Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

Chapter 799

As the signal to start rang out, Yoon Yeorang materialized an R-grade weapon item card provided by the school.

Yoon Yeorang's combat skill was Crossbow mastery, and she wielded a crossbow.

In fact, Yoon Yeorang had wanted to shoot arrows imbued with the power of wall-breaking.

However, drawing the bowstring and wielding a huge bow required much more arm strength than she had expected, and her skills weren't improving quickly, so she faced difficulties.

More than that, Yoon Yeorang realized that fighting with large weapons just didn’t suit her.

Despite this, she couldn’t give up on shooting arrows, so she compromised by choosing the crossbow instead.

‘A wall-breaking arrow with a crossbow... It feels a little odd, but it’s still an arrow,’ she thought.

With the crossbow in hand, Yoon Yeorang stepped back, creating distance, and aimed at Eun-ho in an effort to keep him at bay.

Eun-ho had pulled out a few item cards, but compared to Yoon Yeorang, he looked calm and unhurried.

"Why isn't he pulling out a weapon?"

"He might have nature-based combat skills like fire, water, or wind, or he could be planning to fight with unarmed combat."

"He doesn't have any supporters or armor. Nature-based combat supporters are expensive, so he might not have one, but don't they provide armor at school?"

"Our school has a lot of money. If you ask for one, they'll give it to you."

"Hey, the first-year valedictorian! I bet on you! Don’t mess around!"

The first-year students were talking amongst themselves about Eun-ho, who hadn’t drawn a weapon.

Instead of pulling out a weapon item card, Eun-ho took out a set of crafting tools.

Although they could help him craft weapons using his abilities, the resulting tools were almost useless in terms of combat power.

Before the match began, the first-year students had placed bets on who would become class president, with Eun-ho's odds being relatively favorable.

Among those who bet on him, I thought a lot of them would be nervously holding their necks right now.

Additionally, I stopped Hwang Ji-ho, who was gleaming with excitement and preparing to bet an amount far exceeding the typical high school snack allowance.

Click, snap!

Yoon Yeorang continued to maintain her distance while keeping an eye on Eun-ho, moving slowly as she prepared to shoot.

Due to the nature of the weapon, she likely decided that maintaining distance was crucial, since she would be vulnerable during the aiming process.

Eun-ho followed Yoon Yeorang’s movements with his eyes, but apart from materializing a few crafting materials, he didn’t make any other moves.

Low-rarity materials, likely provided by the school, scattered around Eun-ho.

"Hmm, I don’t know what he’s preparing, but I’m still going to fight!" Yoon Yeorang said to herself.

It seemed like Yoon Yeorang was puzzled by Eun-ho's strange actions, but, unable to figure it out, she decided to continue with the fight.

Yoon Yeorang moved the end of her crossbow.

She aimed directly at Eun-ho’s hand, which was holding the item cards.

Gong Cheong-hwon, aware that the arrow’s tip could pierce a vital spot, enveloped himself in a subtle aura of energy and closely watched the movement of the crossbow.

The first-year students, who had bet on Eun-ho’s snack allowance, stood up and began shouting at him.

"Do something! Show us!"

"You can’t just let the valedictorian lose in the first round! Don’t do this!"

The only calm person among those who had bet on Eun-ho was Cheon Dong-ha.

Cheon Dong-ha had activated his sharp vision and was observing the situation more closely, his eyes surrounded by energy.

Despite that, he stayed seated and didn’t seem nervous at all.

His demeanor showed trust in his younger brother.

Flick!

The arrow was fired from the crossbow.

Although Yoon Yeorang’s crossbow skill wasn’t highly leveled, she could at least hit a stationary target.

It was only after the arrow was released that Eun-ho finally made his move.

Fwaaa!

Suddenly, a giant net appeared in front of Eun-ho.

No, it wasn’t just appearing—it had been created.

As the arrow was released, Eun-ho used his energy to lift the materials from the ground into the air.

And in that brief moment, he raised his hand and used his tools to complete the net.

It was a movement so fast and delicate that it would be impossible for someone with poor eyesight to follow.

Whoosh!

Eun-ho poured his energy into the net, creating a swirling vortex, causing the net to spin.

The arrow, swallowed by the silver net, lost its power before it could reach Eun-ho.

"Wow! How did you do that? That doesn't seem like something you summoned from a school-issued item!"

"We initially limited the use of available cards, so he couldn’t have summoned that with an item card. Didn’t he use his energy?"

"No, he just used the materials he had and created it right there."

"Oh, not only was it fast, but the movement was incredibly precise. Even if I was told to do it slowly, I wouldn’t be able to."

A few of the first-year students who managed to follow Eun-ho’s movement started talking among themselves about the battle.

Yoon Yeorang seemed to have recognized the move and had a look of surprise on her face.

It seemed she was genuinely impressed by Eun-ho’s skill, as her expression became bright with admiration.

Once the net stopped twitching from the energy’s aftereffect, Eun-ho spoke with a calm smile.

"The crossbow is tricky because you need to pre-load it, so it's hard to stop the first shot. But it has low firing rate, so once you get past the first shot, the next ones are easier."

Yoon Yeorang, who had been preparing to reload, halted her actions before she could come up with a counter.

She hurriedly started reloading but found Eun-ho's movements were faster.

Realizing this, Yoon Yeorang stopped widening the distance and braced herself for close combat.

‘Players using long-range weapons like crossbows do tend to train their combat abilities for close encounters too.’

But Yoon Yeorang wasn’t particularly strong in close combat, and I wondered if she could block the Taehokwon technique from the Tigers.

Just as I thought the tide was turning in Eun-ho’s favor, Hwang Ji-ho spoke.

"Using Taehokwon in this situation is full of limitations, but it’s typical of Eun-ho."

"Limitations?"

"It’s been a while since he used it, so his body probably didn’t respond well. Also, Eun-ho’s build doesn’t exactly match the standard for Taehokwon."

I understood the first part, but the second part didn’t quite make sense to me.

Wasn’t Taehokwon something you couldn’t learn if your build didn’t match?

Hwang Ji-ho answered my unspoken question.

"It’s possible to learn Taehokwon even if your build doesn’t match. It’s like... playing an instrument. You might not be good at playing the piano, but you can still hit the right keys if you follow the notes, right? It’s the same concept."

Hwang Ji-ho looked at me sympathetically as he mentioned "playing an instrument."

I wasn’t sure why he was looking at me that way, but I understood the point he was making.

Even if someone can’t play a piece perfectly, they can still produce sound by pressing the keys, even if they don’t have the right skills to perform the piece properly.

The same principle seemed to apply to using Taehokwon despite not having the ideal build.

At that moment, the battle reached its conclusion.

"Ah!"

Yoon Yeorang, while trying to block the punch with her crossbow, was pushed back by the footwork, creating an opening.

In a split second, one of her feet got caught in the net lying on the floor.

She didn’t fall, but her defensive stance was broken.

Eun-ho didn’t miss the opening. He lifted his finger and moved it toward Yoon Yeorang’s throat.

Eun-ho stopped his finger right in front of her throat, but Gong Cheong-hwon quickly intervened, calling out.

"Stop!"

Zing.

Gong Cheong-hwon’s voice, imbued with energy, quieted the area instantly.

Gong Cheong-hwon had used a command spell.

Though Eun-ho’s finger was just near her neck, Gong Cheong-hwon didn’t see it that way.

Gong Cheong-hwon then spoke without using a command spell.

"Cheon Eun-ha wins. Well done."

The crowd murmured.

To an outsider, it might have looked like the match was stopped prematurely, even though Yoon Yeorang could still fight.

However, according to Hwang Ji-ho, the battle had already been decided at that moment.

"What Eun-ho just used is 'Tiger Claw.' The technique gathers power through the previous movements and concentrates it in the fingertips, allowing the user to pierce the neck in an instant without anyone noticing."

That was a dangerous technique.

If Gong Cheong-hwon, a Taehokwon master, had seen the pre-movement, it was clear why he had intervened so quickly.

"Taehokwon uses energy contained within the body. It doesn’t show externally, so it’s easy to fool the opponent into letting their guard down. If this had been a real fight, the opponent’s neck would have been pierced before they knew what happened."

But could he really use such a technique without the proper build?

I must have been reading his thoughts, as Hwang Ji-ho added:

"If Yoon Yeorang hadn’t tripped, Eun-ho wouldn’t have been able to use that technique. While gathering power, Eun-ho would have been far more vulnerable than someone with the proper build, so Yoon Yeorang would have likely defeated him before then."

As some of the spectators protested, Gong Cheong-hwon, as a Taehokwon instructor, explained the "Tiger Claw" technique and demonstrated it himself.

After going through the same preparatory movements as Eun-ho, Gong Cheong-hwon pierced a reinforced wooden board with a Taehokwon strike, showcasing its power.

Once the demonstration was over, the protesting spectators quieted down, and Yoon Yeorang, now impressed, clapped her hands.

Though she had been the target of a dangerous technique, her attitude was bright, as if the situation had no bearing on her.

Gong Cheong-hwon turned to Eun-ho.

"You’ve learned well. I didn’t think someone with an incompatible build would be able to use Taehokwon so effectively."

"It’s all thanks to having a good teacher," Eun-ho smiled gently.

It was clear that Eun-ho had a good teacher.

The person who taught Eun-ho Taehokwon, Cheong-ho, was not only the founder of the technique but also his close friend.