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Outside Eungwang, at the North Gate.
Evacuation was completed the quickest here and only players were left in the area.
The players were either members of the Han River Cycling Team or acquaintances of Team Master Song Manseok.
They were all older players, most of them retired, but they were the veterans who lived through the most dangerous Dark Ages.
No one there was shaken emotionally as the legendary great hero Iron Arm Song Manseok was present in this situation.
They quickly divided themselves, dealt with enemies, took turns to rest, and those who had stamina even managed to organize their surroundings.
“The kids will clean this up later, so save up your energy.”
“You don’t look like you used to. In your prime, you didn’t wear any defensive gear and just dealt with everything with your bare hands.”
“Now we just have to deal with that otherworld and that boundary…”
The area around the north gate was being cleaned up, but the otherworld was still causing problems.
Song Manseok somehow knew that they couldn’t use their abilities well if they approached the gap in the otherworld and asked the players to delay the attack.
As Song Manseok said, energy poison was scattered around the entrance to the otherworld.
Tak Geosan then volunteered, saying that he could deal with the otherworld with his physical strength and not use his abilities.
Tak Geosan’s martial arts skills are recognized by everyone, but everyone also agrees that it is too dangerous.
Despite the dissuasion, Tak Geosan didn’t give up easily.
“Manseok hyungnim, I need to go and see for myself. Two of my students are in there. I don’t have to worry much about the hard-headed guy since he’s got his friends next to him, but the stupid fool Bbang Shuttle is different!”
Tak Geosan said so as he thought about Maeng Hyodon and Bang Yoonseob.
Bbang Shuttle wasn’t the best expression, but Tak Geosan thought it was kind of a nickname for him already.
Tak Geosan decided to go with Song Manseok, but he regrets it now.
He thought he should’ve gone first and watched Bang Yoonseob if he knew this would happen.
While listening to Tak Geosan, Song Manseok and Hong Kyungbok quietly exchanged glances.
They heard things directly from Jo Euishin, and they decided to trust him and move according to his instructions.
But Tak Geosan doesn’t know that.
This is what Jo Euishin told them;
— I’d like to tell Professor Tak Geosan later on. I think he’d want to be with his students if he knew all this beforehand.
Tak Geosan is a fiery character, yet he cares deeply for his students.
He only has two students this year, and if both are inside the dangerous school, he wouldn’t hesitate to go in there with them.
They don’t know how far Jo Euishin read Tak Geosan’s character, but his guess was plausible.
They thought that it wouldn’t matter where Tak Geosan went since he’d add to manpower either way, but Jo Euishin seems to think differently.
— If Professor Tak and Bang Yoonseob move together, there’s a possibility of them getting hurt. I want to avoid that situation.
— Are you worried about the student Bang Yoonsob? Geosan can protect a single student.
Hong Kyungbok asked back like that, but Jo Euishin only shook his head and gave an unexpected answer.
— Not Bang Yoonseob. Professor Tak could get hurt.
At first, they thought that Tak Geosan could get injured while protecting Bang Yoonseob, but it seems to be for a different reason.
From Jo Euishin’s words, it’s Bang Yoonseob who could hurt Tak Geosan.
Jo Euishin revealed that Bang Yoonseob could be overtaken by the influence of the Demon Race.
— If Professor Tak is beside Bang Yoonseob, the Demon Race might feel threatened and adjust the timing of Bang Yoonseob’s explosion.
— That makes sense… But what about student Bang Yoonseob! He’s against a demon, we can’t just leave him alone.
— I received scales from the head of the Snake Clan who gave Bang Yoonseob his order. I also prepared an ability that works well against the Demon Race.
Jo Euishin explained his plan.
The more they heard about the elaborate measures that the young student prepared, the more they admired him.
Hong Kyungbok nodded to Jo Euishin’s words, but Song Manseok was staring at Jo Euishin with the same attitude as the first time.
— I was going to move as you said right from the start.
— …Sorry?
— Every time Daesok and Geurin talk about you, I always hope that the day will come when I can help you.
Jo Euishin didn’t seem to expect Song Manseok to say that.
The latter only had a calm smile, like a grandfather who was looking at his grandchild with immense pride.
— If it weren’t for you, Daesok and Geurin would still be stuck in their rooms. I would’ve left them alone if it made them happy, but those children have dreams.
Song Daesok’s dream was to work with satellites, and Min Geurin’s dream was to paint.
Their dreams might’ve dried up if they continued living in their closed worlds.
Song Manseok felt gratitude to Jo Euishin who made the two go back to school.
— Of course I will do a favor for the benefactor who saved their dreams.
Song Manseok and Hong Kyungbok decided to move as Jo Euishin planned.
So, against the nervous Tak Geosan, Hong Kyungbok feigned ignorance.
“Are you talking about Yoonseob? Didn’t you say he doesn’t go to school often these days…”
“That stupid Bbang Shuttle was sneaking out of school to help the kids! If I told him that I knew, he’d be embarrassed and quit it so I just pretended not to know.”
Tak Geosan seemed to be secretly watching his student while pretending to neglect him.
It may be annoying to have a student like Bang Yoonseob who talks back too much and always skipped training, but Tak Geosan still treasured him.
Judging that it would be difficult to continue holding Tak Geosan down, Song Manseok gestured to him.
“Geosan-ah, come here.”
Tak Geosan clenched his fist and approached Song Manseok.
He emitted energy waves, ready to push away Song Manseok and rush into the otherworld.
Then, Song Manseok spoke in a low voice so that other people couldn’t hear him.
“Your student will be safe. Don’t worry.”
Song Manseok briefly explained Jo Euishin’s plan.
Their role was to remove the enemies on the north gate, take the antidote once they got the signal, and then start attacking the otherworld.
Tak Geosan calmed down a bit when he heard that his student would be safe, but he was still anxious.
“The signal hasn’t come yet. We have to wait.”
“When will this big signal come? How great is it that it can take the attention away from the frozen otherworld and the sky that opened earlier…”
As soon as Tak Geosan said so, an unusual thing happened on the side of Eungwang High.
They saw light shooting over the cloud and the boundary as if they could see the inside.
Kwaaaaaa!
Light spread out from the ground into the sky.
It was the result of Jo Euishin using earth power with the White Fang.
They couldn’t really grasp the situation from the outside, but they fully detected that something out of the usual was happening.
Clear energy rose from Eungwang High, purifying the boundary and the energy poison that oozed out of the frozen otherworlds.
Tak Geosan didn’t know exactly what signal Song Manseok was referring to, but he instinctively knew that this was it.
That must be the signal.
Tak Geosan squinted, trying to examine it closer.
‘What’s happening beyond the boundary? Is it snowing? The color is a bit weird though…’
Click.
Then, Song Manseok offered Tak Geosan the antidote as he walked toward the gap of the otherworld.
Song Manseok, who was firmly standing his ground, now walked and it felt like the mountain moved.
As he walked, the other players followed.
They were the best players who had their names etched in history.
Hong Kyungbok, the members of the Han River Cycling Team.
“Let’s go.”
With Song Manseok’s one word, the otherworld in the north gate was attacked.
The same goes for the Dragon Clan in the east gate.
The Lake of Eternity Team in the west gate.
The Red Lion Team in the south gate.
Players from all gates of Eungwang High went in to clear the frozen otherworlds.
***
Inside Eungwang High.
Everyone witnessed the black snow falling from the sky.
The first one who felt it was the one who performed the miracle earlier on, the Cintamani Yong Jegun.
Yong Jegun was smiling so ecstatically that it made Kim Shinrok feel rotten.
He clicked his finger once and the miracle he made was lifted, the jade-colored space that surrounded Eungwang High scattering and disappearing in a second.
Then, the black snow began to fall.
“It’s snow…!”
Students looked outside the window and saw it too.
The same goes for the students with insight skills.
There was black snow falling on Eungwang High which painted the school black.
As if it was colored by energy waves, the moment the snow touched the ground, it pulverized and disappeared without piling up.
But the large amount of snow still made Eungwang High look black.
The students, who were watching the scene blankly, belatedly came to their senses.
“Wasn’t it broadcasted earlier that we should avoid the snow?”
“Is it that snow though? It’s black now?”
“It must be mixed with energy waves!”
Maybe it’s the enemy’s attack?
Some students were suspicious, but the others with insight skills shook their heads.
Unlike the snow that first fell on Eungwang High, they didn’t feel any evil energy in the black snow.
The first to recognize it were the students from Class 1-0.
“This is… It’s Euishin’s energy waves!”
“It’s the same color as Euishin’s energy waves!”
Unlike the students who backed down when they saw the black snow, the freshmen Class Zero students ran outside.
They immediately recognized the color of Jo Euishin’s energy waves and knew that the snow was harmless.
As they thought, even if the snow directly touched their skin, they experienced no damage.
More and more students recognized that the black snow was mixed with Jo Euishin’s power.
Soon after, Do Wonwoo broadcasted it himself.
[This is the Student Association. Here is what we have learned about the black snow currently falling on campus.]
To put it briefly, the black snow was the result of a student using their power, and getting hit by it would not cause any damage.
He also mentioned that it was different from the snow that fell early on.
When the students heard that, the students who were outside let themselves be hit by the snow with ease.
Students watched the scene created by the black snow all throughout Eungwang High.
Among them was Hwangho, in his form as the teenager Hwang Jiho.
Looking down at the black snowflake that fell to his palm, Hwangho spoke to himself.
“I can’t believe you really made this happen, Jo Euishin.”
Just in time, a carrier pigeon arrived at Hwangho.
It was a message that the private plane sent by a fake disguised as Hwangho passed through the territory of the Korean Peninsula.
Hwangho remained in Korea from beginning to end, but for those who were monitoring the plane, it would appear that Hwangho went abroad and returned in a hurry.
As a result, the King’s movement wasn’t exposed to the enemy, and the match was almost over.
Hwangho looked up at the black snow.
“Now I can freely move as the Guardian of this territory.”
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