Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

When Korean players hear the term "tinnitus," they usually associate it with an unremarkable nickname, like a nameless rising star.
But right now, Hirano Seiji was referring to the condition of hearing sounds without an audio source, "tinnitus" (耳鳴), in a more literal sense.
‘I did hear tinnitus. But did the Japanese team think it was a significant factor worth consulting over?’

We've heard tinnitus twice here.
Once, while following the sound of a song, I encountered Cheongho and spoke with him.
The second time was just before we engaged with the swarm of insects.

The information gathered from these two occurrences of tinnitus was actually not much.
Furthermore, the tinnitus I heard during my conversation with Cheongho was only heard by Dokgo Miro and me, and I hadn't shared it with the other team members yet.
‘Right after that, Yao Ruichi woke up, and the wicked darkness covered the sky, so we didn’t have time to discuss the tinnitus. Even with that included, it’s still only two occurrences. The Korean team was barely involved with tinnitus, but is it different for the others?’

Then, the conversation I had with Cheongho right before hearing the tinnitus might be a crucial clue.
Dokgo Miro seemed to share the same thought, quietly glancing at me.
As I recalled the conversation with Cheongho, the situation, and the moment when the tinnitus occurred, Yeom Jun-yeol addressed Hirano Seiji.

"I’ve experienced tinnitus before too. The Chinese team members mentioned it as well."
At this moment, Yeom Jun-yeol didn’t have much information about tinnitus himself.
However, he wasn’t foolish enough to openly reveal that he had little to offer.

Yeom Jun-yeol cleverly steered the conversation, subtly leading Yao Ruichi to speak more freely.
Yao Ruichi hesitated, then nodded and spoke.
"Yes, I’ve heard it. We used Bo-won’s shadow magic to hide among the invaders. I heard it a few times back then."

"To hide among the invaders? That’s impressive. How did you apply the shadow magic?"
"Uh… talking about my team’s abilities is a bit…"
"It’s okay. You don’t have to answer questions that make you uncomfortable."
Yeom Jun-yeol immediately backed off when Yao Ruichi seemed reluctant to talk.

Though Yao Ruichi tried to avoid the question, he had already revealed some valuable clues.
The Chinese team had gathered information among the invaders.
Lu Bo-won had the strength to hide even among the invaders.

They had heard the tinnitus while spending time among the invaders.
I didn’t think there would be an issue with hearing that information since I had saved Yao Ruichi, but from the Chinese team’s perspective, it might not be something they would welcome.
Within the Chinese team, I imagined Li Wei might have been the one organizing the information.

Lu Bo-won was overly bold, and Yao Ruichi had many gaps to exploit.
"Seems like everyone heard the tinnitus. But why do you think they wanted to consult about it?"
Hirano Seiji, who had been quietly listening to Yao Ruichi, responded to Yeom Jun-yeol’s question.

"I thought it was a clue necessary to clear the simulation. If it dragged on, it would affect the next match, so collaborating with other teams seemed like the right move..."
"I don’t mind if it drags on. The air here is nice, so I could stay a bit longer."
Arihara Tomoaki interrupted, cutting into the conversation.

Though I had only seen his face a few times, this was the most content I’d seen him yet.
It probably had something to do with his remark about the "good air."
‘It’s probably because of the scent Kozuka Yashiro used.’

When I visited the Japanese team’s headquarters to meet Kozuka Yashiro, Arihara Tomoaki had warned me:
"If you converse with the fox, you’ll end up like Hirano Seiji—your mind will get messed up."
And now, two players who were likely aligned with the pro-fox faction were no longer wearing the team uniforms, possibly because the "good air" had alleviated the brainwashing effect.

"Don’t you think so? You should understand it."
Arihara Tomoaki suddenly addressed me.
Even with my neck warmer or hood concealing my face, the various body types among our team would have made it obvious I was Jo Yi-shin.

From the start, I hadn’t been affected by the fox’s scent thanks to the White Tiger, and Kozuka Yashiro was aware of this.
I had figured out the situation but decided to pretend I didn’t.
"I think it’s better to finish the simulation quickly. Even if the flow of time is different, we still have to think about the audience cheering for us."

Arihara Tomoaki frowned and seemed about to say something more, but before he could, Hirano Seiji interjected.
"That’s right, Arihara. It’s the same for the audience and the players. The simulation has limits in measuring players' mental fatigue. Staying too long isn’t good."
"Thirty-two."

Every time Hirano Seiji addressed him by his surname, Arihara Tomoaki seemed to break something prepared for Renzo-in Karen, as if he planned to destroy it after they returned.
At this point, I had realized how insistent Hirano Seiji was in sticking to his formality.
Though the conversation had momentarily veered off course, we returned to discussing tinnitus.

"Then, the Chinese team heard the tinnitus the day after they arrived here. They tried to launch a surprise attack on the Hojo’s domain at that time?"
"Yes, but I don’t know how that attempt went. At the time, I was more focused on other things than the tinnitus or the conflict between the Hojo and invaders."
"We know the situation with the Hojo. The invaders didn’t make it to the Hojo’s domain. They likely succeeded in intercepting them."

"Something similar happened in the Beast’s domain too. The invaders' surprise attempts failed every time."
The Korean, Chinese, and Japanese teams had stayed in different locations.
This place was secluded and unlike the peaceful modern world; information wasn’t easily spread.

As a result, each team had pieces of different clues.
But no decisive clues had emerged.
In such cases, it was best to think simply.

‘The Japanese team, who was the first to bring up tinnitus, must know something. The Chinese team also vaguely sensed something related to tinnitus, but they probably didn’t think it would directly tie into the world simulation.’
At first glance, it seemed like the Japanese team had gone through something similar to the Korean team, but looking deeper, the Japanese team seemed to have received much better treatment.
Unlike the Hojo leader, who was highly cautious of us, the Beast leader had accepted them with open arms, and they had likely been treated decently.

They even managed to live without their team uniforms on.
But now, during wartime, would the Beast leader have accepted them so easily, no matter how broad-minded?
After a brief thought, I came to an assumption, but I decided to confirm it directly with Hirano Seiji.

"Did you ever hear tinnitus near the Beast leader?"
Upon hearing this question, the Japanese team looked at me in unison.
While Hirano Seiji had mentioned hearing tinnitus in the Beast’s domain, he hadn’t specified the exact location or situation.

And he hadn’t mentioned anything about the Beast leader who had received them.
I decided to press for more details.
"Did you hear the tinnitus when the Beast leader’s assassination attempt occurred?"

Neither Hirano Seiji nor Arihara Tomoaki’s expressions wavered, but the other three members took deep breaths or blinked rapidly.
I was sure my guess was correct.
"Most likely, the incident occurred near the outskirts of the Beast’s domain. Before that, the Japanese team wasn’t invited inside the domain. They must have witnessed the scene, intervened, and earned their trust."

The ones who tried to distort the memories of the land were the boss enemies.
By sheer luck, the Japanese team had witnessed the moment when something prevented the Beast leader’s assassination and heard the tinnitus at that moment.
However, I couldn’t pinpoint who the boss enemy was.

Regardless, the assassination failed, and the Japanese team must have captured or killed the invader who tried to carry it out, handing them over to the Beast leader.
‘For the Beast leader to let them into his domain despite opposition, they must have had a solid excuse.’
I had figured out that the boss enemy was related to the tinnitus, but the investigation hadn’t progressed, and with the wicked darkness covering the sky, I decided to try another approach.

And just in time, we appeared.
Arihara Tomoaki’s trap must have been activated, and they likely realized our presence quickly.
While we fought, there was probably time for a strategy meeting.

The result of the meeting was that the Japanese team decided to share some information about the tinnitus, seeing it as their last chance to get a clue, and they chose to consult with us.
As I整理ed my thoughts and conveyed them, the surroundings fell silent for a moment.
"I can’t deny what you’re saying. If I try to dodge the conversation here, we’ll lose trust. It’s as you said."

"Tch."
When Hirano Seiji acknowledged it, Arihara Tomoaki clicked his tongue, and the others showed their disappointment.
Given that they had the chance to prove themselves outside of Renzo-in Karen’s shadow, they were probably full of enthusiasm, but with part of their strategy crumbling, they weren’t thrilled.

Yeom Jun-yeol, who had been watching with admiration, turned to me with a quick understanding and resumed sharing the information.
As the leader of the unique and vibrant Eungwang High students, he had a remarkable ability to smooth things over and manage the situation.
"Then it’s clear that the boss enemy is related to the tinnitus. It’s probably when the boss enemy uses their power that the tinnitus occurs."

"Then when we encountered the swarm of insects earlier, that means the boss enemy was using their power nearby."
"It seems so. Instead of fighting the insects, they must have used their power to retreat. It looks like they had no intention of protecting the invader."
The more we discussed, the clearer the connection between tinnitus and the boss enemy became.

The tinnitus was typically heard when the invaders were around, especially when the likelihood of combat increased.
After the tinnitus was heard near the invader’s stronghold, the surprise attacks that followed all failed.
Now, it seemed like we had a way to approach the boss enemy.

‘With the clues we’ve gathered, the Korean team’s chances of winning have increased.’
In fact, we had shared information that wasn’t publicly known.
According to that information, the conditions for hearing tinnitus weren’t simply when the boss enemy used their power.

I had also heard tinnitus in the absence of invaders.
That tinnitus seemed to have rung to hide something.
If that tinnitus really was meant to hide something, the boss enemy must have been the one present at the time.

‘The boss enemy must be the Hojo’s greatest musician.’
But there were still questions.
If the Hojo’s greatest musician existed, why hadn’t the Tigers said anything until now?

The musician who accompanied the Newcomer’s song and whom Cheongho highly praised couldn’t easily be forgotten.
Had the simulator initially created a virtual entity and set it as the boss enemy?
Or maybe…

‘The legendary beasts might have erased it...’
A figure I had hypothesized from my conversation with Sidellentium came to mind.