Clumsy Teamwork
"Quickly, no time left."
"W-wait a sec!"
Thud!
I grabbed Kim Chan-yong by the collar as he stood there dazed, watching where Shin Yong had flown. He flailed in surprise.
"Urgh!"
"Kiyaaaaah────!!"
Boom─!
It landed dead-on target again. The performance is solid.
"Next."
"Hrk."
Noah met my eyes and started backing away.
"Ga-eul, calm down."
Thud!
"What calm."
"Eek!"
"Urgh!"
"Uwaaaaaah──────!!"
Boom─!
Right on target, as expected.
"Baek Seol, I'm jumping. Hold on tight."
"Eung!"
Bang!
The moment I kicked off the ground, the wind split and my body shot skyward.
Whoooosh!
The wind sliced sharply past my ears.
"Fun!"
High Wind
Bang!
Stepping on another wind platform mid-air, I crossed to the far side of the vertical cliff in an instant.
"Made it."
Where I landed lightly, the three guys were waiting, staring blankly at me.
—Chik, chik.
"Phew— What are you staring at."
"Y-you… what the hell are you?"
Shin Yong asked in a trembling voice. The top student I'd observed for a short while was always ice-cold and sharp. From the sidelines, though, his seriousness was just funny. Still, his effort was genuine and bright. I had no urge to mock him. As long as he didn't get on my nerves, he was a decent guy.
"Academy bottom-ranker, Han Ga-eul."
"·····."
"I already told you I'm a supporter. Have you guys ever seen a supporter like me?"
All three shook their heads at once.
"Right? This is what a supporter can do. You've just never seen one before, so it feels weird."
"Is… that it?"
Whether I wanted to hear it or not, the same story always came up. Supporters specialized in support magic were extremely rare. In this world, supporters were practically a separate profession from mages. Mages could learn support spells and supporters could learn attack magic, but the efficiency was terrible either way. So most mages poured everything into high-firepower attack magic. Supporters, on the other hand, couldn't do anything alone. Learning even one spell properly already took forever, so nobody wasted time on inefficient support magic. Religious healing based on holy power was still wrapped in mystery, unlike the regeneration-focused healing of magic studies. That was why supporters who bet their lives on support magic were considered an endangered species.
"Throwing people counts as supporter magic?"
Shin Yong tried to nitpick, clearly unconvinced.
"Get up. How long are you planning to sit on the ground?"
Only then did he dust himself off and stand. His face was covered in dirt, but he didn't look seriously hurt. When Baek Seol's mother had turned everyone into frozen statues, there were exhausted people but no injuries. She must have held back her strength, but awakened ones really were tough.
"Let's move. This is a time attack, remember."
The team nodded. At this pace we had probably pulled far ahead of the others. The sheer malice in that perfectly vertical cliff was obvious. Every team had at least one physically weak burden, so the rest were probably struggling hard right now.
"Hold on."
The three guys who had stood up looked like a mess. When I pulled a water bottle out of my subspace, Yong-yong and Noah's eyes went wide.
"Hrk. I-it's real space magic!"
"Yeah, yeah. It's real, so spray your faces and drink the rest."
"Supporter···· huh?"
Whatever he was thinking, Shin Yong got serious again by himself.
"Save the nonsense for later. Drink."
"Got it."
Shin Yong nodded and chugged the water. Gulp, gulp, gulp. The guy drank like he was dying of thirst.
"Haa, that hit the spot. Let's go."
"Come here."
The three who had been ready to move again walked over. A soft chime rang out.
Subspace accessed
When I took out wet wipes, they looked surprised all over again.
"Faces."
Shin Yong, still acting like the leader, stuck his face out first. I wiped the dust away with one wipe.
"Done. Next."
"Thanks."
Even though I held the pack out to Kim Chan-yong, he just leaned his face in.
"Are you a kid?"
I pulled out another wipe and cleaned his face. Then Noah, waiting behind him, pushed his face forward too.
"Are you kids or what?"
"Thanks, Ga-eul."
After wiping every inch of their faces, they looked clean again.
—Chik, chik.
"Phew— Now let's move."
"Cut down on the smoking."
We were doing fine until he went off on a tangent again.
"My mouth gets dry. Let's go."
Shin Yong shook his head and took the lead once more.
Following leader Shin Yong's pace, a strange feeling soon crept over us.
"Am I the only one feeling hot?"
At Kim Chan-yong's mutter, the whole party stopped. Shin Yong, who had been walking ahead, turned around too. Everyone's faces were drenched in sweat.
"No, it's not your imagination. The temperature really has risen."
Shin Yong looked around and nodded. From what I'd felt while crossing the cave, this place wasn't designed with monster combat in mind. The only enemies were feeble magic golems that couldn't last even a few seconds against the three guys—one appearing at a time.
"Still, we have to keep going."
At Shin Yong's words, everyone nodded. This wasn't a maze; it was a straight tunnel with a fixed path. Being completely enclosed on all sides gave an unsettling feeling of isolation.
"Anyone claustrophobic would lose it in here."
"The professor emphasized the environment the most. He wanted us to realize that in dungeons, the environment can be just as dangerous as monsters."
The farther we walked down the single path, the hotter the air became. The temperature that had been rising gradually was now climbing sharply. Environment, monster threats, poor teamwork—everything converged into one truth: you only have one life. What on earth had they done to this cave behind the school mountain? No matter how far we walked, there was no end. After the same environment dragged on for over an hour, the team members were visibly exhausted.
"Stop!"
At my single word, the three halted.
"····Why?"
They all looked terrible.
"Let's rest for a bit. As leader, you should check on your teammates' condition first."
Shin Yong glanced at Noah and Chan-yong, then nodded.
"I was lacking. I apologize."
He suddenly bowed his head deeply. I wondered what kind of life he'd lived to still have this kind of innocence left.
"I'm fine, Yong."
"Haha. Me too."
"Everyone shut up and sit in front of me. Talking wastes stamina."
The three rushed over and sat down. They must have been burning up inside—warmth radiated from them the moment they got close.
A soft chime rang out.
Subspace accessed
I took out a glass cup and poured water into it. A pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, and a squeeze of lemon juice finished the mix.
"Baek Seol, can you make some ice?"
"Magic!"
"Eung eung, it's magic. Baek Seol's so cool, right?"
"Eung!"
Seeing Baek Seol's parents made me finally understand why the kid was so resistant to both heat and cold.
"Make it solid."
"Eung!"
Baek Seol moved her front paws like she was building a snowman and dropped a chunk of ice into my hand. Dropping the ice into the juice completed the lemonade.
Clink.
Cold droplets formed on the outside of the clear glass.
"Here, drink one each."
"Whoa, awesome. Thanks, Ga-eul."
"Never thought I'd drink lemonade in a place like this. Thanks."
"Thanks."
Starting with Noah, they each spoke and then gulped it down.
"Baek Seol, want some fruit drink too?"
"Good!"
I set out a small disposable plate, poured lemonade into it, and she lapped it up happily. Gulp, gulp.
"Kruh. I feel alive again."
"Haha, right."
They set their empty cups down and smiled. Their faces finally looked a little more relaxed. Being all close-range fighters, they had zero way to handle sudden environmental changes.
"Here. One each."
When I held out candy, they just stared.
"What's this?"
"The drink was an electrolyte beverage. This is glucose candy."
"You really carry everything, huh."
"I'm a supporter."
"····Right."
Shin Yong just stared at the candy. Rustle.
"Ah, you little— Open up."
When I held the candy out to Shin Yong, who had only been watching, he opened his mouth.
"Thanks. I can't carry everything since I don't have space magic."
I didn't know why he sounded so self-deprecating over something so small. Just the fact that he carried a rope in his bag was already impressive.
"Mr. Hwang said it—teamwork. Why try to carry everything alone?"
Shin Yong, who had been drooping, suddenly brightened up again.
"You're right."
They were still just kids.
"Me too, ah!"
Kim Chan-yong opened his mouth.
"Are you a kid?"
"Ga-eul, me too."
"No, seriously, are you kids?"
They were growing so fast overnight that I could barely recognize them.
"Let's move."
"I want a cold beer."
"Haha, me too."
"Let's grab a drink after we get out. My treat."
"Ooh!"
"Move out!"
About thirty minutes after we started walking again, the temperature kept climbing.
"There!"
Baek Seol, tucked in my arms, perked up her ears.
"Something's over there?"
"Wind!"
Thanks to the winding tunnel, nothing was visible yet.
"Looks like wind's blowing from ahead."
"Is that the familiar's ability?"
"Baek Seol's the one who sensed it, but it's not a familiar."
"Huh? Familiar····"
Shin Yong, still leading, raised his arm in a hand signal.
"There's a cavity ahead."
"Cavity?"
Peeking around the bend, I saw exactly what he meant—a massive underground chamber. Something was embedded in the center.
"That hot wind is coming from there."
Before I knew it, all three guys were peeking out beside me.
"There are tons of magic golems too?"
Just as Kim Chan-yong said, over twenty magic golems were spread out around the device spewing hot wind. Unlike the single ones we'd seen before, these were arranged in a defensive formation, guarding the heater-like object. I could also sense human presences behind several large rocks. The instructors were probably placed here expecting most students to drop out.
"This is obviously the final gate. Let's finish it quick and get out."
The three nodded.
"While you guys smash the golems, I'll shut off the heater."
"Can you?"
"Hmm."
"Magic!"
"Baek Seol can do it?"
"Eung!"
Baek Seol, heavily influenced by her mother, was a rabbit who could use ice magic too. I figured we could trust her.
"Let's go. She says she can."
At my signal, the three drew their swords and charged without a moment's hesitation. They really were pretty cool.
"Baek Seol, you ready?"
"Eung!"
Baek Seol climbed onto my shoulder and closed her eyes tightly. At the same time, the energy inside me flowed toward her.
Whoooosh─!
A sudden cool wind swept through the chamber.
"Did Baek Seol do that?"
Baek Seol trembled once while concentrating.
North Wind Blows
"Wow, whose rabbit is this talented?"
Snow Falls
Not only did cool wind blow, but snowflakes began to flutter as well. The energy inside me kept flowing into Baek Seol the whole time.
"Our little fluffball's the best. Think that's enough now."
The heater was already useless.
A Severe Cold Wave Arrives
Whoooosh─!
"Baek Seol, you're too cool. Shall we stop now?"
The energy that had been flowing without shortage now poured into her excessively.
General Winter Arrives
"Wait, wait! Baek Seol, too much!"
"Harsh Winter"
Crack. Crack crack─!
"Ukyaaaak!!"
