At Eungwang High’s Main Building, at the Silver Hall.
“Chairman Lee, he’s here.”
“Send him in.”
A huge door with a tiger embedded in it opened wide, and Hwangmyeong’s Secretary appeared along with Gong Cheonghwon.
“Hello, sir.”
Gong Cheonghwon greeted the chairman with a gentle look.
“Sit.”
Chairman Lee kept his words short, and Gong Cheonghwon immediately sat down as ordered.
Throughout the whole thing, Gong Cheonghwon seemed completely unnerved.
‘…He’s not intimidated at all.’
The Silver Hall had the most elegant tiger decorations, designed by the Yellow Tiger himself.
It was common even for veteran players to feel overwhelmed and intimidated whenever they were invited to the Silver Hall.
‘Jo Euishin was the only other one who was this calm.’
Chairman Lee offered some tea in the guise of composure.
On the other hand, Gong Cheonghwon was completely composed even when receiving the direct eye contact from the Yellow Tiger.
He sat with his back straight on the mahogany wooden sofa and calmly drank his tea.
“Let’s hear what happened at the abandoned factory.”
Gong Cheonghwon explained the events at the abandoned factory with a seemingly perfect voice.
The Yellow Tiger tried to recall Gong Cheonghwon’s profile.
He knows that the teacher immediately went to the factory when he learned that Hani was being threatened.
Hani said that he went there to ‘talk things through’ with the other men.
‘’Talk things through’… It’s not a complete lie.’
The (Eonryeonggye) Spiritual Word skill, the word [Eon] from [Eonryeong] could actually mean one of two things.
It could mean either ‘to talk’ or ‘to write’.
Following that etymology, that ‘spiritual word’ could actually be in the form of writing or speech.
Currently, there were two players who have the Spiritual Word skill in Eungwang High.
Gong Cheonghwon, and Jegal.
The main forms of their skills were different though.
The Namok Poet, Jegal’s skill focused more on written language.
The Jeongeum (Positive Sound), Gong Cheonghwon’s skill was mainly through words.
Just as in martial arts sports, some athletes specialize in arm skills while some specialize in leg skills.
‘Both of them can use both written and spoken versions of the skill. However, their specialties and derivative skills were different. Gong Cheonghwon can subdue an opponent with just his ‘words’.’
Just as Jegal had a talent for writing poems even before his skill was fully developed, Gong Cheonghwon seemed to be born with a crystal clear voice.
The more he heard Gong Cheonghwon’s voice, the Yellow Tiger’s admiration grew bigger along with a strange feeling of longing.
After Gong Cheonghwon’s complete report of what happened, the Yellow Tiger spoke.
“Before the staff of the Hwangmyeong Foundation arrived, I heard that a freshman from Class Zero had attacked you.”
“Are you talking about the student Hwang Jiho?”
“Yes. I apologize on behalf of him.”
The cover-up that Hwang Jiho was a relative of Chairman Lee was widely known among the teachers.
The Yellow Tiger tried to apologize, but Gong Cheonghwon just shook his head.
“You do not need to apologize.”
“…Are you saying you don’t accept the apology?”
“No. I don’t deserve an apology. That kid is a friend of Hani and…”
For the first time, Gong Cheonghwon stumbled with his words.
“Strangely, I’m not angry at all with him.”
* * *
At Hwangmyeong Foundation’s mansion, in the living room…
Today’s tea and biscuits were all persimmon colored.
Flower persimmon cold tea with pear and melon ground, flower persimmon tart, persimmon cookie, and persimmon tarae cookies….
Whenever a menu was added to the table one by one, White Tiger would close his eyes tightly.
While I was watching my main playable character suffer from all the persimmon dishes, the tigers and their descendants were looking at the profile and history of Gong Cheonghwon.
“To think that a human who received Blue Tiger’s order is working at Eungwang High… Does this mean that Blue Tiger is actually near us?”
“There’s no way to know for sure. Even Gong Cheonghwon didn’t know who gave him the order that he has.”
“…Is that even possible? Order cannot be given without mutual consent.”
“I don’t think he’s lying.”
When Red Tiger and Hwang Jiho stopped talking, it all became quiet again.
After bringing out all the persimmon dishes, Kim Shinrok spoke.
“Teacher Gong Cheonghwon received Blue Tiger’s order… I’ve interacted with him a few times, but I never noticed anything. As a descendant of Blue Tiger, I have no honor…”
“I only found out too when I saw him fighting using his skills. It’s no wonder that we didn’t notice at all since the order only appears when activated during a battle.”
This time, the Red Tiger asked something to White Tiger.
“You said that the Son of God and Blue Tiger both became humans, right? You got that information from the Shapeshifter. Don’t you think that he was lying?”
“I can’t give you a definite answer.”
“Well then we don’t have to take his words to heart.”
However, White Tiger shook his head.
“Do you remember the times when the Son of God envied humans?”
“…Yes. Although I don’t understand it. It seems to me that the Son of God seemed to dislike himself as he is in an incomplete form; a mixture of a god and a human.”
“If he stayed in this world as an imperfect being, he would have found us. If he had become a higher being, he would’ve given us a revelation.”
No one refuted what White Tiger said.
From a logical perspective, the Son of God really seems to have become a human.
“And if the Son of God became a human, so would the Blue Tiger.”
“I understand why you think the Son of God became human, but why would that apply to Blue Tiger… Ah…”
Red Tiger cut off his own words.
Somehow, their gaze seemed to have stopped at me.
Is it because I’m the only human among them?
“At first, Blue Tiger would’ve stayed as one of royal lineage. If the beloved Son of God had ended his life as a human and he was left alone dozens of times… Could Blue Tiger have endured it alone?”
“Based on Blue Tiger’s personality, I don’t think he can handle it more than once.”
Everyone was silent again.
The good-hearted Olmu went around acting cute around White Tiger, but no one else uttered anything.
‘I want to find Blue Tiger.’
Inside the game, the character named Blue Tiger didn’t appear until the end.
But can that really conclude that the Blue Tiger doesn’t appear at all in this world?
— The leader of the Tiger Clan is in Eungwang High, and Eungwang High is a place full of wonderful sounds and talents. Blue Tiger would definitely come to us.
I suddenly remembered Hwang Jiho’s words.
The remaining members of the Tiger Clan and the Cheong were fond of each other, but even if he’d become a human being, they couldn’t have met.
I was convinced that there was actually no clear evidence at hand.
‘Blue Tiger and the Son of God…’
— We continued the will of the Blue Tiger. We don’t say anything weak before we fight, for if you do so you would surely lose!
— As the best student of Taehokwon, the art of Blue Tiger, I will do my best!
One clue here.
Blue Tiger was the originator and the founder of Taeho Kwon.
— Blue Tiger and his students were all focused on ‘the sound’. If Blue Tiger were here, he would’ve loved Kwon Jein’s music.
The second clue, Blue Tiger was fond of ‘sounds’.
— The Blue Tiger liked Gamju. He was a picky eater, but I remember him emptying bottles of sweet drinks with no problem.
(T/N: Gamju is a sweet rice drink.)
Clue number three, Blue Tiger liked sweets.
— As Blue Tiger always says, he’s always in God’s service.
— The Blue Tiger wished for the same thing as the Son of God, and then he disappeared without any signs.
The fourth clue, Blue Tiger’s wish was to always be close to the Son of God.
— His favorite sound is the voice of the Son of God, so maybe it would be better to find the Son of God first.
The fifth clue, Blue Tiger’s favorite sound was the Son of God’s voice.
For the Blue Tiger who has a particular love for sounds, the Son of God’s voice being his favorite means that voice must be extraordinarily beautiful.
— Where did you get that order? Where did you get that order similar to Blue Tiger’s?!
Clue number six, the fact the Gong Cheonghwon possibly has the order of the Blue Tiger.
— The Son of God who was a mixed-blood with humans wouldn’t find it very difficult to turn into a complete human. But for Blue Tiger… What price did he pay? Humans and those of royal lineage are fundamentally different.”
And the last clue, the Blue Tiger would have had it more difficult than the Son of God if his wish was truly to become human.
‘…Can those two be possible the Blue Tiger and the Son of God?’
Summarizing all the clues, two names came up in my head.
They appeared in the game and in this world, and they were the only ones that fit in the clues.
“I think I know who the Blue Tiger and the Son of God are.”
Crash!
At my words, all the tigers except White Tiger jumped from their seats.
“Speak, Jo Euishin!”
“Who is it!?”
“Jo Euishin, you…!”
I don’t know about the other tigers, but perhaps Hwang Jiho could’ve reached the same conclusion as I have if he’d taken all the clues into consideration.
But unlike me, Hwang Jiho didn’t have the luxury of having a completely logical reasoning because he’s emotionally invested and related to Blue Tiger.
“It’s not a hundred percent sure. But there are people that I think are potential candidates, and there’s also a way to confirm it too.”
The eyes of all the tigers in the room shone as if something was burning behind them.
“There’s no way to know exactly when or how those two turned to humans. Also, it’s clear that if they did turn into humans, they don’t have the abilities and memories they once had.”
“…”
“So, if it becomes certain that the two people I have in mind are indeed the Blue Tiger and the Son of God, I think I won’t want to force them to live their lives as the Tiger Clan’s Blue Tiger or as the Son of God.”
“….”
They understood my words as I saw a few of them nod.
Hwang Jiho spoke on their behalf.
“I swear on it. Unless they wish to, I swear to not disturb their lives as human beings.”
Hearing that, I became determined.
“Let’s go check then.”
* * *
Mount Cheonik, at sunset.
Thanks to Jiho’s advance orders, the only ones who are on this mountain right now were me and the Tiger Clan. Also, the mountain spirit that followed me.
As the Cheondansu, the sacred tree of the Tiger Clan began to be seen in the distance, the mountain spirit began to spin around me as if it was excited.
It’s hard to tell because I’m usually in one corner of the room whenever I was with the Tiger Clan and its descendants, but I realize that this mountain spirit is something similar to what appears in fairy tales.
“You said we’d be able to confirm it with the Cheondansu. Just how are you going to identify the existence of Blue Tiger and the Son of God?”
I had specific people in mind.
And I had the skill to judge the authenticity of my reasoning.
That skill is none other than Communicating with Transcendent Universe.
Communication with the transcendent universe that exists beyond dimension, space-time, and space could be used to tell whether I am right or wrong.
However, using the skill would result in a significant burden on my body and mind, and there’s also a possibility that the transcendent universe would not answer.
In this world where I don’t know what could possibly happen, I want to avoid being in a state where I’d be immobile.
But I couldn’t just leave these tigers alone.
‘I think I can ask two questions. Probably.’
So many things happened today.
After being embroiled in that incident in China, I had to use White Tiger’s light skill.
It’s not severe exhaustion, but my stamina is not at its best right now.
That’s why I chose to do this in front of the Cheondansu.
‘The level of my communication skill has gone up here before. I’m not sure, but this place must have something to do with the transcendent universe. Perhaps the likelihood of success would increase in this place. Although it’s not a certain thing, it’s still worth a try.’
I took a deep breath and put my hand on the tree’s pillar.
It’s not the same as when I came here before, but the tree’s bark felt strangely warm.
‘Looks like destiny skill won’t launch here. Does this mean that I have to figure things out on my own?’
If the destiny skill is activated, the communication time seems to be extended by a bit.
It’s a pity, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
I addressed the tigers who were watching me.
“If I faint, please bring me back to my dorm room.”
“What? Jo Euishin, what are you…”
<Skill ‘Communicating with Transcendent Universe’ activated>
Bwoong—!
As the skill was activated, my surroundings became enveloped with light.
Light occupied me, and my mind and body began to feel empty.
Fwaa!
My head tingled and I became able to think again.
I asked the first question.
“Did the Son of God and Blue Tiger become humans?”
Positive.
I felt a blue flash going around my brain.
So the Shapeshifter wasn’t manipulating us after all.
I asked the next question.
“Currently, the Son of God uses the name Gong Cheonghwon, and the Blue Tiger uses the name Hani. Am I right?”
Positive.
Blue flashing light appeared in my mind again.
The tigers watching the process seemed to have shouted something, but it was hard to hear them because I was bombarded with system messages.
<Understanding of the two-dimensional future transform object has increased.>
<Skill ‘Communicating with Transcendent Universe’ level increased from 4 to 5.>
The identity of Blue Tiger and the Son of God were one of this world’s most important secrets, and so my level rose.
However, there was no time to check the effect of this increase in level.
Another system message appeared.
<Warning, excessive communication between Two Dimensional Future Transform Object and Transcendent Universe could result in significant damage to mind and body>
Is it because I have less stamina, or is it because I don’t have the support of the destiny skill?
The time available for communication felt exceptionally short.
Energy wave began to seethe in my body, but I wanted to ask one more question.
I desperately pushed myself to ask it.
“…Is Seongheon doing well?”
However, just like last time, the transcendent universe did not answer me.
There was no affirmation or refutation.
The view gradually darkened and the taste of iron filled my throat.
I tried to ask once more, but another system message appeared.
<Warning, two-dimensional future transform object has reached its limit>
<Restricting access>
“Jo Euishin!”
As my vision darkened even more, I could hear someone calling my name.
However, I was unable to respond as my mind sank into the darkness.
