Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

"It happened just as the Seer predicted."
Yeom Jun-yeol, having dismissed the red dragon summon, spoke playfully.

Despite the considerable energy he must have expended dealing with the flame-resistant insects, he lightened the mood with a joke to ease his junior's tension. Truly, Yeom Jun-yeol was a great senior.
Not only that, but he was also an exceptional disciple.
‘To think Yeom Jun-yeol has grown this much.’

Recalling how Yeom Jun-yeol fought while sharing senses with the red dragon gave me a sense of overwhelming pride.
Now Yeom Jun-yeol could wield powers I didn’t possess.
If I were to borrow his strength now and engage in a battle to absorb abilities through flame magic, I’d win easily, but if we fought on a battlefield where sharing senses with the red dragon was necessary, I couldn’t guarantee the outcome.

Before, Yong Jegun had mentioned that Yeom Jun-yeol was struggling with the red dragon transformation training, urging him to replay in order to aid his growth, but I was certain Yeom Jun-yeol hadn’t given up and kept working hard after that.
"I couldn't fight like you just did. That was amazing."
"Ah…!"

Though it was just a casual compliment, the implication was clear: even with Yeom Jun-yeol’s example, she wouldn’t be able to mimic his performance.
The insightful Yeom Jun-yeol quickly interpreted the meaning behind the words and smiled brightly.
It seemed that the joy of using his own unique abilities in battle filled him with happiness.

"It’s thanks to having a great teacher and a competitive rival. I’m grateful. If the Seer hadn’t been by my side, I wouldn’t have been able to fight like this. Thanks to your suggestion, I fought without worry."
Yeom Jun-yeol, perhaps aware of my role, continued to praise the Seer, almost as if painting me in a golden light.
But I didn’t quite understand why it felt like I had suggested the plan when I had done nothing of the sort.

Yao Ruichi, who had been quietly listening, seemed to have the same question.
"He didn’t say anything though? Did you communicate using some kind of code? With the invaders around, and perhaps a beast nearby…"
Of course, the so-called code Yao Ruichi imagined didn’t exist.

I had just come up with a strategy when the red-winged insect appeared, an insect that was resistant to flames.
The invader’s response to the red dragon’s flames had been unnervingly quick.
If they were cautious about the flame-wielding beast, they should have sent the red-winged insects from the start.
At a glance, the attack power of both types of insects seemed similar, but if one of the two units had flame resistance, it made more sense to prioritize using the one with resistance.

Had they just placed the insects burned by Yeom Jun-yeol’s flames in another battlefield, they might have succeeded, but instead, they were quickly wiped out.
Was there a reason they didn’t send the red-winged insects immediately?
By piecing this together, I arrived at two conclusions.

‘First, the red-winged insects have a weakness. Second, the sorcerer controlling them must be close enough to respond to the battlefield situation. Considering these two points, anyone could have predicted the next move.’
I had to find the weakness and eliminate the sorcerer nearby.
The problem was finding that weakness.

Since the insects had flame resistance, they might be weak to water, or perhaps they had poor fuel efficiency.
After observing the insects for a short while, I quickly spotted their weakness.
Even in the wicked darkness, the insects glowed red, and I could faintly see the source of the energy that powered their wings.

That source led to the sorcerer beyond the wicked darkness.
Among the attack squad, only Dokgo Miro and I, who had flame resistance and quick reflexes, could track down the faint presence and defeat the sorcerer in an instant.
"The kids are coming back. Looks like they’re all fine."

Dokgo Miro and Gwak Kyung-gu returned, jumping to avoid stepping on the insects.
Though wearing player shoes, stepping on insect carcasses wouldn’t harm them, but they seemed to avoid it because they didn’t want their shoes getting dirty.
As Park Seung-hyun observed, Gwak Kyung-gu’s uniform top had almost burned away, but his t-shirt underneath seemed in relatively good condition.

It seemed he was wearing heat-resistant clothing because he had spent so much time with the red dragon.
However, he would still be vulnerable to shock, so wearing the team uniform was a better choice.
"Has it been 100 seconds? Are you alright? Do you have a spare uniform?"

"About half the time’s left."
Gwak Kyung-gu looked at me as he spoke.
It seemed he remembered my earlier advice and had executed it himself.

Gwak Kyung-gu said there was still half of the Gwangrim time remaining, more than I had expected.
It seemed he had gotten better at managing Gwangrim during combat.
I was surprised, but then I overheard Gwak Kyung-gu and Yeom Jun-yeol talking.

"We wasted a spare uniform last time during the fight… Do we have any left? If not, I’ll just borrow yours."
"Yeah, I burned it. Should have shared the blessing with you."
"Then it would’ve been hard to use enough firepower to fool the invaders."

Thankfully, there was a spare uniform, as Gwak Kyung-gu checked his card holder and materialized a new one.
Meanwhile, Park Seung-hyun checked on Gwak Kyung-gu’s condition, and it seemed he wouldn’t need to use any recovery items.
On the other hand, Dokgo Miro came back looking in much better shape than Gwak Kyung-gu.

Although I hadn’t directly assigned a dangerous task to Dokgo Miro, it felt like I had pushed him into a risky role, so I was relieved to see him unscathed.
‘Gwak Kyung-gu could endure being overwhelmed by the swarm of insects using Gwangrim, but Dokgo Miro couldn’t. Yet, I still had him go in.’
Gwak Kyung-gu was a capable player, but as he’d claimed, he was excellent at enduring battles against strong opponents.

If I quietly asked if he could approach carefully and defeat the enemy before the insects rampaged, it would be hard to get a positive response.
Moreover, it was doubtful whether he could track down the sorcerer by following the faint traces left by the red-winged insects while maintaining Gwangrim’s blessing for 100 seconds.
In contrast, Dokgo Miro was used to fighting one against many since childhood, typically taking down opponents with a single blow to the head.

When he soloed the Gwangil Police Station raid, identifying the top criminal and smashing everyone who had cooperated with him, it was clear his skill remained intact.
Thus, I thought that if we hid Dokgo Miro’s presence using Yeom Jun-yeol’s fire and Gwak Kyung-gu’s tanking, finding the sorcerer among the insects would be easy.
However, I couldn’t suggest that so easily.

‘That’s something I could have done too. There was no need to assign such a dangerous role to Dokgo Miro…’
Thinking that, I followed the traces of the insects’ energy and glanced at Dokgo Miro, but before I could speak, the Emperor quickly understood my thoughts and rushed into the enemy lines to crush the invader’s head.
And he returned, completely unharmed. If I had carried out the plan in my current state, I wouldn’t have returned as quickly or unscathed as Dokgo Miro.

Dokgo Miro returned with a morning star in one hand and the leg of the invader whose head had been crushed in the other. Aside from some scorch marks on his uniform, he appeared completely unharmed.
Dokgo Miro threw the bound invader onto the ground like he was tossing a piece of trash.
Park Seung-hyun, observing through his Insight skill, seemed to doubt the invader’s weight, which appeared much lighter than expected.

"I brought this. Do you think there’s something useful for analysis?"
What Dokgo Miro referred to as "this" was the sorcerer who had attempted to control the insect swarm and devour Gwak Kyung-gu’s flesh.
It could likely be used to track traces of ability use or handed over to the Hojo or the beasts.

After expressing my gratitude and preparing to apologize for putting Dokgo Miro in a dangerous role, I began to speak.
"Thanks…"
"Don’t worry about it. From now on, I’ll take care of it. But if you need something from me, just say it. I’ll do it according to your plan."

Before I could finish my apology, Dokgo Miro quickly cut me off.
It was more inappropriate to apologize to someone who fought so well. I realized that only after the fact.
At the same time, I felt a sense of reassurance.

Finally, the suffocating feeling lifted, and it seemed like the exhaustion I had been feeling had eased.
I realized that I had been thinking of fighting alone until now.
‘The attack squad members I personally chose to fight alongside. I didn’t rely on them at all until now.’

Had the Tigers been here, things would have been different.
From the beginning, I would’ve told Huang Jiho to hold off the insects and buy time while I thought of a plan, and then after analyzing the situation, I would’ve ordered Baek Ho-gun to quickly defeat the sorcerer beyond the insects.
But I couldn’t do that with the members of this attack squad.

I recalled the end of the game in Plmago, which made it hard to ask them to take risks.
‘But now it’s different. Dokgo Miro is no longer the powerless NPC, and Yeom Jun-yeol uses powers I can’t. Gwak Kyung-gu and Park Seung-hyun are also adapting to new combat strategies.’
I had worked hard to make this world different from Plmago, but I still couldn’t shake the existence of Plmago.

Perhaps because of that awareness, my tired body suddenly felt much lighter.
After preparing, Yeom Jun-yeol stepped forward and spoke.
"Let’s move out. We need to stay cautious since we don’t know how the beasts are moving."

"I think we’ll meet up with the Japanese team’s traps first."
Gwak Kyung-gu’s words proved true.
We hadn’t walked long before we felt a presence.

There was no hostile aura, but we could see a familiar light from beyond the darkness.
It was a light source used for holographic projections of devices.
They had probably guided us to notice their presence.

‘In this darkness, distinguishing friend from foe is difficult, and a melee battle could easily break out. They know this.’
Had the Japanese team been trying to hide their movements and sneak up, there was a possibility that we would’ve attacked them reflexively as soon as they revealed themselves.
As we walked toward the light source, they revealed themselves.

Soon, a familiar face appeared.
‘Hirano Seiji.’
In addition to Hirano Seiji, the entire Japanese team’s attack squad was present.

It was easy to spot that only Hirano Seiji wore the lotus-flower-inspired team uniform.
‘Arihara Tomoaki is one thing, but the other three aren’t wearing the uniform. Two of them looked like they were wearing it before we left, though.’
Living here might have changed something for them.

Hirano Seiji greeted Yeom Jun-yeol, our team leader, in Korean, as if he had been waiting for us.
"Hello, long time no see."
It felt a bit strange to call it "long time no see."

Outside, it probably hadn’t even been half a day.
Yeom Jun-yeol, who was a year older than Hirano Seiji, seemed to have already established a comfortable rapport with him.
"Long time no see. Did you expect us?"

"One of our squad members saw the red dragon. We had set up some traps around there and were keeping an eye on things. We were going to join if things got dangerous, but it ended before that."
Yao Ruichi, upon hearing that, looked at Hirano Seiji with a somewhat subdued expression.
It seemed he was skeptical about their intention to join.

Also, the Japanese team seemed cautious about the Chinese player who had joined us.
They might have been worried about a potential alliance between Korea and China to raid and steal information or clues.
"We actually wanted to consult with your team about something as well."

"What did you want to consult about?"
Rather than making a feeble provocation, Hirano Seiji chose to show his cards openly.
Seeing that, it seemed that the Japanese team’s tactics weren’t too different from Korea or China’s strategies.

Hirano Seiji answered Yeom Jun-yeol’s question.
"It’s about the ‘Demonic Echoes’ that these beings can’t hear."