The Support Ate it All

Chapter 278: No. 50 Teleportation Labyrinth (4)

Its true identity was, of course, the dimensional crow.

The creature circled once through the air before settling on a branch of the ancient tree.

For beings that traveled dimensions, spatial dungeons like this one were both a homeland and a vacation retreat.

The Teleportation Labyrinth was no exception. The crows make their own hideouts in a few very remote rooms among the hundreds of rooms and stop by every now and then to rest.

Of course, this time, this dimensional crow hadn’t come to rest. It had sensed someone trespassing in its retreat and had come to investigate.

The creature before me looked slightly different from the “Tailor” I had encountered at the Rainbow Lake.

This one wore an old pointed hat on its head and held a crooked wooden staff in one hand.

The “Grand Sage Crow”.

Among the various kinds of dimensional crows, it was the most adept at magic.

Even so, the Grand Sage’s reaction upon seeing me wasn’t all that different from the Tailor’s.

It flapped its wings in apparent curiosity and asked,

“Caw. Young Monarch, how did you find your way here?”

“I didn’t come here on purpose.”

In situations like this, it was better to maintain an air of mystery than to admit to any ulterior motives.

“I just happened to pass by and decided to stop in when I noticed something.”

“Caw, is that so? A young monarch is still a monarch, indeed!”

The Grand Sage Crow seemed to accept my explanation easily.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

One small perk of being regarded as a monarch was that even unusual actions could be dismissed with a casual, “Because they’re a monarch.”

Before it could ask me another question, I decided to take the initiative.

Feigning interest, I looked at the ancient tree and asked,

“So, what is this place for?”

“It is a place for studying magic, caw.”

The crow lightly tapped the branch it was perched on with its staff.

At that moment, the ancient tree revealed its true nature.

Its appearance shifted. It grew translucent and dark, yet it was faintly glowing which was a paradoxical sight.

It was like gazing into the night sky itself.

It must be some kind of medium for spatial magic.

Such things had been planted not only here but also in other hidden rooms and dungeons.

This just went to show the dimensional crows’ incredible power.

Still, I nodded nonchalantly.

“That makes sense. But this place seems to have bad energy.”

“Caw, it was good until recently. Now, it’s not.”

“Because of the Witch?”

“That’s right.”

This dungeon must have been left unattended for a long time.

Being an A-rank dungeon, its difficulty was immense, so unless a team of exceptionally skilled individuals was gathered, no one would even dare to attempt it.

And being a labyrinth only makes it less appealing.

In such a peaceful place, the sudden invasion of the Witch of Corruption, releasing hordes of Dark Ooblecks, would certainly have been unpleasant to the dimensional crows.

I asked as if the answer were obvious.

“Why not just blow her away? You could do it easily.”

“Caw. Young Monarch, you speak so recklessly. That is not our way.”

Dimensional crows were neutral by nature.

Even someone like the Witch of Corruption would be no match for them if they decided to fight, but unless the other party crossed the line first, they wouldn’t attack.

The Witch of Corruption knew this, which was why she left the hidden rooms untouched.

“Still, she seems to be bothering you.”

“That’s true. Will you take care of it for us?”

“I could, as long as I’m properly compensated.”

After all, taking care of annoying tasks for others always came with a price.

The Grand Sage Crow seemed to agree and asked,

“Caw, what do you want in return?”

“Nothing too much. Just one branch from the tree. It’d be even better if you gave it upfront.”

At my words, the Grand Sage Crow flapped its wings as if it was startled.

Then, in a tone of growing curiosity, it asked,

“How did you know about that?”

“Who do you think I am?”

I couldn’t exactly tell it that I was a stagnant water of this game, so I deployed the usual “Monarch’s vague authority” strategy once more.

The Grand Sage Crow once again seemed to agree easily.

“Caw, is that so! But, young Monarch, don’t you think your request is a bit greedy?”

“I’d prefer if you thought of it as an investment. After all, we’ll be seeing each other often in the future.”

“……”

It gazed down at me and was lost in thought for a while.

I maintained an attitude of indifference while meeting its gaze without flinching as if to say, “Take it or leave it.”

After some time, the crow seemed to come to a decision. Its beak opened.

“Caw, fine. I’ll consider it an investment.”

Then, it slowly moved toward the edge of the old tree, snapped off a branch with its beak, and tossed it in my direction.

The branch was thin, scraggly, and about two palm lengths long. It looked nothing impressive at first glance.

However, when the Grand Sage lightly waved its staff, the branch transformed.

It was no longer an ordinary, unimpressive stick; like the ancient tree it came from, it now shimmered with starlight from the night sky.

[Crow’s Branch (S)]

▷ Caw—!

▷ Usage Limit (1/1)

This was the first S-rank item I had obtained since entering this game world. Its power and value were extraordinary.

Still, I kept my calm and maintained my “Monarch” persona. Without showing any excitement, I casually collected the branch.

“Thank you. I’ll put it to good use.”

“I’ll be watching you, young Monarch!”

“Consider it already taken care of.”

“Caw—!”

With that, the crow great sage jumped up, circled the air once, and disappeared.

It had crossed over to another dimension.

Only then did I turn to the two bystanders who had silently observed everything. Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so.

“It’s gone.”

“…….”

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Dang Gyu-young’s lips.

Her playful demeanor pointed at what she was about to say.

“Here we go again.”

“Yoooung~ Moooonarch~! Flap-flap-flap~!”

Dang Gyu-young mimicked flapping wings with her hands.

Even Jegal So-so seemed amused and joined in, attacking me from both sides alongside Dang Gyu-young.

“Young Monarch~!”

“Youuuuung Monarch~!”

“Youuuuung—”

Until now, I had thought of Jegal So-so as a composed and serious strategist type. Apparently, even she had a mischievous side to her.

If I didn’t stop them, this nonsense could go on all day. So, I decided to end it here.

“That’s enough, both of you. It’s making me dizzy.”

At my words, Jegal So-so dropped the teasing and returned to her usual calm demeanor.

However, her eyes still sparkled with curiosity.

“What kind of item is that? Considering it was given by the Dimensional Crow, it doesn’t seem ordinary.”

“It’s an item that will play a decisive role in this dungeon.”

“Really? What does it do?”

“It’s hard to explain everything right now, but it’s space-related.”

That meant that despite being a single-use item, it had to be incredibly powerful.

This time, Dang Gyu-young asked a question.

“You got that as a reward for clearing the dungeon?”

“Something like that.”

“But weren’t we going to clear the dungeon anyway?”

“That’s true, too.”

“…Wow, that’s like pure profit.”

Even though we had fallen into the Witch of Corruption’s trap, the academy’s resources were still formidable.

Just considering the staff alone, there were more than just a few of them.

Even without my help in this strategy, there was a high probability they would succeed.

Once the dungeon was cleared and reset, the messy Dark Ooblecks scattered everywhere would also be cleaned up.

In essence, it was like selling water from the Taedong River.

Of course, I had my own justification.

“As you might have guessed from what I said, it’s partly an investment. And even if the dungeon’s going to be cleared anyway, it’s better to do it efficiently.”

“Hmm, that makes sense too.”

Dang Gyu-young nodded her head in agreement.

Currently, the subjugation team was scattered, fighting Ooblecks across various locations. In the process, casualties could occur at any time.

If we used the Crow Branch to clear the dungeon more efficiently, we could reduce the damage accordingly.

Jegal So-so raised an important question next.

“How do we use it?”

“There aren’t any specific conditions, but since it’s single-use, it’s best to save it for a truly critical moment.”

“You mean in the boss room.”

“That would be best.”

With the Crow Branch secured, it was time to refocus on the original goal.

To reach the boss room as quickly as possible.

***

After finishing our preparations, we left the hidden room and began navigating the dungeon once more.

Just like before, thanks to Dang Gyu-young’s stealth ability, we managed to bypass most rooms without engaging in combat.

But tricks like that always have their limits.

As soon as we stepped into the next room via the teleportation portal—

Clank.

A hulking Oobleck knight spun around to face us.

The knight which had likely absorbed several others had six arms. Five of them held longswords, while one gripped a staff.

A mage mixed in, huh?

Despite Dang Gyu-young’s stealth still being active, the creature walked directly toward us, as if it could see through the ability.

Dang Gyu-young asked cautiously.

“…Do you think we’ve been spotted?”

“Yes, we’ve been spotted.”

This was a type that could detect stealth.

Once the Oobleck knight determined we were within its range, it began swinging all five longswords wildly.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

Pitch-black sword energy rained down in every direction.

We dodged by throwing ourselves out of the way.

Jegal So-so deflected some of the incoming sword energies while dodging others, and then asked,

“Do we tie it down again this time?”

“Yes, same plan as before.”

Just as we had done against the greatsword-archer combo, Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so would immobilize the enemy while I attacked with Inferno Fist.

This one looks like it’ll be harder, though.

Unlike before, the creature’s type was closer to a ranged fighter.

Instead of using its longswords for melee attacks, it launched sword energy from them while darting around the room at incredible speed to control the distance.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

To make matters worse, its numerous arms created an overwhelming barrage of sword energy, leaving barely any gaps to evade.

The staff appeared to be for support, casting buffs like increased sword energy and enhanced movement speed.

Jegal So-so weaved through the oncoming sword energy using her movement technique. She steadily closed the gap between herself and the Oobleck knight.

She struck smoothly with a combination of thrusts and slashes, but the creature merely staggered momentarily before quickly retreating to widen the distance again.

Next, Dang Gyu-young made a gesture, causing the ground beneath the creature to ripple as shadow spikes erupted upwards.

However, the knight’s rapid movements allowed it to narrowly avoid them, leaving only scratches on its armor.

“This isn’t easy.”

“Stay calm.”

“I know.”

Jegal So-so continued her relentless pursuit while I used wind magic to restrain the creature, and Dang Gyu-young summoned more shadow butterflies one by one.

Together, the three of us gradually pressured the Oobleck knight and started cornering it bit by bit.

Flash!

Suddenly, a brilliant light filled one corner of the room, and from that radiance, three people emerged.

It was a faculty member, Jeong Chong-myeong, and Kim Gap-doo.

By some stroke of luck, their teleportation portal had opened into this very room.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

The blind sword energy flew toward them, but Jeong Chong-myeong calmly raised a translucent barrier to block the attack.

Kim Gap-doo quickly surveyed the scene. He glanced between the Oobleck knight and us, then stepped forward decisively after assessing the situation.

“So there were others here already. Allow me to join you.”