The Support Ate it All - Chapter 611: Invitation
[Diamond Freeze] was a lot stronger than I’d expected, but my attention was completely glued to [Invitation].
‘There’s no way I just don’t remember it.’
Either it was a skill added after EX-rank unlocked, or something unique to this game-world… or both.
Either way, it was more than enough to poke at my curiosity.
So I checked the description.
[Invitation]
▷Issue an invitation to the target.
▷If accepted, bring the target into your inner world.
▷Cooldown: 10 days
▷Cooldown when used on a ‘Bonded’ target: 7 days
‘Inner world.’
A dream I’d had on the train to the Dang family right after winter break started flashed through my mind.
A grand, dazzling great hall. Me sitting on a throne. And all the S-rank heroes I’d raised so far.
Looks like if I used [Invitation], I could bring someone into that great hall.
‘A long cooldown means it’s that good.’
On par with [Austerity]…
…or maybe even better.
‘And there’s a conditional 30% discount, too.’
As a sovereign Unique Skill, if I used it on my bonded targets—Dang Gyu-young, Seo Ye-in, Hong Yeonhwa—the cooldown wouldn’t be 10 days. It would be 7.
‘It’s not like I’m required to only use it that way, though.’
The first time someone ever visited my inner world was Phantom Demon.
He ended up meeting his end after falling into qi deviation, but that was because he was an uninvited guest.
Which meant the possibility of receiving other guests was still on the table.
That left the final, most important question.
‘So… what do you do after you bring them in?’
I could make a vague guess.
The fact that they had to “accept” meant there had to be at least a minimum level of trust between us.
Then whatever happened in my inner world would probably be on the friendly side—something beneficial for the guest.
‘Guess I’ll find out when I try it.’
But it was late, and I’d just absorbed a massive amount of Yin-Yang Blood Jiangshi poison aura, so for now I went inside, did mana training, and got some rest.
Then the next morning, when Dang Gyu-young and Seo Ye-in woke up, I brought it up.
“I learned a new skill.”
“Another busted one, huh. What does it do?”
“For now, the description is this.”
When I shared the skill window, the two of them read through it—then tilted their heads at the same time.
And they arrived at the exact same question I had.
“So… what do you do after you invite someone?”
“I’m about to find out.”
I raised one hand and started my ad segment.
“Now welcoming a guest to ★Kim HoLand★, full of dreams and hope! First come, first served—one person only!”
If I chained [Octopus Arms], I could use it on both of them, but the first time was mostly experimental, so I decided not to get greedy.
Dang Gyu-young and Seo Ye-in both raised their hands at the same time.
“Me!”
“……I’ll go.”
Then they exchanged a quick glance and looked at me.
Like, Well? What are you going to do about it?
So I offered the peaceful solution first.
“How about one of you yields? It’s not like I can’t keep using it.”
“But we’d have to wait a week. Now I really want to go.”
“……Kim HoLand.”
Neither of them looked like they had any intention of backing down.
I nodded slowly.
“Then we go zero-sum. You two pick the event.”
Seo Ye-in slowly raised her fist.
Dang Gyu-young asked, just to confirm.
“Rock-paper-scissors?”
“Yes.”
“Hey, that’s—”
That’s not only good for you? You know damn well you’re lucky.
Dang Gyu-young was about to argue—
—but then something seemed to occur to her, and she returned to a calm expression.
“It’s fast and fair, sure. Let’s do it right now. Rock, paper—”
“—scissors.”
Dang Gyu-young won.
‘She used her ultra-first kill move last night.’
With the penalty applied, Seo Ye-in’s luck was currently drilling straight through the floor.
A reverse Lucky Charm.
“……?”
Seo Ye-in tilted her head, then raised her fist again.
Dang Gyu-young shot another question at her.
“Again?”
“Best two out of three.”
“Fine. Rock, paper—”
“—scissors.”
“Rock, paper—”
“—scissors.”
Only after three straight losses did a little exclamation mark pop up over Seo Ye-in’s head.
“My luck is bad……”
“You’re the one who suggested it.”
“Big mistake…….”
Soon, Depresso-Sloth-with-no-luck pulled a blanket over her head and stuffed herself into a corner of the bed.
And I threw another line at her.
“You just woke up. How are you already going back to sleep?”
“Wake me later…….”
“When is ‘later’?”
“When spring comes…….”
Meaning she planned to stay like that until winter break ended.
I left her alone for now and decided to finish checking [Invitation].
I faced Dang Gyu-young.
“Okay, I’m using it.”
“Yeah.”
[‘Invitation’ will be used.]
[Cooldown 6 days 23:59:58]
Dang Gyu-young lifted an eyebrow slightly and stared into empty space.
“This popped up.”
Then she shared the notification.
[The sovereign’s invitation has arrived.]
[Will you accept the invitation?]
[Accept/Decline]
“Of course it doesn’t tell you what it does until the very end.”
“It’s telling you to come see for yourself. But what happens if you decline?”
“That’s probably it. Cooldown still applies, and it ends.”
“That’d be a waste. Want me to accept it once?”
Dang Gyu-young’s finger moved to ‘Accept’ and tapped it.
*****
Dang Gyu-young opened and closed her eyes a few times.
She wasn’t in the Dang family guest annex anymore—she was in a space that looked like a royal palace or a temple.
Kim Ho and Seo Ye-in were nowhere to be seen, either.
‘So I’m in, I guess. Kim HoLand.’
Curiosity quickly filled Dang Gyu-young’s face.
The reason she hadn’t bothered correcting Seo Ye-in while she dug her own grave—
was because this time, she’d wanted to be the first one in.
‘Inner world means… inner thoughts, right?’
In other words, it was the perfect chance to find out what Kim Ho was really thinking!
Maybe he had some embarrassing dark history hidden away.
Or maybe there was a huge photo of her hanging somewhere, with a title that read <My Favorite Gyu-Gyu>……
“Heh-heh-heh-heh…….”
Still giggling, Dang Gyu-young soon stared straight ahead.
There was a massive door there—fitting for a palace-like place.
It felt like she might’ve seen it before somewhere, but she couldn’t remember right now.
Maybe it was just her imagination.
‘Anyway, I probably need to open this.’
Would it open if she pushed?
But if she’d been invited, was it okay to do that?
As she reached her hand forward with all those thoughts swirling—
The massive door began to open on its own.
And what was revealed beyond it was an equally massive great hall.
‘Oh….’
Dang Gyu-young let out an impressed breath in her head, stepped inside, and started walking slowly.
The interior was packed with countless silhouettes—sharp forms, but faces blurred beyond recognition.
If there was one thing they all had in common, it was that their presence was absurdly overwhelming.
It felt like there were hundreds of powerhouses on the level of the Sword Queen or the Academy Headmaster.
The mood inside was generally favorable toward her.
As if they were making a path and telling her to come this way.
Walking along that path, Dang Gyu-young looked around, then pursed her lips.
‘Where’s my photo?’
Even out of basic courtesy, you could’ve put up at least a small one.
Not even that?
Looks like Kim Ho needed a little “discipline session.”
Dang Gyu-young started debating whether she should go out and pinch Kim Ho’s cheeks…
…or just bite him like crazy.
Then, among the countless figures, someone stepped out with light, graceful steps and stopped in front of her.
A young lady in a black, fluttering dress.
A black rose ornament in her hair, and an open parasol in her hand—despite the fact that there wasn’t even any sunlight in here.
All together, it was what you’d call a goth look. Or gothic.
Dang Gyu-young’s expression turned grave.
‘……That’s his type?’
Isn’t that a little too niche?
Still—make a note of it, just in case.
The gothic young lady lifted the hem of her dress slightly and greeted her.
Dang Gyu-young, half-dazed, returned the greeting.
“Ah, nice to meet you. Um… senior?”
As if she’d heard, the gothic young lady tilted her chin slightly.
She even seemed to be smiling faintly.
With how friendly she looked, Dang Gyu-young thought she might be here as a guide—
—but she soon realized that wasn’t the case.
The gothic young lady showed courtesy again.
The difference this time was the aggressive edge in her presence.
So Dang Gyu-young asked.
“……A spar?”
The gothic young lady tilted her chin as if to say yes.
Then the shadow at her feet rippled and took the shape of a knight.
From head to toe—even the horse it rode—it was armed in full plate armor.
Dang Gyu-young’s face stiffened when she saw it.
‘An umbramancer.’
And it looked like it was several steps above her in skill.
At this point, she felt like she understood why the gothic young lady had appeared.
‘She’s trying to show me.’
A realm she would someday reach.
A realm she had to reach.
Dang Gyu-young bowed respectfully to the gothic young lady.
“Please teach me.”
At the same time, the silhouettes that had been surrounding them scattered away at high speed.
Not by retreating backward—
but as if the space itself was expanding.
A sparring ground formed in an instant, and Dang Gyu-young summoned all her Gyu-Shadow Undead.
Lab Director, Dark-Shadow Commander, Dark-Shadow Commander, and… Gyu-ma.
“I don’t have much, but I worked hard to collect them.”
The gothic young lady nodded as if praising her, then waved her hand as if to say, Watch this.
The shadow beneath her feet churned, and countless different shapes rose up.
A lion. An archer. A serpent. A mage……
‘That’s… a lot of slots.’
She’d expected some of it, but seeing it in person made her feel cornered.
‘Still, it doesn’t seem like the ranks completely outclass mine.’
Her blood-gyu elder collection ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) averaged around A-rank.
Meanwhile, a lot of the gothic young lady’s shadows looked like they ranged from B to A.
That fully armored cavalryman, though, looked close to S.
Dang Gyu-young issued orders to her undead.
‘Just take ten each. Then we win.’
She knew it was nonsense, but that was the only way she’d have even the slightest chance.
But the gothic young lady didn’t seem willing to allow even that.
She closed her parasol, then slowly swept it toward her shadow undead.
For a moment it looked like their forms were collapsing all at once—
and then they all took on the same shape.
The shape of the fully armored cavalryman she’d first summoned.
What completed was a shadow cavalry corps, lined up in perfect formation.
Dang Gyu-young blinked.
“Wait, senior. You can do that too?”
The gothic young lady didn’t answer.
She just seemed to smile, then pointed this way with the tip of her parasol.
And the shadow cavalry corps launched forward.
In an instant, they picked up speed and slammed into the Gyu-Shadow Undead.
Naturally, Dang Gyu-young’s undead were deleted without putting up any real resistance.
And the cavalry corps didn’t stop there—they accelerated even more and charged straight at her.
Dang Gyu-young thought, awkwardly gripping her club.
‘This feels a little unfair…….’
*****
“Gasp.”
Dang Gyu-young sucked in a rough breath.
She looked around like she was checking where she was, then asked me.
“How long did I stay in there? After I hit accept?”
“Only a few seconds.”
She’d gone blank for a moment—and then returned.
Looks like time flows differently between here and the inner world.
Dang Gyu-young slowly nodded, then narrowed her eyes and stared at me.
“Kim Ho.”
“Yes, sis.”
“You… like gothic stuff? Goth? Gothic? That kind of thing?”
“Gothic?”
“Be honest. I’ll wear it.”
“Out of nowhere?”
It took a long, long time before Dang Gyu-young finally realized she’d misunderstood.
