Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

Yao Ruichi had been a player that attracted attention in Korea even before his entry into the Chinese national team.
Not only was he an excellent player, but he also possessed the rare ability to wield an ethereal instrument, and he was bold enough to try and joke with Hwang Jiho, who was disguised as the president.
That wasn’t all.

Yao Ruichi was from the Chengdu Player Training Center, and he was a student currently completing a special curriculum run by the Three Knights’ Oath.
‘And Yao Ruichi is also the player who used a preservation skill on Cheong-ho’s dobok belt.’
There were five players in the Chinese team who had used the preservation skill on Cheong-ho’s dobok belt, all of whom were closely monitored by the Hojo family.

Yao Ruichi was one of the marked individuals under the Hojo’s watch.
Though this had nothing to do with the tigers of this era, there was no good outcome from being involved with them.
Unfortunately, it seemed that it was already too late.

“This seems like an unexpected situation for even the oracle or the descendants of the dragon tribe. The system allowed five, but now there are six here,” Hwang-ho remarked, observing the scout team.
Meanwhile, the scout members who had just returned from battle were in a state of confusion.
It was understandable since, despite wearing a mask, the face and mannerisms that could be seen through the mask might have reminded them of the 0th class troublemaker.

Even though the golden eyes and hair might have made it harder to immediately associate him with Hwang Jiho, Gwak Kyung-gu was keen-eyed, and Dokgo Miro and Park Seung-hyun were in the same grade, so they likely encountered him often.
Nowadays, Hwang Jiho was acting as if he had no intention of hiding his identity, so it probably didn’t matter much.
This would add to the growing number of students at Eungwang High who now knew Hwang Jiho’s true identity.

‘When broadcasting, it’ll be safer to edit the voice data and carefully blind out the mask area. I believe Eun-ho has been handling this since the moment it became clear that the background was based on the Gaechun Myth.’
Even if he hadn’t taken action due to the urgency, I trusted that the White Tiger would take care of it.
Gwak Kyung-gu looked at Hwang-ho, then glanced toward Yeom Jun-yeol.

His gaze seemed to ask if Yeom Jun-yeol hadn’t noticed that an old Hojo had infiltrated among the younger generation.
Yeom Jun-yeol seemed to understand what Gwak Kyung-gu meant, but pretended not to know and awkwardly smiled, responding.
“Kyung-gu, what happened? I didn’t expect one more to appear, as Hwang-ho mentioned.”
“...We didn’t expect to bring anyone along either.”

Gwak Kyung-gu seemed like he had a lot to say, but perhaps deciding to stick to the necessary words, he sighed and spoke.
While speaking, he slowly laid Yao Ruichi, who had been carried on his back, onto an unfolded sleeping bag. Yao Ruichi had fainted but didn’t seem to have any serious external injuries.
‘If Yao Ruichi were seriously hurt, his otherworld simulation would have ended. He fainted with minor injuries, which has made the situation unclear.’

The otherworld simulator doesn’t calculate mental damage.
Also, fainting doesn’t always result in logging out.
If that were the case, the simulation would have ended the moment he fell asleep.

Normally, if someone fainted, they would be attacked by an enemy afterward, and the simulation would end.
If the scout team hadn’t rescued Yao Ruichi, it wouldn’t have been a huge problem for the Korean team.
To use a sports analogy, it would be like discovering a marathon runner who collapsed, but continuing to run without helping them.

Helping with hydration and other support tasks should be left to the medical team, while it’s wise to keep running toward victory.
‘The three of them are smart, so they wouldn’t be foolish enough not to know what they were doing. They must have had a reason for rescuing him.’
I thought of a few reasons.

Perhaps Yao Ruichi had asked for help first.
Maybe they showed the sports spirit of the exchange event.
Or, there might have been a reason related to the unique nature of this ruined realm simulation.

“We went to scout the situation with the external forces as planned. We moved toward the darkest place in the area to find the source of the cursed darkness.”
Gwak Kyung-gu spoke while looking down at Yao Ruichi’s pale face.
“Then we found Yao Ruichi, who was running from the external forces.”

“Were there others? It seems like Yao Ruichi was alone.”
“There were others, but...”
When Yeom Jun-yeol asked, Gwak Kyung-gu trailed off.

It seemed that the Chinese team had a few more members, but only Yao Ruichi had been rescued.
Though I wanted to ask about the lineup of the Chinese team or the status of the otherworld simulation, it was hard with Hwang-ho right next to us.
If I brought it up, I’d be treated even more suspiciously, so I needed to choose my words carefully.

To continue staying in the Hojo territory, I had to pretend to be the descendant of the dragon tribe and an oracle who was under surveillance.
Considering that, Gwak Kyung-gu also chose his words carefully.
“There were two others with Yao Ruichi.”

“Two? Are you talking about Lu Bo-won or Li Wei?”
“No, those two weren’t there from the start. While the three of them were fighting, two were caught by the external forces' darkness, leaving only Yao Ruichi.”
Given the strength of Lu Bo-won and Li Wei, they likely wouldn’t have been the first to fall.

Just as we had split into two groups, the Chinese team might have done the same.
It seemed that while Lu Bo-won and Li Wei were absent, the problem occurred.
“Our mission was just to scout, so we planned to watch and retreat, but we found something strange.”

Gwak Kyung-gu said this while looking at Park Seung-hyun.
It seemed that Park Seung-hyun was the one who suggested they bring Yao Ruichi after noticing something strange.
Park Seung-hyun was wearing his hood tightly, but his fingers were slightly trembling.

“As you all know, Yao Ruichi is an ethereal instrument player. The other two were protecting Yao Ruichi while he tried to suppress the external forces with his music. Just like Senior Kwon Je-in fights.”
I had expected it, but it seemed Yao Ruichi fought in that role.
So, when the Chinese team split into two groups, it seemed they paired the reckless Lu Bo-won and the healer Li Wei into one group, and the powerful ethereal instrument player Yao Ruichi with the remaining two into another group.

While Park Seung-hyun explained, Dokgo Miro, perhaps recalling the moment, spoke with a slightly admiring tone.
“We didn’t feel the effects of the ethereal powers where we were hiding, but we heard the sound. Didn’t Mr. Grigg once praise the new ethereal instrument player? It wasn’t just for show.”
Mr. Grigg was one of the best performers of this era, alongside the blue violinist Kwon Je-in.

Though he was highly regarded for his musical talent, Mr. Grigg was also famous for being a socially dysfunctional, eccentric person.
If such a musician praised Yao Ruichi, then his skill was unquestionable.
And since ethereal instruments draw power from the player’s ability, it was clear that Yao Ruichi had demonstrated considerable power.

However, there was something strange.
‘Gwak Kyung-gu, Dokgo Miro, and Park Seung-hyun aren’t lacking in ability, but... How did Yao Ruichi escape from an opponent he couldn’t handle? He didn’t just escape—he also rescued Yao Ruichi.’
Park Seung-hyun followed up to resolve my doubts.

“Yao Ruichi’s abilities didn’t work at all on the external forces. It’s as if they were fighting an opponent who nullified sound-based attacks.”
The mention of sound brought many abilities to mind.
Just like Yao Ruichi or Kwon Je-in, who use ethereal instruments to fight with sound, or Gong Cheong-hwan, who activates commands with words.

And there was also the existence of the Newcomer in this era.
The Newcomer spreads their resonant voice across the earth and sky, connecting the celestial beings with the Korean Peninsula.
‘The external forces who spread the cursed darkness must have prepared to fight the Newcomer. If sound-based abilities don’t work, Yao Ruichi must have struggled to fight.’

As Hwang-ho listened, intrigued, his face darkened slightly.
It seemed he was also thinking of the Newcomer.
‘In this era, there was a failed assassination attempt on the Newcomer. Could those external forces have been involved back then?’

The boss enemy was likely preventing the assassination, though.
At any rate, I had found a method that seemed to target the Newcomer, so the operation had progressed somewhat.
Amid the subdued atmosphere, Gwak Kyung-gu spoke.

“The important thing isn’t that. It’s that the sound-based attack didn’t work, and if that’s why Yao Ruichi was in danger, there was nothing we could do. But there was a reason we couldn’t leave him.”
Following Gwak Kyung-gu’s words, Park Seung-hyun nodded gravely.
The scout team had closely observed the movements of the external forces before retreating.

It seemed they were gathering clues, anticipating the possibility of a future battle.
Using the insight skill, they had checked on the two who were caught before Yao Ruichi, and Park Seung-hyun had noticed something strange.
“The external forces didn’t attack the two they caught with darkness. If they had attacked or dealt heavy damage, the simulation... No, they could have easily sent them out of this world. But it seems the external forces had no intention of doing that. Instead, they seemed to be preventing them from harming themselves.”

The external forces hadn’t killed the Chinese team members they captured.
It seemed the players were thoroughly bound, unable to even input the command to end the simulation.
Park Seung-hyun, who first realized this, couldn’t just leave them like that.

“And I also saw the ethereal powers of the captured people slowly leaking into the external forces. If we left them as they were, they would be drained of their power without dying...”
If the external forces drained their ethereal powers completely, there was a chance the simulation would end, but there was also a possibility that the external forces could do something worse.
Ethereal powers regenerate during rest.

So, the external forces might wait until their victims recover and then try to drain their powers again.
“We may be too late for the other two, but we’ve rescued Yao Ruichi. If Yao Ruichi has a way to contact Lu Bo-won, we may find a way to get the others out.”
Gwak Kyung-gu looked at Yeom Jun-yeol.

The role of the offensive leader wasn’t just a title.
The offensive leader could declare a retreat for the entire team.
So, if Yao Ruichi could contact Lu Bo-won, the Chinese team could declare the simulation’s end and retreat.

There was still one more issue.
Having assessed the situation, I spoke to Hwang-ho.
“Could we be allowed to take one more? The person currently asleep seems to have encountered a special external force. We may be able to gather clues about the external forces.”

Since hearing about the external forces whose abilities didn’t work on sound, Hwang-ho had been looking displeased.
I expected that he would agree quickly if we could gather information about those external forces, and just as expected, he agreed swiftly.
“Do it. I’ll get the permission. But if you learn anything about those external forces, you must speak freely.”

With that, Hwang-ho quickly left the area.
It seemed he was heading straight to Eun-ho to convey everything he had just heard here.
After Hwang-ho left, the other members of the scout team carefully examined Yao Ruichi’s condition.

Fortunately, Yao Ruichi didn’t seem to be in any serious danger.
‘Did the external forces possess such powers in the past? I have many questions to ask once I go out.’
If the tigers outside were observing this, they were likely preparing the answers to the questions I would ask.

 
VIP seats at Eun-gwang Global Stadium.
Hwang-ho just received a report and key footage from the otherworldly simulator from his secretary.

Since it contained sensitive information about the Ho-jok, Hwang-ho was going to personally check the footage and report before delivering it to the broadcasting booth.
Hwang-ho pressed his temple while checking the footage he received.
In the footage, Hwang-ho from the mythical era wearing a mask appeared.

[I don’t want to kill him, so what should I do?]
Beside Hwang-ho, Baek-ho looked at the hologram with an indifferent expression, the divine beast in Baek-ho’s arms looked fierce, and Eun-ho looked at it with a gentle expression.