Support Ex-Rank
Central area, around the Exit 1 of the Student Association Hall.
After ten hours of the students’ perceived time, things still didn’t seem to progress much.
Enemies appeared sporadically even after they defeated Invidius’ priest and the demon minions.
The situation somewhat subsided, but the students were exhausted from the continuous battle.
The Student Association organized groups for each exit so that students could rest and prevent complete exhaustion of energy waves and physical strength, but mental fatigue accumulated over time.
Students who were heading to the hall to rest talked about the current situation.
“Isn’t it about ten hours after this started? I’m hungry. Are there any cup noodles left?”
“There’s a lot of food earlier, so I bet yeah. Has it been ten hours already? It must’ve been around an hour outside.”
“Shouldn’t reinforcements have come by now? I saw a lot of people waiting outside. At least one of them would’ve reported it to the association…”
The students had some understanding of the crisis in Eungwang High.
Former student representative Do Wonwoo announced through an on-campus broadcast that the flow of time is different inside and outside the school’s boundary, informing them of the possibility of a prolonged situation.
Some students almost panicked when they heard that the time difference was ten hours, but most of them were freshmen who had little experience dealing with otherworlds.
The sophomores and third years who were somewhat accustomed to targeting high-rarity otherworlds know about the SSR-rank otherworlds where time and space are distorted.
The situation quickly settled as the seniors calmly soothed their juniors and voluntarily took charge of the defense lines until the freshmen calmed down.
Of course, not all freshmen panicked.
There were students who faced the situation more resolutely than their seniors.
The students of Year One Class Zero.
They headed outside as if they had waited long for their turn to take charge of defense at Exit 1.
“It’s finally our turn! I wanted to find fragments of Lena’s energy violin.”
“Let’s go. The scroll was still intact so I bet we’ll find it right away.”
“We can’t leave our designated areas, right? The debris must’ve flown far away…”
The students of Class 1-0 in charge of defense were Saeum of April, Mok Wooram, and Min Geurin.
While they were moving with students of other classes who were also in charge of defense, they decided to scope where to search around Exit 1 for fragments of Kwon Lena’s energy violin.
They couldn’t collect much of the debris after the battle with the Demon Race since enemies continued to attack.
They decided to find more pieces when it was their turn to take charge of defense.
“I’ll take a look from above while I’m flying just in case some flew up!”
“You shouldn’t fly too high though, you might encounter enemies.”
“I heard from Euishin that flying in the sky is dangerous! But wouldn’t around three meters high be okay?”
“I don’t think it’s a problem. If a flying enemy approaches, I’ll take care of it. Go to a tree nearby and attack it as support.”
“You must be good at climbing trees and walls, Wooram.”
While Saeum of April flew in the air and looked around trees, Min Geurin and Saeum of April searched the ground.
It was to protect Saeum of April in case of emergency.
What they were doing was less of maintaining the defense line, which was their original task, but the other students in charge of defending Exit 1 didn’t call them out.
This is because most of them watched Kwon Lena’s choice.
They saw her unhesitatingly throw the precious energy violin to save her classmates.
It wasn’t easy to find the debris around the exit messed up from the aftermath of the battle.
Mok Wooram seems to have found a thin, long piece of otherworld ore believed to be a violin string.
“…I feel sorry that we left Lena behind.”
“It’s okay, she’s with the members of the string club. Lena might find it burdensome if she came along.”
Min Geurin replied as she brushed off the dust of the debris she found with a wide flat brush.
Kwon Lena is currently staying in the Student Association Hall with the string club members.
Perhaps the student association excused her because of her low combat abilities, or perhaps in consideration of her situation.
In any case, the students of Class Zero didn’t protest because they wanted Kwon Lena to rest.
Mok Wooram felt relieved to see Kwon Lena resting, but he was worried to be moving separately like this.
Throughout their search, Mok Wooram kept voicing out his worries, and it all ended in self-blame.
“It’s my fault. I was weak, so the Vice President was forced to save me and Lena had to throw the energy violin to protect the VP. That’s why the violin broke like that.”
“…If you put it that way, then I feel the same. I was next to you too. It’s my fault too.”
Mok Wooram and Min Geurin blamed themselves together.
If Kim Yuri and Jo Euishin were there, they would’ve tactfully changed the topic to prevent them from having such thoughts.
If Song Daesok were there, he’d scold Mok Wooram for saying things that made Min Geurin feel guilty.
If Hani were there, she would’ve distributed snacks she always carries around to soothe the kids.
Hwangho would laugh and say that it’s Kwon Lena’s choice and it should be respected.
However, only the three of them were there.
Saeum of April was flying around trees and couldn’t hear their conversation.
The two repeatedly blamed themselves, and the seemingly endless self-criticism between the two ended abruptly at Min Geurin’s words.
“…Weren’t you making a violin?”
“…”
Mok Wooram fell silent.
The two of them seem to be incompatible at first glance, but both of them were great artists and craftsmen who made brilliant works.
Making souvenirs and stage decorations for class events, the two acknowledge each other’s talents and sometimes exchange creative opinions.
Mok Wooram once consulted Min Geurin about the energy violin that he was making.
He had sufficient knowledge of how to make one, but it wasn’t perfect.
Mok Wooram thought that one of the things he lacked was his aesthetic sense.
No matter how much thought he put into designing, he couldn’t produce a design of a violin suitable for Kwon Lena.
So Mok Wooram asked Min Geurin for advice.
“You were sleepless making it during the finals. You returned to your normal lifestyle now, so did you complete it?”
Mok Wooram stayed in his studio throughout the final exam and devoted himself to making the energy violin.
The reason why he rushed its production was because of what happened during their preparation for the exam.
While practicing in the simulator room, Kwon Lena tried to use her energy violin against an enemy, but the violin refused to sound.
The energy violin is influenced by the performer’s energy waves.
Kwon Lena was incredibly nervous and frightened during that time, preventing her from using the violin properly.
Mok Wooram was shocked to see the scene.
The energy violins made by Mok Wooram’s master were all great works and played the best sound.
But Mok Wooram resented the violin that didn’t respond to Kwon Lena’s performance.
That made him hurriedly make an energy violin during the exam period and he lost his sleep.
“…Yes, I wanted to make a violin for Lena that would sound whenever she wanted. And I finished it.”
Mok Wooram took out an item card from his holster.
The item card he pulled out had a violin drawn on it.
The item being cardable was evidence that the violin was high-ranking.
Min Geurin looked at the card, her eyes wide open.
“I couldn’t make a very satisfying work with my current skills, but I did the best I could.”
It’s never easy to make an item card.
It’s also the case with rare item cards such as energy instruments.
In addition, the border of the item card indicates that it was SR-rank.
It’s lower than the SSR-rank violin that Kwon Lena uses, but it was still amazing.
A freshman student making this high-level musical instrument is worthy of a documentary film.
Min Geurin spoke after carefully observing the item card.
“I don’t think it’s bad. No, I think it’s good.”
She wasn’t just saying that because her classmate made it.
The design of the energy violin that Mok Wooram made was good in her eyes.
She didn’t know much about energy instruments, but she found that the drawing was quite valuable.
However, Mok Wooram’s expression remained dark.
He didn’t give it to Kwon Lena even after he completed it, so he doesn’t seem to be satisfied.
“Didn’t you make it to give to Lena? Isn’t this violin better because it makes a sound whenever Lena wants to play?”
Despite a slight lack of eloquence, Min Geurin kept asking questions.
Mok Wooram was just speechless, but he finally spoke with much difficulty.
“But giving Lena an energy violin is…”
Before Mok Wooram’s answer was completed, something came down in front of them.
It was Saeum of April who suddenly descended.
He suddenly spoke in a bright voice that didn’t match the two’s atmosphere of conversation.
“I-I thought of something!”
Min Geurin and Mok Wooram paused and looked at Saeum of April.
Saeum looked at the two’s faces alternately and blinked.
“…?”
“Oh, nothing. What is it?”
Min Geurin asked Saeum of April.
“Ah, right. I thought of something while looking at the sky.”
Saeum of April pointed at Yong Jegun’s miracle that protected Eungwang High.
If Jo Euishin hadn’t warned him not to fly, Saeum of April would’ve flown up high to observe it.
“About the boundary up there, there’s a strange snow falling outside Professor Yong Jegun’s boundary right?”
“I guess so…?”
Min Geurin spoke in a tone of disbelief.
Saeum of April looked at the cyan-colored boundary that seemed a little darker than earlier.
“So what happened to the accumulated snow?”
No one could answer Saeum of April.
Support Ex-Rank
