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The scoreboard has been updated at a frightening speed since Yong Jegun entered the castle.
“Professor Yong Jegun found another treasure!”
“I guess the Class One kids are caught by enemies.”
“Yong-ssaem was the last one hit so it’s difficult to judge.”
“Maybe the score will be divided according to the damage done.”
The score changed every time someone found a treasure and knocked down an enemy.
Class One’s lead was diminished as Yong Jegun quickly caught up with the score.
But Ahn Dain didn’t just wait and see.
“Dain beat the floor master!”
“She’s not just a great shooter. Did you see her hitting the enemy’s vital point with that block?”
“She can handle blunt weapons too.”
Kim Yuri cheered for Ahn Dain’s performance, while the initially disinterested Song Daesok looked excited about the score.
Kim Shinrok was absent-minded as he watched his friend do his best against high school students.
He stared silently as he held a bag full of Cintamani’s Miracles in his arms.
“The time will be over soon. There’s just one treasure left.”
“Looking at the map though, Yong-ssaem is much closer. It’ll turn the tables if he gets that treasure!”
The end of the treasure-hunting match was approaching.
While searching inside a wine cellar, Yong Jegun found a secret device that lifted the space distortion, opening a hidden spire.
The treasure search team tried to stop him, but it was difficult to stop Yong Jegun who was flying while using his spatial skill.
‘But the game’s not decided yet.’
As Yong Jegun focused on searching for treasures, Ahn Dain immersed herself in defeating enemies.
It seems that they decided they could earn more points by defeating enemies than by competing with Yong Jegun in finding treasures.
“Dain arrived at the boss's room!”
“There was a room behind the portrait of the castle’s lord. No wonder that picture was hung there.”
“Ah, I think there was a direction to enter the boss's room, but it was omitted because she attacked right away.”
The otherworld simulator shows a notification that the boss was near, but Ahn Dain guns down the boss before it even appeared.
There was less than a minute left when Ahn Dain pulled the trigger.
Beep!
[Treasure hunt is over.]
The time limit set for the otherworld simulator ended, and a hologram appeared in front of those who participated.
At this point, the score earned by Yong Jegun and Class One is…
“It’s a tie!”
“What? It’s a tie?”
Just before the time limit ended.
Yong Jegun acquired a treasure the size of a box of rings, and Ahn Dain succeeded in defeating the boss enemy.
The result was a tie.
The audience, including our class, was in an uproar that there was no winner.
The most upset were the kids from Class One though.
Then, the referee grabbed the microphone.
“Let me recalculate the score. We will proceed with the calculation while playing the scoring scenes, so if you think there’s a problem with the computation, please protest right away.”
The score is counted with transparency in front of the participants to prevent controversy.
The referee strictly did the recount while watching replays of scenes that were ambiguous.
When students from Class One raised objections, he immediately gave answers.
‘The veteran teacher is on a different tier. But why does he keep looking at our class?’
The referee aliased the Class Zero Reader, looking at the kids in our class and at Class One alternately with a worried expression.
I guess he has many thoughts about this match.
I thought the audience might get bored from the prolonged recalculation process, but the atmosphere became hotter as the highlights were reviewed.
Thanks to replays, the performance of Class One which was divided into groups was better seen.
After the long calculation process…
The score did not change.
‘There wasn’t any mistake.’
As expected of the referee chosen by Ahn Dain herself.
I guess she didn’t just invite him because he’s the student association’s adviser.
Although Ahn Dain fought until the end, Yong Jegun showed overwhelming power too.
It was somehow doubtful that the result was a tie.
‘Maybe Yong Jegun was aiming for a tie from the start.’
Meanwhile, the moment the referee announced the draw, the fortress reflected in the hologram disappeared.
The audience poured warm applause when they saw the actual kids of Class One and Yong Jegun over the barricade.
“That was fun. It’s a shame that the game wasn’t decided.”
Yong Jegun didn’t look the slightest bit disappointed though.
Ahn Dain hid her emotions behind her expressionless face, but the other kids expressed their resentment.
The only one who looked fine was Yoo Sanghoon who was inhaling some mammoth bread.
“…Thank you for participating in the event.”
“Thanks for asking for a showdown.”
Yong Jegun and Ahn Dain shook hands amid the cheers and applause from the audience.
Before he let go of her hand, Yong Jegun briefly whispered something to Ahn Dain.
Seeing it, Sung Gukeon and Jeon Muyeong got up from their seats.
‘I guess they came to see Yong Jegun.’
Sung Gukeon spoke before Kim Shinrok could check up on his class.
“Professor, if you’re going to hand out those books, may I have one?”
“Please give me one too, Professor Kim Shinrok.”
Kim Shinrok failed to refuse the request of his two old students.
I stood behind the two while Kim Shinrok handed over the book with a troubled face.
“Please give me a copy too, Professor Kim Shinrok.”
I wanted to get one more copy for my collection, but I refrained from asking since he didn’t look like he has a lot of copies.
When they found out that Yong Jegun was the book’s main character, my classmates also lined up to get one.
But not all of them.
Min Geurin went back to the exhibition hall, Song Daesok to the association booth, and Maeng Hyodon to buy snacks.
“Where are you going, Miro-yah?”
“I have time until the screening so I’ll go look around.”
Dokgo Miro doesn’t seem interested in the book, but her demeanor bothered me a little.
‘She would’ve asked Hani to go with her if she was going to look around the festival.’
Dokgo Miro wanted to move alone.
While receiving a copy of the book, Hani stared at Dokgo Miro’s back as she disappeared into the crowd.
***
After the treasure-hunting event, Class One kids began to clean up.
The kids’ hands were slow, perhaps an aftereffect of the draw with Yong Jegun.
Though it wasn’t just the result of the showdown that discouraged them.
“I participated in the event too, so I’ll help you.”
Yong Jegun shamelessly mixed in with them.
The kids wanted to kick out the dragon of amusement right away, but Kim Shinrok stopped them.
“The place is huge, so it would be good to let Professor Kim Shinrok help.”
“Yeah, leave it to me.”
“…”
Kim Shinrok decided to use Yong Jegun as additional manpower, so the kids had no choice.
The professor added a word as the children pressed down on their complaints.
“Leave it to us. You guys can take a rest. Good job on organizing the event.”
The kids realized why Kim Shinrok didn’t shoo away Yong Jegun — he wanted them to take a rest.
Class 1-1, who was almost a little disappointed, were quickly relieved.
They wouldn’t have understood it If it were the beginning of the semester, but they were different now.
“Ah, it’s alright! We’ll help!”
“You should rest instead, Professor. You’ve been very busy.”
“Sorry, we didn’t win.”
The warm atmosphere was touching, but it didn’t last long.
“What’s that in your hand, Professor? A book…?”
“…Were you busy because of this book, Professor?”
Upon seeing the book titled Cintamani’s Miracle, Class One’s faces immediately looked distorted.
On the other hand, Yong Jegun was very happy to see the cyan cover.
His expression became more and more ecstatic with every turn of the page.
Some kids from Class One with weak temperaments even felt dizzy when they saw his expression.
“So you were making something like this, Professor Kim Shinrok.”
“…I said I’d help you.”
I was Kim Shinrok’s way of helping Yong Jegun become a superior being.
However, in the eyes of the Class One kids who didn’t know this, it seemed that Yong Jegun had Kim Shinrok write his autobiography.
Misunderstandings and anger swirled among the children in Class 1-1.
After cleaning up, Ahn Dain read the Cintamani’s Miracles with a cold face.
“Sorry I called you out.”
Ahn Dain closed the book and turned her eyes to Yong Jegun’s voice.
Yong Jegun asked Ahn Dain to give him a moment when they shook hands after the event.
Ahn Dain accepted because she had a lot of questions she wanted to ask him too.
Ahn Dain turned down all the dinners from interested professional player team scouts and came here.
“Before I talk, should I listen to your questions first, Dain-ah?”
“What makes you think I’m going to ask a question?”
“You would’ve refused if you didn’t have questions.”
Ahn Dain’s hand that held the book became tense.
Though since it was Kim Shinrok who made it, she was careful not to crumple the book.
“I don’t think it was a tie.”
“The student association’s adviser’s calculation was accurate though.”
“Yes, I confirmed it after that. It was our complete defeat.”
Ahn Dain tried to speak calmly, but her voice shook slightly.
“We set up a rule that could win and presented it to you, Professor Yong Jegun. Considering our preparation and the number of people in our class, we were at a huge advantage. Yet it was a tie. It’s tantamount to us losing.”
“I was lucky.”
“The result wasn’t decided by luck.”
Ahn Dain said flatly.
“The gun barrel turned cyan when I looked closely at the energy wave cannon.”
“That’s because I enclosed it in a space.”
“I’m talking about the cross-section.”
Before Yong Jegun’s hand reached the canon’s mouth, it was already cyan.
Ahn Dain guessed that Yong Jegun already dealt with it using his energy waves the moment his eyes opened wide.
In other words, at that point, the canon was already compromised.
“Professor Yong Jegun, you have limitations in your powers inside the campus. So we decided that we would have a chance of winning if we had the showdown on campus. But we still lost.”
Ahn Dain kept this quiet to not discourage her classmates.
She did her best and didn’t give up until the end, but Ahn Dain expected the loss.
But the result was a tie.
Ahn Dain was convinced that Yong Jegun intended the result.
“I was aiming for a tie, that’s true. But it was difficult if I didn’t get lucky. I told you, you would’ve won if the showdown had been a few days earlier.”
Yong Jegun’s power was bound by a teacher’s contract.
But it was different now.
‘I revised my contract ahead of Christmas.’
Yong Jegun omitted a provision.
Ahn Dain seemed confused, but she didn’t ask what Yong Jegun wasn’t likely to answer.
“Why did you aim for a tie when you could’ve won?”
“It seemed more fun. Also, I don’t want to lose, but I don’t think it would be much use even if I win.”
“…”
“I want to go to your class event, but I might not be able to.”
Yong Jegun asked Ahn Dain the same favor he asked Sung Gukeon.
“If I become a superior being, I want you to protect Kim Shinrok from royal lineage.”
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