EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school - Chapter 865 - Soul (3)

The words “Dragon Palace” and “moved” in the same sentence felt out of place.

As I blanked out, a fundamental question popped into my mind.

‘Can the Dragon Palace be moved?’

To move usually refers to a person transferring from one place to another, but it almost always never happens that a place itself can be moved.

Besides, isn’t the Dragon Palace deep under the sea?

I vividly recalled how difficult the process was to get to the Dragon Palace.

Cheongryong had to use earth power, and the shamans had to use their five-colored clouds to help with the transfer.

The Dragon Palace was so far from the ground that it was impossible to figure out how to get there.

Still, I know Yong Jegun isn’t lying so I decided to put more thought into it.

‘Considering the strange phenomena that occurred after the worldly collisions, I don’t think it’s impossible. Otherworld gaps ignore the laws of physics too… No, that’s not what’s important.’

I don’t know if it’s the pain or if it’s Yong Jegun’s strange words that is stopping me from thinking straight.

I almost missed the point.

I should’ve thought about what the Dragon Palace meant to the Dragon Clan first.

The Dragon Palace is a symbol of the Dragon Clan’s power and a medium connecting them to the Dragon King.

When Imoogi’s power crushed the Dragon Palace, Cheongryong and Hwangryong were unable to use their powers.

The fact that the Dragon Palace was moved must mean that there was a big change in the Dragon Clan’s mindset.

“The Dragon Palace is the boundary between humans and the gods. It’s a good decision to move what’s isolated to protect that boundary.”

“That much you know, right Hwangho-ssi?”

Yong Jegun had his eyes opened and mouth smiling at Hwang Jiho’s weary face.

But Yong Jegun didn’t look happy.

He was referring to the betrayal of the shamans.

“We know now from the last incident that isolation is more dangerous.”

The shamans lived a closed-off life in the isolated Dragon Palace.

If they were truly completely removed from everything in the secular world that there was no room for the Black Screen to contrive, then that incident wouldn’t have happened.

However, as long as the shamans are selected from among humans and the Dragon Clan is connected to the Dragon Palace, there can be no true isolation.

Even in modern society alone, isolation is nearly impossible.

That incomplete seclusion led to corruption, leading the Dragon Palace to the brink of collapse.

Even if isolation had been achieved, other problems might have arisen

As Yoon Yeorang said,

— Becoming a shaman means abandoning our name and wearing a cloth over our faces, even if the Dragon King does not require it. I think that’s why.

— If we hide our name and face and live in a closed society, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by bad thoughts quickly!

The Dragon King and the Dragon Clan must’ve felt for Yoon Yeorang’s words.

Now that they figured out that the closed society was the cause, they naturally would want to open up the Dragon Palace.

The first step would be to move it up.

‘The dragons realized their mistake, so now they’re choosing a new path.’

Beep!

The navigation system in the air limousine indicated that we were almost at our destination.

As Yong Jegun said, the new Dragon Palace was really close.

What used to be accessible only through great force and pressure was now reachable by a car.

“I’ve been here before. It’s where the Dragon Clan first settled after the otherworldly conflict. It’s the first time I’ve been since I visited to create the barrier,”

Hwang Jiho said as he looked out the window.

As he said, the Dragon Clan had a different residence prior to the Red Lion building.

The exact location is unknown, but it is said that they settled on the west coast after the otherworld conflict.

For the sake of their descendant who wed a human, the Dragon Clan moved to the Red Lion building and risked the power of the 12-point alliance barrier being weakened.

This must be that place.

‘This land is still owned by the Dragon Clan, so I guess they can move the Dragon Palace here.

It’s still a mystery how that huge Dragon Palace was moved.

The palace wasn’t visible from a distance, but it seemed like the navigation was pointing to the fog-covered area.

Just before the air limousine stopped, I suddenly sensed a familiar energy.

‘It’s what I felt in the Dragon Palace.’

The sea fog, which seemed like normal fog at first, looked different when I got closer.

The beach was covered in five colors.

Among them, the sulfur-colored clouds sparkled brighter.

‘It’s Yoon Yeorang’s power. Did she help move the palace?’

Of course, Yoon Yeorang, the Dragon King’s most outstanding shaman, wouldn’t be left out of such an important plan.

Come to think of it, she might’ve hinted at it to me before.

She said she was working on a project, and when I offered to help, she declined and said that it was a surprise.

‘I see! As expected, Yoon Yeorang is the strongest of all the shamans. With her help, the idea of moving the palace doesn’t seem impossible.’

My doubts were resolved.

My playable character, in cooperation with the Dragon King, made it possible.

The doubts turned into admiration.

“Your face suddenly lit up when you saw the clouds.”

“The Dragon Clan’s benefactor is familiar with the shamans’ powers, of course.”

“The Tiger Clan’s benefactor can tell the Tiger Clan’s power too.”

“Don’t you know that the Dragon Clan’s benefactor can transform into my appearance?”

“Of course I do. He took your form and got pierced by a dragon’s fang. How could I not know?”

Useless quibbles from Yong Jegun and Hwang Jiho seemed to have made Jeon Muyeong doubt his airs.

In the midst of the noise, the air limousine finally stopped.

“Lead the way, Yong Jegun.”

“Of course. I’ll guide you.”

It was like Hwang Jiho was entrusting guidance to Yong Jegun, but somehow also seemed like he was using him as a human shield.

As Jeon Muyeong and I alighted the air limousine following Yong Jegun’s instruction, the scenery before my eyes changed.

Swaaaa…

What used to be covered by the five-colored clouds was now clearly visible.

The clouds seemed to move on their own.

“It felt that the master of the Dragon Palace had returned. Good.”

“Be thankful that Jeokho’s not here. He would’ve cursed you intensely.”

I ignored the bickering royal lineages and looked ahead.

I saw the Dragon Palace, the same one I had seen from the seabed.

It was as if the Dragon King and the shamans used their power to move the entirety of that huge palace exactly as it was.

The only difference now was that it was only half-submerged in water.

“The Dragon Palace is actually here…!”

I was still leaning on Jeon Muyeong when he exclaimed in admiration as we walked toward the Palace.

As we passed through the gap filled with five colors, the bickering Hwang Jiho and Yong Jegun looked back at me and Jeon Muyeong.

Their gaze fell first on Jeon Muyeong’s hand supporting me, and then to my covered eye.

Swoosh.

At that moment, the five-colored clouds closed.

As if they were waiting, the two said,

“You can return to your original form now, Jo Euishin. They can’t see us here.”

“Yeah, we’re protected by the palace so you don’t have to imitate Gukeon anymore.”

Those two kept their mouths covered despite the bickering even as we walked towards the palace, careful not to leak any information.

I think it would’ve been better if they didn’t talk nonsense at all, but oh well.

‘Anyway, they’re right. I can release my Player Identity now.’

I made sure that the five colors surrounded us completely before I did so.

In an instant, I returned to my Jo Euishin appearance.

Because of the height difference between Sung Gukeon and me, the clothes I wore and the eye patch became a little loose.

It felt like the eye patch would slip off with one wrong move.

I wanted to fix it, but since it was shaped by Hwang Jiho’s barrier skill, I couldn’t do it with my bare hands.

“…”

There was silence.

The three of them were quietly watching me.

I didn’t know what to do.

The quiet made time feel slow, but fortunately, someone came out to greet me.

Hwik!

Hwangryong’s Unryong minion appeared, riding a small cloud and flying in quickly.

Looking at Unryong’s disheveled state and the pieces of cloud flying here and there, it seemed like it came here in a hurry.

Unryong was delighted to see me, but then it looked at my left eye and was startled, frozen in place.

It’s been a while since we last met, and for it to see me like this…

I should’ve trained more.

As Hwangryong sent out several Unryongs to greet us, all of them had a similar reaction to the little dragon who arrived first.

“…So many clouds today. Come on and show us around,”

Hwang Jiho said, sounding fed up with the sudden appearance of the dragons.

We saw a lot of clouds in the garden today.

The little dragons came to their senses and began guiding us.

The Dragon Palace seen from afar was just as I remembered, but the detailed paths were different.

Hwangryong must’ve reconstructed them.

‘It’s necessary. So much information was leaked to the Black Screen.’

The Unryong led us to the Yellow Dragon Palace, which was in the middle of the five palaces.

The scenery as we walked put me in awe. 

A lot more effort into landscaping was evident, perhaps in preparation for guests coming to the newly relocated Dragon Palace.

There was a pavilion near the Yellow Cloud Lake that I had not seen before, its exterior adorned with ebony and pearls.

It was so beautiful that it was hard to take my eyes off it.

It’s a shame I only have one of two eyes left.

“Hwangryong is very sad and sorry. He originally planned to personally guide the benefactor along this path and show him around that pavilion.”

Yong Jegun’s tone felt sharp.

It seemed like Hwangryong had been looking forward to revealing this place to his guests, but the sudden visit took him by surprise.

As I thought about how to apologize to Hwangryong, Hwang Jiho clicked his tongue with a knowing face.

Eventually, we reached the basement of the Yellow Dragon Palace.

Unryong stopped in front of a large door, and I could feel a powerful energy from beyond.

It felt like they were preparing for a large-scale ceremony.

Creak…

The doors opened and revealed five shadows.

Four of them were shamans, including Yoon Yeorang, and the remaining one was Hwangryong.

Hwangryong stopped and looked this way.

“You’re here. I’ve been waiting for you.”

His face was filled with worry and sadness.