I have met the head of the Horse Clan, one of the leaders of the 12-point alliance, twice in this world.
The first was during the 12-point alliance talks, and the second was when we picked up Maeng Hyodon in Hongcheon.
Heukma (Black Horse) persistently asked for Maeng Hyodon’s address, insisting that she would return the favor.
‘She said “See you,” when she found out that Maeng Hyodon lives in the Eungwang High dorms. She really went to see him.’
Heukma came to the Eungwang High grounds to show Maeng Hyodon pure kindness.
However, we can’t just let our guard down easily.
“Seeing that you didn’t react right away, you seem unsure if the Horse Clan are potential traitors or not.”
Hwang Jiho was right.
Currently, outliers in the 12-point alliance are the Cow Clan, Snake Clan, Horse Clan, and Monkey Clan.
In addition, only the heads of the 12 clans could be allowed to enter each other’s territories.
If the head of the Horse Clan intends to betray the Tiger Clan, she wouldn’t have been able to enter the district’s boundaries.
“How long has it been since Heukma entered Eungwang District?”
“I’ve only sensed Heukma’s presence when she entered the school’s border. I can’t figure out how long she has been in Eungwang District.”
“You can’t figure it out?”
“Yes. I cannot keep track of the movements of all people of royal lineage in Eungwang unless they use a considerable amount of energy wave, or when I am in my Guardian form.”
The school site of Eungwang High is about 500,000 pyeong, which is a huge area.
It’s a shame though that the Eungwang District can’t be monitored at all times.
“Seeing that she’s showing her presence around the entrance of the school, it is clear that she has no intention of breaking in with brute force. …I see, she’s asking to meet Maeng Hyodon.”
As expected, Heukma has come to meet Maeng Hyodon.”
“Did Heukma contact you through your device?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have her contact number. If the matter is serious enough that she needs to be contacted, I just leave it up to the chief sorcerer. I have no interaction with the Horse Clan.”
His relationship with Heukma was neutral, but he doesn’t have her contact number.
Meanwhile, although he’s not fond of Seodol or Ok Toyeon, he keeps their contact numbers with him.
‘I don’t know if she’s here to thank Maeng Hyodon or if she has any other intentions, but I still have to go meet her.’
This wasn’t really a crisis situation, and the power of the Tiger Clan is sufficient to keep things in order.
No matter what happens, the Tiger Clan can easily take necessary measures to control the situation, so there’s a low risk of meeting with the Heukma.
I can’t miss this opportunity.
“I will contact her as Hwangmyeong’s Chairman and bring her inside. We are looking for the traitor, but it doesn’t change the fact that Heukma is one of the leaders of the 12-point alliance. I intend to at least have courtesy.”
It seems that Hwang Jiho has the same idea as me.
Except for the Tiger Clan, only the Rabbit Tribe knows that the Tiger Clan is looking for the traitor.
Being too wary would potentially reveal that fact.
“However, Jo Euishin, you are not allowed direct contact.”
“We’ve already met before.”
I had told Hwang Jiho about when I encountered the Heukma after the recent typhoon.
It was a bit annoying to report to him my every move, but I can’t help but talk to him about it since he’s the one who’s of royal lineage and a head of a Clan after all.
“I know that. However, I can’t openly reveal that you have a close relationship with the Tiger Clan.”
It would indeed be strange if a high school student appears with the head of the Tiger Clan.
It wasn’t practical to reveal to potential traitors in the alliance that I am working closely with the Tiger Clan.
‘If I’m not careful, it’s possible that someone of royal lineage would intend to kidnap me.’
But can’t I just assume a different form?
As if he read my mind, Hwang Jiho spoke again.
“You can’t wear your crow mask, or show up as the Red Wall Thief.”
All countermeasures and excuses in my mind were blown away by the sudden mention of ‘that word’.
My movements became stiff for a moment as if my brain had been shocked, and this damned old man noticed it right away.
“Hmm. I just felt something strange from you.”
Since then, I did my best to keep my composure.
All I could say was that I was worried about the safety of my playable character.
“…Don’t let anything happen to Maeng Hyodon.”
“Don’t worry.”
* * *
Bang Yoonseob has been having the best time of his life lately.
If someone asked him when his glory days were, he could confidently answer that it was right now.
Bang Yoonseob’s golden age began with the start of school.
— First mission of the second semester for Year One Class Two, 1:1 boss enemy simulation! Let me announce the rankings of who got accomplished the mission within the shortest time.
After the announcement of the first and second names, the third name announced by Moon Saeron shocked everybody.
Of course, Joo Soohyuk was in first place with an overwhelming win.
Moon Saeron was in second.
Although the gap between her and Joo Soohyuk was wide, unlike her chaotic appearance, Moon Saeron is actually quite a fighter.
The next name mentioned was unexpected.
— In third place, the Nameless Supernova’s personal Bbang Shuttle, Bang Yoonseob!
— Heol?
— What the heck? Is the machine broken?
Bang Yoonseob was shocked too as he only expected to be above average at best.
Everyone thought it was an error on the machine, but everyone was convinced after seeing the recording of Bang Yoonseob’s performance.
— I thought this jerk was only a pick-me-up. Looks like he’s not anymore.
— Hey, you better be nice to Bang Yoonseob these days. Don’t talk like that.
— He changed a little after being taught by the grandpa.
Bang Yoonseob, who had just came back from the hell training of Tak Geosan, flew high in terms of physical strength.
From the beginning, Bang Yoonseob had focused on the art and sports world.
The stat he focused on the most was “stamina”.
Bang Yoonseob was at the top of his class in middle school, but when he entered Eungwang High, his performance became quite ambiguous.
If Bang Yoonseob’s parents were interested in his education and asked experts to analyze Bang Yoonseob’s study habits to see if he could enter the top schools in Korea, the expert opinion wouldn’t have predicted that he would be able to enter Eungwang High.
‘But I still got accepted! It’s a late admission, but I’ll lose if I get affected by that. I’m a regular student just like everyone is in here. If I choose the right subjects, I could avoid the ones where I need to use my head…’
Although Bang Yoonseob tried to soothe himself, it had been difficult for Bang Yoonseob to adapt to Eungwang High’s culture.
His position throughout the first semester was very precarious.
His lifestyle was poor, and students rarely got along with Bang Yoonseob, who tend to speak harshly as he tried to hide his inferiority complex.
Joo Soohyuk was always the one who intervened whenever Bang Yoonseob crosses a line.
He also volunteers to be paired up with Bang Yoonseob whenever there were class activities that need to be done in pairs.
For that reason, Joo Soohyuk was the only one he could interact with within his class.
However, during the vacation, Bang Yoonseob tried to change for a certain reason.
— You should always grab the opportunity whenever it comes.
He was angry at that time, but he lowered his pride and became an official disciple of Tak Geosan alongside Maeng Hyodon.
Maeng Hyodon became stronger and faster than him.
Bang Yoonseob was surprised to learn that Maeng Hyodon didn’t have a proper teacher until then.
He had only been imitating people on TV or those who were around him.
‘Was that little punk’s skill fighting all along? That only applies to fist-fights, but I still lose to him even in regular battles!’
When he was in middle school, Bang Yoonseob was beaten in the preliminary round of a nunchucks martial arts competition.
He underestimated Maeng Hyodon, who looked short and had a sloppy form at that time.
However, as soon as their match started, Bang Yoonseob collapsed after being hit by a series of nunchucks strikes by Maeng Hyodon.
Bang Yoonseob thought it was ridiculous that Maeng Hyodon, who had only been imitating people to improve his fighting skills, beat him even though he had been training with nunchucks for several years.
— The range that the nunchucks can reach is quite short, and its attack power is low. If you can’t fight using bare-handed martial arts, you can’t fight properly.
Tak Geosan soothed the frustrated Bang Yoonseob, but his frustrations only grew and his motivation gradually dropped.
Since he was caught attempting to smoke in Hongcheon after the typhoon, Tak Geosan had been more strict on him, and of course, Bang Yoonseob tried several times to escape.
However, once someone is caught under Tak Geosan’s wings, there’s no way they can leave unscathed.
During the candlelight ceremony on Joo-Oh Island, Bang Yoonseob wailed a lot as he thought of his mother.
After that incident, he cried several more times.
But then…
Nothing changes even if he cries it out.
Bang Yoonseob’s parents and his homeroom teacher Noh Youngmi liked the idea of him being taught by Tak Geosan, and Bang Yoonseob has no choice but to endure the hell-like training of the old man.
His motivation dipped a lot, and he went through every day forcing himself to live.
However, after the second semester started, his mind began to change.
Although his motivation died, he accepted being taught by the best teacher anyway.
He didn’t experience the growth that Maeng Hyodon had, but he still became stronger.
Bang Yoonseob improved, and the people around him began to recognize it.
He maintained third place in their simulator class, and in their class’ first practice, he was named as one of the two top contributors.
— Bang Yoonseob’s the biggest contributor. I thought so. He was flying around in the boss room.
— Hey, doesn’t this mean Bbang Yoonseob’s the second-best next to Joo Soohyuk?
— The otherworld faced by Team B is similar in pattern to what Grandpa Tak teaches him. Maybe he’s just lucky?
— Luck is also a skill in the world of players.
As the inferiority complex began to dissipate from Bang Yoonseob, he slowly found himself able to socialize with his classmates.
He no longer felt irritated when great names were mentioned, and he followed Tak Geosan more closely than ever.
He actually agreed to see an exchange match with his classmates after school, but the hint of awkwardness is still there since that was the first time that Bang Yoonseob hung out with the other kids after classes.
They headed to the school gate with a mix of awkwardness and excitement.
“Hey.”
Maeng Hyodon suddenly appeared in front of him.
Bang Yoonseob suddenly felt emotional.
The feeling of inferiority toward guys like Joo Soohyuk or Jo Euishin decreased a lot these days, but this little punk was an exception.
‘Gah, this guy’s right next to me and it’s making me angry…!’
The biggest contributor to Class Zero’s first practice was Jo Euishin, not Maeng Hyodon.
However, Bang Yoonseob knows that if he and Maeng Hyodon attacked the same otherworld, the biggest contributor would be the latter.
He felt emotional at that thought, but he did his best to hide it and pretend like nothing was wrong.
Words flew out of Bang Yoonseob’s mouth, unsure if it sounded like a greeting or if he was picking a fight.
“…What are you doing?”
“I’m going to Chairman Lee’s office.”
Maeng Hyodon replied indifferently as if he was used to Bang Yoonseob’s way of talking.
“I thought you were going to the soccer game.”
“I’m going to stop by the chairman’s office first.”
“Why are you going to the chairman’s office? Are you in trouble?”
Maeng Hyodon took his time before he answered.
“…Remember the head of the Horsey Clan? The Black Horsey wants to see me.”
“It’s Horse Clan, not Horsey Clan. And it’s Heukma, you stone-headed jerk.”
“Oh, right.”
Maeng Hyodon nodded his head as if he really got the terms confused.
Bang Yoonseob felt furious at the thought that this stone-headed kid was much better than him.
‘Wait, if it’s Heukma then…’
Bang Yoonseob belatedly recognized it.
In the mountains of Hongcheon ruined by the typhoon, Tak Geosan and Maeng Hyodon collapsed in the evacuation center after a long night of rescuing people.
And a certain Heukma thanked Maeng Hyodon, saying that she’d return the favor.
“…”
Bang Yoonseob walked past Maeng Hyodon.
If another word was exchanged between them, he felt like he’d really explode from anger.
“Oh, right.”
At that moment, Maeng Hyodon called Bang Yoonseob again.
Maeng Hyodon spoke with a smile.
“Congrats on being the top contributor in your first practice.”
Maeng Hyodon’s smiling face and unadorned words contained pure goodwill and congratulations.
An indescribable sense of inferiority rose again inside Bang Yoonseob.
