EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school - Chapter 815

The top floor of the Hwangmyeong Tower.

Kim Shinrok paid more attention to his students as time went by.

Jeokho was anxious to feed and make him drink anything, but Kim Shinrok hadn’t a sip of water after sunset.

There might not be a lot of time left before it’s over, so although the tigers were worried, they weren’t as fussy as Jeokho.

In the meantime, I received a message from a royal lineage who seemed to be aware of the situation.

[Yong Jegun] Euishin-ah, what are you up to?

[Ynog Jegun] It doesn’t happen often that you’re in the same room with Shinrok-ie and Gukeon and Muyeong and the tigers. I’m curious.

I shouldn’t have opened his message, but my fingers worked on their own when I saw my playable character’s name.

As soon as I read the message, another one came from the dragon.

Was he waiting for me to open his message?

I heard that the Dragon Clan was busy welcoming their new shamans after the incident, but I think Yong Jegun freely does what he want.

‘Yoon Yeorang and the dragons are working on a project.’

I didn’t get the details, but it seems to be as important as helping the shamans settle in.

Yoon Yeorang couldn’t actively participate in their class’ confrontation with GeumChanWangChan during April Fool’s Day because of it.

I tried to see if I could help the busy Yoon Yeorang, but she refused my help, saying that she wanted it to be a surprise.

Anyway, in order to facilitate the work of the dragons and the shamans, the Dragon Clan may have deliberately left Yong Jegun to play on his own in Eungwang District.

[Yong Jegun] Since Gukeon and Muyeong haven’t come out yet, I guess they haven’t woken up. They’re still asleep since you have the time to check your messages.

[Yong Jegun] The two of them are taking longer than I did. I want to see them after, but how long do I have to wait?

He deduced that I used Replay on the two people.

He experienced it himself so I guess it can’t be helped that he inferred it so quickly.

If I don’t answer, he might worry that there’s something wrong.

We had a lot of room, so I decided to answer him in good order to prevent confusion.

[Me] It might take a long time. I think it’s better if you meet them sometime else.

[Yong Jegun] Oh, so they’re really in the middle of Replay. Both of them. ^^

I’m sure he already knew that in the first place, but he added some words to make it seem like I revealed it myself.

It was unnecessary, but he just had to take a jab at me.

[Yong Jegun] I’m here, so call me if you’re bored.

[Yong Jegun] (Photo)

[Yong Jegun] ^^

The photo showed part of the 24-hour cafe inside Hwangmyeong Tower.

There was a mint cafe mocha that seemed almost untouched, along with Yong Jegun’s face that smiled exactly like the emoticon he sent.

I don’t know why he’s smiling alone like that when he’s not a fan of sweet things.

Maybe it’s because he’s close by.

“Jo Euishin, did Yong Jegun send that picture?”

“Yeah.”

“I knew that he was nearby, but to think he’s hanging around the cafe…”

“Why is that dragon…”

Hwang Jiho sighed at the photo, while Kim Shinrok wondered.

Jeokho’s face looked like he was thinking Yong Jegun might be able to make Kim Shinrok eat something and looked like he wanted to invite him over.

And then…

Jeon Muyeong’s complexion got visibly bad.

“Student Jeon Muyeong’s energy waves are unstable.”

Even without using skills, the energy waves around him felt visibly disturbed.

Kim Shinrok looked more nervous, worried that something might’ve happened to his student.

Hwang Jiho activated his Glare skill to check on Jeon Muyeong and answered calmly.

“Calm down. It’s a sign that he’s about to wake up.”

Just as Hwang Jiho said, Jeon Muyeong soon regained stability.

All the people who went through Replay had unstable energy waves before they woke up.

Given that their deterioration period was shorter than Yong Jegun’s, it seems like his death was quick.

When watching playable characters through the game, it becomes impossible to move them once they’re fatally injured.

I didn’t know how long they endured and suffered before completely passing away.

‘I’m glad he didn’t suffer for long.’

It still felt distasteful, knowing that I was the one who pushed them into that nightmare.

Soon enough, Jeon Muyeong opened his eyes.

As soon as he did, Jeon Muyeong hurried to his feet.

“Gukeon hyung!”

Jeon Muyeong looked at Sung Gukeon right away as if he couldn’t see me or the tigers.

Soon after finding that Sung Gukeon was still asleep, he checked his energy waves, breathing, and pulse, and found them to be normal.

Jeon Muyeong stumbled as if his body had lost strength, but Kim Shinrok supported him in time.

“Professor Kim Shinrok…?”

Jeon Muyeong looked at Kim Shinrok blankly.

He turned his head as if he was seeing something unbelievable.

After he checked his surroundings, he finally went back to his senses.

Only after seeing me did he murmur things that indicated that he remembered where he was.

“…Right. I see. That was the dream from the Replay.”

The tears in Jeon Muyeong’s red eyes slowly disappeared.

However, even after regaining his composure enough to stand on his own, Jeon Muyeong didn’t push Kim Shinrok’s hand away.

Perhaps he’s glad that the professor who passed away at the beginning of his dream was alive next to him.

It took quite a while for Jeon Muyeong to calm down, but in the meantime, Sung Gukeon didn’t wake up yet.

‘The time difference between them is longer than I thought.’

The Replay ends once they die in that nightmare.

Comparing the current flow of time, it seems like Sung Gukeon lived for at least a few more days than Jeon Muyeong.

Perhaps even weeks.

* * *

Sung Gukeon wandered in the dark for a long time.

It was hell where it wasn’t dark.

He sensed that his body’s sense of time was strange.

‘It can’t have been as long as I’ve felt it. My physical ability hasn’t deteriorated much.’

Something was playing with his senses.

Sung Gukeon realized that he was swallowed up into something.

‘Wasn’t it an otherworld? Is it from someone’s ability? Either way, it would’ve taken a lot of power to isolate me and Muyeong. It’s ridiculous that someone has enough power to do that.’

There were simpler and easier opponents who wanted to assassinate a lawmaker.

There weren’t a lot of fellow assemblymen who agreed with Sung Gukeon’s positions, so if it was to get rid of him in the politics game, the first to suspect were the other lawmakers.

But it didn’t seem to be a simple political purpose.

Kiiiiik…

The darkness disappeared and hell has come into sight again.

Those whom Sung Gukeon failed to protect were crying.

Sung Gukeon was stuck in a loop where he felt guilty and responsible.

If Sung Gukeon’s mind wasn’t as strong, and if he didn’t have the order from a superior being, he would’ve been swallowed by this hell long ago.

‘It’s an ability to attack someone’s mental state.’

People who can attack other’s state of mind have limited power to do so.

But once someone was swallowed up, it was impossible to fight back with physical force.

He needed a different approach.

He had to clearly recognize where he was and find clues to destroy this space.

‘It’s the same pattern as the previous attack. I survived that one, why did they choose the same tactic?’

The way to destroy this hell was simple.

He had to reclaim himself against these vaguely blurred memories and be at peace with himself that he’d made the same choices that he regretted in the past.

It sounded simple, but it wasn’t easy to do that when you’re trapped in a loop.

‘Once I destroy this psychological attack, the one behind this would come to me. As long as I’m here, he’ll keep repeating these memories.’

Sung Gukeon thought objectively.

If everything was meaningless, then there was nothing in this world but despair.

But Sung Gukeon had no intention of giving up.

He fought against what felt like an endless battle.

After a few more rounds, Sung Gukeon realized.

“I see. My attacks aren’t meaningless.”

Sung Gukeon sa through greater darkness.

This hellish loop was a great darkness in itself.

His senses were distorted by the attacks.

“You’re doubling your power to deceive my senses. You must’ve used up a lot already, but this attack is meaningless.”

Kiiiik…!

Cracks began to appear when Sung Gukeon began to realize things.

‘Strange. I don’t feel like I’ve attacked.’

He tried to counterattack, but strangely it didn’t feel like he did damage.

The opponent seemed formidable despite Sung Gukeon’s taunts.

It felt like he was up against a ghost.

Kiiii….

In the meantime, the cracks gradually increased and the darkness disappeared.

Finally, he came out of the darkness, but Sung Gukeon was still trapped.

He wasn’t in his own world.

‘Am I an in otherworld? No, it doesn’t look like a normal one. This is a garden.’

Sung Gukeon was reaching his limit.

He was going to call for help while his opponent was recovering, but he couldn’t use his device to communicate.

And then, what appeared before Sung Gukeon were very strong beings.

“I was going to leave the injured lawmaker alone, but as that person said, it might be easier to just get rid of him. Unsa’s power isn’t working on him too.”

“A few gardens maintained by Unsa collapsed because of that human. What now!”

“Things are going as planned outside, so it’s okay. We can explain.”

They were the twins that Sung Gukeon and Jeon Muyeong saw before they got swallowed up.

The twins were talking innocently with their backs to a huge brazier.

Sung Gukeon felt the twins’ powers and the blazing furnace.

Sung Gukeon looked at his opponents with an eye strengthened by his order.

‘Royal lineage. The one in the furnace is a royal lineage too.’

It was impossible to know why who looked like a royal lineage was on fire.

Looking at the twins, Sung Gukeon knew that he couldn’t overpower them.

Instead of fighting, Sung Gukeon decided to do something else.

‘…I have to leave it to the people behind me.’

Someone would’ve noticed that he’s gone and started looking for him by now.

There will be players who will come looking for him.

He had to leave traces for them.

Sung Gukeon used his device to leave records and clues and quietly activated a spare device.

“If we can’t kill your mind, we have no choice but to kill your body.”

The twins’ powers struck the twins.

Sung Gukeon resisted and endured even for even a second longer to record the twin’s conversation.

“Don’t drag it on. Kill him!”

“Just wait, that human keeps on dodging…!”

Since Sung Gukeon’s strength was exhausted prior, he couldn’t endure for long.

Still, he did an incredible job.

‘I promised that I wouldn’t overdo myself…’

Just before Sung Gukeon died, his aspirations as a politician, his life goals, and his unachieved objectives disappeared.

After the thoughts he always had in his head passed by, he remembered the thoughts he pushed into one corner of his mind.

Sung Gukeon remembered the children who left this world first.

When he recalled his professor, he finally closed his eyes.