EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school - Chapter 853 - Boundary (6)

Tak Geosan had nothing to fear when he was young.

Even in the turbulent times of the Dark Ages when military force was more powerful than any authority, three people were treated as mountains that couldn’t be tread lightly.

First, the great hero, Iron Arm Song Manseok.

Second, Painter Hong Kyungbok.

And third was much stronger than Tak Geosan and respected by the prior two — Sung Hyungwoo.

— Let’s end the Dark Ages, Geosan-ah.

At that time, Sung Hyungwoo took the position of the head of the Players’ Association, a responsibility that no one wanted to take.

A lot of conflict surrounded the position, so it was considered ominous and avoided by all association members.

The then-young Sung Hyungwoo was promoted from branch manager to the head of the association.

Though an unconventional personnel decision, Sung Hyungwoo quickly gained popularity as he easily made people trust him.

If someone other than him had said that the Dark Ages would end, he might’ve been laughed at and ridiculed for having an absurd idealism.

Just a word from Sung Hyungwoo made Tak Geosan nod unknowingly.

Tak Geosan was just a young adult then, and Song Manseok had just gained his alias.

— President-nim? No, just call me hyung.

People would tease him by calling him “manager-nim” in private, and Sung Hyungwoo would always tell people to call him “hyung.”

Most of the older players back then had either died or retired due to serious injuries, so most of the active players were younger folk.

That’s why his juniors, including Tak Geosan, called him “Sung hyung” rather than “President Sung Hyungwoo.”

From the Dark Ages to the Age of Dawn, Sung Hyungwoo was there to support and assist players.

It was thanks to him that the great hero Song Manseok was able to focus on clearing otherworlds.

It was when the safety regulations against otherworlds and enemies were gradually relaxed and the old life they once knew slowly returned, the Dark Ages came to an end.

— I told you we can do it.

Those were the words uttered by a drunk Sung Hyungwoo during the first drinking party in the new era of peace.

Hearing those words, Tak Geosan felt the anxiety in a corner of his heart melt away like snow.

Although the Dark Ages had ended, there were still many problems to be solved — the relationship between royal lineage and humans, the stability of the player training system, the balance between internal regulations of the association and special player laws, the development of a device that can effectively transmit satellite information, and many more.

There was a lot of work to be done to maintain peace, but everything seemed doable as long as Sung Hyungwoo was their leader.

However, not long after, Tak Geosan heard the news of Sung Hyungwoo’s death.

“Why is hyungnim…!”

Decades had passed since Sung Hyungwoo passed away, but the memory was fresh in Tak Geosan’s mind.

He was in disbelief throughout the funeral.

Lots of players left the world as they fought through the Dark Ages, but Tak Geosan never imagined that Sung Hyungwoo would leave this world before he did.

Tak Geosan carried the coffin during the funeral, and only then did the death of Sung Hyungwoo, a death as heavy as a mountain, feel lighter.

Only then did Tak Geosan shed tears.

Tak Geosan double-checked Sung Hyungwoo’s death several times, looking inside the coffin to see the face of the deceased.

After having sent Sung Hyungwoo off with such difficulty, a feeling of despair came over Tak Geosan now that he saw the remains on the garden floor.

‘Professor Tak Geosan called him Sung hyung, and that man reassembled Congressman Sung Gukeon. That means…’

Joo Soohyuk quietly deduced the identity of the corpse and soon realized that it was the former head of the Players’ Association.

The studious Joo Soohyuk knew of the players who were known in modern history, even those who didn’t appear in textbooks.

He surely knew Sung Hyungwoo.

“I asked you why Sung hyung is here!”

“I dunno that too.”

Heukma gave a nonchalant answer, the royal lineage used to see people disheveled in the face of death.

Looking down at Sung Hyungwoo, Heukma said,

“He may be a hero to some, but he was an enemy to others. Even humans can do something like insulting a corpse and damaging the honor of a deceased, isn’t that right?”

Joo Soohyuk thought Heukma’s words were harsh, but he found truth in them.

So many times in history there was a great hero in one country depicted as an enemy in another.

However, this case didn’t seem like a simple case of resentment.

‘Why would they leave his body in such a perfect condition? It takes a lot of power to preserve a body and prevent it from rotting.’

Joo Soohyuk’s gaze fell on the coffin.

The power that Heukma used to move the coffin had disappeared, but traces of it remained.

An ominous energy was felt from the Jin engraved on the surface of the coffin.

‘There are times when a player’s powers remain on their corpse. Was it an attempt to use that?’

Joo Soohyuk recalled something and felt a chill.

Remnants of power are always not very strong, and a third party can’t utilize it for their control.

All that could be done was to remove the power to prevent further damage.

‘There are a lot of new ways to use the abilities involved in this incident.’

Joo Soohyuk felt the clear malice and greed for power surrounding this case.

Joo Soohyuk suppressed his shivers and looked at Tak Geosan carefully.

He prepared to stop him from getting too agitated and becoming hostile toward Heukma.

The latter continued to speak,

“I’m not very interested in humans, but the hero from Hongcheon is an exemption. The White Horses are looking forward to the gathering of the five heroes. I’m interested in one of the five, that’s why I know about this one.”

Heukma slowly examined Sung Hyungwoo.

She looked at his suit and seemed to be searching for something.

“This man must’ve contemplated what would happen after his death. Do you believe that he didn’t know that someone was planning to use his body?”

“…Are you saying that Sung hyung knew?”

“I think you would know the answer.”

Tak Geosan thought about the suspicious death of Sung Hyungwoo.

He appeared to have been murdered.

There was a theory that someone killed him because he was so popular and people were afraid that he’d enter politics.

Another theory was that he was eliminated by the royal lineage, while another said that it was the work of players who were disadvantaged by the association rules he had established.

However, nothing was ever conclusive.

It wasn’t even clear whether he had actually been murdered or if it was a suicide.

But one thing was certain.

“If someone was planning to kill Sung hyung and then use his body for something, there’s no way that Sung hyung would know. But there’s no way he would’ve met death without resisting!”

Heukma nodded, agreeing with Tak Geosan’s thoughts.

“I wonder what else the kid who asked me this favor knows.”

Jo Euishin said that there’s no way the former head of the association would’ve accepted death so easily.

Perhaps his corpse may contain his final plan.

* * *

Covering my right eye, I looked at the door and said,

“We’re here.”

My words were plain, but Hwang Jiho understood right away.

Knowing that Unsa lies beyond this door, his expression is complicated.

Hwang Jiho stood in front of the door.

I thought he would open it right away, eager to see his friend, but instead he looked back at me.

“Are you okay?”

Is he asking me if I’m okay with him opening the door?

I looked at the door with my special eyes, but maybe there’s another trap here.

I checked again with my skills and saw no clear threats.

When I told him this, Hwang Jiho shook his head and said,

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of whatever’s beyond this. I just asked if you were okay.”

“I am.:

“I knew you’d answer like that. There’s a chance that we’ll have to fight right away, so I need to check your condition first.”

If he knew what I’d say, why bother asking?

Hwang Jiho didn’t ask any more questions and just looked at me with his golden eyes.

“The bleeding has stopped, but you still seem hurt.”

Is my energy wave condition bad?

Hwang Jiho must’ve used a higher form of Glare skill.

As I stood silently, Hwang Jiho clicked his tongue and stepped forward.

“I’ll open it. Stay back.”

Instead of directly touching the door, Hwang Jiho used his energy waves.”

Fwick!

The energy waves turned into golden magic, took shape, and opened the door.

When it opened, a different sight unfolded.

What I saw with my skill was a wide space with a furnace at the center, presumably containing Unsa.

But now, we were faced with a forked road.

‘Moving the furnace is difficult. They made the path to it more complicated instead.’

It will be bad if we drag it out for too long.

If we’re slow, they might be able to move the furnace elsewhere.

It’s also possible that they’d abandon the garden and run away with Unsa.

It would be difficult to trace them back unless I feel Unsa’s power directly again.

For now, it’s best to just move along the path.

“Their tricks are obvious. How funny. No matter how strong they are, it’s difficult to perform such petty tricks in a short period of time. There must be a reason why they want to fight one by one.”

Hwang Jiho smirked.

I agree with him.

‘A being so evil that it follows everything that the Black Screen says. I can think of a certain royal lineage.’

The road is forked in three directions.

They want us to separate.

But there was something strange.

‘They know that there are three of us, but they don’t know who we are?’

If this were a normal situation, we would be choosing between two options.

Either we set out on a path together, determined not to lose Unsa, or we separate ways.

Both choices are unpleasant.

But this wasn’t a normal situation.

We have Hwang Jiho.

“A long time ago, I made a wish.”

Long ago, in the Myth of Gaecheon, a nobleman from the Tiger Clan prayed to the Heavenly God, and the God came down from the open sky.

Baekho-gun wished to go anywhere, and Cheongho wished to always serve new people.

And Hwang Jiho’s wish was…

“I wished to exist anywhere.”

The moment Hwang Jiho uttered his wish from the myth, a splendid light shimmered around him.

Then, Hwang Jiho’s shadow split into three.