Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

While everyone was enthusiastically watching the end of the fierce battle, there was another person who felt out of place, aside from Jo Yi-shin.

That person was Yoo Sang-hoon, widely regarded as the best tank player in PlayerZ.

At the request of the event organizers, Yoo Sang-hoon was waiting in the waiting room to take a commemorative photo with the winning team of the team competition. He had been watching the match through the broadcast.

Like Jo Yi-shin, Yoo Sang-hoon noticed a sense of discomfort in In Seon-oh's movements when the third round began.

[Finally, the Gladiator has defeated the Ground Spider! There is no player left with enough firepower to reach the altar in this dusk!]

[The Dove player abandons the defense of his territory and moves to attack directly. It looks like it will be difficult given the distance.]

[Ah, the prayer is complete. The higher existence of Zeta responds to the Lava Mage's prayer!]

[The winner has been decided! The long battle is finally over!]

Yoo Sang-hoon's expression was calm as he listened to the excited voices of the caster and commentator flowing out of the device.

Yoo Sang-hoon had studied how the Gladiator and the Ground Spider fought and had even partied with them in-game to understand their tendencies.

Furthermore, Yoo Sang-hoon loved and knew PlayerZ very well.

Because of this, he quickly realized that In Seon-oh was not aiming to win, but instead was dragging out the game.

'Clever. But Jo Yi-shin must have noticed it too.'

Without even confirming with Jo Yi-shin, Yoo Sang-hoon made that conclusion.

Yoo Sang-hoon knew that Jo Yi-shin and In Seon-oh were both observing each other.

Jo Yi-shin, being highly knowledgeable about PlayerZ, and with him keeping an eye on In Seon-oh, would have noticed it, sooner or later.

While Yoo Sang-hoon was watching the scene where the team he was on raised their trophy amidst the pollen, he noticed In Seon-oh walking towards him through the glass wall.

Having been consoling some of his team members who were feeling dejected after the poor performance in the dusk, In Seon-oh waved his hand slightly when he saw Yoo Sang-hoon.

'Looks like he's coming this way.'

As Yoo Sang-hoon had predicted, In Seon-oh excused himself to his team members and walked over.

Though he had lost, In Seon-oh fought fiercely enough to be considered for the MVP, and yet he didn't seem disappointed at all. N!ote f!ro-m the e$dit-or: Al@w&a+y.s ch*e#c^k M@V2*L$E*MPYR for c$o-rrecti.o-n%s.

Rather, there was a sense of accomplishment in his eyes, as if he had achieved his goal.

"Congrats on winning the individual competition, Sang-hoon."

"Ah, thanks. Are you coming to the next tournament? If so, let's do the individual competition too."

"If needed."

It sounded as though In Seon-oh was implying that if it wasn't necessary, he wouldn't participate.

Though Yoo Sang-hoon didn't plan on probing into the necessity In Seon-oh mentioned, it was disappointing that a player like Ground Spider wouldn't be competing in the tournament.

Afterward, Yoo Sang-hoon and In Seon-oh exchanged comments about their plays in today's match.

As they shared their insights, each admired the other's perceptiveness.

'He's pointing out parts the commentary team didn't notice even with slow-motion replays. He's definitely going to have to keep playing Pledge.'

Just then, a staff member called for Yoo Sang-hoon.

It seemed like it was time for him to go back on stage and take the photo with the winning team.

As In Seon-oh stepped back, telling him to go ahead, Yoo Sang-hoon asked one last question.

"Why were you stalling?"

Even after hearing the question, In Seon-oh didn't seem flustered.

It seemed that In Seon-oh already assumed Yoo Sang-hoon had figured out his intentions.

In Seon-oh turned his back against the window, which showed the darkening outside, and answered.

"There are things you can only understand once it's night."

The finals ended with the defeat of Dusk.

While In Seon-oh accepted his loss, the fans couldn't do the same.

Although they seemed devastated, as if they were about to collapse, they made an effort to cheer as Dusk exited the stage.

Once In Seon-oh and his team members finished greeting and disappeared to the other side of the stage, the two fans were left with gloomy faces.

The class cheered them on, praising their efforts.

"You did great! I'm sure Slbi and Louis' support gave you strength."

"That was impressive cheering. They say a game's outcome is usually decided by individual ability, but this support shows how much external factors can influence things."

"Exactly! I'm sure Seon-oh fought harder because you were cheering for him."

Despite the class trying to console them, Guseulbi and Ongil-dong still looked upset.

"We cheered, so there's no way Seon-oh could have lost!"

"Something went terribly wrong. Once the victory and defeat are clear, accepting it... is difficult!"

Since Guseulbi and Ongil-dong had cheered so hard for In Seon-oh from the moment they knew he would participate, they seemed more devastated than others.

It almost felt like the fans were feeling the loss that In Seon-oh should have felt themselves.

When thinking about why Guseulbi and Ongil-dong had tried so hard to get In Seon-oh into school, things became a bit complicated.

'Didn't they try to get others into school just to stand out themselves? They seem to have lost their original purpose after growing attached.'

Even though In Seon-oh's team lost and the fans were the most noticeable among the audience, In Seon-oh was still receiving much greater attention.

Despite this, Guseulbi and Ongil-dong were genuinely cheering for him.

As the two of them sulked, Gladiator, who was chosen as the MVP of the finals, was sharing a passionate hug with his teammates.

Gladiator, known for his cheerful playstyle and rough voice during voice chat, looked like a slender, sharp young man, which was quite a contrast.

On the other hand, Lava Mage, who was large and looked like a bandit, had even made the commentators mistake their characters at first.

"Do you think we can have dinner with Seon-oh afterward?"

"Probably, he'll be going to an after-party with his team."

As the crowd in SZ Meteor Arena began to leave, our class suggested going out for dinner together.

If the game had ended earlier, it might have been possible, but now it was a bit difficult.

'Not just In Seon-oh, but even the Tigers can't go. I can't keep Hyeonmu or the leaders of the Yang faction waiting any longer.'

Although I didn't hear the exact address, I had heard that the Yang faction's domain was located quite far, so we needed to hurry.

After hearing the situation from us beforehand, Kim Yuri glanced at me and the Tigers and was about to steer the conversation when...

"Since we lost today, let's wrap it up here!"

Yong Je-gun, who had been quiet until now, spoke brightly.

When the class, who had been debating dinner options, made faces at his words, Yong Je-gun's smile widened.

"Actually, I have another engagement after this, so I won't be able to join you for dinner. But if there's a dinner gathering I can't attend, I'd feel bad."

It was typical of Yong Je-gun to try and dismiss everyone for the sake of his own desire to eat.

The class responded with a flood of complaints.

"I can't often go out myself!"

"It's hard to match schedules these days with Da-seok, too..."

"Grina, I'll work overtime or whatever, I'll make more time!"

As the voices of discontent grew louder, Yong Je-gun looked even happier, as if he was enjoying the rare opportunity to hear this.

Before the conversation could drag on, I stepped in to resolve the situation.

"Well, an after-party would be nice with Seon-oh and Yong-sensei! How about we meet next time?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

Following Kim Yuri's words, I chimed in.

Since the class president made the suggestion, the others reluctantly agreed.

After a brief discussion, it was decided that, without Yong Je-gun's consent, he would be the one buying dinner for the after-party.

The overwhelming public opinion was that the troublemaker should buy dinner.

"The kids never got a free meal from Ham Geun-hyung teacher, but now they want to get one from me."

Yong Je-gun said proudly.

I didn't think it was because I was closer to Ham Geun-hyung teacher than to Yong Je-gun, but maybe it was just because I didn't feel bad about it.

Our class kids, even though they'd try to feed or care for Ham Geun-hyung teacher, never seemed to want to take anything from him.

After saying goodbye to the class one by one, the only ones left were those heading to the Yang faction's domain.

"Looks like Seon-oh will arrive before us. Let's hurry."

"Where are we meeting?"

"At the airport. We'll head there first."

In the VIP parking lot of SZ Meteor Arena, Hwang Ji-ho opened the door of the air limousine and spoke.

It was an automatic door, so I didn't understand why he was opening it by hand to show us in.

'He must be thinking of taking a private jet. If he had prepared it in advance, it would indeed be faster.'

Inside the air limousine, there was one more person traveling with us today.

Kim Shin-rok, who had been sitting in the farthest corner, slightly raised his body and greeted us.

"Good job, everyone."

"Je-ho, I didn't do anything."

"We all worked hard fighting against the dragon."

Kim Shin-rok awkwardly corrected his greeting and dragged Yong Je-gun to the corner to sit down.

When I sat near him, Kim Shin-rok looked at me with a softer expression than when he faced Yong Je-gun and asked.

Since the hundred-day celebration, Kim Shin-rok had been speaking to me more comfortably.

"Yi-shin, did that dragon say anything weird to the 0th class kids?"

Although Yong Je-gun had been rambling, I didn't want to say outright that he had been so blatant about it, so I decided to just give the conclusion.

"Yong Je-gun teacher promised to buy dinner for the class."

"Ah, so he really was just rambling."

Yong Je-gun immediately understood what had been going on, knowing full well what had happened.

In fact, Yong Je-gun didn't need to go to the Yang faction's domain, but he had decided to accompany us at Kim Shin-rok's suggestion.

'Yong Je-gun said the nightmare's dust he gave to Kim Shin-rok came from the Yang faction's domain.'

The leader of the Yang faction had personally ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) tried to clear the nightmare's dust from his domain, but his attempts had been futile.

He had even tried to travel to another world through dreams while carrying the dust, but that too ended in failure.

During this time, Yong Je-gun had suggested to the Yang faction's leader that he would take the nightmare's dust and clear it with the Yeoyiboju's powers.

"So, how did you know to go to the Yang faction's domain back then?"

Hwang Ji-ho asked.

Then Yong Je-gun, squinting his eyes as if evaluating something, stared at Hwang Ji-ho.

"Didn't you know? Didn't hear anything?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't need to ask."

"Hmm, should I tell you? Should I not?"

"Stop joking around and just say it."

Kim Shin-rok looked at Yong Je-gun with a disapproving expression, but Yong Je-gun remained unchanged.

This time, Yong Je-gun just stared at me for a while, then asked me.

"What do you think? Should I say it now?"

Why are you asking me?

While I was thinking this, Yong Je-gun glanced at his device and grinned.

He minimized the hologram, so I couldn't tell what he was looking at.

It seemed Yong Je-gun didn't want to answer, as he blatantly changed the subject.

"Oh, there's Seon-oh."

By now, the air limousine had arrived at the airport.

As Yong Je-gun said, I could see In Seon-oh's figure heading toward the Hojo faction's private plane boarding area in the distance.

There were quite a few pedestrians around, but Yong Je-gun had keen eyes.

"Whatever the process was, the leader of the Yang faction owes me a debt. It might not help, but I'll follow."

In the end, Yong Je-gun didn't answer any of the Tigers' questions.

Hwang Ji-ho, Cheong Ho, and Kim Shin-rok looked at him with cold eyes, but Yong Je-gun casually got out of the limousine and made light-hearted comments.

"I should buy tangerine chocolate as a gift for the class. Yi-shin, make sure your gifts don't overlap. You get something like prickly pear or green tea flavor."

The Yang faction's domain was located in Jeju Island.

It seemed like Yong Je-gun was just tagging along as if he was going on a sightseeing trip.