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Christmas Day, in front of Eungwang High’s main gate.
Near noon, crowds gathered at each entrance to enter the Christmas charity event.
There were invitees, media companies, streamers who chased for news, and just onlookers who came.
Students from the autonomous organizations were forced to relocate their members in a hurry due to the unexpected number of people entering.
Members who were set to leave for the Christmas event went to school.
With the cooperation of the Hwangmyeong Foundation’s PR Team, they managed to come up with a good idea.
“Merry Christmas! There are more people than yesterday.”
Ji Myungsoo looked around the main gate and said so.
The main gate had the largest crowd among the entrances.
Ji Myungsoo’s words weren’t wrong, but the members of the autonomous organizations who were conducting final inspections stopped for a moment.
Because of the mention of “yesterday.”
“Yeah, that happened yesterday. I almost forgot.”
Kwak Gyungu replied awkwardly.
Following him, the other members of the Student Association followed.
“Huh? Yesterday? Ah… right. That was yesterday.”
“Yeah, there was a problem yesterday during entry.”
“I was there at that time too…”
They were wearing Santa and reindeer clothes for the Christmas spirit, but it felt awkward.
The distortion of time and space made their perception weird.
The members looked at the boundary with anxious faces.
Some of them witnessed the moment it all started.
The people who they thought were visitors suddenly turned into enemies and rammed themselves into the boundary, making it blurry from the inside.
And then, the long fight in isolation began.
They felt like they could hear the sounds again when they closed their eyes.
Hwiik!
Then, flames flashed in front of the members, the heat cutting off their thoughts.
It was from Hongryong summoned by Yeom Junyeol.
“It’s Student Rep Yeom Junyeol’s Hongryong!”
“It’s bigger than I’ve seen before.”
“Is his alias going to change now? I feel like it has to.”
The atmosphere was brightened by Hongryong’s warmth.
Confirming that the mood was lifted, Yeom Junyeol moved his hand in front of the clock tower.
Then, after Hongryong circled the members, he rose high into the sky.
Gwoooo…
Woah!
As Hongryong filled the sky with a flame wrapped around his body, cheering poured from outside the boundary.
Visitors took out their devices and started filming.
Fans of Yeom Junyeol couldn’t control their hearts as they confirmed Hongryong’s health.
“I prepared a show for the people waiting for a long time. I got permission from the PR Team in advance.”
“Hongryong’s fans who are at a different gate must be crying right now. I can’t believe they missed out on this Christmas gift.”
Ji Myungsoo smiled at Kwak Gyungu’s explanation.
Meanwhile, Yeom Junyeol spread flames in the air.
Soon enough, Cheongryong and the other dragons went up to the sky.
While the members couldn’t take their eyes off Hongryong, Ji Myungsoo quietly spoke to Kwak Gyungu.
“It’s being traded with a premium on the invitation right now. Isn’t a ticket needed before coming in? It’s a little big.”
One cannot enter the boundary unless they are registered and unless they have tickets.
The problem is those who bought and sold tickets.
Since it was an invitation ticket for the purpose of charity, measures to prevent scalping were not thoroughly implemented.
Under the circumstances during Christmas Eve, the invitation tickets were being sold for more than ten times their original price.
“We’re now hunting the scalpers.”
“A party to hunt them? Is it a small group or a club?”
“It’s an on-campus party organized to subdue that jerk — I mean, former Professor Choi Pyeondeuk. They have experience in catching wanted players, so I think we can leave that to them.”
Choi Pyeondeuk’s name reminded Ji Myungsoo of the very status quo of wanted criminal party hunts.
That party caught several felons and received prize money and commendations both from the Players’ Association and the national police.
“Oh, Choi Pyeondeuk’s search party. Are they still tracking him? He’s a man who’s earned a lot of grudges. I haven’t heard of him for so long, maybe someone killed him?”
“They say they won’t give up until they see him dead. There are some students who are planning to change into hunters.”
“Really? If they accept graduates, I’ll try it sometime next year.”
“I heard there are several graduates who are helping them.”
By the time Ji Myungsoo’s worries about the tickets were eased, students gathered one by one around the clock tower where Yeom Junyeol stood.
All the students were members of autonomous organizations.
The first ones to appear were Gye Idam and Heo Chaeah.
The two walked in conversation, appearing close.
“You were in the library the whole time?”
“Yeah, there were no enemies there. I think it’s because of the books in the basement.”
“What about food and water?”
“It’s in the library lounge. Just in time, the school replenished supplies there the day before, so we had enough.”
“…Just in time.”
Following the two, Ma Jinseung and Oh Hyeji appeared.
Normally, Yeom Junyeol would’ve ignored Ma Jinseung, but he made a subtle expression and raised his hand to say hello.
Ma Jinseung was puzzled and greeted loudly, saying “Oh, hey!” but Yeom Junyeol was already refocused on Hongryong.
Oh Hyeji spoke when she saw it.
“Hmm, maybe I didn’t need to come. I came because I was afraid that Jinseung and Junyeol would fight on a good day.”
“What about Dongha?”
“Dongha is a bit busy so Jinseung came instead. He said he’ll show up before the event is over though.”
Ji Myungsoo and Oh Hyeji talked for a while.
With entry time less than a minute away, Do Wonwoo arrived.
“You’re all here.”
Do Wonwoo suggested that the heads of all student organizations greet the visitors.
The Hwangmyeong Foundation’s PR team and the Student Association suggested that Do Wonwoo play the central role, but he refused.
— The sudden situation forced me to take on the role of the leader, but I’ve retired from my position as the student representative and I’m going to graduate soon. It’s better for me to refrain from appearing at the front.
Do Wonwoo recommended that the sophomores welcome the visitors instead.
The third years are only here to wait around and prevent unexpected incidents.
Greeting the visitors at the main gate will be the freshmen and sophomores.
When the clock tower’s hour hand moved, Yeom Junyeol called Hongryong over him.
Hwik!
Then, naturally, everyone’s eyes turned to the four sophomores standing in front of the clock tower.
When the bell rang, Yeom Junyeol, Gye Idam, Heo Chaeah, and Ma Jinseung walked to the main gate with everyone’s attention.
***
Mt. Cheonik.
It was near the peak, but this place seemed unknown.
I thought I knew its geography well, but I guess not yet.
After Baekho-gun pulled me out of the water, I looked closely at the surroundings but I couldn’t get a clue.
As if he was bothered that I was looking around, Baekho-gun spoke to me.
“This is the spring where the Tiger Clan’s treasure appears.”
Hearing Baekho-gun’s explanation made me feel dizzy.
The essence of the Tiger Clan was flowing through the cracks that led to the underworld.
I fell there and went to the underworld, so I think I was swept away by the Tiger Clan’s essence when I returned.
‘Wouldn’t the spring be tainted?’
I have to help them clean it up.
My wet body trembled on this cold day and my thoughts weren’t working well.
“…”
Baekho-gun’s hand pulling me became tighter.
“Where are we going?”
“That’s what you’re asking right now?”
I asked Baekho-gun, but the answer came somewhere else.
It was Hwang Jiho, standing near where I could hear his voice.
“We’re going home, of course. Don’t say that you’re going anywhere else.”
Hwang Jiho said so as he fired energy waves at me.
Is he going to tie me up and drag me?
However, perhaps because I had just returned, I didn’t have the energy to defend myself.
My hand was held by Baekho-gun so I couldn’t shake him off and run away.
Fwaaat!
Hwang Jiho’s golden energy waves turned into magic and made a boundary.
My tremors subsided then.
Hwang Jiho protected me from the cold air.
“Don’t let go of him this time.”
Hwang Jiho looked at Baekho-gun and said sarcastically.
Baekho-gun let go because I asked him to though, so why is that old man speaking like that?
“Let me go!”
At that time, I thought my desire came out, but the sound came from Hwang Jiho.
Looking at his hand, I saw something like a lump of ink.
Looking closely, it was Sanryeong.
“If you explain why you suddenly appeared and moved this way, I’ll let you go.”
“W-well, I did just because…”
“You don’t seem like you want to talk.”
What did Sanryeong do to get caught by Hwang Jiho?
Even though Hwang Jiho fired fiercely, Sanryeong rambled until the end and didn’t speak properly.
Just like that, Sanryeong and I were dragged to the tiger’s mansion.
‘It really feels like I’m returning home… No…’
In the bridle of reincarnation, my idea of a “home” was first the Hwangmyeong mansion.
I tried to think of something else, not feeling settled at the thought, but it didn’t work out.
Baekho-gun and Hwang Jiho were talking to me about something, but I was out of it.
When I returned to my senses, we were at Eunho’s annex.
“Welcome back.”
Eunho, in the form of Cheon Sungheon, came out to greet us.
He wasn’t angry like Hwang Jiho, but I felt strangely nervous.
“Come in and sit, please. Are you cold? I’ll check your pulse first.”
In the living room decorated with a Christmas atmosphere, there was a tree and a blanket.
I don’t know if it was the original decoration or prepared for me, but when I sat on the sofa, Eunho covered me with a blanket over my shoulder.
Only then did Baekho-gun let go and Hwang Jiho disabled the boundary.
‘Were they waiting in the living room all this time?’
There were traces of reheated tea on the table.
A bundle of paper next to the teacup as if they had been reading while waiting.
It looked like a catalog of sorts, but I saw a familiar mark.
‘What is that? It looks like a deer antler..’
Eunho, who used energy waves to examine my body, grabbed my wrist and checked my pulse.
“There aren’t any problems except for energy and physical consumption. It’s a relief that we prepared for more serious situations.”
Wouldn’t it be better to head to the school to participate in the event if there’s no problem?
I had something to say, but Eunho’s next words stopped all thoughts.
“Let’s talk then, Red Wall Thief hyung.”
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