‘You want to play chess with me?’
It was such an absurd condition.
In fact, the fact that the Baekho army had played chess, and the fact that they applied for such a game proved to be unexpected to him.
‘After hearing the news that I won the intramural chess tournament, you suddenly want to play the game with me?’
This wasn’t like Baekho-gun, either.
‘I’m still far away from you!’
One couldn’t simply understand the behavior of the protagonist when the subject was of the rotten, stagnant, oil of Plamago.
With this, he sent a message saying that he knew, and then promised to work harder in the future.
Ding dong.
Baekho’s reply arrived almost immediately. However, the message only contained one coordinate.
‘Huh, let’s go see this.’
Eungwang High School advertising area,
More than half of the lake roads around Cheongnang Lake belonged to the central area, but some belonged to the landscape area.
These had poor accessibility, and were far from amenities.
There was no one else in the landscaped area that was visible from the airboard.
Crisp.
When the airboard stopped, someone appeared from it, almost as if they had been waiting this entire time.
It ended up being Baekho with black hair, as well as an Oxford shirt. At first glance, he appeared just like a regular human.
“Follow me.”
With that, Baekho-gun started walking ahead, right to the quiet landscape of a paved lake road. The only sound that could be heard was the two of us walking amidst the spreading fog.
‘This is the lake fog that appears in the ghost story of the Blue Lake.’
Regardless of the season, weather or temperature, Cheongnang Lake was always enshrouded in fog. Because of this, it was a popular designation for ghost stories, but the true nature of the lake fog was the “Byeoksa barrier” that the Baekho army had struck.
‘I don’t know why it’s the Byeoksa barrier that says to exorcise ghosts amongst many barriers.’
Byeoksa meant to block and ward off evil spirits.
If Baekho, who was considered to be the spiritual relic of Byeoksa Temple along with the Blue Dragon since ancient times, was a direct barrier, then it would have a different meaning altogether.
‘Is this related to the ghost story of the Blue Lake?’
As I walked with these thoughts in my mind, the fog began to grow thicker…
Paah!
From the hand of Baekho-gun, Baekah of Faunchamroe had been summoned. His hair was gradually dyed white as he used Gwanglim to release his power.
When the Baekho army wielded the white arrow of the Faunchamroe, a door had been revealed through the mist. The space, except what the door had been taking, proved to be almost invisible because it was covered in fog, but the signboard situated above it was still visible.
Union Hall.
It was an exclusive space for the Baekho army inside the Eungwang High.
‘You’re coming to the Union Hall.’
Even in the game, I thought that there had been no need to come because this was a place where Baekho would go if he wanted to train alone.
Squeak.
Passing through the white wooden hallway of the Union Hall, I opened the innermost door.
On the dome-like ceiling, a starry sky evidently embodied by a supernatural power began to spread out.
‘Huh. Isn’t that the Western Chilsu?’
It was the constellation of East Asia, number twenty-eight.
Among them, these were seven constellations belonging to the seven numbers of the Western White Tiger.
These were Gyu-su, Lu-su, Wei-su, Myo-su, Essential, Embroidery, and Three-shoulder.
The shape of the white tiger, which had been drawn by the seven constellations, had wings. It also had a different shape from the normal tiger form.
‘In the game, I only did that once.’
I had done it just before the ending.
Seven constellations and a meteor group were highly visible through the smartphone screen. Baekho’s true image was still vivid in my mind.
“Eushin, raise your weapon.”
Paah-!
While I had been looking up at the ceiling, Baekho took the seat that was opposite from mine.
‘You were the one who posted the output!’
Baekho’s mourning only served to add more onto Baek-ah’s light.
Baek-ah was far more vigilant than when she broke through the Byeoksa barrier in order to enter the Union Hall.
Meanwhile, Baek-ah’s tip was directed towards me.
“You must not borrow the power of others.”
Baekho spoke as if he was looking directly through the identity of the ‘player’s trajectory.’
Following his words, I pulled the Sangbosimgeumpa and grabbed onto it, all without activating Gwanglim.
< Skill ‘Use of Everything’ has been activated. >
Saaaa!
As I held onto the Sangbosimgeumpa, I began to shiver. My hand moved, even without me realizing it.
Kaaan-!
With this, Baek-ah’s and the Sangbo’s blades collided. Both hands, holding onto their respective weapons, were evidently tingling. Amidst this, I could see that Baekho was holding Baek-ah in one hand.
‘Is this the one being swung with one hand?’
My overall stat level had gone up smoothly. Now, it was at 20.
The level use of all things was 4. On the other hand, Baekho’s overall stat level was 55. His swordsmanship level was at 10.
Baekho-gun was holding a great sword with one hand under the guise of having a handicap, but there was no way that he could ever be an opponent.
“Concentrate.”
Baekho looked down at me with a cold expression. “You must have a lot of things you want to do, things you need to do.”
Kaaang!
White Tiger swung away, but I flew away with my weapon. Otherwise, that could have dealt serious damage to the Sangbo.
‘The level difference is too big. This isn’t a match at all!’
I thought about what number to play, but because the use of Gwanglim was limited, there were only a few cards I could use for the moment.
At the most, an ‘unknown fate’ item that had never been used before came to mind, but it now seemed meaningless in the current situation.
‘Gwanglim is limited to one day’s use. I knew something like this would happen. It’s so helpless when it encounters an enemy in a sealed state.’
My playable character was only this strong. My pride had risen, but my resentment had gone up further than that.
Baekho-gun began to comment, as if in encouragement.
“It looks like you don’t have enough strength to accomplish them all.” With that, he swung his sword again. His vision turned white, and the sound of clanging iron broke out from the Sangbosimgeumpa.
Kaaan!
His palms were burning at this point, as if on fire.
Before I could calm my body down, Baekho’s Baek-ah turned to me again.
Once, twice.
My vision began to distort due to the wind pressure the weapon was exerting.
‘What kind of help does this fight do now, when I have to hear the weapon’s voice?’
Before I could even dwell upon this further, a barrage of attacks was unleashed my way once more.
If I wasn’t sure that Baekho wouldn’t harm me, I would have used Gwanglim at this point to try and escape.
Kaaang! Kaaan-!
Although the response speed was somewhat increased by reading Baekho’s attack pattern, my one-sided attack situation did not improve.
‘Should I ask for a hint?’
However, the word did not come out.
I begged for help in order to hear the weapon’s voice, but it felt like I had been doing this in vain.
‘Except for chess, I have never been so obsessed with winning or losing a fight.’
With this thought in my head, I continually did my best to block Baekho’s attacks.
‘Uh?’
Baekho’s cold face now seemed to be filled with warmth.
Papa!
Baekho-gun bit Baek-ah first, and then took a few steps back. With the weapon still tilted my way, he began to speak once more.
“Remember the reason you were given ‘Tinnitus.’”
My nickname?
‘The moment when the name of the unknown supernova was given….’
Various thoughts flashed through my head.
Admission Practical Test, Article 13.
Enemy, a descendant of the Ung clan.
Team play with Jang Nam-wook and Yoo Sang-hoon.
The fear I felt when I confronted the Enemy up close.
A weapon of insignificant rarity that had ended alongside the situation itself.
As I thought about these, an idea flashed through my mind.
‘Skill level!’
There was a concept of proficiency in items that existed in the form of weapons in this world. When the proficiency reached 100%, the rarity increased, and special effects were thusly added.
‘If the owner of the weapon changes, then the mastery level is reset. The proficiency level that I have accumulated by hunting down must’ve been quite high, but as of now, I’m at a total point level of zero!’
The fastest way to increase one’s proficiency was to deal with enemies with a large level difference.
The risk increased, sure, but the proficiency gained would also increase.
“I think I found the answer.”
I seemed to understand why Baekho had been wielding his weapon so fiercely. If one were to simply do it in moderation, proficiency would just rise slowly.
‘I didn’t even think about the skill level. Skills and proficiency in using all things are separate issues.’
If the mastery problem could be solved only with the skill to use all things, then there would be no need for further suffering on the day of the practical test.
‘If that’s the case, then I wouldn’t have to run into the enemy at the risk of being killed or seriously injured that day.’
That day, Gwanglim was sealed, but I was able to use the skill in all aspects.
When I got the answer, I felt as if the hand that was holding Sangbo had become much lighter. With this, I raised my momentum.
Kaaaan!
With this, Baekho entered the defensive posture for the first time.
“Thank you, there we go.”
It was just like a White Tiger to blurt out words like this, only to give hints by the end.
For the life of me, I still couldn’t understand chess.
The dormitory room where I returned from a battle with Baekho.
When I began to read the updated Sangbosimgeumpa information, I found that my skill level had risen quite a bit.
It was all thanks to Baekho-gun, for not giving in until I reached my physical limit.
‘That was a little irritating.’
After the match was over, I offered to play a game of chess. However, Baekho flatly refused.
It’s meaningless to play a game with you right now.
‘I’ve lost my stamina, but it would still be better than any other chess knight’s!’
I was irritated about that, as well as being one-sided when it came to Dalian.
I was thankful to him for helping the Sangbosimgeumpa improve its proficiency and giving advice about the weapon’s voice, but I still couldn’t help but feel upset.
‘I have to practice chess until I play against Baekho.’
And with that, I fell asleep whilst remembering the names of those who applied to me.
The next day.
It was my first day at school whilst wearing summer clothes.
‘Is it because Joo Soo-hyuk and An Dain wore summer clothes yesterday? The number of children wearing summer clothes has increased dramatically.’
The scenery itself had also changed in quite the dramatic fashion.
There were a lot of people who both fanned over and opposed Joo Soo-hyuk and An DAin, so my guess probably wasn’t wrong.
With this, I turned on the device and headed to the classroom whilst reading major newspaper articles.
As we got closer to the central building in the Year 1 section, a loud rumbling sound could be heard.
‘What?’
This was the entrance to the zeroth and first class. There were more people around than what was usual.
‘What’s going on?’
As I got closer, I could hear a voice ringing through the crowd.
“So, the energy of the students is clear and clean, and there is a pure ideological wave flowing…”
It was a voice that I had already heard from somewhere.
He was the teacher of Joo Soo-hyuk, as well as the friend of Master Kwak, who was a tak-doin. Tak Do-in was talking about the theory behind the use of dualism, which he himself had already heard several times in class.
However, the way he spoke was much closer to the propagation of a pseudo-religion.
“The vice-captain told me what to answer…”
This was a voice I knew for sure. Mr. Maeng Hyo-don.
It seemed to have been caught up in a strange commotion since morning.
“Oh, right!”
Maeng Hyo-don, who had listened to Tak Do-in’s words with an expression akin to that of a lost soul, said a word.
“I don’t believe it, either.”
Maeng Hyo-don remembered my advice quite well.
Whoops!
The one who heard the report of the butterfly spirit spewed out a psychic wave.
“Where and what the fuck is that bastard doing?”
Apparently, the assassination plan had failed due to an unknown reason. The gangster disappeared before a causal relationship could be ascertained.
With this, the man’s anger and confusion had reached its climax.
“You fail the mission he has given you, and you have the audacity to disappear?!”
On the other hand. Nabi-ryeong, who had removed her body from the borders of reality, tried her best to avoid fragments of furniture and eccentrics.
When his tantrums stopped, Nabi-ryeong reappeared and began to comfort him with a sweet voice.
“Before hiding, there are traces and thus, ways of contacting a subordinate, which I find strange.”
“Huh! You’re a piglet who’s got the knack for getting your tail off. Perhaps one of his subordinates disappeared after he knew it had fallen into your hands.”
Seeing his impatient appearance, Nabi-ryeong covered her mouth with the hem of her robe.
Her face was filled with concern, but the lips hidden behind the collar were curved upwards.
“I will make sure to check one more time. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help.”
Upon hearing this, he asked a question, slightly softened by the polite attitude and voice of the Nabi Spirit before him. “What’s going on with the orders ‘He’ has given you?”
Nabi-ryeong smiled softly and answered in a happy tone of voice. “This is going by without any problems. Thank you for your concern. I’ll make sure to do it well. How about the ‘sacrificial’ side? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“There is no problem with this for me, either. You are looking for a measly little pig.”
Having said that, he got up and then headed out of the room. Nabi-ryeong, who was looking behind her back, wiped the smile that had appeared on her lips before lowering her eyes.
“Fufu, this is just a small sacrifice…”
As the butterfly spirit muttered in this manner, she curled up in the dark and stayed like that for quite a long time, all while immersed in thought.
