EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 946: The Last School Refusal (4)

I wonder if the sparring we had earlier stimulated the other camp participants, as quite a few of them paired up with supporters during their break to practice.

There were relatively few supporters, so Huh Chae-a and Park Seung-hyun had to keep busy throughout the break.

However, despite being a supporter candidate, Maeng Hyo-don continued to practice alone.

‘Maeng Hyo-don hasn’t used his Gwanglim or skills for supporting, nor has he given it much thought. He needs to reflect on his abilities and understand them better first.’

It was the same with Kwak Kyung-gu, who also practiced alone.

Though he had used all of his 100 Seconds of Grace today, he was still working on his Gwanglim-related training.

He kept pushing his Inseomnium power up and then stopping, likely practicing using his Gwanglim in 1-second or 0.1-second intervals, as I had hinted.

Meanwhile, the effects of the sparring were starting to show in other places.

“Yi-shin, I have a question about the way you used Inseomnium in the sparring.”

“There was something pointed out by Senior Cheon Dong-ha. Can you take a look at it with me?”

Participants, starting with Joo Su-hyeok and An Da-in, began asking for advice.

Though they had done such a great job in the sparring that I didn’t need to provide feedback, they still seemed to have ambitious goals, prompting them to seek my opinion.

After I answered all their questions with sincere responses, Yong Je-geon appeared with Yeom Jun-yeol near me, now calm.

Yong Je-geon, as if speaking for me to hear, said,

“Jun-yeol, looks like Yi-shin will have a lot of disciples at this rate. Is that alright?”

Though his words sounded worried, his face was smiling.

None of the participants who had come to ask questions had explicitly asked to be my disciples, so I wondered why he was saying that.

It seemed like Yong Je-geon had come to the camp just to make such remarks.

“It’s fine. Yi-shin is just offering advice as a student at the same school.”

Yeom Jun-yeol, unlike the childish Yong Je-geon, answered maturely.

Though there was someone like Yong Je-geon among the dragonkin, it seemed that someone like Yeom Jun-yeol was maintaining the balance within their race.

Yeom Jun-yeol, looking at me, spoke softly, his voice barely audible.

“I trust the promise I made with my master.”

From the flow of the conversation, I understood that the promise Yeom Jun-yeol mentioned was likely related to something that happened around the first semester’s final exams in the first year.

At that time, Yeom Jun-yeol had been uneasy, worried that I, despite being his master, hadn’t really taught him much and might start accepting more disciples.

So, I promised him.

— “I won’t take any other disciples until you’re ready to take your share.”

It seemed Yeom Jun-yeol remembered and trusted that promise.

I felt proud of the trust from my disciple.

Having stayed up all night for sparring, the fatigue that had built up seemed to have disappeared.

“This afternoon, we’ll analyze the strength of the representatives from other countries. Since we’re candidates as well, it’s not final yet.”

Cheon Dong-ha distributed materials based on promotional articles and results from other countries like China and Japan, analyzing their performance in the alternate world.

Most of the names were unfamiliar, but I recognized a few.

The first name that caught my eye was Li Wei (李伟).

‘Li Wei is blessed by the protection of the Emperor of the Elixir, so he’s bound to be selected as a representative. If Yu Sang-hee were still here at Eun-gwang High, he’d definitely be chosen.’

In addition to Li Wei, there were many other capable players from China.

At one point, I had even considered going to China with the newspaper club to visit and gather information about their player development system, and the results were now displayed on the hologram.

‘I want to see not just the results from the training facility, but also the process. But it’s been hard to obtain information due to its closed nature. If the rampage incident hadn’t happened back then, I might have been able to see it. It’s a shame.’

As we checked the hologram, our hands stopped in front of the images of a shadow puppet performance and an Inseomnium instrument player’s collaboration.

Both were students from China’s Player Middle School, and their Inseomnium manipulation and artistic sensibilities were exceptional.

“Player Middle School? So, they’re middle schoolers?”

“No. In Korea, they’d be high schoolers. Although the education system and academic structure differ between Korea and China, unless they skipped a grade, the duration to graduate is about the same.”

“Uh...”

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Park Seung-hyun explained, but Maeng Hyo-don’s face was full of confusion.

Maeng Hyo-don, sweating and staring at the material, eventually gave up trying to understand and just watched the shadow puppet video.

After finishing the briefing on the Chinese players, it was time to check the Japanese representatives' information.

“There’s not much material...”

“Are the Japanese hiding their true power?”

“It’s not that there’s little material, it’s just that there’s only one name being mentioned.”

“There’s only one name for long-range, close combat, and support abilities? The other names in the articles are all adult star players.”

“I get that this kid’s really amazing to be fighting alongside adult star players, but what about the others?”

In all the press materials, there was only one student player mentioned.

The photos and video material featured a modest-smiling student from a prestigious family, who seemed humble.

Cheon Dong-ha, known for his thorough research, wouldn’t have neglected information, so this was odd.

“The head of the student council probably had no choice. This person is currently a national hero, so players of a similar age are just seen as background.”

Moon Sae-ron, having plenty of experience reporting in Japan, seemed to know the situation well.

While she cited popularity as the reason, many of us were still skeptical.

“No matter how popular they are, this feels strange. They have so many weapons and powers, but for only one person to be so active...”

“Japan doesn’t lack enemies or challenges, so if there were so few players, they would’ve been in trouble by now.”

“True. Among them, the star player Jun-yeol is the most popular, but even the second-year students have a lot of fans.”

As the explanation became more complicated, Moon Sae-ron looked troubled.

Cheon Dong-ha, who seemed to have an inkling of the situation, wore a complicated expression as well.

Moon Sae-ron spoke first.

“It’s a result of adult affairs, desires, and games... it’s a bit hard to explain. I’ll use a metaphor with class president Joo Su-hyeok! Is it okay if I borrow your name?”

“Sure, it’s fine.”

“Phew, this is just a metaphor! It’s not the real thing! Ah, everyone involved in the metaphor will be from families who don’t meddle in the player world, of course.”

Moon Sae-ron began speaking as if making up a fictional story with Joo Su-hyeok as the protagonist.

There was no doubt that Joo Su-hyeok was an acknowledged genius at Eun-gwang High.

But there was also the joint valedictorian An Da-in, and in other years, there were outstanding players like Cheon Dong-ha and Yeom Jun-yeol, each excelling in their fields.

A genius had been born in a family that made waves in Korea, but now everyone was aiming for that unique title of genius.

What would happen if the Joo family, who wasn’t happy about this, decided to manipulate things to make sure the genius title remained exclusive?

“In a competition to determine the top, we could let Da-in-nim fight with swords and make the rules favor her, and if she faces Yeom Jun-yeol or Dong-ha, we’d make sure it rains. If the head of the student council only had a practical exam without a written one, what would happen?”

“If that happened, Da-in would easily win, and so would Jun-yeol and Dong-ha.”

“Exactly. Then, after revealing the results, the only genius of that age would be Joo Su-hyeok. The one with actual results to show would be Joo Su-hyeok.”

Moon Sae-ron’s analogy was now clear, and I could hear sighs from around me.

Maeng Hyo-don, hearing such a hypothetical scenario, seemed to feel wronged and shouted loudly.

“Is that even possible? That’s so unfair!”

“The exams themselves were fair. We even filmed Da-in-nim and the class president’s sword fight for public viewing.”

It seemed I understood the logic behind Moon Sae-ron’s words.

In a tournament-style competition to select representatives, they could adjust the selection criteria and still have a fair match, but manipulate the results easily.

Though it wasn’t easy to do so quietly and discreetly, with power, wealth, and media connections, it wasn’t impossible.

“But there must have been team battles too. Wouldn’t the other kids who were selected have had a chance to prove themselves?”

“Do you know that when selecting three representatives from 100 people, in theory, you could pick first, 99th, and 100th?”

Moon Sae-ron continued with extreme analogies, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.

If they held a tournament to select representatives, with first, 99th, and 100th being seeded, and then the first one beat the winner of the prelims between second and 98th, the three could be selected as representatives.

While the seeding criteria might be questionable, they could excuse it by calling it a seed for newcomers or giving some charity points, or even create a feel-good story that the media could hype up.

Moreover, if the first one beat the second-best in a fair match, it would be hard for the losers to complain.

“...It wasn’t always a tournament-style selection, though.”

“Sure, the rankings might change, but it can still be manipulated in a league format. You could group first through 33rd together and only pick one, and everyone else would drop out. Then, you’d just have the selected ones represent.”

Moon Sae-ron continued to explain with various extreme scenarios, but it was clear that if the organizers wanted, they could change the selection process and manipulate the results easily.

The discontent and despair of the top players, including second place, would be significant, but it would probably be difficult for them to express it.

After all, the opponents were children of influential families, actual strong players, and national heroes.

‘Someone must have complained. But if they were frustrated, they probably heard, ‘Beat that first place,’ and the matter ended.’

Moon Sae-ron was only giving metaphors, without giving specifics about who was behind all this.

But one thing was clear.

There was a desire and malice to push someone into the spotlight by any means necessary.

In the heavy atmosphere, everyone fell silent for a moment.

“Well, if you exclude that one person, it doesn’t really matter. Whether the material is there or not, it’s fine.”

Dokgo Miro broke the silence and concluded.

For the King of Tyranny, as long as he wins, nothing else matters.

I actually agreed with this thought, but it seemed unlikely that things would go smoothly.

“We don’t know yet. This time, there are team battles, and they’ll want to earn the title of the world’s greatest genius, so they’ve probably prepared for it.”

According to Moon Sae-ron, many of the Japanese representatives were newcomers who hadn’t been in the spotlight before.

The player from the prestigious family had been chosen as a stepping stone to make them the world’s top, and for them, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The host of the Korea-China-Japan exchange match was South Korea, and the Ho Clan-backed Eun-gwang High was at the center of organizing the event.

This was the first true opportunity for those who had been in the background to get a fair chance, so they would likely approach the exchange match with all their strength.

“I’ll ask my dad to look into some of the lesser-known regional tournaments or under-the-radar student player incidents. But don’t expect much.”

Though Moon Sae-ron added that, I decided to place my hopes on her for now.

After finishing the camp schedule, I returned to my room.

With Maeng Hyo-don’s things gone and the cleaning done, the room felt strangely empty.

Looking at the empty space, I felt oddly tired, but sleep wouldn’t come.

‘I should sleep for tomorrow...’

Even if I sleep, as long as I close the door well, the nightmare won’t escape.

But wasn’t it said that being aware of the nightmare while awake strengthens it?

Considering that possibility, I couldn’t easily fall asleep.

As I struggled to sleep and passed midnight, I heard a sound.

Drreeek.

Someone blatantly made a noise and opened the window that had been locked from the inside.

I stared at the person who chose to reveal their presence rather than slip in silently.

It was Baekho-gun.