EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school - Chapter 862 - Boundary (15)

The unique color of the UR-rank item card’s border made Jeon Muyeong’s eyes open in disbelief.

Hwang Jiho immediately recognized it.

“That item is from the underworld?”

Hwang Jiho looked at it with a complicated expression.

Perhaps he didn’t expect that I’d pull it out here, or maybe there’s some other reason.

It’s a valuable item, but it’s not worth more than losing Unsa here.

I materialized the card and a worn-out jug appeared which was somewhat uncharacteristic of a UR-rank item.

The jug was heavy, full of the Water of Life.

‘I’ll put out the fire with this first. Depending on the situation, maybe the Herb of Life would be better to use later on.’

The Water of Life, along with the Herb of Life,  is a legendary item that is said to have revived the superior being Ishtar.

It seemed like the best item to save the dying Unsa, but using both life items might be excessive.

Medicine can become poison if taken in excess, and items must be handled with care.

“I will create a gap in the barrier.”

Hwang Jiho manipulated the barrier as if it were a cube.

Soon, a fist-sized gap appeared in the barrier.

Kwaaaaa!

The heat was so strong that I struggled to open my eyes to look at the gap.

Hwang Jiho immediately created another small barrier to contain the heat, but the air still felt hot.

He furrowed his brows, perhaps feeling fatigued from having to extend the elaborate barrier all at once.

I know that, but I can’t stop him.

‘I can’t do much for Hwang Jiho right now.’

We lost the Four Perils and we can’t afford to lose Unsa too.

Hwang Jiho knows that well, so he’s probably pouring all his energy into it.

“You can take your time.”

But I need to finish as quickly as possible, even though it’s not something I can do with haste.

I paid attention and looked for the best opportunity.

Small barriers opened up the path within the furnace.

The fire is still strong, but the Water of Life is sure to reach it.

Drop…

I tiled the jug and the Water of Life fell into the furnace along a thin stream.

If it had been ordinary water, it would’ve been quickly swallowed up by the fire without even a trace.

But this was no ordinary water.

The flames lost their momentum as the Water of Life dripped down and soaked the furnace.

‘There’s an effect.’

It was when half of the contents of the jug was poured when the fire in the brazier went out and turned into smoke.

As I continued to pour it, even the smoke disappeared.

The Water of Life is literally water that gives and saves lives.

It erased those that were driving Unsa to death.

The fire in the furnace went out and the heat was replaced with darkness.

In contrast, Hwang Jiho and Jeon Muyeong’s expressions brightened.

A silhouette covered in thin clouds appeared.

It wasn’t clearly visible, but the silhouette was thin.

‘His strength must’ve been sucked into the furnace, but he has just enough to cover himself with clouds.’

But compared to the clouds in the garden, this one seemed so weak.

It couldn’t even cover his entire body.

The skin exposed through the clouds looked like charcoal, subtle energy waves flowing through it.

Unsa was trying to regenerate with his own power.

“Unsa…”

Hwang Jiho called his friend’s name, eliciting a faint sense of liveliness from Unsa’s energy waves.

Even though he seemed unconscious, Unsa’s powers responded to Hwang Jiho’s voice.

I tilted the bottle even more.

Fwaaa…

As the fire that threatened Unsa’s life went out, the water of life began to heal him directly.

The water touched Unsa’s pitch-black skin and the dead flesh underneath began to move.

Soon enough, Unsa began to move.

‘At this point, I think the Water of Life alone will be enough. It seems like it’s only reviving the body but not the circulation of energy waves though. I don’t know if he’ll open his eyes right away…’

The jug was completely empty before I knew it.

The burns on Unsa’s body all disappeared as the last drop hit.

Although he was very thin and seemed to be knocked out dead, Unsa survived.

Fwaaat!

The jug converted back into a card.

Although it’s an old container, it had great value in itself because it held the water that saved a god.

Although its rarity has dropped significantly, it’s still worth keeping.

Hwang Jiho, who saw that the water was all gone, said,

“I’ll do it next time.”

Hwang Jiho reassembled the small barriers into sharp blade-like shapes and moved towards the link between Unsa and the furnace.

As if intending to sever all connections, the golden blades equaled the number of linkages.

Before delivering the blow, I said,

“Once it’s cut, we should prepare to escape immediately. Please take care of the furnace.”

Hwang Jiho stopped dead in his tracks.

He understood immediately.

“…I was distracted. I wanted to ensure Unsa’s safety. Understood. I will take care of Unsa and the furnace. Each of you take care of your own safety.”

Even though the Black Screen chose the Four Perils over Unsa, there’s no way they would let us go peacefully.

I’m sure they considered this possibility, especially since they knew that the Tiger Clan might come to rescue Unsa.

Jeon Muyeong also understood, nodding with a stern face as he stood behind me and ready to protect my back.

“I’m doing it.”

Hawk!

Hwang Jiho activated his magic and severed the connection.

At the same time, new barriers were rearranged to surround the separated Unsa and the furnace.

The furnace was handled roughly, while Unsa’s was wrapped much more carefully.

‘I know he’s disgusted just looking at it, but he knows we have to retrieve and analyze it right?’

We can’t leave it behind since it was something that the Black Screen personally handled.

The clouds in the garden began to tremble.

“They’re playing tricks until the very end.”

Fwaaat!

Hwang Jiho created a golden path using his barrier skill.

He took the lead as the cloud with Unsa’s body and the furnace floated in the air.

“The garden is collapsing. Everyone is evacuating.”

The garden was designed to shake and collapse if the furnace was touched.

Hwang Jiho’s right, this is the Black Screen’s trick.

My feet felt heavier than usual, but Jeon Muyeong helped me up.

It seemed very familiar as I thought of the time when Jeon Muyeong had to support the seriously injured Sung Gukeon after an otherworld conquest.

“This is the least I could do. Let’s go.”

I couldn’t be stubborn when the garden was falling apart.

If it were Sung Gukeon, he would’ve accepted with a hearty laugh and said, “Haha! Sorry Muyeong-ah.”

I had to pretend to be Sung Gukeon, but I didn’t have the confidence to imitate him now.

There’s something that concerned me more.

‘Will everyone be okay?’

So many people are in the garden right now because of the plan that I built.

Those people are in danger, and there’s nothing I could do about it.

My heart was bitter, but I wasn’t overly anxious.

Thanks to Hwang Jiho.

‘Hwang Jiho must’ve protected them. The fact that he’s not exerting much force here means he’s using it somewhere else.’

The thought helped me focus on our escape.

As we walked along the golden path over the collapsing and distorting clouds, I thought about the future instead of worrying about the others.

Most of what would’ve happened next had to do with Unsa.

Finally, we reached the garden’s exit.

“I see enemies around the exit. They must’ve sensed it too and are trying to escape.”

Jeon Muyeong said in attired voice.

Having tasted the tenacity and wickedness of the underworld through this incident, I was starting to get sick of it.

Hwang Jiho spoke somewhat calmly.

“Don’t worry.”

I think there isn’t just one or two enemies around, but considering that it’s Hwang Jiho…

I thought he would deal with it on his own, but his next words meant something different.

“Our allies are waiting at the border. They said they would wait until we came out.”

Allies?

Does he mean the Tiger Clan?

Jeon Muyeong asked him carefully.

“Allies? Are you talking about the Tiger Clan?”

“The Tiger Clan is waiting outside. There isn’t a single Tiger Clan at the border. Oh well, you could say there is one since this body has a clone there.”

Hwang Jiho’s words were confusing.

Before we knew it, the exit was near.

The enemies gathered there, unable to get out as they were blocked by people.

Tak Geosan was fighting with a broad smile on his face as he just learned about his student’s growth.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

“The exit is about to close. Are you okay?”

I heard Joo Soohyuk’s voice.

Kim Chul was there too.

I heard from Hwang Jiho that he’s here, but I still couldn’t believe it.

Those two were fighting off enemies near Hwang Jiho’s clone.

Judging from the way he spoke, it seemed like Joo Soohyuk had realized Hwang Jiho’s identity.

‘Wouldn’t the same be true for everyone here?’

I don’t know about the others, but I wondered how Eungwang High’s professors, Tak Geosan and Ham Geunhyung, would take it.

Tak Geosan is an honorary professor, but Professor Ham…

Hwang Jiho’s clone at the exit replied to Joo Soohyuk’s words.

“Of course. All of them are here.”

Joo Soohyuk looked this way, his gaze shifting from Hwang Jiho, to Jeon Muyeong, and finally to my missing left eye.

Joo Soohyuk sighed.

“Ah…”

More than the National Assembly member and his sunbae…

He had eyes that were worried for a friend.

He had those eyes even though I still had Sung Gukeon’s appearance.

I couldn’t tell what had happened yet, but I realized it right away.

‘Joo Soohyuk recognized me.’

In the game, Joo Soohyuk recognizes the Black Screen’s plan and tries to stop it despite having far less information than I have right now.

He has great insight, and it wouldn’t be strange for him to figure out my abilities.

The Maeng Hyodon incident may have been the trigger for Joo Soohyuk to use his abilities for his friend.

Swaaaa!

Joo Soohyuk took his gaze away from me and swung his sword, the blades moving like flapping wings and cutting through the enemies.

“Okay, let’s head out!”

Hwang Jiho had just completed the path.

I followed Joo Soohyuk across the border and headed toward reality.