Inside the Eungwang Stadium.
The audience buzzed as the dome began to close shortly before the opening ceremony.
The sun was up high but it wasn’t really intense enough to cause heatstroke, and the weather didn’t really indicate that there was a chance of rain, so there really isn’t any reason for the dome to be closed.
The stadium turned dark as the dome roof covered the sky.
The students in Class Zero became uneasy.
“…Why is it so dark?”
“It’s probably because the dome’s closed.”
Maeng Hyodon absentmindedly answered Saeum of April’s question.
Song Daesok spoke after Maeng Hyodon’s thoughtless words.
“Are you stupid? The dome roof just blocks noise and rain from the outside, but it’s not supposed to block light from coming in.”
“I think the dome has a blackout function. Daesok… Did you just call Hyodon stupid?”
Min Geurin’s remarks immediately made Song Daesok apologize.
Maeng Hyodon was fully aware that he was a bit of a stonehead, so he didn’t seem to be offended.
“Oh, I see. So how will we watch the opening ceremony then? I can activate my night vision, but how about you guys?”
“There are lighting towers and auxiliary lights so it’s going to be okay. We used to watch games and concerts at night here in Eungwang Stadium.”
“Oh…”
Kim Yuri spoke to Maeng Hyodon as she showed him a map of the stadium and the facilities inside.
Kwon Lena and Mok Wooram listened excitedly to Kim Yuri’s explanation too as if they were imagining having a performance there.
By the time Kim Yuri finished her explanation, the dome roof was completely closed and the surrounding area turned darker.
Keung!
They waited for the lights to turn on, but they didn’t.
Those in the audience either turned on their device’s flashlight or used a skill to see the surroundings.
From a distance, the audience seems to be a night sky embedded with hundreds of stars.
“Wow… It’s pretty!”
While the kids admired the scene, a huge hologram emerged over the dome roof, showing a number.
The number started at 30 and decreased every second.
“It’s the countdown!”
“It’s the time left until the opening ceremony. I guess the dark atmosphere is part of the show!”
When the number reached zero, a bell rang and resonated throughout the whole stadium.
The sound of the bell hushed the audience.
Fwaa!
A video began to play on the electronic monitors and holograms installed in the stadium.
It was a video produced jointly by the Eungwang High Broadcasting Department and the Public Affairs Office.
Collision between worlds.
The dark ages.
Players’ skills and players fighting on the frontlines.
About 100 years of history were displayed through photographs and video materials.
It also showed the history of Eungwang High and the Player Military Academy.
“Oh, so our school wasn’t a player-specialized school at first!”
“Eungwang High was established before the conflict between worlds happened.”
The video showed Eungwang High becoming a player-specialized high school, and the Player Military Academy establishing a high school.
Players like Iron Fist Song Manseok were also shown overpowering enemies and otherworlds.
The government and the association declaring the end of the Dark Age.
Gradually, the contents of the video became closer to modern times.
The background music which had a grand and dramatic atmosphere gradually took a turn and transitioned to a hopeful tune.
‘This part is played by Kwon Jein sunbaenim!’
‘Oh. It’s a song performed by my teacher’s muse.’
As Kwon Lena and Mok Wooram admired the music, the atmosphere of the video changed.
The devastated cities were restored, and the faces of the people in the video looked hopeful.
Eventually, the current appearance of Eungwang High and the Player Military Academy was shown.
The music transitioned from Kwon Jein’s violin into a wind ensemble played by students.
“Oh, this song is…”
“It sounds like our school’s hymn but…”
Hani turned on her device to check the alt text and additional explanations attached to the live broadcast as provided by the broadcasting department.
According to the captions, the music is a collaboration between Eungwang High and the Military Academy’s military band.
While the school hymn of the two schools rang, Eungwang High’s principal and the head of the Player Military Academy entered the empty VIP seat side by side.
The principal of Eungwang High had long hair, and half of his face was covered with a muffler that contained the logo of the sports exchange match.
“Is that person our school principal? It’s my first time seeing him!”
“He didn’t show up during our entrance ceremony… It seems like he doesn’t like revealing his face.”
“I didn’t even know our principal was a man. I was confused because the name sounded a bit gender-neutral.”
The giant screen showed the entrance of various teachers from both schools.
They all greeted and shook hands with the heads of the two schools, while Hong Kyungbok and Im Yeonhwa were especially greeted since they had connections to both schools.
As all the VIP seats were filled, the cheering teams from each school entered as they were led by the military band.
The Eungwang High cheering squad appeared from the side where the Eungwang High supporters were, and the Military Academy’s cheering squad entered from the opposite side.
Cheers poured from the audience when both squads appeared.
“It’s Dain! Fighting, Dain!”
Kim Yuri waved loudly at Ahn Dain.
The first cheering squad of Eungwang High consisted mostly of the student association members since there wasn’t enough time to hold an audition.
Ahn Dain became part of the cheering squad, and she smiled brightly and waved as if she had found Kim Yuri in the crowd.
“The cheering squad’s uniform is modified from our old school uniform, isn’t it? They made it look so cool…!”
“I want to wear it too…!”
Kim Yuri failed to join the cheering squad because Ham Geunhyung and the chief sorcerer of the Tiger Clan explained that she still hasn’t completely stabilized her energy wave.
While Kim Yuri was feeling disappointed, the cheering squad finished their entrance.
“Oh, they’re coming this way!”
“It looks like they’re coming up to the podium!”
The cheering squad members jumped to their positions using either moving items or their skills.
Meanwhile, Ahn Dain was able to climb up the wall using only her physical abilities.
Everyone was amazed as Ahn Dain jumped and flew like a swan flapping its graceful wings.
When everyone from the cheering squad climbed the podium, the athletes entered next.
“Oh?”
“What’s wrong, Hyodon?”
While everyone cheered on the athletes with the cheering squads’ lead, Maeng Hyodon looked at the athletes from the Player Military Academy.
“I know a guy from the Player Military Academy, but I don’t see him.”
“You know an athlete from the other team?”
“Yeah. I heard he’s part of the basketball team.”
Maeng Hyodon pointed to the team that was holding a “basketball team” sign.
On the other hand, one of the basketball team representatives from Eungwang High also had the same thought as Maeng Hyodon.
‘Do Sihoo is not here.’
Yoo Sanghoon felt strange as he looked at the military academy’s basketball team entering from the other side.
Because the basketball match was one of the most anticipated part of the sports exchange event, the basketball team was the last one to enter the stadium.
There aren’t any more teams after them, but Do Sihoo was nowhere to be found.
[And now, for the congratulatory and opening speech.]
Despite Do Sihoo’s absence, the opening ceremony proceeded as scheduled.
The congratulatory speech was to be given by each school’s head and the opening speech was to be given by the student representatives of each school.
The two heads smoothly gave their respective congratulatory speech, and then it was Do Wonwoo’s, representative of Eungwang High, and a cadet’s turn to give the opening remarks.
But then…
Deung!
The moment the two students stood on the stage, the power supply of the whole stadium went out.
The lights, the music, and the holograms.
They all went out.
The only thing that lit up the stadium was the audience’s device lights or energy waves.
The athlete captain, who was holding the basketball team signage, spoke in a surprised voice as he held his device.
“…The device says there’s a communication signal interruption?”
“The satellite information is dead too.”
The unrest began to fill the whole stadium.
It was Yoo Sanghoon who remained the calmest.
Yoo Sanghood had already encountered this kind of situation twice.
First during the entrance exam, and the second was at the youth retreat.
This would just be added to the list of the strange experiences that he had.
One person came into Yoo Sanghoon’s mind.
‘…I think he’s up to something these days.’
Come to think of it, Jo Euishin wasn’t in the area where the other Class Zero kids were seated.
* * *
Do Sihoo opened his eyes as a sense of starlight flashed in his head.
‘…What was I doing just now?’
A temporary staff room was set up under the center stage of the main stadium.
Do Sihoo, who just came to his senses, stood alone in the temporary staff room.
Staff for stage safety management and special effects were usually in this temporary staff room.
However, all the staff members collapsed, and it seems like it was Do Sihoo who subdued them.
The staffs were also players belonging to either Eungwang High or the Player Military Academy, but they were effortlessly beaten by a surprise attack from a fellow student.
‘Why did I…? Why am I here? Did I knock these people down?’
Do Sihoo desperately tried to retrace his steps.
The last thing he remembers was talking to Jang Namwook before they left the dorms a few hours ago.
He has no recollection of how he got inside the Eungwang Stadium.
When he palmed his throbbing temples, some sparse memory came back to him.
‘I was supposed to be in Eungwang Stadium… I was going to meet Wonwoo and talk about Sanghee before the athletes enter…’
Strange rumors recently circulated within the TC Group, and Do Sihoo knows about them.
They were matters that were difficult to talk about through text, so Do Sihoo planned to meet Do Wonwoo for a short while.
‘Right! I was looking for Wonwoo hyung!’
He couldn’t find Do Wonwoo and so he asked a certain staff, but his memory is completely blank from that point.
Do Sihoo still doesn’t understand the situation completely, but he felt chills in his spine.
He’s not yet sure whether it’s a superior being that interfered, if it was a joke being played by someone of royal lineage, or if he’s possessed by something else.
But it’s clear to him that he’s being controlled by something.
‘I should ask for help.’
However, the door outside was sealed with a boundary, and he had no idea where his device was.
Just in time, the hologram monitoring the stage showed Do Wonwoo and a cadet going up to the stage.
‘They’re about to give the opening speech! Just how long have I been out…!?’
The two stood exactly where they were instructed to during the rehearsal.
The staff room underneath the stage was full of items seething with energy wave.
At first glance, they were items with a high degree of rarity.
“Bombs…!”
Do Sihoo was shocked after he identified the items.
These were bombs of the type that detonate by an energy wave.
Of course, the energy wave can be detected just before the explosion occurs, so Wonwoo and the cadet could easily avoid it in time.
The problem was Do Sihoo’s ability.
‘Don’t tell me…! Was I going to use my light skill to hurt Wonwoo hyung and the cadet?!’
Do Sihoo’s light skill is one that can delay the effect of an energy wave.
It barely has any damage, but it’s close to a capture-type skill and is effective in catching players who rely on the physical fight than strategies.
Do Sihoo immediately tried to break through the stage to try to evacuate everyone.
But…
Fwaaaa!
“Keuhk!”
Do Sihoo’s hands were acting on their own.
Hundreds of invisible threads seem to control Do Sihoo like a puppet.
When he focused to see the energy wave in his body, he saw it.
[This would’ve been easier if you continued to submit your mind to me.]
Do Sihoo heard that thought in his mind before he fainted again.
Against his own will, Do Sihoo used his light skill and tried to use his energy wave to light the bomb items’ fuse.
The faint starlight that held DO Sihoo’s consciousness also began to fade.
* * *
Communication and satellite alerts were all cut off.
As long as the blackout function is used, it will be impossible to see the events inside the dome from the outside.
I checked that I blocked all the ‘Eye’.
White Tiger spoke as soon as I looked at him.
“Jo Euishin. Go stop Do Sihoo right away.”
I decided to use the ability that would convey the will of White Tiger to Do Sihoo.
Energy wave began to flow from my whole body and turned into particles that contained a mild light.
