Support Ex-Rank
Sung Siwan didn’t need to elaborate on what he meant.
It should be about our recent attack on an otherworld simulator where we met the former head of the Players’ Association and obtained some clues.
‘He’s probably asking about the clues left by the former head.’
Sung Siwan was defeated mentally that day.
I don’t know exactly how he was beaten, but I could guess based on what the former head said that day.
— My grandson’s image of fear is vague, so other than real memories, he’s scared of the idea of the Dark Ages.
The former head of the association had two attacks.
First, showing a person’s past and regrets.
Second, showing them their future and fear.
Since the former head mentioned the idea of fear, Sung Siwan must’ve been defeated on the second attack.
In front of a virtual future that can be met when a clue from the former head is obtained.
‘He came here despite what he saw.’
An excellent player, Sung Siwan was the former chairman of the Jiikhoe.
Considering his combat capabilities when we fired up the otherworld simulator, it’s not difficult to guess how many otherworlds he attacked and how many enemies he had defeated.
The former head of the association engraved fear in his mind clear enough to destroy him.
The image of fear embodied by the “dark ages” may be more terrible and cruel than what I’ve ever seen.
But despite seeing something unimaginably terrible, Sung Siwan came to me.
‘I thought maybe he wouldn’t ask anymore.’
Sung Siwan, a senior, was busy with the CSAT and the final exams.
I thought he would withdraw from this case since we’ve never talked about that day after it happened.
Contrary to what I thought, Sung Siwan seemed to be determined during the test.
“Oh, is it too late now since you have class tomorrow? I’ll be right back after dinner with Jiikhoe. Can you make time?”
Sung Siwan wants to meet right after Jiikhoe’s dinner party.
Seeing him ask with such a kind look on his face, I almost answered that I would make time without thinking.
But strangely, my mouth didn’t open.
I didn’t have much scheduled today so there’s no problem meeting in the evening, and I thought I should talk to him especially since I already got information from Principal Hwangbo Yoon.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t say yes.
‘Even in the First Christmas scenario, the determined characters had those eyes.’
Sung Siwan didn’t appear explicitly in the First Christmas scenario.
I could only guess based on the ending comment that all of Jiikhoe was wiped out.
Under the snow that day, I’m sure Sung Siwan had the same determined eyes.
I finally spoke after organizing my thoughts.
“I’m sorry. I think it’s a little hard to meet tonight.”
“No, I asked you too suddenly. Then can we meet next time? Let’s choose a day convenient for you, Euishin-ah.”
Sung Siwan showed no offense, replying softly to my words.
It seemed that my intention hasn’t been conveyed.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can talk even on a different day, sunbaenim.”
Sung Siwan was shaken by my words.
I guess he didn’t expect me to refuse so strongly.
“Euishin-ah…?”
I realize I was being quite rude.
Sung Siwan muttered a weak “Oh,” a guess forming in his head.
“Was there a problem with the data you got that day? If that’s the case then why don’t why analyze it together?”
“No, I’ve finished interpreting the data. I found someone based on the clues and talked to them.”
I can’t tell if Sung Siwan realized that I don’t intend to share information.
It seemed that he had never imagined that a junior who he maintained a good relationship with would show this kind of attitude.
I was arrogant or rude, but Sung Siwan just looked troubled.
I was acting like this, but I didn’t intend to end my cooperative relationship with Sung Siwan.
“I want to share information with you after you directly receive the data from him, Sung Siwan sunbaenim.”
“…Huh?”
Goodwill and determination alone cannot change the fated bad ending.
I felt desperate while playing OMH.
I’m well aware of how the good characters died in the scenario.
To clear a game of vicious difficulty, mere goodwill isn’t enough.
“I want you to beat the boss room.”
The AI of the former head of the Players’ Association is the best battle partner.
He knows the weaknesses of who he’s against, and he knows of the existence of a crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
If I send Sung Siwan there, the former head will thoroughly train him.
“So you can’t share it with how I am right now. Then Idam won’t get the information too until he clears it.”
Come to think of it, Gye Bastard was there too.
It was unpleasant just seeing his face so I erased his existence from my mind.
Sung Siwan looked at me and answered with a smile.
“Alright! I’ll clear it. I don’t know how long it will take, but I will do it.”
“No matter how long it takes, but please clear it before Christmas.”
“Hahaha, is the deadline necessary?”
Jiikhoe was wiped out by the Black Screen in the First Christmas scenario.
The current Sung Siwan won’t do.
He needs to train and defeat the former head.
“…Alright. Then I’ll be back after passing his test. Give me some time, Idam-ah.”
Gye Idam was about to say something but eventually nodded.
I’ve practically made Sung Siwan swim in fear.
It wouldn’t be strange for him to get angry at my rude attitude, but he wasn’t mad at all.
“Oh, I enjoyed the moon rabbit rice cake and the glutinous rice cake you sent me before the CSAT. It was delicious. I’ll buy you a meal in return next time.”
He expressed his gratitude rather than getting angry.
Does Sung Siwan have bad luck in terms of his juniors?
It’s ridiculous to think that Gye Idam and I have something in common, but it was clear that we were both lacking juniors to Sung Siwan.
“…I’ll talk to him for a moment. I’ll follow.”
“Oh? Alright, I’ll go first then.”
Gye Idam stayed behind.
I don’t know what else he wants to say.
I opened my mouth after I was sure that there wasn’t anyone around us and no recording device was around.
“What.”
“…What are you going to do about Christmas?”
“I’ll do it on my own.”
“…”
At least it’s clear to me that I don’t need Gye Idam’s help.
What he would or wouldn’t do won’t make a difference.
I’m going to plan Christmas that doesn’t matter whether he’s involved or not.
Sung Siwan is in danger so I’m sure he won’t get in the way.
Wait.
It’s too generous for me to assume that Gye Bastard wouldn’t do anything dumb.
Gye Idam stayed in place despite what I said as if he still had something to say.
I was about to say “Get lost.”
“About the attack that you posted.”
My attack?
Did that bastard just say that?
Well, he couldn’t have cleared PMH on his own.
If I knew this malicious commenter was watching, I would’ve blocked his account or something.
“Did you post something about Ahn Dain’s hidden quest?”
It was a waste of time and energy talking to this hater, but I couldn’t ignore him especially since this is related to my playable character.
There were several hidden scenarios and quests in PMH, and of course, there was one for the main characters Joo Soohyuk and Ahn Dain.
I organized my attacks as soon as I found all kinds of hidden quests.
I answered immediately.
“Of course.”
“…”
Gye Idam remained silent for a while.
The sight of him made me guess what he wanted to say.
“Is there a quest that I didn’t upload a post on?”
Gye Idam nodded.
So is there a reason why this Gye Bastard was sent to this world!
I didn’t want to admit it, but I had no choice but to get information from Gye Idam.
If there’s a hidden quest I haven’t found, there’s only one source to get that information from.
I calmed myself down.
“What is it about?”
“…It happened in her sophomore year, but Ahn Dain didn’t appear much so.”
…He doesn’t know!
There’s no skip function in PMH so he has no choice but to read it all.
I can’t believe his mind skipped it.
I had a sudden urge to hit Gye Idam, but I decided to endure it in consideration of Sung Siwan who was waiting outside for this malicious commenter of a junior.
“Get lost and attack the boss room. Don’t talk to me unless you find out what happened in that quest.”
“Ah, about that…”
“Don’t talk to me.”
I passed by Gye Idam.
He didn’t seem like he was starting to remember what happened in the quest.
‘Maybe there’s an important quest in Ahn Dain’s hidden quest.’
The hidden quest bothered me a lot, but there was no way to know what it was about at the moment.
If Gye Idam is lying, it’s difficult to determine the authenticity of his statement unless I ask Kim Shinrok to torture him.
If his words are true, there’s a way to check them considering the various risks.
‘There’s still time since the quest was when Ahn Dain was in her second year. I’ll think about this later.’
When I arrived at my dormitory room, I saw three packages waiting for me.
To calm myself down, I decided to check them.
The first was a set of surichwi glutinous rice cakes from Ok Toyeon.
Dingdong.
Ok Toyeon’s message arrived in time.
[Ok Toyeon] Benefactor, benefactor!
[Ok Toyeon] I heard from Ok Toyoon unnie that what you ordered last time was for someone else.
[Ok Toyeon] I sent you a set, benefactor. Tell me how you feel!
She’s just realized that the gift sets weren’t for me.
I was a little worried about what to say to her, but her reaction was a relief.
I delivered my thoughts to Ok Toyeon while eating the rice cakes as a substitute for dinner.
I also told her what the seniors thought of the gift sets.
Perhaps she has a lot of time, Ok Toyeon immediately replied.
I was able to conclude our conversation after choosing a high school entrance exam gift for Eunho’s descendants.
The next gift was from Seodol.
‘…Are the heads of the 12-point alliance not busy these days?’
It was a thin tie pin and an art book with a list of accessories released by Neuru.
On the back of the black tie was a small text saying Nameless Supernova and Neuru’s logo.
An attached black card contained Seodol’s message written in white.
It was a long message, but it’s still basically an invitation for me to be Neuru’s ambassador.
‘He’s going to persuade me with actions…!’
The tie-pin was certainly flawless.
It’s practical in a way that it was luxurious but not burdensome to wear with a school uniform.
I sent Seodol a message to the tune of Thanks, but I don’t want to be a model.
In kinder words, of course.
I opened the most colorful delivery box.
‘This is…’
Inside was a souvenir of our theme park picnic made by Ong Gildong.
The aurora-colored souvenirs were designed to remind us of the park during that day.
Balloons in the shape of the castle, headbands reminiscent of the mascot characters, frames with designs similar to the Marchen-style entrances, and many others.
Ong Gildong put a framed photo of our class that day.
In the photo were our class kids wearing our class shirts.
Everyone was smiling brightly.
Taking a long look at the photo, I felt a rush of determination.
After thanking Ong Gildong for the package, I messaged one of my playable characters in the photo.
[Me] Professor Yong Jegun.
He read my message right away.
Support Ex-Rank
