The Support Ate it All

[Ghost Dance]

▷ Moves quickly over a set distance.

▷ While moving, evasion rate and stealth are significantly increased.

Ghost Dance was a hybrid skill that combined movement, evasion, and stealth.

Usually, the effects of hybrid skills tend to be somewhat mediocre when examined individually, but this one was exceptional in all three aspects, much like Spiral Explosion.

It delivers outstanding power no matter which class uses it, but it pairs especially well with thieves or assassins who benefit from the element of surprise.

Its drawbacks were that it couldn’t be ranked up, so growth was impossible, and it had a 5-minute cooldown.

This meant it could only be used at most twice per battle, so it was best to use it strategically.

As for its actual performance, I would test it out when the opportunity arises.

The usual method is to send the second participant back into the trial when you return to the clearing where the party members were fighting.

After the second person completes the Illusion Demon’s trial and acquires Ghost Dance, then the third person enters, and so on.

But I didn’t find this approach all that appealing.

It’s inefficient.

I may have passed the trial in a single attempt since I’ve completed it so many times I could practically do it with my eyes closed, but it’s impossible to predict how long it will take others.

With their talent, they’ll likely get the hang of it in two or three tries, but if all four have to go through it—

It will take far too long.

During this time, we would have to withstand the relentless attacks of the masked men in black, which would take a heavy toll on our stamina.

I think it would be far more efficient to save my time and stamina for gathering other hidden items and to leave learning Ghost Dance for later.

The question remained, though. How could we delay the Illusion Demon’s trial?

There was a very simple answer.

Just take it with me.

It sounded ridiculous but I could do it.

To be exact, I had a cheat item that could make it possible.

It was the statue of Dharma, which I’d been keeping temporarily in my inventory.

When I took it out and brought it close to the goblin statue—

Srrrkk…

The large statue that was once bigger than a person began to shrink rapidly. It deflated like a balloon until it was no larger than the palm of my hand.

This is its true size.

It had only appeared larger due to the illusion formation, but now that the Dharma statue had partially dispelled the effect, its real form was revealed.

I placed the miniature goblin statue into my inventory, then repeated the process, shrinking and collecting the other statues in the same way.

Before long, only the marble floor remained in the hall.

These statues weren’t just decorative. They were key components of the illusion formation.

If you set them up properly, you can recreate the Illusion Demon’s formation and take the trial.

In other words, the others could access the trial and acquire Ghost Dance even outside the bamboo forest, or even beyond the dungeon itself.

Though there’s still a limit on how many times it can be used.

After all, they had durability.

But at least I could take them with me. That was something.

With that thought in mind, I retraced my steps back along the side path.

When I arrived at the clearing, the battle was already in full swing.

The masked men in black attacked like well-trained elite warriors, and each member of the group responded in their own way.

Dang Gyu-young positioned herself protectively around Chae Da-bin and took on most of the combat herself.

Shadow arms rose from the ground, wielding a variety of shadow weapons to bring down the enemies.

Chae Da-bin focused less on attacking directly and more on supporting her allies; small drones flew around, casting shields or buffs here and there.

As expected, she’s a support type.

Go Hyeon-woo’s skills had been improving noticeably by the day, and recently, he’d been practicing his movement technique through the three-in-one training method.

He slipped between the masked figures with smooth, flowing movements, and weaved his way through them as he swung his sword.

Jang Moo-geuk focused mainly on evasion and defense, but at decisive moments, he would land a single fatal strike to the masked figures’ necks or chests.

During this intense exchange, Dang Gyu-young noticed me stepping out from the side path and called out to me.

“Is it done?”

“Yes, I’ve got it.”

I pulled out one of the goblin statues and continued,

“Let’s head out now.”

“Okay.”

With a smooth wave of Dang Gyu-young’s hand, the shadow arms collapsed all at once and rippled forward like a wave to push back the enemies.

Boom—!

A gap instantly opened in the encirclement.

Seizing that moment, we swiftly escaped from the clearing.

As we ran, Chae Da-bin paused to look back and remarked in amazement,

“…It’s all gone.”

The clearing had already been completely cleared out.

It was as if the intense battle we’d just fought had been nothing but a lie.

That was because it had all been an illusion, crafted by the formation.

Now that we were outside its range, it couldn’t affect us anymore.

Of course, there were also formations set along the exit path, so I extended my hand to Dang Gyu-young.

“Hold on tight; the round-trip train is departing.”

“Departing~”

Dang Gyu-young quickly took my hand with a smile.

Just like when we entered, we walked in single file, hand in hand.

As we walked with the Dharma statue and my veteran’s senses in front, the thick fog gradually lifted, and the dense bamboo forest began to thin out.

We had exited the bamboo grove.

Once we were safely outside, everyone gathered around me.

Dang Gyu-young, Jang Moo-geuk, and Go Hyeon-woo each spoke up.

“Show us that thing from before.”

“Are we really going to learn from that?”

“I’m curious too.”

Chae Da-bin didn’t say anything, but she hovered nearby. She was clearly interested.

I took out one goblin statue and one demon statue from my inventory.

“Just look with your eyes. If they get scratched, it’ll reduce the number of attempts we have.”

“…….!”

“…….!”

When I said that, everyone who had been about to touch the statues quickly pulled their hands back as if they got burned.

I continued my explanation.

“The Ghost Dance trial will be arranged after we finish clearing this dungeon. Everyone will have a fair chance.”

“Okay.”

“Looking forward to it.”

Since we agreed on this from the start, everyone readily accepted.

Now that it was time to focus on retrieving the remaining hidden pieces, we set off again.

The demons of the [Gathering of Villains] had a tendency to act on their own whims, yet their zones of operation and movement paths were fairly predictable.

To avoid clashing with them, the best strategy was to steer clear of those areas.

So, even though my next destination was within the city, I chose to take a long detour around the outskirts.

Then suddenly—

Whoosh—!

A sharp sound cut through the air as if tearing the sky itself.

When we turned to locate the source of the sound, we saw two demons scurrying nimbly across the rooftops. They were jumping quickly from one structure to the next.

Go Hyeon-woo and Jang Moo-geuk each made a comment.

“Amazing movement technique.”

“Are those the demons we heard about? They don’t look easy to deal with.”

Meanwhile, my thoughts were a little different.

Why are they here?

Their usual area was quite a distance from this place.

That could only mean some unexpected development had occurred, and that likely pointed to the Pang Mi-ryeong raid team as the cause.

Moreover, the fact that these two were still alive meant—

Looks like something’s gone wrong.

It also implied that Pang Mi-ryeong’s side had likely made a mistake somewhere.

Perhaps thinking along similar lines, Dang Gyu-young turned to me and asked.

“What do you think?”

“No need to provoke them. Let’s just leave them alone.”

Our current fighting strength was barely enough for a B-rank dungeon, so it was best to avoid unnecessary combat and conserve our resources.

If they chose a peaceful path, I planned to let them go their way.

But—

They’re coming.

Unfortunately, it seemed they had other ideas.

They changed course and started heading directly toward us with quick strides.

The hostility radiating from them left little room for doubt about their intentions.

I gave instructions to the group.

“Looks like we’ll have to fight. Get ready.”

“……!”

Everyone raised their guard and prepared for battle.

Chae Da-bin opened a bag that looked like a travel suitcase and launched her drones, while Jang Moo-geuk and Go Hyun-woo each drew their swords.

I took out the sapling and planted it firmly in the ground.

Soon, two middle-aged men who looked almost like twins descended into the scene.

One wore a dark yellow martial robe, the other wore a green martial robe, and neither was carrying weapons. This meant that they were likely masters of unarmed combat.

In fact, they were not only experts in martial arts but also skilled in poison techniques.

The one in yellow specialized in paralyzing poison, so he was known as the paralyzing demon, while the one in green used corrosive poison, so he was known as the corrosive demon.

Together, they’re called the Paracorrosive Twin Demons.

And, just as I suspected from a distance, their bodies were covered in large and small wounds, likely from a recent fight with Pang Mi-ryeong’s party.

Traces of blood around their mouths and noses hinted they had even sustained internal injuries.

The paralyzing demon glanced around at us and sneered.

“So, you’re a cautious bunch. I wondered why you stopped pursuing us, only to find you lying in wait here.”

When I heard that, I quickly pieced the situation together.

It seemed Pang Mi-ryeong’s party had gained the upper hand in battle, but for some reason, they withdrew during the pursuit. This was probably to regroup and conserve their strength.

The Paracorrosive Twin Demons must have thought they’d escaped successfully, but after spotting us, they decided they needed to shake off any pursuers and approached.

I wondered if there was any room for negotiation and asked,

“Should we just let you go?”

“Heh, you think we’d fall for such a shallow trick? Pretend to let us go so you can stab us in the back, is that it?”

I had genuinely meant to let them pass.

But it looked like fighting was inevitable.

If that were the case, then it made sense to block their escape route so we wouldn’t end up empty-handed as well.

So I changed my approach slightly and began to subtly provoke the Twin Demons.

“Wow, just a moment ago you two were running like your lives depended on it, so why the sudden urge to fight? Not like it matters; you’ll probably just flee again if things get tough.”

“…Don’t worry about that. We’ll settle things with you to the end.”

Judging by their reaction, it seemed my taunt had been successful; the Paracorrosive Twin Demons’ lips curled into a murderous smile.

As they raised their auras at the same time, the surrounding plants darkened and withered under the oppressive energy.

“Since you’ve entertained me with those little remarks, I’ll leave you for last. I’ll play with you a bit before you die.”

I slipped behind Dang Gyu-young.

“Did you hear that? They’re going to ‘play with me’ before killing me.”

“That’s not going to happen. You’re playing with me.”

Dang Gyu-young lightly brushed a hand over my head.

Then, her expression turned serious as she carefully shifted to the side.

Sensing that the fight was about to break out, she positioned herself in the optimal spot.

It’s only just starting…

I still didn’t know how Pang Mi-ryeong’s party had ended up dealing with the Paracorrosive Twin Demons, but I remembered the strategy guide advising to avoid fighting them if possible.

Unlike most demons who roamed individually, these two stuck together which made them especially difficult to face.

On top of that, they were experts in poison technique which made them even trickier to handle.

But, of course, that was based on the general strategy guide recommendation.

For me, they’re manageable.

After all, those two had already gone through a fierce battle, so they weren’t in peak condition.

If they had a health gauge, I’d guess it was around 70 percent.

And most importantly—

They’re masters of poison techniques.

Which made it all the more manageable for me.

I first linked [Octopus Limbs] and [Enchantment].

[You have granted the skill “Poison Resistance (S)” to the target.]

[You have granted the skill “Poison Resistance (S)” to the target.]

[You have granted….]

[The rank of the granted “Poison Resistance”: B]

[Duration 00:14:58]

[Cooldown 09:19:58]

I granted [Poison Resistance] to four people.

However, that alone left the rank a bit lacking,

So I’ll have to amplify it.

[Activated ‘Octopus Limbs’]

[Activated ‘Amplification’]

[The rank of ‘Poison Resistance’ has been increased. (B→S)]

[The rank of ‘Poison Resistance’……]

After I amplified the poison resistance granted to the four people, I also amplified my own skills.

[The rank of ‘Wind Barrier’ has been increased. (C+→A+)]

[The rank of ‘Overheat’ has been increased. (C→A)]

[The rank of ‘Wind Force’ has been increased. (C+→A+)]

[The rank of ‘Spiral Explosion’ has been increased. (C+→A+)]

[The rank of ‘Chillwind’ has been increased. (E+→C+)]

[Duration 00:04:58]

[Cooldown 40:29:58]

Casting back-to-back with [Octopus Limbs] triggered a huge penalty. The cooldown of [Enchantment] was increased by 16 times and the cooldown of [Amplification] was increased by a staggering 81 times.

Both skills were effectively sealed for the next few days.

Still, it had been worth it.

“…….”

“…….”

The corners of everyone’s lips subtly lifted.

Just a moment ago, there had been a tangible tension in their gaze toward the Twin Demons. Now, though, they wore expressions that seemed to ponder how best to handle these enemies.

I also snickered and said,

“Let’s finish this in five minutes.”