EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 1058: Night Outpost (1)

As soon as they entered the safe area, Baek Ho-gun's shoulder twitched slightly.

If we had maintained a normal distance, I wouldn’t have noticed, but unfortunately, I was being carried by Baek Ho-gun while bound, so I could feel that movement clearly.

I knew exactly what that unnatural movement meant.

Baek Ho-gun was holding back laughter.

‘Hwang Ji-ho is in a dangerous situation, and he’s laughing?’

To be precise, he wasn’t exactly laughing, but it might as well have been, so it’s guilty.

The twitching of his shoulder grew more pronounced.

I didn’t understand what was funny about what I said.

Now that we were inside the silver mine, there would be no eyes from the shadowy figures.

I hoped he would stop laughing and just release me.

“I got it.”

Baek Ho-gun responded in a voice laced with laughter, then used one hand to undo my bindings.

While moving, he had been carrying me with one hand, as he expected to fight if we encountered any enemies.

It looked like a mix of showing off his strength and his dexterity.

Instead of just bragging, how about putting me down?

“I just asked to be released.”

“You can handle letting go.”

“You wouldn’t be pleased if I did things you didn’t ask me to.”

Baek Ho-gun wouldn’t be happy if I did something he didn’t ask for.

The fact that that tiger knew my mind so well was a bit irritating.

“Did you feel a gaze when we first came out?”

“No. If you’re not sensitive to it, you wouldn’t be able to sense it.”

If the shadowy figure had set a trap, they would’ve certainly placed a way to check, but since I didn’t sense it, it seemed like Baek Ho-gun had placed eyes that couldn’t be detected.

Unless they were like Yong Je-geon or Seodol, it would be hard to sense it.

If I had used Yong Je-geon’s power by tracking the player’s trajectory, I might have sensed it, but I didn’t want to use the power of the True Race where there were eyes watching.

Now that we were inside the silver mine, the worry about eyes was gone, so it was time to think of my next move.

‘Do you remember the last scene Han Yi appeared in, in Flmago?’

Instead of asking aloud, I asked inwardly.

At the moment of the question, Baek Ho-gun’s laughter completely disappeared.

Baek Ho-gun didn’t monitor my thoughts 24/7, so he wouldn’t remember every scene from Flmago.

Especially since Han Yi didn’t have much screen time in Flmago and wasn’t a playable character, just one of the NPC students who disappeared without graduating from Eungwang High.

However, after discovering Han Yi’s secret, Baek Ho-gun must have started paying attention.

Every time I thought about the last scene of Han Yi in Flmago, Baek Ho-gun would inevitably see that scene too.

“That won’t happen.”

Baek Ho-gun said decisively.

Even now, while something unexpected was happening, Baek Ho-gun spoke with confidence.

‘Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking of doing to stop it.’

This event was tied to Qing Ho’s body, and Han Yi had heard a piece of music played in front of her own body in a dream.

So, it was impossible not to think about what had happened to Han Yi in Flmago and Qing Ho’s body, which was connected to this world.

I vividly remembered the scene when Han Yi, who had discovered Gong Cheong-hwon’s body while shielding a student, sensed the approach of enemies but closed her eyes without resistance.

‘Do you know what it means that this is Han Yi’s last appearance?’

Baek Ho-gun nodded once and then explained in a voice devoid of emotion.

He wasn’t describing the final moments of a dear friend, but more like reciting clues that could serve as material for thought.

“After that scene, Han Yi doesn’t appear in Flmago again. Instead, beside the body of Gong Cheong-hwon, which was even more severely mutilated than when she last appeared, clues that remind one of Han Yi’s death were found. ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) These clues were undeniably Han Yi’s blood, flesh, and part of her uniform.”

His voice was calm, but even I, who already knew the content, felt a dark mood from the description.

It was the moment when Duk Go Mi-ro lost two precious people, and after that, she never returned to school.

It was such a horrific event, and since both were insignificant characters, I hadn’t thought much about it at the time, but looking back, it was strange.

The disappearance of Han Yi’s body was the odd part.

It wasn’t strange that there were no descriptions of extra characters' bodies in the game, but if Han Yi was Qing Ho, it was a different story.

In fact, there was never a scene where Han Yi actually died.

‘The last scene was just a close-up of Han Yi closing her eyes. Her body wasn’t shredded by enemies and scattered without a trace; someone must have taken it, right? Was Han Yi really dead?’

Also, thinking about when Gong Cheong-hwon and Han Yi exited Eungwang High raised some questions.

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The two left when Ju Su-hyeok was in his second year, in the 0th class, or more specifically, around the time Huang Ji-ho disappeared.

Gong Cheong-hwon had been more restricted in his actions because of the rise of Choi Pyeon-deuk, but he was investigating anomalies.

As a result, Gong Cheong-hwon’s actions stood out, and although there were many tricks played by the shadowy figures, it was impossible to know exactly what he was investigating, but in the end, he died.

Gong Cheong-hwon wasn’t an easy opponent, and just like when Je-gal Jae-geol did, the shadowy figures used a student as bait, and the plan succeeded.

‘The death of a low-profile teacher who was investigating the school’s secrets is one of the most common clichés. There had been many dead teachers, so I didn’t suspect it at the time.’

But Gong Cheong-hwon’s death wasn’t meaningless.

He was a newcomer, a human who could sense the danger approaching the Korean Peninsula.

At that time, Gong Cheong-hwon must have judged that he couldn’t just stay still any longer.

I hoped that Baek Ho-gun, remembering this, would cooperate with my plan.

I finished thinking and, this time, directly spoke aloud to ask.

“I have something to confirm with you.”

Before performing the farce in front of the shadowy figures while still bound to Baek Ho-gun, I had checked many things and conveyed my plan.

But there was still something I hadn’t confirmed in front of the Japanese players, whom I couldn’t fully trust.

It was something to confirm with Baek Ho-gun.

“You don’t have to worry.”

Baek Ho-gun nodded.

My plan might put Baek Ho-gun in danger too.

Even though I knew what kind of response Baek Ho-gun would give, I still wanted to confirm it.

“Even so, it’s fine. Do what you want to do, what you have to do.”

Baek Ho-gun, with a faint warmth in his eyes, responded exactly as I had expected.

In the rose garden owned by the three knights’ oaths, in the underground round table hall.

The traps set to hunt tigers, the weapons, were indiscriminately attacking Huang Ho and those around him.

Huang Ho was avoiding them without being able to counter properly.

Using barriers against these tiger-hunting weapons was a waste of energy, so it was best to just avoid them until the weapons and traps disappeared.

‘As long as those guys depend on weapons, there’s no way to win. There can’t be an infinite number of weapons that can suppress me.’

Huang Ho calmly conserved his strength and, while looking for an opportunity, avoided the tiger net that was made by wires.

The end of the net narrowly grazed Huang Ho’s collar, tearing his shirt imbued with his energy.

Everything he wore had durability equivalent to high-quality armor, but there were weaknesses.

The clothes he wore for front-line battles were specially made items that reacted to his avatars, causing them to split. Huang Ho’s energy heavily imbued them.

In other words, they were symbolic of the Hojo clan, and as a result, they were weaker than ordinary clothing when facing weapons used for hunting tigers.

The jacket he was wearing had already lost its function, so he discarded it, and blood had soaked into his shirt.

The wound created by his clothes tearing while slipping through the spears ached.

Crack!

The place where Huang Ho had dodged the tiger net was filled with a wooden cage.

Though the cage appeared clunky, Huang Ho felt a chilling sensation from the pile of wood coming toward him.

‘It’s a cursed prison, isn’t it? I thought this twisted structure was completely destroyed when the last dynasty’s bodyguard broke it down!’

Pah!

Huang Ho immediately summoned a weapon item card and threw a spear toward the cursed prison to slow it down, using that opportunity to roll and escape.

Just as the robed figures tried to target Huang Ho directly, yellow rose vines blocked their path.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

The yellow rose knight’s vines wrapped around the hall.

When the figures first appeared, the yellow rose knight didn’t hesitate, leaving Huang Ho and rushing toward the tank containing Qing Ho’s coffin.

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Huang Ho could protect himself, but not Qing Ho, so it was a wise choice.

Once the tank’s safety was ensured, the yellow rose knight attempted to join Huang Ho.

Then, one of the robed figures spoke.

“Choose. Will you continue fighting with the Hojo clan?”

“Until the deal is finished! I’d rather fight alongside the Hojo clan leader here than make a deal with that rat.”

It seemed the yellow rose knight had judged that it was better to cooperate with Huang Ho and finalize the deal here, rather than trying to find something to convince Seodol, who had already lost all goodwill.

However, the other Grand Cross seemed to have different thoughts.

“I’ll be leaving.”

“Di-shang! What do you mean? You’re infected too!”

“Having these guys here means our other moves have already been revealed to them, right? The knight of the water shadow must’ve played a part too.”

Huang Ho agreed with that.

The shadowy figure had made thorough preparations, and just by hearing about the tricks played by the knight of the water shadow, he could tell.

The earth-shaking knight, after weighing things, made his decision.

“I’ll remain neutral.”

“What? Don’t joke! Neutrality just means you’ll join whoever wins!”

“Is that so? I accept that.”

The choices of the three knights were completely different.

The knight of the water shadow chose the shadowy figure, the earth-shaking knight chose neutrality, and the yellow rose knight chose to deal with the Hojo clan.

As the knights made their choices, the power aiming at Huang Ho grew stronger.

At that moment, a familiar presence approached.

‘I hope it’s not who I think it is.’

Huang Ho hastily turned and looked with his inner eye.

Through the inner eye, he saw a red mist.

Huang Ho urgently shouted.

“Red Tiger, retreat immediately!”

That person had perfectly predicted Huang Ho’s movements.

Then, they must have also anticipated that before making a deal with the earth-shaking knight, Huang Ho would check the cave where Qing Ho’s coffin was.

Huang Ho must have sent Red Tiger, whom he trusted and who had the power, for this very purpose.

Knowing Red Tiger’s personality, even if Huang Ho ordered a retreat, Red Tiger would keep an eye on the deal from a distance and jump in if danger arose.

Even if it was right in the middle of a tiger trap.

“I expected at least one more tiger to appear.”

A voice that sounded like someone screaming echoed loudly through the hall.

Swoooosh!

It was the sound of the Great Shout Arrow cutting through the wind.

The Great Shout Arrow was a famous arrow used for tiger hunting, one of the heaviest arrows with a long shaft and feathers from a crane. It was said that a single shot could stop a tiger’s breath.

The arrow, screeching like a scream, was shot toward Huang Ho’s dear friend.

Huang Ho knew it was futile, but he unknowingly deployed his barrier.

The golden barrier filled the area around the red mist, but the golden light weakly dissipated every time the arrow’s tip brushed by, even trying to pierce through the red mist.

“Stop.”

However, just before the tip of the arrow completely shattered the red mist, a gentle voice blocked its path.

Huang Ho thought he was hearing an illusion, but the clear voice continued.

Gong Cheong-hwon stood in front of the only entrance.