In this world where the boundary between fiction and reality is ambiguous, the line between skill and science has also been unclear.
There are laws of physics that could not be transcended by skills, and there are skills that can ignore the laws of logic and science.
On top of that ambiguity were the players and royal lineage who use skills, as well as the player’s satellite.
The Player’s Association’s Satellite, which detects the transition between the two worlds and the enemies defeated along with a player’s performance, was a gem created by pouring human science and technology and the power of a certain royal lineage.
The operating principles of player satellites were treated as top secret information by the general headquarters in charge of each country’s player association. The information disclosed to the general public was very limited, and very few people understood the information they release.
“….Guest researcher?”
“We saw the web application that student Song Daesok developed to interpret satellite information. Engineers and programmers from the team’s research institute saw the algorithm devised by Song Daesok, and they urged to bring him to the research institute immediately.”
Were they referring to the web application that Min Geurin mentioned? The one which the Player’s Association blocked?
I thought Daesok was just an excellent player who took interest in satellites, but my judgment might have been wrong.
The Association’s satellite management team has no day off to prepare for what the Black Screen is doing.
On top of that, the case of the youth retreat is yet to be settled completely, and it was very meaningful that team leader Lim Jihwa approached Daesok personally during this busy period.
‘Could it be that Daesok can predict the Black Screen’s by reading through the satellite’s information…!?’
Im Jihwa looked at my shocked face and continued to explain.
“Song Daesok applied for an internship at the Association. However, an intern’s security clearance level is not enough to cater to Daesok’s ability, because a lot of information would be off-limits for him. The executives with personnel rights of the satellite management team unanimously agreed to hire Song Daesok as a guest researcher.”
There’s no choice but to be shocked the more I listened to Im Jihwa’s explanation.
Someone spoke after Im Jihwa’s explanation.
As expected, my playable character had a special talent!
“Hey, can a high school student really become a researcher?”
“It’s rare, but it happens! The player society focuses on performance and skills. I heard that Cheon Dongha sunbaenim is a guest researcher at a private researcher institute at our school too!”
It’s the same case even for the real world where there are children born with special talents in a specific field, and they are sometimes recognized for their achievements regardless of age or educational background.
It’s the same for this world.
Cheon Dongha, who boasts a monster-like intelligence, was a good example.
“Daesok, what do you want to do? It’s okay if you decide not to take it too.”
Daesok opened his mouth after waiting for Im Jihwa to finish speaking.
Im Jihwa’s eyes looked stressed as we waited for Daesok.
If Song Manseok wasn’t present, they would have held Daesok.
Daesok blinked his eyes and spoke for the first time.
“Did you see the web application that I made?”
“Yes, that’s the case.”
Daesok got up with the help of Min Guerin.
Because of the physical difference, it seemed like Daesok was holding Geurin up instead.
“…Which web application were you referring to?”
“Hmm?”
Song Daesok said something unexpected.
“Application for interpreting satellite information? Or is it the one that analyzes world transition patterns? Or perhaps the app that predicts the variables leading to a transition?”
Im Jihwa gradually brightened up as she heard the programs she’s never heard of before.
“There’s not just one application? T-there’s more of them?”
“Some are still under development. I only get observations released on the association’s website. Based on the published values, I devised an algorithm for extracting hidden information about those information.”
“Let’s sign the labor contract first, Daesok!”
“Ah, no Daesok should get cleared by the doctor first!”
“Iron-arm sunbaenim! Please, get out of the way! Daesok is a necessary talent for us!”
Song Manseok blocked Im Jihwa, who dropped her polite tone and tried to hastily hand over a tablet.
Chaos continued for a while.
* * *
Song Daesok, Song Manseok, Hong Gyungbok, and Im Jihwa were left in the hospital room after we went outside.
The kids in the hallway were all puzzled, but ready to congratulate Daesok any moment.
“So that bastard doesn’t just like satellites. No wonder we can’t understand anything that comes out of his mouth when we talk about the satellite.”
“Geurin, when did Daesok start researching about the satellite?”
“Daesok chose a player’s satellite toy at his first birthday party!”
Geurin was delighted about what was offered to Daesok, and she burst out anecdotes about him.
They knew each other since elementary school, but most of the stories she revealed were from when Daesok was at a really young age. I could see that Song Daesok liked satellites very much, and Min Geurin liked Daesok a lot.
‘I think a new phase will unfold in this war of information.’
Daesok knows information about the satellite only to the extent that a high school student can handle.
I wonder what will happen when Daesok enters a research institute that deals directly with the satellite.
‘There will be an increase in the number of satellite-related scenarios!’
Since Song Manseok and Hong Gyunbok are mediating the deal, Daesok will not be taken advantage of.
Daesok looked like his heart sank when he realized he won’t make it to the internship interview, but things turned out well anyway.
“Uhm, about Daesok’s grandfather… Isn’t he the person we saw during the outing?”
“Yea, it seems like so.”
“I think he’s the guy who wore sunglasses and greeted professor Ham Geunhyung! So he’s Daesok’s grandfather huh.”
“You guys met Grandpa Song during the outing?”
“Right when we arrived at Han River, professor Ham Geunhyung greeted someone who was dragging along a bicycle…”
Min Geurin, who still haven’t realized that she wasn’t wearing her AR glasses, opened her eyes in shock as she heard the story.
After talking about the outing for a while, Lena asked something as she put down the box of cookies.
“Hey, I think Daesok will be talking to the adults for a while, so why don’t we go ahead and visit Yuri first?”
“Yea, let’s go!”
“Come on, that kid looks okay anyway.”
“Daesok is going to be alright since his grandfather and my teacher is with him. I want to go see Yuri too!”
Hwang Jiho walked ahead when we decided to visit Yuri.
Unlike Daesok’s room which was near to the elevator, Yuri’s room was further away.
“It’s so far away.”
“Jiho already swiped his security card a few times now. Was the floor always this wide? The top floor doesn’t even connect to the other buildings!”
“I heard the special ward was created especially for players who had special characteristics.”
The kids’ nervousness grew as we passed through several doors in the long corridor.
Their anxiety grew as he headed to an isolated place.
“Because of the recent transition between the two worlds, a lot of players had been slightly injured. However, some of them already went home a day after they were hospitalized. The only people left here are those who were severely poisoned, and Kim Yuri.”
“…Was Yuri also injured because of the poison?”
“Yuri was not a victim of the poison, nor was she injured in any way. You’ll understand once we see her.”
Hwang Jiho looked in Lena and Hyodon’s direction as he was answering Geurin’s questions.
The two who witnessed Yuri’s light skill firsthand did not speak a word and only looked ahead at the hallway with a dark facial expression.
“Kim Yuri’s light skill was connected to the power of numerous superior beings. She kept suppressing it, but it finally burst out this time and the aftermath of that still remains. She had been suffering from the energy pressure from the energy wave that she had been suppressing. It’s not something that can be healed through a simple treatment.”
Hwang Jiho stopped in front of a gold-colored door.
The shining door, which did not match the hospital at all, was filled with ancient words that seemed to create a magical area.
‘Did Jiho personally use his boundary skill on this area?’
I couldn’t understand the ancient words that were written, but I recognize it from the boundary skill that Jiho uses.
I’m not sure if it’s Jiho’s, but the other kids sensed a high-level skill coming from the door as they looked at it with nervous faces.
“Stay behind me.”
After saying those words, Jiho swiped his card and opened the door.
Slide –
Right after the door opened, pressure from the energy wave hit us.
Fwaaa! Fwa!
A golden light and a water-colored light energy wave exploded in front of us.
At the collision of the two lights, Hwang Jiho clucked his tongue.
“It seems that the presence of the superior beings is still bothering Kim Yuri. Please, none of these people here would harm her.”
Hwang Jiho’s boundary skill surrounded the blue energy wave.
A quiet rustling sound was heard.
I could feel the presence in the dark hospital room from the outside.
“…Who is it?”
It was Kim Yuri’s voice.
“President!”
Maeng Hyodon tried to run inside after he heard her voice, but Saeum of April stopped him.
“Jiho told us to stay behind him!”
“The class president is not inside the boundary that Jiho set though!”
“Stay at ease. These people who bother Kim Yuri do not wish to harm her.:
Soon, the automatic lights turned on after it sensed our movements.
Just as Jiho said, Kim Yuri had no wounds.
She hugged her blanket as she looked in our direction.
“You guys, did you visit me here in the hospital?”
Kim Yuri smiled brightly when she saw us.
She looked thinner in the short time she was here, but she seemed energetic.
* * *
That boy wandered around.
He was wandering around, visiting all the famous cities and spending all his fortune left by his teacher.
He spent his breathes with the god of music and art.
Paris, Greece, Barcelona, Sydney, Florence, San Paulo, Vienna….
The boy visited those cities and their facilities where the famous musicians from ancient and modern times had passed through.
‘It’s not here too.’
The boy, who had discovered the greatness and joy of art even in the sound of raindrops, was in a pit of despair.
‘The being that I’m looking for does not exist anywhere.’
He concluded after following the footsteps of all existing musicians.
The boy collapsed under the eaves of the slums as he recalled what his teacher told him.
[I know you’re not obsessed with this life.]
His teacher was blessed to not know whether transcending a human lifespan was a gift or a curse.
That same teacher used to stroke the boy’s head with his wrinkled hands.
[But you’ll realize your life’s purpose too. As soon as I heard that woman’s performance, I felt an infinite gratitude for having lived this long life.]
However, that moment of ‘gratitude’ never came to the boy’s life.
Even the performance that gave meaning to the teacher’s life did not impress the boy much.
‘Is there a reason for me to live?’
The boy thought so.
An alarm went off on the boy’s device.
It was an alarm that let him know when a video uploaded within the past week under the ‘performance’ tag exceeded a number of views on a certain level
‘….I’ll just be disappointed again.’
While thinking like so, the boy checked it out.
Usually, the name of the school is attached to the video, but this one revealed the school’s name through a hashtag.
‘Eungwang High? Is there a performance club that plays well in that school?’
He pressed the ‘play’ button with no expectations.
When he pressed the button, a scene, which was not in the club room of Eungwang High that he had seen many times before, appeared.
In the background of the sea, a violinist can be seen performing.
The tone of a perfectly polished violin was ringing amid the roars of the tsunami.
‘The blue violinist…’
It was his teacher’s muse.
The boy let out an exhale.
The performance of blue violinist Kwon Jein was beautiful, but that was all there is to it.
He never felt the amusement that his teacher felt on Kwon Jein’s performance.
That disappointment made him stop listening to the performance and he tried to stop the video.
‘Oh?’
An unfamiliar melody joined Kwon Jein’s performance.
It was the tone of a clumsy and stiff violin.
It sounded careful and awkward and stiff against Kwon Jein’s perfect techniques.
‘It’s beautiful.’
It was an infinitely immature tone compared to Kwon Jein’s, yet tears flowed from the boy’s eyes as the clumsy tone continued.
‘Beautiful!’
The moment he heard the half-hearted performance, he realized the meaning of his life for the first time.
On the screen, a girl who looked like a high school student can be seen playing the violin awkwardly.
The sound of the violin of the girl, who harmonized with the performance of the world’s greatest violinist, dominated the boy’s head.’
‘I finally found her, my muse…..!’
She was a student from Eungwang High’s class zero.
