The April Clan has the blood of the messenger of the last dynasty’s King.
Their lifestyle significantly changed as the last dynasty ended, and the power of the April clan gradually faded.
However, because of the collision between two worlds and with the birth of Saeum of April, the clan entered its new era.
On the day Saeum was born, a spiritual light flowed out of the graves of the April clan and enshrined the tablets of the unnamed previous messengers.
The shadows of the previous messengers spoke to Saeum’s father.
— This land no longer has a King, yet this child is born here today to spread the king’s voice widely throughout the world.
— Our messengers who hold the principle ‘The Words of the King shall not Remain in History’, did not stop at simply conveying the King’s word.
— In order for this child to use his power righteously, he shall be raised with kindness and taught a wide range of knowledge and experience.
Born with such expectations and concerns, Saeum of April grew up to be a smart and upright child.
However, Saeum of April had a thirst for curiosity.
As he longed for the world outside his home, Saeum hid his name. He begged his uncle, Semin of April, to tell him stories of Semin’s adventures in the outside world.
Saeum of April, who was not at all picky, whined as he was stubborn to go to the outside world.
“I want to enroll in Eungwang High!”
The April clan was told by their ancestors to let Saeum ‘have a wide range of knowledge and experience’, but the popular opinion was that Saeum should be kept under the protection of the clan until he becomes an adult.
However, the family felt sorry for Saeum and agreed to send him outside.
For the first time since the 100 years of collision between two worlds, a descendant of the April clan stepped foot outside.
However, Saeum of April was captured and kidnapped in the hands of a group of Hwanmong auction members.
‘The world isn’t all that beautiful, I see.’
The outside world which Saeum only saw through holograms and LCD screens before.
That world was beautiful, yet harsh at the same time.
Saeum realized this as he activated his light skill, inside his iron cage, on that New Year’s Day
‘My light skill is an extremely dangerous power… Among the previous messengers, only the great ancestor had this power.’
Semin of April, who came to rescue Saeum, realized that Saeum possessed this light skill a few hours before he even used it.
The situation he faced at the Hwanmong auction forced him to activate his will.
As expected, Saeum lost hope that his uncle would be able to save him, yet he held on to a certain will.
As he was crying from fear, Saeum firmly and wholeheartedly held his will.
‘I can’t let these wicked people use my light skill! I should’ve never gotten caught. Even if I did, I shouldn’t let anyone use this power!’
And then, a thief appeared in front of Saeum. The thief broke the gates of the Hwanmong building and promised to save him.
Saeum of April came to have a heart of gratitude and admiration for the righteous actions, and bold and meticulous behavior of the thief.
“There are a lot of wicked people in the world who are the likes of Byun Sunhwi and his auction members. However, there are those who are like the Red Wall Thief who risked his life in order to save others! Other than myself, many other players with rare skills and were kidnapped by Hwanmong, have been rescued!”
Saeum woke up and stood from his bed as he told the story to his family.
‘And he told me that he’ll see me at school. The Red Wall Thief will attend Eungwang High!’
On the first day of April, Saeum’s body completely recovered.
He arrived at Eungwang High with a face of wonder as the campus was full of amazing facilities and enjoyable events.
From the extraordinary April Fool’s Day event to the small coincidence that the first student he met was Jo Euishin…
Even as he flew around the school campus every day, and even after meeting Yeom Junyeol personally, it was regrettable that Saeum couldn’t catch any clues about the Red Wall Thief. Even so, Saeum greatly enjoyed his school life.
And, right when Saeum and his friends encountered an unprecedented crisis…
“I am the Red Wall Thief.”
The Red Wall Thief appeared before his eyes once again.
* * *
Just like the day when I saved Saeum of April, the moon shone brightly today.
Because of that, he saw clearly the appearance of Yeom Junyeol and the Hongryong,
Yet Saeum blinked his eyes repeatedly as if he couldn’t believe what he’s seeing.
‘… Is the evidence still unclear to him?’
I contemplated what I should say next.
Tears began to flow from Saeum of April’s widely opened eyes.
“Eushin… Does this mean that you’re…?”
Saeum of April spoke with a voice that gradually turned quiet.
“Euishin, are you Red Wall Thief-nim?”
(T/N: “-nim” is attached to the name of a person who has high authority, or is greatly respected)
Red Wall Thief.
“-nim”.
I expected him to address me that way but hearing it personally made it painful.
I unknowingly folded my fingers from the cringe that I felt. As if mirroring my feelings, the Hongryong also grabbed its hands tightly.
‘That word’ attached with ‘nim’ made it more cringe-worthy.
‘…. Uhm, can you drop the word ‘nim’?
‘B-but… How could I do that to the Red Wall Thief-nim who saved me… Red Wall Thief-nim is in front of me… All this time, I couldn’t recognize Red Wall Thief-nim, which was very ungrateful of me. How could I ever address you without honorifics…?!”
Hearing him continuously use ‘That word + nim’ made me think that it would be better to be pulverized by the White Tiger’s sword on a rainy day.
Even taking the bitter medicine of the Nok Clan was better than this… Ah no actually I should think about that first.
Anyway, I wanted to turn away from Saeum so badly because he kept saying ‘that word’.
Eventually, I couldn’t stand it and had to retreat my Player Identity skill.
Paaaa..!
As I returned to the appearance of Jo Euishin, Saeum almost wailed and began to cry.
With the crisis on the island and his continuously failed attempts at using his light skill, Saeum seemed to be confused by the sudden appearance of the character he had been looking for all along.
I comforted Saeum with the gentlest voice that I could muster.
“I’m sorry for hiding it from you all this time. I heard from Yeom Junyeol sunbaenim that you wanted to thank the Red Wall Thief…”
“P-please don’t apologize! If the Red Wall Thief-nim apologizes, then I’ll… Red Wall Thief-nim kept his promise that he’ll see me at school, but I met you on the very first day and didn’t even recognize you!”
It seems like Saeum uses ‘that word’ a lot more when he gets flustered.
I kept getting distracted by it, but I did my best to stay calm and continue comforting Saeum by patting his back.
“…Can you deliver my voice now? And please, address me the way you usually do.”
As I said those words, Saeum of April took a deep breath.
He wiped his tears and stumbled as he stood up.
“…Yes!”
Saeum of April smiled with his swollen eyes.
“Now that Red Wall Thief-nim – No, Euishin is by my side, I’m not scared anymore. I feel like I can convey any word that you will say!”
A warm energy wave started to flow and surround Saeum
Amid the cold night air, my voice entrusted to the Messenger began to spread.
* * *
As the red fog began to clear, the jade-colored space became entirely visible.
Kim Shinrok doubted his eyes once again.
At his moment of desperation, Shinrok’s faceless father appeared to commit filial piety.
He thought it was an imagination that flashed before he died.
As if they sensed Shinrok’s disbelief, Yong Jegun, and Red Tiger landed on the ground with their spatial and aerial skills.
They seem to have hidden behind the red fog for a long time to set up an ambush.
“Shinrok, I’m sorry. The bears’ mouths are infinitely lighter when a prey is in front of them, so we had to wait slowly until someone was close.”
Yong Jegun spoke to Shinrok with his jade-colored eyes filled with an energy wave.
Jegun’s eye color, which was usually invincible to the naked eye, and his hair usually dyed in black, all shone brightly in their natural jade color.
It was proof that Yong Jegun has been open for a long time.
‘Don’t tell me they were using silence, spatial skill, and flight skill to trail me all this time?
That’s impossible.
Maybe Red Tiger was just worried about himself so he cooperated with Yong Jegun to protect himself.
But this Dragon is unpredictable so there’s no way that Red Tiger would…
Yong Jegun spoke to Shinrok as if he read Shinrok’s thoughts.
“It was your father who discovered the things that were targeting you.”
There’s no way.
Seeing the distance between the Red Tiger and Shinrok who remained silent, he began to feel sad.
The Red Tiger’s hair was also dyed red, which means he has been in the open for a long time now too.
“I’m right here. You’ll be the safest here now.”
Yong Jegun laughed as he said those words.
Soon, the Red Tiger began to unleash his anger towards the two from the Bear Clan. The opponents also fired an energy wave towards him.
Kim Shinrok couldn’t look at that light.
* * *
Kwon Lena looked surprised as Maeng Hyodon finished briefing them about the situation.
“You’re right, the device isn’t functional at all!”
“… All of our homeroom teachers are alone now. Let’s hurry and find them. It’s possible that we don’t know the whole situation!”
Maeng Hyodon, who usually can’t talk to the female students properly, successfully briefed the two despite him being all awkward.
Kwon Lena listened to his clumsy words and nodded.
“Got it! Where’s the area where no troops have been sent yet? Let’s start there…”
“Wait… Is there another attack on the north side?”
Kim Yuri, who was trembling while listening to Maeng Hyodon, changed her complexion and jumped up from her seat.
“We should head to the southwest side first!”
“P-president…?”
“Please confirm it for me. I’m sorry… Ah no, I can go by myself too. In my dream… In my dream…!”
“How can we send you alone! Let’s go together! But, what happened in your dream? Did it tell you to start from the southwest side first?”
It was rare for players who have orders from a higher being to receive any sort of revelation from the god.
Kwon Lena was a player who receive orders from a goddess too, so she knows how they communicate with humans.
Although, Lena’s ‘goddess’ couldn’t come to her often as the goddess has many other children to take care of and watch out for.
“No, it’s the opposite. It told me to never go to the southwest side.”
More questions formed in the minds of Lena and Hyodon.
What could be the reason why Yuri wants to go there when her dream warned her not to?
The two didn’t open their mouths to ask, but Yuri answered their questions anyway.
“They whispered to me to run away as far as possible from the southwest side. It’s odd for them to say that since it’s on the north side where the attacks are going on right now. That’s why we have to evacuate all the teachers, students, and civilians on the southwest side!”
Kim Yuri sprang up from the bed as she tied her hair in one motion.
Maeng Hyodon watched the scene as his rich hair was also unknowingly tied neatly in an instant.
At that moment, Hyodon’s instinct fired off.
‘…Oh? Did she usually look that way?’
Yuri’s hair tie was decorated with magnolia-shaped items.
A small butterfly about the size of the nail was seen on it as well.
He couldn’t say much because he doesn’t know a lot about accessories, but that butterfly strangely bothered him.
However, Hyodon didn’t have the courage to point out such a thing in this situation, so he didn’t say anything.
“Hyodon, Lena, let’s go!”
“OK!”
