Charm radar, while Hong Yeon-hwa trailed behind us with a doubtful expression, as if unsure if this was the right way. ṜаŊÖᛒΕʂ

As soon as we reached the next floor, Seo Ye-in adjusted her bearings once again.

“Whiiiin.”

“There, huh?”

The spot she pointed to had a display of ice-element items.

Curious about what had caught her attention, I was about to take a look when Seo Ye-in suddenly stopped in her tracks before reaching the display case.

“…….”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s cold.”

She even took a step back.

Since all the ice-element items were gathered in one place, the area around them was noticeably chilly.

Considering how much Seo Ye-in hated the cold, it made sense that she wouldn’t want to get any closer.

I spoke casually.

“Then just wait there. I’ll take a quick look.”

“Mhmm…….”

The Lucky Charm radar had already done its job.

There was no need to drag her in against her will.

So I had her sit on a nearby sofa and walked over to the display case alone to browse through the items.

While I was scanning the shelves, Hong Yeon-hwa hesitantly approached me and asked,

“What… are you looking for?”

“I’m focusing on penalty reduction. Cooldown reduction would be even better.”

“Cooldown reduction….”

Hong Yeon-hwa muttered to herself and shifted her attention to the other side of the screen, seemingly trying to help me find something.

[Ice Princess Tiara]

[Mini Ice Skull]

We silently examined various items for a while until I noticed Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly freeze in place.

Peeking over her shoulder, I asked,

“Did you find something?”

“Uh, no. I don’t think so.”

“What is it?”

Even if she had misread something, there must have been a reason she stopped like that.

Thinking it would be best to check, I moved closer. Hong Yeon-hwa hesitated for a moment before cautiously raising her hand and pointing to a section of the display case.

“That one… over there.”

A chunk of ice, about the size of a child’s fist.

A peculiar feature of the item was that it had hour, minute, and second hands trapped inside. Just like a clock.

[Frozen Time Crystal (B)]

▷ Slightly reduces cooldown time upon use

▷ Can only be used for ice-type skills/traits

▷ Cannot be used multiple times

Nice find, Sloth Radar.

It was exactly the kind of cooldown reduction item I had been searching for.

The only drawback was that it could only be used for ice-type abilities.

“Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“H-Huh?”

“Nice job.”

“……?”

Hong Yeon-hwa looked puzzled, but her expression brightened as if she was happy to be praised.

I took the Frozen Time Crystal to Seo Ye-in.

She had dozed off in the meantime, but she groggily opened her eyes as I approached.

“Young miss, this is the one.”

“Paying.”

Seo Ye-in who trusted that I had chosen well barely glanced at the item before pulling out her black card.

The payment was completed in the blink of an eye, and then I called for Hong Yeon-hwa again.

“Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“……?”

“Melt this for me.”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s unique trait. Aqua Flame.

It had an overwhelming advantage against ice-type elements, capable of melting most frozen objects instantly.

“…….”

Perhaps feeling slighted at being treated like a portable lighter again, Hong Yeon-hwa hesitated for a moment. But when I silently stared at her, she reluctantly lowered her gaze.

Then she lifted her index finger.

—Fwoosh…

A tiny flicker of flame appeared. It was timid like her gesture but its effect was anything but small.

The moment it touched the Frozen Time Crystal, the ice melted away, turning into mist and vanishing completely.

In the next instant, only the hour, minute, and second hands remained, floating above Hong Yeon-hwa’s palm.

[Time Crystal (B+)]

▷ Slightly reduces cooldown time of skills/traits upon use

▷ Cannot be used multiple times

A hidden piece related to some “frozen” items.

The crystal was already useful as it was, but by melting it with Aqua Flames, its restriction could be erased.

I turned to Hong Yeon-hwa and thanked her.

“Thanks. This thing is B-rank, so it’s not easy to melt, but you did it in one go.”

“N-No, I didn’t really do much….”

Hong Yeon-hwa waved her hands dismissively, but the corners of her lips were already twitching.

She was still terrible at hiding her expressions.

Since I had obtained the Time Crystal, I decided to use it right away.

Although [Amplification] and [Enchantment] also required cooldown management, the most urgent priority at the moment was [Hardship].

Its cooldown lasted an entire week, and since it wasn’t a ranked skill to begin with, it couldn’t even be improved.

[Activated ‘Time Crystal’.]

[The cooldown time of ‘Hardship’ has been reduced.]

▷ 7 days → 6 days

It was only a slight reduction, but given that the base cooldown was a full week, shaving off a day made a noticeable difference.

This would make scheduling future plans much easier.

Even when chaining it with [Octopus Limbs], it wouldn’t be as suffocating.

After that, I spent the rest of the day wandering around the downtown area with Seo Ye-in. By the time we returned to the dormitory, the sun was nearly set.

***

Hong Yeon-hwa stepped into the Ruby Magic Tower clubroom.

Her older sister Hong Ye-hwa gave her a strange look.

Feeling irritated by the persistent gaze following her, Hong Yeon-hwa finally asked,

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Did something good happen?”

She hadn’t realized it herself, but from the moment she entered the room, a silly smile had been plastered on her face.

As always, her emotions were written all over her expression.

Hong Yeon-hwa who was still smiling responded,

“Well… just because. Here, eat some bread, unnie.”

With that, she plopped a bakery bag onto the desk.

Hong Ye-hwa peeked inside and pulled out a Hellfire Pizza Bun.

“This is unusual. How thoughtful of you.”

“I thought of you, that’s all.”

“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”

Hong Ye-hwa took a bite of the Hellfire bun while clearly pleased.

She nodded her head slowly as if savoring the taste.

Under normal circumstances, she would have been scrambling for water right away. But, as expected, both sisters had an unusually high tolerance for spicy food.

It seemed like a warm and pleasant atmosphere was settling in, but suddenly, a thought flashed through Hong Ye-hwa’s mind.

“But how did you buy this?”

“What do you mean, how? I bought it at the bakery.”

“I mean, how did you even get in?”

The bakery in the downtown area only sold its goods in very limited quantities at the student cafeteria.

Entering the bakery to buy bread or have a meal there was impossible without a special coupon.

And those coupons were so rare that even Hong Ye-hwa, a third-year club president, had trouble getting her hands on one. The fact that her sister had somehow managed to get one was bound to raise suspicion.

Although Hong Yeon-hwa was starting to sense an ominous feeling from her sister’s tone, she decided to answer honestly.

“Well… I didn’t get it myself. I ate there with someone.”

“With who?”

“…Kim Ho?”

“……”

Hong Ye-hwa blinked twice.

Then she put down the half-eaten Hellfire pizza bun, got up, took a step, and then another toward her younger sister.

One of her hands slowly began to flicker with flames, as if she were about to unleash her signature Flaming Back Smash.

Sensing this immediately, Hong Yeon-hwa quickly took a defensive stance and backed away.

“Wh-Why are you doing this? Why?”

“You said you didn’t like him. And now you’re out on a date in the city?”

“It wasn’t a date!”

“If you ate together, just the two of you, that’s a date!”

Hong Ye-hwa kept closing the distance.

Hong Yeon-hwa retreated further and further until she found herself pressed against the clubroom wall.

But that didn’t mean she had nothing to say in her defense.

She quickly spoke up.

“I-It wasn’t just the two of us!”

“Oh yeah? Then who else?”

“Seo Ye-in was there too.”

“Seo Ye-in?”

Hong Ye-hwa’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

It wasn’t a name she was hearing for the first time.

As she carefully traced back her memories, she soon recalled that she was an opponent her younger sister had faced multiple times in duel battles.

Since she was a marksman class, most of those matches had ended in Hong Yeon-hwa’s defeat due to the unfavorable matchup.

Now that she thought about it, she also remembered hearing that Kim Ho and Seo Ye-in often stuck together.

Hong Ye-hwa asked,

“What’s going on between those two? Are they dating?”

“How would I know?”

“Ask him.”

This time, Hong Yeon-hwa snapped.

“Why should I ask that?”

“Why can’t you?”

“Why are you so nosy about other people’s business?”

“Because of you! You!”

Who Kim Ho dated was none of Hong Ye-hwa’s concern.

However, if Kim Ho and Seo Ye-in really were in a relationship, then her younger sister would have no chance to squeeze in between them.

That meant there would be less to worry about when it came to distractions from romance.

So, Hong Ye-hwa spoke in a calm, reasoning tone.

“It’s something you can bring up naturally in conversation.”

“…….”

“If you really can’t do it, then forget it.”

She had no intention of forcing the issue if it made her sister too uncomfortable.

Besides, there was always the option of finding out later on her own.

Meanwhile, Hong Yeon-hwa furrowed her brows slightly and was lost in thought.

Honestly… I am curious.

The two of them were always together, teaming up in both duel battles and strategy battles.

If they hadn’t run into her in the city, they probably would have spent the whole time together.

By that logic, wasn’t it just like her sister said…a date?

Were they really dating?

But then, there also seemed to be something going on between him and senior Dang Gyu-young.

So what about those two?

Should I really ask…?

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